HDIEUMDBTSB Chapter Forty-Nine: Take a Look, What Professionalism Means

 Volume One: The Road to Fame

Chapter Forty-Nine: Take a Look, What Professionalism Means

Disciple of Big Cat: [Congratulations, Bro Ji finally proved his innocence.]

[Thanks to the evidence you collected, it wasn't so easy.], Chu Zhi replied.

Disciple of Big Cat: [Bro Ji, I have some information here. If you have time, you can take a look.]

Saying that, a document titled "Overview of Domestic Talent Agencies" was sent over WeChat, and Chu Zhi received it.

Subconsciously, he opened it. Oh, this document was too comprehensive, it was like the work of a large-scale data investigation company.

[Orange Sky Guanyu Entertainment Co., Ltd., with business covering film, television 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 things could be found on the internet, but what couldn't be found was the evaluation and scoring based on "star-making ability," "resources," "promotion and public relations," "performance," and "suitability of the path" from five aspects, which was Chu Zhi's expertise.

The reason why Chu Zhi felt it was professional was not because there were too many words, nor because there were too many densely packed words that he didn't want to read. It was mainly because it was simple and clear, with direct wording. At first, he wondered if there was any overlap in the five aspects, such as strong resources and promotion ability, wasn't that the same as strong star-making ability?

Reading the report gave a deeper understanding. There was an interesting phenomenon in the entertainment industry: the companies with excellent star-making abilities were often mid-sized companies, while the big players mostly dug up stars after they became famous. Chu Zhi immediately understood from one example that this situation was caused by internal squeezing within large companies, where many arrangements couldn't be implemented, and the resources of too many artists were also scattered, taking too much time to integrate.

In the survey form sent by Su Shangbai, companies like Four Leaves, which had high scores in star-making ability, were highlighted. These were companies that mastered templated and streamlined processes and could continuously produce products, perhaps criticized by the audience.

As one of the top three, Orange Sky Guanyu scored 73 for star-making ability, 88 for resources, 90 for promotion and public relations, 69 for performance, and 60 for path suitability.

Especially in terms of path suitability, it barely passed. Su Shangbai analyzed that Orange Sky Guanyu's long-term strategy had always been in the film market, with few layouts in the record field. Thirteen of its wholly-owned subsidiaries were film and television companies. While having top stars could make money, it couldn't change the big company's strategy.

"So this is what they call knowing me better than I know myself? Especially the 'path suitability' aspect. From development planning to the development path of each company, it's all clear." 

"The kid who wrote this report, if he applied to my company in his past life, I'd have to give him a department manager position." The boss's blood within Chu Zhi awakened.

"Wait a minute—" Chu Zhi suddenly realized and immediately switched back to the chat channel, half an hour had passed.

[Talent agencies are crucial to artists. I know Bro Ji is someone with his own ideas, I hope this data can provide some assistance.]

[Bro Ji, promises made should be kept, I believe you will stick to your meal schedule.]

[I was too hasty, Bro Ji has always been true to his word.]

[I have a meeting to chair, I'll go now.]

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

Chairing a meeting and still able to respond instantly, the key was being the host. Too outstanding. Chu Zhi hurriedly replied, [Busy with important matters, take care.]

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

Disciple of Big Cat: [Apologies and such between us, Bro Ji, are unnecessary. I'm very willing to spend some effort to ensure Bro Ji's smooth journey to stardom. I'll continue with the meeting, goodbye for now.]

Being able to reply instantly during a meeting, and still being the host, was the key. Chu Zhi quickly replied, [Handling important matters takes precedence.]

One hour later, Chu Zhi had read through the entire document. The top three talent agencies in terms of score were Two Hearts Entertainment, Froggy Froggy, and Sunriver Entertainment.

Previously, Chu Zhi had favored Sunriver Entertainment, which ranked third. Two Hearts Entertainment had exaggerated resources in endorsements and the fashion industry, while Froggy Froggy had a knack for star-making and publicity, and was strong in organizing fan groups.

None of the three companies had top-tier stars. Sunriver Entertainment, ranked third, mainly produced film and television resources. It could secure more popular IP adaptations and had partnerships with many top music producers in the industry.

Making money through endorsements, harvesting fans for profit, and making money through works (regardless of quality), were the three directions.

"The simplest option seems to be Two Hearts Entertainment... What should I do with this temptation?" 

Amidst the intense internal struggle, Chu Zhi still stuck to his initial choice—Sunriver Entertainment, because besides making money, there was also a bit of artistic pursuit.

"The artist's work is more important, especially as a singer. If I could become a world-famous king of pop like MJ or the King, that would be quite thrilling." Chu Zhi muttered to himself. After all, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, and American culture dominates the world.

"Wait a minute, it seems that world-class pop kings are only Americans, a manifestation of cultural hegemony?" Suddenly realizing this, he remembered that the most famous singers globally on Earth were Jacky Cheung, Teresa Teng, and Jay Chou.

Their popularity was more recognizable in Asia. Calling them world-popular kings was a bit of a stretch. As for those who claimed to have won awards in America and had skyrocketing sales, they were all nonsense, just manipulating data to deceive their fans.

It was the same in parallel worlds. There were Asian superstars, but none reached the popularity level of MJ or Madonna.

"Let's take it slow," Chu Zhi pondered for a while, ending with this sentence, keeping his true thoughts to himself.

Chu Zhi silently set a small goal in his heart, while in the Golden Eagle Building in Star City, there was a discussion about an event related to Chu Zhi.

Holding a budget sheet and invitation nominations, Pei Louguo had the typical appearance of a "leader." Unlike Wang Ke, who had a slightly rugged appearance, the wrinkles on Pei's face gave him a serious air. He resembled the elderly dictionary master Hou Yubin a bit.

The serious atmosphere exerted pressure, and the staff in the room kept their heads down and remained silent, avoiding eye contact with Pei Louguo.

A "creative meeting" was held in the conference room, with the theme of brainstorming more ideas for variety shows. But in reality, it was just a discussion about which guests to invite. "Red Dream" was a successful variety show. If it weren't for the live broadcast format, and the different way popularity and clicks were calculated, it should have ranked just below "Detective Stars" and "I'm a Real Star" on Mango TV's variety show list.

Once you achieve success, it's important to maintain it, and not think about strange reforms and progress.


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