Twenty minutes passed.
Zhao Yuan lowered her body and turned on the microphone switch in front of her. "How is it, are you familiar with it?"
"I... I can do it!" Jiang Xiao'e was still immersed in the song's emotions. Interrupted abruptly, she quickly made an OK gesture to the outer door.
"Then let's begin." Zhao Yuan nodded at her, then said to the recording engineer beside her.
The latter nodded, then counted down to the microphone.
"Recording officially begins."
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
The music started.
Jiang Xiao'e slowly closed her eyes.
"Later, I finally learned how to love."
"Unfortunately, you've long since gone, disappeared into the sea of people."
"Later, I finally understood through tears."
"Some people, once missed, are gone forever..."
Jiang Xiao'e's state was excellent. She had memorized the lyrics during the past twenty minutes, and on her first official recording, she could sing without looking at the lyrics, focusing on conveying the song's emotions.
"This young girl is good. If she can maintain this mindset, it won't be difficult for her to become popular."
Zhao Yuan, who was always strict, nodded with satisfaction, rarely praising a newcomer.
Over the years, the company had made many singers famous, but most of them forgot their original intentions after becoming popular.
And these people, without exception, were fleeting. After a short period of explosive fame, they faded into obscurity.
The company would not invest too many resources in these has-been singers.
The company's resources were more inclined towards responsible singers who took their work seriously; these were the talents worth the company's effort to cultivate.
"Not bad, her voice suits this song well." Su Yu also nodded.
Jiang Xiao'e's voice was relatively delicate, and she had her own unique insights into controlling the song's emotions.
"It will never happen again."
"There was a boy who loved that girl..."
After singing the last line, Jiang Xiao'e slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were slightly moist.
She had been completely affected by the song's emotions, and as she sang, her heart surged with feelings.
This song perfectly interpreted two words: regret!
And it was regret that was useless after missing an opportunity.
From the meaning of the lyrics, the song did not have a perfect ending, but from a realistic perspective, it was a very perfect ending.
Just like the lyric, "Some people, once missed, are gone forever."
This lyric was undoubtedly the core of the entire song, evoking memories in the listener's mind.
"You performed well. A few details tweaked and it'll be good enough as a demo."
As Jiang Xiao'e walked out of the recording studio, Zhao Yuan nodded at her.
Her voice trembled slightly.
Zhao Yuan had only listened to the melody roughly before, and her experience told her the song was good.
Now, hearing the actual blend of lyrics and accompaniment, her usually calm heart stirred slightly.
"Ms. Zhao, is that it?" Jiang Xiao'e was surprised, asking.
Although she had performed well just now, she felt that a few lines had not been handled with enough attention to detail.
"That's it. Your work is done. We'll hand it over to the sound engineer next." Zhao Yuan took a deep breath.
Normally, she might have asked for more takes, but time was pressing, and Jiang Xiao'e had indeed performed well. This version had already reached demo quality.
"I... I can record a few more times. A few lines had some stiff emotional processing." Jiang Xiao'e gritted her teeth, a hint of determination flashing in her eyes.
Even though it was just a demo, and the official release would still be sung by Zhou Xiali, meaning this song actually had nothing to do with her.
However, she still wanted to make the demo as perfect as possible. After all, this song was her first since entering the industry, and it was a song she fell in love with after singing it once.
"It's fine, for a demo, this quality is sufficient." Zhao Yuan was initially stunned, then a barely perceptible softness appeared on her usually cool face.
After speaking, she walked towards the sound engineer beside her.
Jiang Xiao'e wanted to say something more, but she opened her mouth and swallowed the words.
That's right, you're just singing a demo. The official version has nothing to do with you. Does it matter if it's perfect or not?
What are you, a newcomer with nothing, still hoping for?
Put away those unrealistic thoughts. The client wants traffic. Sister Xiali is so popular, so of course, only she singing this song will bring more benefits to the client.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiao'e's eyes reddened slightly. She took a deep breath, holding back the tears, then nodded at Zhao Yuan and Su Yu and others: "Ms. Zhao, Teacher Su, Sister A Ru, I'll be going now."
"Alright, you can go back," Zhao Yuan, who was saying something to the sound engineer, turned and said softly to Jiang Xiao'e upon hearing that she was leaving.
Su Yu also waved at her with a smile, but his peripheral vision caught sight of her slightly reddened eyes, and he paused.
This young girl had good professional skills, but she was a bit too fragile internally. Such a mindset wouldn't work in the entertainment industry.
...
Not long after Jiang Xiao'e left, the sound engineer finished their work.
Zhao Yuan walked over with the USB drive containing the demo.
"Let's go, we're going to discuss the contract."
Waving to Su Yu, Zhao Yuan and A Ru walked towards the office first.
Following them into the office.
A Ru busied herself at the printer.
After a while, she placed two stacks of A4 paper in front of Su Yu.
"Xinghui Entertainment has two types of contracts for producers."
"One is a model with a base salary. Junior producers receive a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan. The company gets 70% of the song's revenue, 20% for the lyricist and composer, and 10% for the singer."
"The other is no base salary, with a 50/50 split with the company, but the singer's share must be negotiated by yourself."
Zhao Yuan explained the differences between the two contracts to Su Yu.
"Is there a difference in the company's promotional resources for these two contracts?" Su Yu was not too surprised.
Overall, these two contracts were quite good for newcomers. After all, having spent so long in the entertainment industry in his previous life, he understood some things about copyrights.
Lyricists and composers generally only received one to two percent of the revenue, while singers basically didn't rely on song copyrights. They became famous through their songs, and after gaining enough traffic, they would take endorsements, participate in commercial performances, and appear on variety shows. That was how artists made money.
In general, the first contract was the most suitable for newcomers, as the 20,000 yuan base salary provided a stable living and allowed them to learn and grow without worries.
However, with talent, the second contract clearly earned more money.
Therefore, what Su Yu was most concerned about was whether there would be any difference in the company's promotional resources for these two contracts.
He was not worried about the quality of the work at all; he wanted the company's promotional channels.
"No difference. Regardless of which contract it is, the company will treat them equally, and all the necessary promotion and resources will be provided," Zhao Yuan said softly.
"Then I'll choose the second contract, the 50/50 split." Su Yu heard this, slowly looked up, and smiled at her.
"Alright, this contract is also more suitable for you university students. Since there's no base salary, you don't need to report to the company. A Ru will contact you if there's a job." Zhao Yuan's eyes flashed with a hint of admiration as she looked at Su Yu.
Most newcomers would choose the contract with a base salary, as 20,000 yuan was not a low base salary, enough for a stable life and to allow newcomers to learn and grow without worries.
For the contract without a base salary, although they could get half of the revenue, if they didn't have outstanding works, they might not get any money at all.
Generally, only those who were very confident in their abilities would choose the second contract.
Zhao Yuan did not interfere too much with Su Yu's choice.
After all, the song "Later" had already demonstrated his strength. If he could continue to write high-quality songs like this, the second contract would undoubtedly be the best choice for him.
After signing the contract, Su Yu prepared to leave.
"Oh, right, will the lyricist and composer of 'Later' use your real name?" Zhao Yuan called out to him.
The company had no strict requirements on this; both stage names and real names were acceptable.
"Ting Yu, my stage name." Su Yu stopped in his tracks and turned back to Zhao Yuan with a smile.
[Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the mission]
[Reward: Song element "What's the Harm"]
[Host's first successful mission completion, additional rewards: Professional-level piano skills, Piano piece "A Comme Amour"]
Not bad, the system was quite generous this time. A simple application mission rewarded a song, along with professional-level piano skills and a piano piece.