China Entertainment 1997

Beijing, Baihua Recording Studio

Lin Wu parked the car, put it into gear and turned off the engine. He turned to look at the young man with glasses behind him: "We're here, get out of the car."

The young man stood in the yard and looked at this well-known recording studio in the industry, feeling a little disappointed.

This place known as the "Starry Singers' Base Camp" is known as Asia's top recording studio. Not only is the equipment and environment impeccable, but it is also full of honors. It has produced countless high-quality albums and even some classics.

In the eyes of many industry experts, this is one of the holy places in the Chinese music scene, but it is a pity that Baihua Recording Studio was closed to the public a few years ago.

Those who can come here are basically Fanxing singers, or musicians, singers, etc. who are related to Cao Xuan or Fanxing. Those who have no connections can't spend money.

When he learned that he was coming to Baihua Recording Studio today, the young man was excited all night yesterday. But when he saw it, he saw that the slightly ordinary and old courtyard was completely different from what he had imagined.

Except for the LED signboard, which is pretty good, nothing else has the so-called top meaning in Asia. It only takes up one big character compared to the rural compound in his hometown.

As Fanxing's manager, Lin Wu had more than one singer under his management, so he had already experienced this matter. He smiled and patted the young man on the shoulder.

"This is a recording studio, and it's not open to the public to attract customers. There's no need to be so high-profile on the outside. There's nothing but gold on the outside, and you'll know it when you get in."

The young man followed Lin Wu and greeted the security, came to the lobby, passed through the ordinary door, and immediately noticed something was different.

The off-white and light green decoration is clean and simple, with a stylish layout design, a mix of beautiful and exquisite furniture items, and a large number of music elements that can be seen everywhere. It looks fresh and unique with a bit of artistic atmosphere, which is eye-catching.

I dare not say how stunning and luxurious it is, but comparing the external performance does allow young people to understand what it means to be beautiful on the outside and gold on the inside.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would have been impossible for him to connect the inside of the room with the outside of the courtyard.

Lin Wu ignored him and asked him to observe alone while he went to the front desk to register.

"Xiao Ai, I haven't seen you for a few months, and you look beautiful again."

The pretty receptionist Xiao Ai ignored Lin Wu's talk, glanced at the young man, and asked as usual.

"Bringing a newcomer?"

"Um."

"You look pretty good, what's your name?"

"Won high."

"Won...high!?"

Xiao Ai, who was recording information on the computer, raised her voice an octave higher and looked at this ordinary young man with piercing eyes.

"Wugao from QQ star who sang "Funeral of Roses"."

"We know each other."

Seeing that his artist is famous, Lin Wu is also a little proud: "Now that I have signed Fanxing, I will take Xiaowu, come and say hello."

Wu Gao, who had just graduated from college, was quiet and reserved, gentle and taciturn. When he saw a pretty girl, he just came over and said hello.

But this was enough. Xiao Ai, who had been perfunctory with Lin Wu just now, now blushed slightly and her voice became sweet and sweet.

"Hello, I am your fan. I have been following you since 2007, and I finally met you in person."

"Thanks."

Hearing that it was his fan or an old fan, Wu Gao smiled and Xiao Ai blushed even more.

I quickly registered the information and helped Wugao find a free recording studio. I personally led the way and also gave him snacks and tea bags like Pangdahai, which can soothe his throat and refresh his mind, which is good for recording songs.

His attitude was so attentive that even Lin Wu was a little jealous: "I've been here eighty times if not a hundred times. Why haven't you given me snacks?"

Xiao Ai responded with a polite smile and ignored him. After saying hello to Wu Gao Tiantian, she exited the recording studio and returned to the front desk still feeling a bit crazy.

"So handsome and elegant."

Xiao Liu, the security guard at the door, has a crush on Xiao Ai. Seeing the goddess like this, he couldn't help but say, "Are you handsome? I think he looks average."

"What do you know? Talent is a bonus."

Xiao Ai retorted, and Xiao Liu couldn't help but wanted to continue the argument. Suddenly he saw a leader passing by the door, and quickly silenced him. Xiao Ai glanced at him proudly, opened the computer to check the registration of Wu Gao just now, and wondered if there was any chance to send his mobile phone number. Pull it over.

In the recording room, the sound engineer hadn't come yet, and Lin Wu originally wanted to ask Wu Gao to wait.

Just watch the calm and silent artist of yours looking excitedly at the mixing console, slowly touching the equipment on it, and mumbling excitedly to himself.

Lin Wu listened for a while, and he couldn't quite understand the professional terms such as "32-track mixer", "VSX multi-channel movie sound system", "computer multi-channel sound pickup and identification system", etc. , but I saw the meaning and snapped my fingers proudly.

"How about it, these devices are awesome."

"Awesome, worthy of being the best in Asia,"

Different from ordinary singers, Wu Gao is a true all-rounder in music. He is not only good at songwriting and composing, but also producing, arranging, accompaniment, recording, mixing, post-production and other tasks.

In the early works, almost one person did all the work, one against ten, and another small-eyed Li Ronghao was known as "not letting others make a penny from himself."

Because of this, Wu Gao is very familiar with the things in the recording studio, and he can better understand the arrogant atmosphere of Baihua Recording Studio. This is really not money.

"What does this mean? Who is our boss? This amount of money is a drop in the bucket for him."

Lin Wu crossed his legs, looking proud, and felt secretly relieved, which shocked the boy.

Wu Gao, a native of Heshi, Hui Province, graduated from Hui Provincial Medical University. I don’t know if all medical students like to change careers. Back then, Lu Xun studied literature, and Wu Gao and a junior named Mao became singers.

In 2006, when Internet songs began to gain popularity, Wugao released his own "Funeral of Roses" online under the name Vae.

This song quickly spread on the Internet and dominated the QQ space. It was once considered the beginning of the non-mainstream period of the post-90s generation.

For a long time, wearing a killer hairstyle and listening to Wu Gao's songs became the hallmark of many young people born in the 1990s.

From this time on, Wu Gaolu began to compose songs one after another, and even wrote the theme song for the game "Dragon Babu", and his fame and influence grew.

However, at this time, online singers and physical album singers were completely different concepts. The former was completely non-mainstream and not recognized by the music industry.

Even though Wu Gao is famous and his songs are played a lot, they are not taken seriously by professional record companies.

Except for the stars...

Perhaps a few years later, various legends about this matter will be circulated on the Internet. For example, when King Cao Tian heard Wu Gao's song, he was shocked and immediately came to recruit people. When Wu Gao saw that it was King Cao who came to the door in person, he bowed to him. , join the stars and create a legend in the music world.

But in fact, although Cao Xuan has gained a lot of talent, I really don't know when he made his debut.

After all, Wu Gao has no scandals exposed, and there is very little early information. If he is not a fan, it will be difficult for outsiders to remember him so clearly.

Cao Xuan only remembers that "Su Yan" became a hit in 2010.

In the next few years, the three QQ giants emerged. Songs and network data were not weak to Xiao Zhou and Eason Chan, but that was it.

After all, he is born in the 1970s. Even if he is familiar with the entertainment industry, he will definitely give priority to those celebrities with sufficient exposure. Cao Xuan also knows some of the later deeds of the three of them, but he really didn't know much about them in the early days of their career.

Therefore, Cao Xuan really didn't pay much attention to Wu Gao at first. He really learned about his debut at the end of 2007.

From that moment on, Fanxing came forward to contact Wu Gao, but was declined by the latter.

How should I put it, Wu Gao is still a bit aloof and arrogant. On the one hand, he feels that he can excel with his talent. On the other hand, he is relatively introverted. He only wants to make music and does not want to be too active in the entertainment industry.

However, this idea changed after he released his first album at the beginning of this year.

On January 10, 2009, Wu Gao released his first personal music album "Custom". He almost single-handedly took over all the songwriting and most of the behind-the-scenes work for the album.

The quality of the songs is also good, and many of them are familiar songs, such as "On the Qingming Rain", "Why Not", "Chengfu", etc.

However, Wu Gao still underestimated the reality.

It is not an exception in the entertainment industry that the wine is not afraid of the dark alleys, but it is also rare. The vast majority of popular and popular word-of-mouth hits are also inseparable from publicity and marketing.

At that time, Cao Xuan had a lot of classic songs, and he also used the back door of the radio station at the beginning, riding on the popularity of Ren Xianqi, and became slightly famous. Later, he joined forces with Warner and bundled "Nan Ren Bei Cao" to successfully become popular.

Xiao Zhou also experienced a lot of twists and turns back then. With the help of the company behind him, and the Taiwanese media's desire to promote newcomers to the top in those years, he seized the opportunity.

Even so, it took Jay Chou two or three albums to truly become a big hit.

Therefore, if you want to rise to the top, even if you are strong, you have to look at opportunities, luck and background.

Although the first album of Yuanshikong Wugao has good playback data on the website, it lacks promotion and publicity. There is no trace of mainstream media at all. The Internet is basically only about small circles and fan groups.

It was only after the second album that I really started to make some progress. I got some honors and exposure, and then I signed a contract with Haidie, and I really became one of the QQ Big Three that competes with many popular singers.

Now that QQ Star has been restructured, Wu Gao has performed well due to its accumulated popularity and won the weekly championship, automatically gaining a certain amount of exposure and income.

But these were far from what Wu Gao expected, and he also knew that his previous ideas were a bit naive.

At this time, many record companies took a fancy to his potential and talent and invited him to sign a contract, but Wu Gao still chose Fanxing.

In addition to the fact that Fanxing's resources are top-notch in the industry and Fanxing has a good reputation, artists rarely come into contact with nonsense.

The environment and treatment are also relaxed. People like Wu Gao who don't want to show off will be respected by the company and will not be forced to work. There are no restrictions on music creation. As long as it is not too outrageous, there is basically no problem.

These conditions are something that many record companies cannot grant. Even if some record companies agree to these conditions, their credibility is obviously not as reliable as Fanxing's.

Wu Gao made a comparison and decided to sign a contract with Fanxing. Less than a month after joining the company, he started preparing for his second album.

Lin Wu is Wu Gao's manager. Because Wu Gao is different from ordinary newcomers and is relatively resistant to the entertainment industry, the initial run-in between the two was not smooth.

It wasn't until I came to Baihua Recording Studio today that I suppressed a wave of Wu Gao's "arrogance".

Lin Wu's happiness lasted until the sound engineer came in. Wu Gao immediately discussed the equipment and related recording details with him. After several conversations, the sound engineer realized that he had met an expert, and the discussion became more serious.

The two of them talked passionately, but Lin Wu was confused when he heard it. Although he also brought two singers, he only knew some common sense, and he would be blind if he went into the topic deeply.

Seeing that he couldn't get in, he simply said hello and lay on the sofa to catch up on his sleep.

I was thinking about bringing Wu Gao here for a few more days. Once he is familiar with it and the album production is on track, I will find an assistant for him and then leave him to do other work.

Lin Wu slept from morning to almost 12 noon, and he didn't wake up by himself, but was shaken awake by someone.

At this time, he thought Wu Gao was telling him to eat, so he wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and asked confusedly: "What do you want to eat? I'll go out and buy it."

"That's hard work."

"You're welcome, the two of us..."

Lin Wu suddenly felt that the voice was not right. He blinked and his hazy eyes came to his senses. When he saw the appearance of the person in front of him, his scalp went numb.

"Old...boss?"

Cao Xuan, who was wearing a turtleneck sweater, looked away from Wu Gao in the recording studio and turned to look at Lin Wu.

"You can buy whatever you want to eat. Stop by the Caoshangfei Restaurant. It's located on the Houhai side. There's some lunch for us there. Just bring it over for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Chong next to him took out a wallet from his arms, pulled out a few extra hundred-dollar bills, and stuffed them into Lin Wu's hand with a smile.

"This is your meal money. Please go out and I'll call Cao Shangfei later. Just mention my name when you get there."

"Okay, Brother Chong."

Zhang Chong is now a senior administrative assistant in the administration department. His position is equivalent to the deputy director of the department. Not only is he a popular figure in front of his boss, he also has a substantial administrative level, which makes him a top executive in the stars.

If Lin Wu hadn't also run errands with Zhang Chong back then, he wouldn't be qualified to be called "Brother Chong".

Seeing this boy going out to buy food with a frown on his face, Zhang Chong couldn't help but shake his head.

"This guy is still so irritable now that he is an agent, but fortunately he is diligent and responsible. I heard that he is involved in everything the artist has to do, confusing right and wrong, and not even having enough rest time."

There are a total of 30 agents and executive agents in Fanxing Artist Management Department. Almost half of them have experience in Cao Xuan's team. They have been Zhang Chong's little brother and sister. When something happens, he also helps to put in good words. Two sentences.

However, Cao Xuan didn't take this matter to heart and just looked at Wu Gao who was recording the song.

In order to ensure absolute quietness and attention in the recording studio, in addition to leaving a window for the recording engineer for communication, there is another window where the outside can see inside, but the singer cannot see outside.

Otherwise, no matter how high-minded Wu Gao is, he will not come out to say hello when he sees the boss.

Unless the sound engineer took the time to tell him to come out for a drink of water and take a break as a reminder, he might not even know that Cao Xuan was gone.

Suddenly seeing Cao Xuan, a legend in the Chinese music scene, Wu Gao was a little confused. Then he stood up cautiously and said hello with a slight embarrassment.

Not only because Cao Xuan is his boss, but also because Cao Xuan is half of his idol.

In other words, people born after 1985 like Wu Gao basically grew up listening to Cao Xuange.

When Cao Xuan became popular in the late 1990s, they were only thirteen or fourteen years old and had just entered junior high school. When Cao Xuan reached his peak at the beginning of the century, they were also hanging out in junior high and high school and witnessed Cao Xuan's glory with their own eyes.

If we say that the youth memories of the post-80s generation in the music scene include not only Cao Xuan, but also the afterglow of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Then the youth of the post-90s generation is mixed with traces of new generation singers from Taiwan such as Xiao Zhou.

Those born after 1995 are still young and are not included in the list for the time being.

In their youthful memories of the music scene of those born after 1985, Cao Xuan's family was basically the dominant one, leaving little room for other singers.

Under such circumstances, regardless of the general public and fans, just speaking of these new generation singers born in the 85s and 90s, Cao Xuan's position in their hearts is definitely very special.

Even if not all of them are his fans, there are definitely many feelings similar to admiration and adoration.

Cao Xuan has seen several arrogant and arrogant new generation singers who are arrogant in front of others, but behave like cats in front of him. This is not only because of his status in the circle, but also because he has a strong fan filter for Cao Xuan. mirror.

Wu Gao is no exception. He has always been proud and aloof, but he behaves extremely well in front of Cao Xuan.

Cao Xuan praised him a few words, and even felt a little flattered. His cheeks were slightly red, but his eyes were bright and frightening. He straightened his back, raised his chest and raised his head.

Like a kindergarten kid who was just rewarded with a little red flower by the teacher...

Cao Xuan is also very interested in Wu Gao, not only because he has listened to a few of his songs, but mainly because this guy is really talented.

Not to mention Almighty, the songs have been copied by many people, and these songs can become popular in batches, so he was suddenly selected from Xu Song to Wu Gao, then from Wu Gao to Shi Min, and finally from Shi Min to Gather it into a mouthful...

There are many singers who have been copied by tailors, but it is indeed rare for someone to suffer such a misfortune like him.

As a veteran of wool harvesting, Cao Xuan deplores this phenomenon.

What's important in harvesting wool is sustainable development. Cast the net widely and catch more fish. You can't catch just one person. It's too unethical.

Therefore, even though they were both [Wool Raiders], Cao Xuan deeply despised these people.

he...tui!

Regarding Wu Gao's music matters, Cao Xuan never gave Wu Gao too much guidance or interference.

In his opinion, this guy is as talented as Xiao Zhou. Because Yuan Shikong debuted too late, coupled with the lack of support from the company behind him, as well as personal personality reasons, his fame and achievements are actually lower than many people expect.

Now with the help of Fanxing, although it is difficult to catch up with Xiao Zhou due to personal personality and current situation, as long as he plays steadily, he will definitely be stronger than the original time and space.

Cao Xuan mainly talked about being a human being. Although some rumors about Wu Gao and his fans on the Internet have long been debunked as false by many people, Cao Xuan still took the trouble to remind him to be cautious.

After all, it’s time for Yan Yan to be sentenced soon. It’s a lesson from the past and a guide for the future...

After dinner, Wu Gao continued to practice singing. Cao Xuan was also preparing to return to his recording studio, but before leaving, he chatted with Lin Wu about Wu Gao's positioning.

Although Wu Gao said that he did not want to get involved in too many exposure disputes in the entertainment industry, but in Vanity Fair, how could he really avoid it.

Even if the company can accept that Wu Gao will not go to some variety shows or be exposed frequently, the promotion of some albums and singles cannot be less. Fanxing is not doing charity, it must bring benefits to the company.

Even Wu Gao himself hopes that his music will spread more widely and have a greater impact.

There is no way to avoid the vanity fair. Even if Wu Gao himself does not appear, his name is still indispensable.

In fact, many of the singers signed by Fanxing in recent years have not really achieved their expected goals.

Except for one little queen, Gu Miaomiao, who has reached the top, Phoenix Legend has a strong momentum of development.

Although Zhang Jie has developed well in the past two years, he is more of a talented singer and his personal popularity is not very high.

After Xue Zhiqian became famous with "Serious Snow" in 2006, his subsequent new album received a mediocre response. Now his career is focused on variety shows, and the same is true for Wei Chen.

Qi Wei and Ma Tianyu both have one or two masterpieces, but their development is not going well. Recently, they even intend to transform and develop into film and television with the convenience of Fanxing.

Ping An, Yao Beina, Tan Weiwei, Xiao Jingqi, Zhang Liangying, Gao Jin and other powerful groups, it is difficult for others to be called popular.

Of course, this is normal. There are only a few celebrities in the entire Chinese music scene who are very popular.

Even popular singers disappear after a year or two at their peak. There are just a few evergreens. Fanxing and other singers have grown from amateurs through auditions to become the backbone of the first and second tier music circles. Not bad.

But there are no limits to human desires.

When I'm an amateur, I think it's good to be famous. When I'm a little popular, I start to want to be famous. After I become famous, I want to be famous forever.

If you can't be satisfied with the stars, then you'll have to go somewhere else. There are other reasons besides that.

Take Daolang, for example, who dominated the music scene in the past few years. Although their creative ability and passion have continued to decline in the past two years, their popularity is still there, and they are still the number one star singer under Cao Xuan.

However, due to some differences and Daolang's personal wishes, he himself intended to leave Fanxing and go out to develop.

If nothing else happens, Daolang will buy out the contract this year and officially leave Fanxing.

In addition to Daolang, Zhang Liangying and Tan Weiwei also intend to leave for career development. They are more seeking breakthroughs.

There was no way, Gu Miaomiao was holding down the situation, and the chance of getting ahead was too small. Now there are newcomers such as Qi Wei and Liu Xijun coming in one after another. From time to time actors like Liu Tianxian come to grab resources. Instead of doing this, it is better to leave and give it a try.

Cao Xuan did not stop him. Fanxing had always been strict with people and tolerated separation. As long as there were no disputes and the interests were clearly divided, Cao Xuan would give him farewells and blessings.

However, after Daolang left, the first brother of Fanxing Singers was free. Cao Xuan and the top management of Fanxing felt that Zhang Jie and the others were not enough to support the brand, so they planned to support another one.

Wu Gao is considered a seed player.

His image and temperament are not bad, and his personality and acting style have gimmicks and selling points. The key is his outstanding talent. The two generations of kings Cao Xuan and Xiao Zhou have made singer-songwriters more and more popular.

Although the performance of the first album is not outstanding, judging from the data of QQ Star, there is still potential.

Cao Xuan hinted that Lin Wu, the manager, should pay more attention to Wu Gao. There are pros and cons to the Internet singer card, but if you play it well, you can still get extra points.

In addition, if you have similar creative attributes, you can find someone to touch upon.

Xiao Zhou and the others have been marketing [Northern Cao and Southern Zhou] for several years, but Cao Xuan has been giving face and keeping silent. Now it’s time for them to return it.

The three QQ giants are still not quite up to par. When Wu Gao's career improves, he can definitely get a new version of [Southern Zhou and Northern Wu].

Although the moves are a bit old, they just work. In the past two years, Xiao Zhou's card has only had mediocre effects and caused ridicule. A different person might have unexpected effects...

————

ps: My sister is taking her high school entrance exam these days, and a good friend I haven’t seen in several years is going back to her hometown and planning to get together, so she might be a little busy.

Updates will not be discontinued, but if there are fewer updates on a certain day, don’t worry, I will make it up after I’m busy, so please forgive me.