HDIEUMDBTSB Chapter 49 See What Professionalism Is

 Volume 1 The Road to Fame

Chapter 49 See What Professionalism Is

Big Cat’s Disciple: [Congratulations to Brother Jiu for finally proving your innocence.]

[Thanks to the evidence you collected, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy.] Chu Zhi replied.

Big Cat’s Disciple: [Brother Jiu, I have a document here for you to look at when you have time.]

With that, a file named "Overview of Domestic Brokerage Companies" was sent over via WeChat, and Chu Zhi accepted it.

Instinctively opening it, he was impressed by how comprehensive it was, like the work of a major data due diligence company.

[Orange Sky Guan Yu Entertainment Co., Ltd., covering film, TV production, music and musical production, artist management, advertising, and new media, is one of the strongest entertainment companies in China...]

Next was a general introduction. These details could be found online, but what couldn't be found was the evaluation and scoring from five aspects: "star-making ability," "resources," "promotion and PR," "performance," and "suitable path," with Chu Zhi as the benchmark.

Chu Zhi felt the professionalism not because of the word count or the dense information, but because it was clear and concise. At first, he wondered if the five aspects overlapped, such as strong resources and promotion abilities equating to strong star-making abilities.

Reading the report gave him a deeper understanding. An interesting phenomenon in the entertainment industry is that mid-tier companies excel in star-making, while giants often dig up stars after they become famous. Chu Zhi quickly realized that this situation was caused by internal pressure in big companies, making many arrangements unfeasible, and with too many artists, resources were scattered, making integration time-consuming.

In Su Shangbai’s survey, high scores for star-making ability were given to companies like Si Ba, which have templated processes and can continuously produce products, though perhaps criticized by the audience.

As one of the top three, Orange Sky Guan Yu scored 73 in star-making ability, 88 in resources, 90 in promotion and PR, 69 in performance, and 60 in suitable path.

Especially the suitable path score, which just passed. Su Shangbai analyzed that Orange Sky Guan Yu's long-term route had always been the film market, with little investment in the music field. Thirteen of its wholly-owned subsidiaries were film companies, so even top-tier stars couldn't make the company change its strategy.

"This is what they call knowing me better than I know myself? Especially the 'suitable path' aspect. From development planning to each company's growth path, everything is crystal clear."

"The person who wrote this report, if they applied to my company in a past life, I would have given them a department manager position," Chu Zhi's inner boss blood awakened.

"Wait—" Chu Zhi realized and quickly switched back to the chat channel; half an hour had passed.

[Brokerage companies are crucial for artists. I know Brother Jiu has his own ideas. I hope this data can help a bit.]

[Brother Jiu promised to try to eat on time, and you should have done that, right?]

[I was rash. Brother Jiu has always been a man of his word.]

[I have a company meeting to host, so I’ll log off now.]

There were four messages in total, the most recent one being twenty-three minutes ago.

Hosting meetings and such, classmate Xiaobai was pretty much confirmed to have a company to inherit at home—no, already inherited.

The report was so well done that it engrossed Chu Zhi. He replied: [Sorry, I got absorbed in it. I’ve been paying attention to my meals. The document is very helpful. Seeing this survey, it must have taken tens of thousands of words. Sorry for taking up your time.]

After replying, Chu Zhi was about to switch back to the document. Although Xiaobai said he was going to a meeting, before he could switch, a reply came—

Big Cat’s Disciple: [The first four items, star-making ability, resources, promotion and PR, and performance, were written by the market research department. I only analyzed 'suitable path,' so it didn’t take much time.]

Big Cat’s Disciple: [Brother Jiu, there's no need to be so formal. If it helps smooth your career path, I’m very happy to put in the effort. I’ll get back to my meeting now.]

Able to reply instantly even during a meeting, and as the host no less—too outstanding. Chu Zhi quickly replied with [Focus on your work.]

An hour later, Chu Zhi had read through the entire document. The top three brokerage companies in terms of scores were Liangxin Entertainment, Wajijiwa, and Taiyang Chuanhe. Previously, Chu Zhi had valued Taiyang Chuanhe, which ranked third. Liangxin Entertainment, which ranked first, had impressive resources in endorsements and the fashion circle, while Wajijiwa excelled in star-making and promotion, particularly in organizing fan groups.

None of the three companies had top-tier stars. Taiyang Chuanhe, which ranked third, primarily produced film and TV resources, securing more popular IP adaptations and collaborating with many top music producers in the industry. The three directions to make money were through endorsements, harvesting fans, and producing works (regardless of quality).

"The simplest seems to be Liangxin Entertainment... I'm a bit tempted, what should I do?" Chu Zhi wrestled with his decision but ultimately stuck to his initial choice—Taiyang Chuanhe, not just for the money, but for a bit of artistic pursuit.

"The artist's work is quite important, especially as a singer. If I could become a world-class pop king like MJ or Elvis, that would be exciting," Chu Zhi muttered. After all, the grass is always greener on the other side, so the overseas market seemed more promising. He was sharpening his knives for the big game.

"Wait, world-class pop kings seem to be only Americans, a reflection of cultural hegemony?" He suddenly realized this. The most famous singers worldwide were Zhang Xueyou, Teresa Teng, and Jay Chou. Their popularity was more recognizable in Asia, and calling them world-class pop kings was a bit of a stretch. Any talk of winning awards in America or having explosive sales was just hype, fooling their own fans with manipulated data.

In this parallel world, it was the same. There were Asian-level superstars, but none who could match the popularity of MJ or Madonna.

"We'll take it slow." After pondering for a long time, Chu Zhi concluded with this thought. What he was thinking was unclear to anyone.

Chu Zhi silently set a small goal in his mind, while far away in the Jin Ying Building of Xingcheng, an event related to him was being discussed.

Pei Louguo was holding a budget sheet and an invitation nomination. His appearance was that of a typical "leader," different from the slightly rough-looking Wang Ke. Pei’s face had deep lines that gave him a stern look when he wasn't smiling, somewhat resembling the dictionary grandfather Hou Yubin.

The serious atmosphere created a sense of oppression, and the staff in the room all kept their heads down and stayed silent, avoiding eye contact with Pei Louguo.

A "creative meeting" was being held in the conference room. The theme was to come up with more creative ideas for variety shows, but in reality, it was just a discussion on who to invite as guests. "Red · Dream," a successful variety show, would have ranked just below "Who's the Murderer" and "I Am a Big Star" on Mango TV's variety show list if it weren't for its different live broadcast model and popularity calculation methods.

With such success, the goal was to maintain it well without making radical or strange reforms.

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