In fact, when "Red Rose" stormed to the top spot, the song's download count had already exceeded 1.2 million!
This wasn't just a splendid number; it also meant that Lin Yuan had officially obtained the qualification to advance as a senior composer.
To put it more bluntly:
It was time to renegotiate the profit-sharing contract for Xianyu!
Lin Yuan had previously signed a standard rookie contract, with the company taking away 80% of the profits. Now, the terms needed to be discussed with the company.
The contracts for senior composers in the company were not uniform.
As soon as Lin Yuan reached the set standard for senior composers, Old Zhou found him. Directly and straightforwardly, Old Zhou said, "You've reached the company's set standard for a senior composer. What are your thoughts on the new contract?"
What thoughts?
Lin Yuan looked at Old Zhou with confusion. Wasn't it obvious that the more money, the better?
Old Zhou surprisingly understood the meaning behind Lin Yuan's gaze. Without getting upset, he smiled kindly, "I'll personally negotiate the contract with the company for you."
Lin Yuan hesitated.
Could Old Zhou be trusted?
At this moment, there was a knock on the door, followed by a familiar figure walking in.
This person was Zhao Jue. After entering, she looked at Old Zhou and said, "Lin Yuan has reached the standard for a senior composer. I plan to negotiate a new contract with the company on his behalf."
Old Zhou glanced at Zhao Jue, "I can handle it."
Zhao Jue shook her head, "I can secure a better contract."
Old Zhou wasn't pleased, "Don't forget that Lin Yuan is part of our composition department. Do you think you have a bigger face, or do you think I might cheat Lin Yuan if I handle it?"
This little Zhao wasn't honest!
Lin Yuan is already under my wing, and now you're trying to snatch opportunities to show off?
Zhao Jue was also a bit unhappy, reminding Old Zhou, "I'm the one who signed Lin Yuan."
"I'll do it."
"I'll do it!"
"I, Zhou Ruiming, dare to challenge the higher-ups!"
"I'm well acquainted with the boss!"
...
Lin Yuan watched as the two were about to quarrel, so he could only say, "How about you both go together?"
"Together?"
Old Zhou and Zhao Jue looked at each other, suddenly understanding each other without words. They smiled and said, "Alright, we'll bring you good news."
Lin Yuan nodded.
Five minutes later.
Zhou Ruiming and Zhao Jue arrived at the finance department. Starlight Entertainment's finance department had a dedicated person in charge of the contract matters for senior composers.
"What wind brought you two here."
When the person in charge saw both Zhou Ruiming and Zhao Jue, he paused, then put on a warmly welcoming smile.
Both of them were influential figures in the company.
Zhou Ruiming said, "Get Xianyu a new contract."
The person in charge suddenly wore a bitter melon expression, "You're personally negotiating for Xianyu?"
Zhou Ruiming nodded.
The person in charge suddenly got a headache.
These contracts were usually negotiated between composers and the company. Only for some exceptionally high-potential composers would a supervisor personally step in to help negotiate for their subordinates.
This was the situation the person in charge feared the most!
These supervisors, in order to win the favor of these high-potential composers and fight for their interests, often had the fiercest attitude, completely standing on the side of the composer!
Meanwhile, the person in charge's task was to stand on the side of the company's interests and try to lower the price as much as possible.
"What about Chief Zhao?"
The person in charge looked at Zhao Jue.
Zhao Jue said, "The same as him."
The person in charge widened his eyes, "Who are you negotiating for?"
Zhao Jue replied, "Xianyu."
The person in charge opened his mouth, gestured twice in the air, but didn't say a word.
...
When Zhao Jue and Zhou Ruiming left, the person in charge was already slouched at the desk, startling his nearby subordinate, "What's happening?"
"I am the company's culprit."
The person in charge weakly spoke.
The subordinate suggested, "Explain it to the higher-ups?"
The person in charge glanced at the subordinate, "Do you think of something I wouldn't? As soon as the higher-ups heard it was Xianyu's contract, they directly told me to handle it myself."
"How much did you sign for?"
"Isn't that what you should be asking?"
The subordinate smiled awkwardly and silently withdrew.
The person in charge casually remarked, "Next time we talk about a contract, it might need the higher-ups to come negotiate personally."
The subordinate was surprised.
On the other side, Old Zhou and Zhao Jue had returned to the composition department. The two seemed quite imposing, directly slamming the new contract on the table, "This is your new contract."
"How is it split?"
Lin Yuan was somewhat expectant.
Zhao Jue smiled, "If you collaborate with a new singer in the future, you can directly get a 50% distribution right. You decide how much the singer gets, of course, they also have the right to refuse, but I think there's probably no new singer who would refuse the opportunity to collaborate with you."
Lin Yuan started doing the math:
According to this contract, he used to get only 15%, and now he could directly get 45%, a threefold increase. This meant that in the future, the monthly song distribution amount would be multiplied by three, making collaborating with the system to customize songs much more profitable.
"Additionally."
Old Zhou added, "If you collaborate with a top-tier singer, the company can give you 30% of the profits. The remaining 60% will be negotiated by the company with the singer and their agent, and it won't concern you."
Lin Yuan said, "..."
This was why he didn't like collaborating with top-tier artists.
Collaborating with a workhorse, he could get 45%, just share 5%, and it would be fine; collaborating with top-tier artists, he could only get 30%.
A difference of a whole 15%!
Don't underestimate this 15%, Lin Yuan made quite a bit of money from those songs before, all thanks to this 15% share.
"Lin Yuan."
Old Zhou smiled, "For you, who just became a senior composer, this contract is already the best at the moment. Other senior composers may have more outstanding works than you, but their contracts might not be better than yours."
"Yeah."
Zhao Jue nodded, "Once you create more outstanding works in the future, this contract can be improved further. By then, both Old Zhou and I can help you negotiate again."
"Thank you."
While speaking, Lin Yuan looked through the entire contract. After confirming there were no issues, he wrote "Xianyu" and his name in the signature column.
"By the way."
After signing, Lin Yuan suddenly became curious, "How is the profit split for those song dads with the company?"
"100%."
Zhao Jue smiled.
The singers don't get involved?
Before Lin Yuan could envy, Old Zhou added, "Some music dads can also participate in various types of profit-sharing beyond downloads."
Lin Yuan was shocked.
Song profits don't just come from download shares but also include things like singer appearances and even concerts, and the profit-sharing for these projects is definitely very exaggerated, even higher than download shares!
"Keep it up."
Old Zhou smiled, "When you truly reach that day, I can reveal something even more ruthless to you. The company has many aces, so the contracts for aces may not necessarily be that impressive, but for song dads, they live in another world."
Lin Yuan nodded.
Meanwhile, as Lin Yuan happily received the new contract, Chen Zhiyu was having a full fish feast with his agent. Suddenly, Chen Zhiyu opened his mouth wide, looking very uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?"
The agent asked with concern.
Chen Zhiyu exclaimed, "Thorns! There are thorns in this fish!"