HDIEUMDBTSB Chapter 50 It Shouldn't Be a Problem
Volume 1 The Road to Fame
Chapter 50 It Shouldn't Be a Problem
"Lee Seok-jun, Jung Min-an, Lee Soo-hyun, three consecutive H Country stars. Have you considered the show's reputation? Topics about worshiping foreign things," Pei Louguo tapped the table.
Here we go again. The production staff of "Red · Dream" knew that when the chief producer said this, he had already made up his mind and considered all aspects. He just wanted to hear thoughts that aligned with his decision, essentially seeking validation.
The bespectacled man spoke first, "Our Mango TV user base skews young, and this demographic is the main fan group for celebrities. Many are fans of the Princess Group and have a favorable impression of Korean stars. This episode we shot in H Country featuring Jung Woo-sook had a 58% increase in clicks and the second-highest audience retention rate since the show started."
That was precisely what Pei Louguo wanted to hear. He asked, "What's the Princess Group?"
"The domestic fans' nickname for the GZ group," the bespectacled man replied fluently. "Originally, the GZ in the group's name stood for Goodyear Zeppelin, but since the pronunciation of GZ is similar to 'Qingzhen,' fans shortened it to Qingzhen Princess Group."
The bespectacled man explained, "Princess Qingzhen was a well-known princess in H Country. The place name 'Little Gong-dong' in Seoul was named after her."
That seemed a bit exaggerated. Pei Louguo didn't believe the bespectacled man because most people chasing stars wouldn't even know the names of their own country's princesses, let alone a princess from a small country.
"Not everyone knows. New fans would think the Princess Group is just a translation of GZ, but core fans know it well," the bespectacled man smiled bitterly. "I only know because my ex-girlfriend explained it to me."
"A different form of cultural invasion," Pei Louguo realized the seriousness of the issue.
"Producer Pei, isn't that a bit exaggerated?" The bespectacled man and the staff laughed, feeling that the chief producer was worrying too much. As long as they invited Korean stars, it would be fine. They just wanted to wrap up the discussion and go home. Cultural invasion seemed too far-fetched for them.
"So far, there have been two waves of Korean Wave invasion. The first in the late 1990s to 2000s with Korean dramas. A batch of melodramas was introduced, making Korean fashion and makeup popular across Asia and even changing eating habits to some extent. Otherwise, who would like Korean barbecue and army stew?"
Pei Louguo's expression grew more serious as he continued, "Around 2010 was the second wave, with girl groups and boy bands. Korean fashion once again took Asia by storm, and brands like SJYP, BNX, SZ, and Hazzys rose with this trend. They managed to carve out a market share that originally favored Western and Japanese cosmetics."
"Your thoughts are correct. In some ways, the Korean Wave is not just a cultural invasion but also includes economic and trade aspects," Pei Louguo explained. He wasn't this knowledgeable about Korean entertainment by chance. He graduated from Nankai University with a major in International Economics and Trade, and his thesis was on the economic benefits of the Korean Wave to H Country. Even years after graduation, he remains a guest professor at Nankai University's International Economics and Trade department.
Often, common sense can be deceiving. Common sense tells you a TV show producer couldn't be a guest professor, but Pei Louguo is. Just like how no one would expect that singer Zheng Yuan, who sang "One Thousand Reasons," is a guest professor at Beijing Theater Academy, or that Pang Long, who sang "Two Butterflies," is a lifetime professor at Shenyang Conservatory of Music.
The seriousness in the chief producer's words made everyone take it seriously. Nobody wanted to be invaded by culture. Thinking about it, as it neared twenty years, it seemed the Korean Wave might have a third resurgence...
"Should we be more cautious about inviting Lee Seok-jun, Jung Min-an, and Lee Soo-hyun?" an employee asked.
"We must invite them. GZ group's popularity is high. If we don't invite them, other TV shows will. There's no difference," Pei Louguo said sternly, adding, "But three consecutive episodes with Korean stars is indeed too much. We'll invite one domestic artist to be in between."
Volume 1 The Road to Fame
Chapter 50 It Shouldn't Be a Problem
“Your task now is to think carefully about which domestic artist we should invite. Let's have an open discussion.” Pei Louguo started with a consultative tone but then shifted directly, “Who do you think is better, Chu Zhi or Wu Tang?”
Whoa, starting with Chu Zhi and Wu Tang right off the bat. With the show’s success and sponsors, they could afford to be indulgent. Plus, backed by Mango TV, they had the confidence in their status. Inviting top-tier artists wasn't just about money.
At first, the staff didn’t know how to propose, but with the narrowed choices, they felt relieved. Freedom within specified boundaries is the freedom of corporate drones.
“Although Chu Zhi has recently cleared his name and his popularity is rebounding, it seems Wu Tang has stronger support and momentum.”
“I think Chu Zhi’s popularity should be higher after his comeback. Looking at Weibo’s trending topics these past few days, his buzz is higher than Wu Tang, Li Xingwei, and Shen Yun.”
“Buzz doesn’t equate to popularity. Don’t you get that? Wu Tang’s new album is about to release, so there’s bound to be more discussion. If we can plan it well, and if he accidentally reveals a new song, we might create a classic variety show moment.”
“Wu Tang’s fee is definitely higher than Chu Zhi’s. Chu Zhi has also written two songs, and we can film the creative process. We can leverage his current buzz for a better cost-performance ratio. I strongly recommend Chu Zhi.”
The debate continued. Pei Louguo listened to the staff’s discussion and made up his mind after ten minutes.
“We’ll go with Chu Zhi. Chu Zhi has previously collaborated with us on two shows, and Director Wang mentioned that he is very cooperative.”
Live variety shows have many minor issues requiring artists' cooperation. To be safe, Pei Louguo decided to rely on Korean stars for buzz, while a domestic star would be a stable choice.
Next came the discussion on appearance fees. Pei Louguo generously offered the rate for top-tier stars, 3 million RMB per episode. In contrast, the previous recording of "I Am a Singer" had a package price of 200,000 RMB for three episodes, which, using university-level calculus, equated to less than 70,000 RMB per episode.
Don’t think this price is too high. If it were Wu Tang, the fee would be at least 10 to 20 million RMB. "Red · Dream" takes several days to shoot each episode, roughly a week. For top-tier stars, the fee for recording an entire season of a variety show ranges from 50 to 100 million RMB, with 4.5 million RMB per episode being the base rate, taking about two days per episode.
It's worth noting that Chu Zhi used to command a price similar to or even higher than Wu Tang. This indicates that his popularity is back, but his abilities haven’t yet been fully recognized by the producers.
With a budget of 4 million RMB, and a price set at 3 million RMB, the negotiation ended. The staff member in the frog hat, who was one of the writers for "Red · Dream," smiled. Having a cooperative artist makes scripting much easier.
Although the show is marketed as an unscripted live broadcast, does anyone really believe it’s entirely unscripted?
The creative theme meeting concluded. Pei Louguo looked at the chart and muttered to himself, trying to convince himself—
“There shouldn’t be, there won’t be a third wave of the Korean Wave. Nowadays, domestic groups and singers aren’t much weaker than Korean groups, and our TV dramas shouldn’t lose to Korean idol dramas.”
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