Chapter 422
If water came in, then it was time to row.
In any field of making money, this was a method that was guaranteed to work. Moreover, this was especially true in the entertainment industry.
Even if the same ideas were reused again, didn't it depend on whether they were popular or not depending on current trends?
But now that the tide was pouring in with the new entertainment show, why was the company asking to postpone the album that was planned and released by the affiliated label?
"Current trend? That's important. However, TeSTAR is now past the point where it desperately needs to be a hot topic. You're top idols in name and reality."
"…"
"Well, come to think of it, I heard that the former director got into a lot of trouble by forcing TeSTAR to produce their debut album on their own in just one month."
"Yes."
It was a big hit, bastard.
I looked at the company director who was speaking with a puzzled look on his face.
It was quite interesting that instead of the general manager who once screwed up the label when it became independent, someone else suddenly showed up and started talking.
"At that time, it was important to debut quickly and have a broadcasting impact on time, but now TeSTAR is a brand in itself."
Yes.
"So, I was thinking that it would be a more TeSTAR-level move to pay more attention to each album quality and raise the details."
The director made an intelligent recommendation, and Kim Raebin immediately raised his hand.
"But the current plan is not so time-sensitive compared to the past."
The director shrugged his shoulders at the workaholic's remark that he had even produced a movie OST draft in just a week.
He must have guessed It already.
"But if we have enough time, we can find new additional points and develop them again, right?"
"Hmm… That's right!"
Kim Raebin was immediately convinced by the reasonable remark. On a rare occasion, Cha Eugene almost looked at Kim Raebin with shocked eyes.
Anyway, having overcome one obstacle, the director continued speaking in a much more calm and polite tone.
"Of course, if TeSTAR says they will release an album now, the company will do our best to support it."
Is that so?
"It's just an opinion that this is the more appropriate route."
"Is that your decision?"
"Well, more than that, it's actually a story that came out after discussion at a company executive meeting. The CEO himself even agreed to it."
Oh. He blamed someone else.
Since the general manager had experienced being treated poorly when TeSTAR became an independent label, he didn't turn his tongue at us like he would at his subordinates.
He just came off like a formal and polite business partner. Like a hand to persuade investors.
"After all, TeSTAR is the most iconic and highest-selling artist of this company. This is something we have thought a lot about."
"Thank you."
"There's no need for thanking. Of course, it's the agency's job in the first place."
After even joking about it, he seriously presented a new plan.
"Of course, I am not saying that we should abandon the popularity of the entertainment show. There has been a proposal to broadcast the live performance of TeSTAR's concert tour over the airwaves, so we're thinking of going ahead with this."
The director explained the plan quite convincingly.
The members listened to it seriously.
The atmosphere wasn't bad.
"First of all, thank you very much for your kind words. Is it okay if we can talk amongst ourselves first?"
"Of course."
At Ryu Chungwoo's words, the director obediently let us go. As if to make a decision with ease.
So, after returning to the dorm, the atmosphere became like this.
"… I didn't think it was something we were going to talk about in such a hurry."
"I am grateful that they are seriously considering the quality of the newly released album, but I think we have been working with sufficient support recently!"
The one who muttered suspiciously and the one who accepted it with good intentions. And both of them were wondering why a higher-up spoke to us.
However, the guy who understood the situation was smiling bitterly next to me.
"Ah~ They want the process to go even more slowly."
"What?"
"The album. It's an investment to release it."
Yes, this was the crux of the agency's story.
-You won't release the album.
Bae Sejin raised his eyebrows at Keun Sejin's calm words.
"… This company has a lot of money."
"Well, it doesn't have to be money… Good personnel and promotional ideas are limited, right? That's it~"
The moment when the question mark on Bae Sejin's face turned into an exclamation point…
I came to a conclusion.
"It is more profitable for the company to just make us go on tour and invest everything else in raising the weight of groups that have a lot of contract time remaining."
"… … !!"
His eyes were going to pop out.
No, looking at it again, not only Bae Sejin but also Kim Raebin and Seon Ahyeon had similar facial expressions.
"Then, if we continue like this…"
"That's right."
This was the reality of first-tier idols whose contract period was not far away.
"From now on, they will start to focus on maximizing the consumption power of our fans rather than a new album."
"… !"
"The album… Will they give us one after seeing the nuances of renewing the contract early next year?"
It was fortunate that there was no album contract in Japan. Otherwise, they would have only rolled it from that side.
Bae Sejin's face cooled down.
"… I don't understand, we set up a label… … If we renew our contracts, we'll stay, so why are they doing this? No, what if we renew our contract right away?"
That wouldn't work. There was a defect in the terms of the contract.
Basically, the one who bowed first was the one who suffered the loss.
Moreover, if the conditions were good, it was a problem. Keun Sejin shook his head and opened his mouth.
"Ah, when a contract is renewed, the ratio is usually adjusted so that the artist is paid more~ From the company's point of view… The return on investment will be lower!"
"… !!"
Yes. The better the singer's settlement, the more the company loses.
Moreover, there were more practical problems.
"Even if we exclude that, I think we'll still be behind in album investment."
"Why??"
I admitted it.
A painful reality.
"We are going to the military too."
"…"
Because VTIC was not something of the future.
Actually, we debuted at older ages than VTIC did. Still, I could rub it in for a few more years.
I waited for the person who had to go first to digest the shock before continuing.
"And from the perspective of growing a company, investing in a rising group looks more attractive than a group that is already afloat."
"… Really?"
"Yes. Shareholders only like new businesses with good prospects. The superiors also like it because they feel competent."
This would be especially true for the board of directors whom the general manager was having a lot of trouble with now that they were suffering from business disease.
They even signed a contract with TeSTAR telling them to stop meddling with the company because they would make money, so the moment their juniors became more popular, TeSTAR would just become a cash cow.
In conclusion:
-From a business perspective, we now want to grow a new group with the money we raised from TeSTAR!
"Hooooo…"
"Oh my, hyung, take a deep breath."
Bae Sejin's face turned bright red, but he finally calmed down.
I should also tell him some good news.
"But, hyung, I think you can finally pursue acting in earnest."
Instead of an album, they would gradually diversify it into individual activities.
I raised both fists and cheered.
"Fighting."
"I've already done enough… … !"
Bae Sejin gloomily sank into the sofa, muttering "Psychopath" four times in a row. It looked like the acting experience he had in the fake world of the system had not gone anywhere.
Ryu Chungwoo laughed as if he was a little embarrassed and made a suggestion.
"But he said they wouldn't stop us from releasing an album, so shall we prepare it?"
"Even though they're not stopping it and it's as if they'll give an album to us, the schedule will continue to be pushed back and postponed due to sudden circumstances at the company."
"…"
Even if the affiliated label planned independently, the company ultimately set the release schedule.
'There are many excuses.'
Maybe it overlapped with another artist in the company, or the timing was bad…
Then, if even we were lucky and managed to get one before the contract was renewed, the promotions would still be on the inferior side… Wasn't that the typical route?
"Well, actually, I expected this far."
I had been anticipating this development since I heard that those bastards wanted to postpone the album.
But there was one more thing.
"This means they won't say anything until the end."
I chuckled. Kim Raebin, who had a blank expression with his mouth open as if he was denying the world, asked in disbelief.
"Is… there something else we can do?"
"Yes."
I brought my laptop from my room. A few people were chasing after me. There was no need for them to do this, so why?
Anyway, I loaded the file on the screen and opened it.
"This is our company, T1 Stars' plan for the fourth quarter of this year."
"No, where do you get something like this from, Moondaemoondae?"
"It was announced at the shareholders' meeting."
All I needed was the contact information of an employee with permission to access the company file.
Anyway.
"If we look at the monthly plan there… Yes, in October."
This was the exact section where we originally planned to release the album this time.
"… !!"
"This."
I nodded.
"It's Spacer."
[Mid-October – Spacer's 1st full-length album released / Target to increase overseas sales]
Yes. This was to prevent TeSTAR from taking over the existing Spacer album release plan.
This was not the end.
"Then how is this picture connected?"
I spoke, shaking my hand off the mouse.
"Do you remember earlier that instead of making a comeback with an album, they scheduled a performance to be broadcast over the airwaves?"
"Yes."
"It will definitely be different when it becomes a reality."
Well, it would be difficult to broadcast the entire concert considering copyright and VOD sales rates, so they would probably only do some of the performances.
… And besides that, they filled the free time with other groups instead.
For example, the agency's new male group.
Spacer.
"They will expand the broadcast of our performance into the second part of the agency's special feature, include them, and make a comeback with that buzz."
"… !!"
In a word, it was a tie-in. The start of a generational change in which fans expected to switch to Spacer during our hiatus.
At that moment, Bae Sejin came to his senses and shouted.
"Now, wait a minute, Park Moondae, you said last time that the company wouldn't do anything like a generational change yet…! Because we're renewing our contract!"
"Yes, I thought so, but it seems like they will."
"… …"
… Since we had established a good friendly relationship, I thought they wouldn't try something like this even if it was a waste of a goose that laid golden eggs.
It seemed like they were slowly losing ground and dissatisfaction was building up because we had made ourselves independent as a label so that no one could get involved.
'These bastards dare to use transfer tricks.'
And so blatantly.
"Oooh!"
"… Doesn't this go against the principle of good faith? I think we can argue, but how can we pressure or… …"
"Hmm. It seems difficult."
It seemed that Bae Sejin's options had expanded a lot after trying to get the CEO of an actor's agency to kneel down and face the consequences of his own actions.
But it was hard to cause a dispute with the company over something like this.
"In the first place, this isn't about fighting with our agency."
"… Then?"
"They're only releasing the album late. We got pushed down in the priority list."
In fact, it meant that no matter who looked at it, it was a natural flow for any agency that nurtured new talent. It wasn't that this agency was particularly vicious.
"… …"
Bae Sejin sat down on the sofa again with a depressed expression. Even those around me had on distorted smiles and commented one at a time.
"It's difficult."
"I know."
"… I didn't know we would have to worry like this even after going through such a supernatural experience."
"Even heroes who save the world have their own issues. We just have to win again!"
Cha Eugene shrugged.
It may be disillusioning to see that we had worked so hard to achieve success only to be taken advantage of, but wasn't that what capitalism was all about?
As expected, the atmosphere became a little better thanks to his neat remarks, befitting a guy from a country that was the headquarters of capitalism.
"Okay, once again… The numbers will come out."
"That's right, we have Moondae."
"… ?"
Anyone who saw me would think I was a goblin's bat.
(TN: Goblin's bat/도깨비방망이: A bat carried by a mythical Korean creature (usually a goblin or troll) that is believed to be able to grant someone's wish after striking the ground)
Of course, I didn't want to give up like this and wait to release a new album next year. Raising the album quality wasn't a bad thing, but… Wasn't that what those bastards wanted?
It was like they were slowly using up the fans we had and just sucking the money out of them.
'These bastards think they're the only ones paying money to make it happen.'
I was about to click my tongue before another voice was heard.
"Excuse me."
"Hmm?"
Seon Ahyeon raised his hand. And he spoke quite emphatically.
"Wouldn't it be okay if we did better than Spacer?"
"… !"
"Oh, oh."
"If… If we do better in live performances and show a great performance, the company might change their minds too. Because their plan wouldn't work… !"
It was quite an extreme statement since it came from Seon Ahyeon, but it was standard. This was also the method we had been using so far.
In a head-on fight, just take off the rank insignia, stick with it, and crush it.
But this time the case was a little different.
"Still, Spacer will benefit."
The reason was simple.
'Because they're not in the same weight class to begin with.'
It was natural that we did better. This was just a situation where we had to do overwhelmingly well.
Conversely, since they were in the same agency, they could receive the halo effect of being a 'direct junior of a group that is so good' and take care of other demands.
"Umm…"
"I-I see. I'm sorry…"
"Hey, it's nothing~ It's a cool and refreshing way."
"That's right! It's great!"
"Yes."
While Seon Ahyeon was receiving encouragement, Ryu Chungwoo asked the members directly.
"Then do you want to refuse to broadcast the live performance at all?"
"Hmm."
Surprisingly, there were quite a few people who had to think of more drastic measures since they were so worried.
But not everyone was like that.
"Wait a moment! Our thoughts are too focused on one side right now. Should we each think about it a little more and talk about it? We just need to keep preparing for the album~"
"Oh, that's right."
He did a good job cutting it off when he needed it.
When our eyes met, Keun Sejin shook his head as if he had no answer, but his words worked well anyway.
Because the meeting ended there.
"Let's get some rest."
"Yes."
Each member left with a look of deep thought…
"Hmm."
I sat there, clenched my chin, and made a phone call.
The cleanest method here without any other conflicts. Actually, there was something like that.
'It's about eliminating substitutes.'
That meant sending away Spacer.
A way to eliminate their options so that they had no choice but to invest only in TeSTAR.
-… …
"…"
-… Hy-hyung. Shall I use the wish ticket now? Should I use it!?
"No. Save it."
Spacer's Kwon Heeseung's long sigh of relief could be heard over the speaker.
I was calling to ask if this guy knew about the live performance of the concert, but he was quick-witted.
'… I owe this guy something.'
Now that I thought about it, it might be right to look at it more long-term.
In the future, this agency would pick up all groups that come out through survival programs on Tnet, so there were many investment options even if it wasn't Spacer.
'I need to approach it from a different direction.'
That was what I concluded.
And in the meantime, the agency began to show schedules that were more and more as expected.
"I heard they might be adding to the tour schedule?"
This was the first step.