This Star Only Wants More Money - Chapter 39

Translator: Diviner

“Not an agency?”

Xu Feng moved his phone a little further away, glanced at the number again, then sat down on the sofa and asked, “Oh, then who are you, and what do you want from me?”

To be honest, Xu Feng didn’t really want to work overtime so late. However, since the caller seemed polite, spending a couple of minutes on this wasn’t too much of a hassle, even if no agreement was reached in the end.

“I’m Zhao, the manager of Sheng Xinghui KTV,” the voice on the other end quickly replied. “Mr. Xu, we noticed your performance at the campus party tonight; very impressive for someone so young!”

Xu Feng didn’t bother asking questions like how they had gotten his phone number—once you had even a little bit of fame, having your personal information become public was almost unavoidable. The best he could do was diligently add people to his blacklist.

“It’s getting late, so let’s get straight to the point,” Xu Feng said without acknowledging the compliment. “You’re working overtime at this hour; I’m sure you’d like to rest soon as well?”

The person on the other end was taken aback, not expecting a young man fresh out of school to be so direct, not even leaving time for pleasantries.

As a KTV manager, Zhao was technically a leader and managed a lot of people, but he still had to handle many things himself—he couldn’t exactly send the “hostesses” to negotiate business deals for him. The fewer people he hired, the more money he saved on labor costs, and the more money he could pocket himself. KTV business wasn’t as lucrative as people thought, so he often had to work overtime himself.

‘What an impressive young man…’

Zhao thought to himself, feeling his first impression forming. He quickly adjusted to business mode, saying, “Here’s the thing: our KTV would like to buy the ‘exclusive channel’ rights to your new song from the campus party. We hope to negotiate a price that satisfies both parties.”

Xu Feng chuckled. “Just from that, I can tell you’re quite sincere. Go ahead; tell me how much you’re willing to offer.”

The other party clarified that they were only interested in buying the exclusive rights for KTV channels, as a promotional gimmick, and not attempting to use any legal loopholes to bind Xu Feng’s song entirely to their platform .

An exclusive license means that the song can only be heard on that platform, while a first release means the song is initially available on that platform but can later be distributed to others.

Many people assume that inexperienced newcomers without agents know nothing and use these kinds of tricks to acquire song rights at a low price.

Manager Zhao, feeling lucky he hadn’t tried anything sneaky, thought carefully before offering, “For a one-year exclusive buyout of the KTV channel rights, we can offer 120,000 yuan. How does that sound?”

For a KTV channel, this was a reasonable price, but…

“The duration is too long,” Xu Feng replied, declining the offer. “I can only offer a 3 to 6-month exclusive release window.”

Monetizing the song now would result in the system taking a 90% cut of the income. That cut would end after three months, so Xu Feng wanted to either sell the rights in three months or cash in now without affecting future sales.

Selling the song’s KTV rights was a good way to monetize—it wouldn’t bring in much money, but it wouldn’t greatly impact the later sale of rights either.

Manager Zhao was taken aback. “Only up to six months? That’s too short!”

Wouldn’t that be like begging for scraps?

Granted, some people would kill for this opportunity, but still… wasn’t the time frame too short?

“What you’re concerned about isn’t the time, is it?” Xu Feng took a sip of water. “What you care about is the reduced promotional cost brought by the song’s current popularity, as well as the summer vacation spending from students visiting your place. If you advertise that you have the exclusive release of my song, naturally more students will come to your place to sing it.

“When the summer is over, and the buzz dies down, how much meaning does holding onto the KTV channel rights still have? Spending more money to extend the rights’ operation period, while revenue decreases significantly, is less cost-effective. Isn’t it better to just earn the hype money for this one vacation?”

Xu Feng had reached a departmental manager position at a big company in his past life, so he could immediately see through the essence of these deals. Shortening the copyright period to three to six months would increase the cost-effectiveness for KTV, while allowing Xu Feng to sell the rights later without much impact—a mutually beneficial cooperation strategy.

Manager Zhao was stunned for a moment.

Wait, are all recent graduates this sharp? This kid just analyzed the cooperation strategy for me, a KTV manager… and he actually makes a lot of sense!

No wonder Xu Feng hadn’t found an agent—he was already pretty capable himself.

Indeed, a cost of 50,000 to earn 100,000 is better than spending 200,000 to earn 300,000. The former is more secure, with lower input and risk, and a higher return rate.

Manager Zhao was persuaded. “Alright, then let’s talk about the price… Oh, by the way, Xu Feng, have you heard about a new singing reality show coming up called ‘Singer’? They’ve invited many international artists to compete live with our local stars. Many viewers are hoping our stars will perform well and show off our talent. There are quite a few spots available—would you be interested?”

This variety show ranged from top-tier stars to amateurs who sang basic songs, all vying for a chance to perform against international artists, even superstars. In terms of popularity and value, it was far beyond the small-scale battles between amateurs on Tomorrow’s God of Song.

In Singer, even the mentors praised on Tomorrow’s God of Song might just be larger cannon fodder.

With Xu Feng’s talent, he could potentially put on a fantastic performance on stage. Manager Zhao’s KTV could also capitalize on the buzz to make more money.

“No thanks,” Xu Feng replied without a second thought. If no one commissioned him to go, why should he? “Let’s focus on the price. I’m more interested in that.”

Manager Zhao sounded a bit disappointed. “Alright then…”

…

Meanwhile, in a high-end apartment far from Xu Feng’s rental unit.

Cheng Luan carefully wiped down a newly purchased display cabinet several times, then gingerly opened the exquisite box Xu Feng had given her and took out the futuristic-looking object inside. She had no idea what it was.

It was really beautiful… but what’s with this power cable? It’s neither USB nor Type-C, and it doesn’t seem to fit any outlet.

Cheng Luan stared at the graphics card for a long time but couldn’t figure it out. She felt a bit embarrassed to ask Xu Feng directly, so she placed it in the cabinet, prominently displaying it in the most eye-catching spot.

“If Xu Feng knew I couldn’t use the gift he gave me… how embarrassing would that be? I just teased him about not recognizing my gift; I can’t let that boomerang back on me now.”

Cheng Zhao studied engineering; he might know how to handle this thing. It wouldn’t hurt to ask him when he got back.

“Hmm… The new show Singer is starting soon. I wonder if Xu Feng plans to participate; I’ll ask him in a while.”

About an hour later, she heard the door open.

“Sis, did you know we even set a place for Xu Feng at the celebration dinner, but he didn’t come? Nobody wanted to touch the food until he arrived!” Cheng Zhao mumbled as he walked in. “Xu Feng is really unique… If the contract didn’t say he had to attend the post-party interview, he really wouldn’t go.”

As he talked, Cheng Zhao noticed the top-tier graphics card prominently displayed in the cabinet.

Who could resist such a temptation? His eyes were glued to it immediately!

“Sis, who gave you this thing?”

Cheng Zhao knew his sister wasn’t a computer novice, but she usually used a lightweight laptop for office work and had no knowledge of performance-oriented equipment.

There was no way his sister bought this graphics card herself; it must have been a gift from someone.

If someone gave him such a graphics card, he couldn’t imagine how ecstatic he would be!

Wait, who could be so blind as to fancy Cheng Luan and send her a gift like this?

In Cheng Zhao’s eyes, his sister’s image had long been grossly distorted.

Liking Cheng Luan was one thing, but giving her such an expensive graphics card—this card shouldn’t be sitting in a display case like this!

What a waste!

Cheng Luan glanced up. “You know what this is? Show me how to use it; the cable connection is quite strange, and I can’t find the right outlet.”

Cheng Zhao dared not voice his complaints aloud. He cautiously introduced the graphics card while asking eagerly, “Sis, who gave you this card?”

Hearing this question, a sparkle flashed in Cheng Luan’s eyes, and her voice subconsciously rose with excitement. “Xu Feng.”

“???”

Xu Feng is this blind?!

“Uh… this…”

“Don’t overthink it.” Cheng Luan reined in her excitement, a slight smile on her lips. “I helped him manage his fan group; this was just an exclusive fan gift.”

“Oh, oh!” Cheng Zhao nodded, but his eyes kept drifting back to the sleek, exquisite graphics card, his throat dry. “Then… can I use your computer occasionally?”

Cheng Luan threw him a “you’re ridiculous” look and flatly refused, “No way.”