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Since the turn of the new century, China's entertainment industry has grown rapidly, and the market cake has kept getting bigger.
Yet the position of original pop music was declining.
Back in the '80s and '90s, a moderately famous vagabond singer could make a comfortable living just by releasing albums on cassette and CD, and maybe doing a few appearances at events or concerts. They were definitely among the high-income group.
Some singers even relied on just one or two hit songs to sustain themselves for a decade or two.
However, with the market's development, more and more people entered the industry. A new generation of idol stars emerged constantly, the pace of artist turnover accelerated, and competition became fierce.
The rise of the internet accelerated the decline of traditional record sales, forcing singers to seek new paths. Influenced by Japanese and South Korean idol culture, domestic artists began walking the road of heavy marketing and packaging.
Singing well was no longer enough. They had to be handsome, beautiful, distinctive, and skilled at self-promotion. Many singers unwilling to fall into obscurity changed their image, desperately catering to market demands.
The result: original creativity was undervalued, the industry became rife with imitation and plagiarism, domestic pop music development stagnated, and the scene was reduced to a battleground for talent shows.
Many musicians lamented this trend and raised their voices in protest, but their words were insignificant in the grand scheme, like stones dropped into a lake, sending out ripples that faded into silence.
Lu Chen's rise in the pop music world was like a fresh breeze, carrying the aura of spring. At first, his influence was limited. Winning a talent show didn't prove much; it only made people notice a promising musical talent.
And "promising music talent" wasn't particularly rare.
But with the release of his debut album My Old Classmate, the industry suddenly realized that a single, well-crafted work could still earn honor, status, and profit.
His success greatly inspired domestic original music!
The simplest example: Lu Chen's songwriting fees. Now, he quoted 500,000 yuan per song, immediately raising the rates for top-tier songwriters and indirectly improving the treatment of original creators.
Others might have been criticized for doing the same, but Lu Chen proved his value through results, highlighting the value of originality.
Whether it was In Spring or Not Yet Lovers, he demonstrated that solid, high-quality works could create true stars.
And now with Chen Fei'er's new album Flower Woman, the impact was amplified.
From the lead track Flower Woman to Your Eyes, I Crossed the Ocean to See You, Hello Tomorrow, Meeting, six tracks, six uniquely styled love songs, Lu Chen showcased his talent again while elevating Chen Fei'er to new heights.
It was as if he possessed a pair of miraculous hands, able to turn stone into gold, transform decay into wonder.
Flower Woman was a love song album, but the styles were diverse, allowing listeners of different ages to find tracks that resonated with them and discover like-minded friends.
This approach was daring, especially for a transitional album, it was practically risky, but the exceptional quality turned the risk into a spectacular show of brilliance.
On the second and third days, Chen Fei'er's album continued climbing steadily on both WeChat Music and the crowdfunding platform. Growth rates slowed over time, but in a healthy, sustainable way.
Correspondingly, the album's reputation outside the industry continued to spread.
For professionals in the entertainment circle, this album revealed Chen Fei'er's transformation, Lu Chen's immense creative strength, and the impact on market dynamics.
For the vast fanbase, however, they didn't care about industry implications; they just wanted good music. And the music was more than good. Every composition and arrangement was top-notch, full of sincerity.
In just three days, the combined digital and physical (including package) sales of Flower Woman surpassed 700,000 copies, setting a new record for China's pop music scene in the past decade. Achieving Diamond Album status was now inevitable.
In this situation, Chen Fei'er herself couldn't sit still.
Before the album's release, she had a strong premonition that it would be successful. After all, she had poured so much effort and heart into it, and with Lu Chen's full support, there was no reason for it to fail.
But even though she hadn't anticipated just how successful it would be, she had greatly underestimated the power of her fans' support.
So Chen Fei'er had no choice but to give up enjoying sweet moments with Lu Chen and leave Capital City early to embark on a nationwide promotional tour.
The better the market response, the more promotion was needed. And the more timely the promotion, the more effective it would be. Miss this peak window, and any later attempts at hype would be far less efficient.
Lu Chen, meanwhile, couldn't afford to rest either. His top priority wasn't shooting the new drama; it was moving.
After more than a month of construction and renovation, the Lu Chen Workshop at the New Era Art Center was finally ready. On the second day after Chen Fei'er left the capital, Lu Chen moved in with Lu Xi.
The new workshop covered 1,000 square meters, carved out from the original Yu Jizhong Art Workshop. It had two floors and a prime location.
Inside the new workshop, Lu Chen built a brand-new recording room and purchased the most advanced equipment available, pushing the total relocation cost over 15 million yuan, drawing heavily from the workshop's funds.
But the results of this investment were obvious. From now on, the workshop could independently handle the entire music production process for a single song, composition, arranging, accompaniment, recording, and post-production, without needing to outsource anything, except for distribution.
In other words, from a music production standpoint, Lu Chen Workshop now had full autonomy. Beyond meeting their own needs, they could take on external projects, giving them capabilities surpassing many smaller music companies.
On the day of the move, numerous peers from the entertainment industry sent banners and floral tributes: Capital City TV, Haijin TV, Zhedong TV, Flying Stone Records, SPG, Crown Pictures, Qiande Brothers, Qingyu Media, as well as friends like Tan Hong, Liao Jia, Lin Zhijie, MSN, and more.
That evening, Lu Chen hosted a banquet at the Regent Grand Restaurant in Capital City, entertaining all the key players personally.
Without even realizing it, he had already built a substantial network within Capital City's entertainment circles.
And all of this was accomplished in less than a year since Lu Chen's official debut last year!
(End Of This Chapter)
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New Novels- 1. One Piece- Maxed Out Conqueror's Haki!
2. One Piece- Master Of Devil Fruits
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