PS-Chapter 44 A Win-Win

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"Xu Bo." 

Dong Yu softly repeated the plain name, feeling a strange sensation in her heart.

Through Lu Chen's story, without realizing it, the image of a free-spirited, wandering vagabond singer was clearly outlined in her mind. 

In his 40s or 50s, still without a home, no savings, no family. His face was weathered and full of weariness, unshaven, wearing ragged clothes, holding a guitar worth less than 300 yuan, and singing in the wind: 

"If one day, I leave quietly, please leave me, this *In Spring*!"

All the doubts seemed to have answers now.

Sister Na sighed and said, "I really want to meet him, Little Lu. If there's ever a chance, bring him to the bar."

Lu Chen smiled, "I don't even know where he is now. I don't even have his phone number."

Qin Hanyang lamented, "What a pity!"

It truly was a pity! 

Dong Yu and Su Qingmei exchanged a glance, and the former decisively said, "Blue Lotus Flower for 200,000 yuan. We want all the rights, though the credit as a songwriter is still yours."

200,000 yuan for a song is an extremely high price, reaching the level of industry veterans. For a newcomer, it was truly incredible.

But Lu Chen's wisdom lay in that he offered a full copyright buyout. This meant that all future profits related to the song would have no connection to him once sold, and he wouldn't benefit from it at all.

A good song, especially a classic, is like a small gold mine. If properly exploited, it can generate a lot of wealth.

It can serve as the lead track on an album or be released as a single, used for ringtones, licensed online, and if lucky, be selected as a theme song for a film or TV show.

There's also potential for covers and remixes. A powerful entertainment company can extract maximum value from a song! 

Most importantly, a great song can elevate the influence of the vagabond singer performing it.

A song can make a star— and it still happens today!

Since Lu Chen was giving up all these future benefits, the price of 200,000 yuan became reasonable. Many industry veterans and famous songwriters often ask for a share of royalties and retain part of the copyright.

Lu Chen nodded and said, "That's exactly what I wanted."

Of course, Lu Chen understood the importance of copyrights, but for him at the moment, those future benefits were too distant. As a newcomer, it was unrealistic to expect a slice of the entertainment industry's pie.

The sharp-eyed woman in glasses sitting across from him wouldn't agree to a revenue-sharing deal.

So, getting a high price upfront was good enough. And through this deal, Lu Chen was making a name for himself in the showbiz community. Anyone wanting to buy a song from him in the future would have to think twice— don't even try offering three or five thousand yuan!

Even though Lu Chen had many good songs in his memory, he wasn't about to sell them cheaply. In the future, he might even demand revenue sharing!

Dong Yu acted swiftly. After finalizing the deal, she immediately called her company's lawyer to the scene, and they signed the formal contract right then and there.

Once the contract was signed, the post-tax amount of 200,000 Yuan was promptly transferred to Lu Chen's bank account.

Borrowing a laptop from them, Lu Chen logged into his Greater China Music Library account and transferred the copyright of Blue Lotus Flower to Qingyu Media via the online platform, completing the entire transaction.

Though the Greater China Music Library charged hefty fees, their services were excellent. Even though it was Lu Chen's first time transferring a copyright, it only took a few minutes to complete the process.

This earned him even more respect from Dong Yu and the others. Very few newcomers were willing to spend money to register their copyrights in the Greater China Music Library, as they couldn't be sure if their work would earn back the costs.

Lu Chen was bold and ambitious, yet also meticulous and thorough, thinking of everything.

Such a young man had unlimited potential!

"It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

Dong Yu stood up and extended her hand to Lu Chen. "If you have any good songs in the future, please consider Qingyu Media first!"

Lu Chen shook her hand with a smile and said, "Pleasure doing business with you too. Qingyu Media is a company with strength and vision. I look forward to working with you again."

It didn't cost anything to say something nice, and Lu Chen was happy to build a good relationship.

In the entertainment industry, connections are crucial.

So, he pretended not to notice Su Qingmei rolling her eyes beside him.

Among those present, the happiest person was Gan Kai. With the addition of the song "Blue Lotus Flower", combined with two renowned pieces they had previously secured, producing and releasing an album no longer seemed like a distant dream.

For countless vagabond singers and bands struggling in Capital City, releasing an album is often a lifelong aspiration!

He stood up and expressed his goodwill toward Lu Chen as well.

The atmosphere at the table was harmonious. Chang Wei, holding a glass of champagne, smiled and said to Chen Jianhao, "Old Chen, we've finished our discussion. Now it's your turn. We've put in so much; how much are you planning to offer Little Lu for 'In Spring'?"

Originally, this matter was between Lu Chen and Chen Jianhao, and there was no need to discuss it here.

However, Chang Wei bore some resentment toward Chen Jianhao. If it weren't for Chen Jianhao openly supporting Lu Chen earlier and giving him enough confidence, Qingyu Media might have taken both songs for themselves, or at least wouldn't have had to pay such a high price for "Blue Lotus Flower."

Chang Wei had a vested interest in Qingyu Media.

So, Boss Chang wanted to pressure Chen Jianhao and deliberately forced him to name a price, ensuring it wouldn't be cheap!

Dong Yu, Su Qingmei, and the others were also curious.

Even Lu Chen was unsure how to respond.

He was someone who knew how to distinguish between gratitude and grievances. Selling "In Spring" to Daylily Bar was primarily out of appreciation for Chen Jianhao, who had given him a decent-paying job during his most difficult times.

Of course, it wasn't for free, and Chen Jianhao wouldn't take it for nothing. As for the price, it was entirely negotiable.

"In Spring" was a song Lu Chen only needed to perform once. Its somber tone didn't suit a young vagabond singer like him, even though he could channel Xu Bo's memories to deliver it well. Ultimately, it wasn't his true style.

Giving it to Chen Jianhao also benefited Qin Hanyang and the Wandering Band, taking care of various relationships.

But now that Chang Wei had brought it up directly, Lu Chen couldn't just say he wanted to sell it cheap. That would be like joining Chang Wei in mocking Chen Jianhao.

But how could someone like Chen Jianhao be fazed by such a small trick from Chang Wei?

He chuckled lightly and said, "Talking about money is too vulgar. I'm planning to offer nothing."

This subtle comeback left everyone momentarily stunned.

Nothing at all— was he going to take the song for free?

Chen Jianhao immediately revealed his plan: "Little Lu, didn't you once say you were interested in shares of Daylily Bar? Well, I'm willing to offer you 5% of Daylily in exchange for this song. How about it?"

5% of Daylily's shares!

This answer was completely unexpected, even for Lu Chen.

Lu Chen had joked about buying some of Daylily's shares from Chen Jianhao, but it was more a way of expressing his loyalty to the place. Chen Jianhao had taken him seriously and remembered it.

Chang Wei was momentarily dumbfounded, and then gave Chen Jianhao a thumbs-up. "Old Chen, well played!"

Among everyone present, he understood Chen Jianhao the best.

Daylily Bar, in terms of fixed asset value, was worth at most 1-2 Million Yuan because the property was rented, unlike "Blue Lotus Flower," which owned its land. 5% of the shares didn't seem like much.

However, Chen Jianhao had managed the bar for a long time, and its business had always been good, with a loyal customer base.

If Chen Jianhao were to sell the bar now, someone would eagerly offer 3-4 Million Yuan for it, and it would bring in hundreds of thousands in annual profit!

While 5% of the shares might not seem like a lot, it offered stable, long-term benefits.

Chen Jianhao wasn't offering this share just to buy "In Spring." He could easily afford 100,000 to 200,000 Yuan. His real intent was to keep Lu Chen around.

Keeping Lu Chen didn't mean making him perform at Daylily forever— that was unrealistic. But by leveraging Lu Chen's rising star status, Daylily Bar's fame could soar!

The greater Lu Chen's future success, the more Daylily and Chen Jianhao could benefit.

And all he had to offer was 5% of the shares.

It was a win-win deal!

Chen Jianhao smiled and turned to Dong Yu, asking, "Director Dong, could I borrow your lawyer to draft a contract?"

Dong Yu, of course, didn't refuse such a small request.

She was equally impressed by Chen Jianhao— who would've thought that behind his unassuming exterior lay such wisdom?

Sister Na laughed and said to Lu Chen, "Congratulations, Boss Little Lu!"

Lu Chen smiled wryly, feeling as though he had been pushed onto the stage without warning.

(End of chapter)