mijobooks Chapter 056 Album Producer
Chapter 056 Album Producer
The place Hongjie booked was a private restaurant specializing in authentic Huaiyang cuisine.
When Yang Du got out of the ride-hailing car, he saw Lin Xu, wearing a blue floral shirt, standing at the door from afar, peeking out from time to time.
"Teacher Yang, you've arrived."
The moment Lin Xu saw Yang Du, his eyes lit up, and he rushed over to greet him.
"Didn't we agree to meet in the private room?" Yang Du was a little surprised, thinking that this kid might have been standing at the door for half an hour, since he came to check it out.
"I just arrived too. Sister Hong and Sister Chengzi are inside. I'll show you the way."
As Lin Xu spoke, he naturally lagged behind by half a body length, subtly indicating the direction.
The two entered an elegant private room called Listening to the Rain, where Sister Hong and Tao Cheng were chatting.
Upon seeing Yang Du enter, both men stood up with smiles.
"Our big producer has finally graced us with his presence," Sister Hong greeted with a smile, her tone both familiar and teasing. "Please sit down, please sit down, we've been waiting for you."
Huaiyang cuisine emphasizes knife skills and cooking time, with dishes like braised crab meat lion's head and braised shredded tofu...
One after another, exquisite dishes were served, their aromas irresistible.
Sister Hong picked up her teacup and said sincerely, "Yang Du, there are no outsiders here today. The main reason for this meal is to thank you. Thank you for being willing to give such a wonderful song as 'Red Rose' to Lin Xu to sing."
"With 'Red Rose' set to officially launch on major music platforms at midnight the day after tomorrow, let's toast you with tea instead of wine."
Lin Xu quickly stood up, holding his teacup, his expression excited: "Teacher Yang, I will always remember your kindness and support. This cup is for you. From now on, I will never go against your wishes."
Yang Du picked up his teacup, smiled, and clinked it with theirs: "Sister Hong, you're being too polite. We're all family. If Lin Xu couldn't sing with feeling, I wouldn't have chosen him. Ultimately, it's because he has the talent."
After a few cups of tea, the atmosphere in the private room became even more harmonious.
While enjoying the exquisite Huaiyang cuisine, everyone chatted about gossip and interesting stories from within the industry.
Suddenly, Tao Cheng put down her chopsticks and casually dropped a bombshell: "Junior, are you free lately? Would you be interested in being the producer of my second album?"
Yang Du, who was enjoying the bamboo fungus and fish ball soup, almost choked and coughed repeatedly.
Lin Xu, who was standing nearby, quickly handed him a few tissues and patted his back.
Yang Du took the tissue, wiped his mouth, and looked at Tao Cheng with disbelief: "Senior, are you serious? Producer of a second album? Not a single, but the whole album?"
"Yes, it really is, more real than real gold." Tao Cheng blinked, looking completely innocent.
Upon hearing this, Yang Du began to think seriously.
Single producer and album producer may sound like they differ by only two words, but they are actually two completely different jobs.
A single is all about the punchline, the memorable moments, and the instant brilliance.
You can quickly grab listeners' attention and achieve popularity with a catchy melody, an emotionally charged chorus, or a stunning arrangement, and then the single will be a success.
There's a sense that this one trick is all you need to succeed at.
However, producing a complete studio album is a completely different story.
An album emphasizes systematicity and conceptualization.
A standard studio album typically contains ten songs.
These ten songs are definitely not just ten good singles that were simply cobbled together.
He needs a clear structure and a complete theme.
You can't expect a singer to belt out high notes in ten songs; that would cause auditory fatigue for the audience.
It's also not good if all ten songs are urban ballads, otherwise the whole album will feel dull and make the listener drowsy.
An excellent album needs catchy and moving lead singles to charge into battle and expand the market, delicate transitional tracks to soothe emotions and connect the beginning and end, and a few non-lead singles or experimental tracks that can showcase different characteristics of the singer's voice to enrich the album and elevate its style.
To put it simply, an excellent single has an intro, verses, chorus, bridge, and outro, with ups and downs, and the same principle applies to an album.
Listening to Tracks 1 through 10, the passages should be gentle and calm where they need to be told in a slow and peaceful way, and exciting and climaxing where they need to be passionate.
An album producer needs the ability to coordinate the overall situation, have a macro-level grasp of musical styles, and have a keen sense of the market.
This is why some producers in the music industry are almost always successful with their singles, achieving remarkable results and becoming veritable hit-making machines, but when it comes to producing albums, the final product is a mess, receiving a flood of negative reviews.
The two are completely different in difficulty.
Originally, according to Yang Du's self-planned career development path, he would continue to release singles, quickly accumulating fame, experience, and funds through a series of hit songs.
When the time is right, I will produce an EP containing three to five songs, also known as a mini-album, and only then will I take on the role of album producer.
But now, Tao Cheng has actually taken the initiative to invite him to be the producer of his second album.
Are you excited?
Of course I'm tempted!
This is a huge opportunity that saves you years of hard work.
No music producer doesn't want to be an album producer.
What's more, this is Tao Cheng's album.
What is Tao Cheng's net worth now?
With the huge success of "Flammable and Explosive" and the cancellation of Sun Qingning's "Summer Breeze", Tao Cheng can now be considered the leading female singer of the new generation and a leading figure among post-00s singers in the industry.
Once this album is completed, Yang Du's status in the industry will soar to new heights, and he will firmly establish himself.
Yang Du took a sip of tea to calm himself down, then asked, "Senior, does Director Fang know about this?"
For an album by a female singer of Tao Cheng's caliber, Fang Lei, as the director of both artist management and production, would definitely be personally involved.
Similarly, such a large project cannot be decided by Tao Cheng and Sister Hong over a private meal; it definitely requires layers of approval from Jinshi's senior management.
Upon hearing Yang Du's question, Sister Hong smiled and said, "The company is still discussing it internally. We've already held three high-level meetings about it. But... it's basically a done deal."
"You actually managed to get to the point where it's almost a done deal?" Yang Du was genuinely surprised. When did the higher-ups at Jinshi become so easy to talk to?
Tao Cheng explained, "Originally, at the first planning meeting, the number of people who agreed to let you be the producer of my second album was 50/50. However, after the completion of 'Red Rose,' by the third planning meeting, it had become 70/30."
"In the end, it was Director Fang who made the final decision, and we'll see how 'Red Rose' performs. But it was clear that after hearing the final product of 'Red Rose,' Director Fang had basically no objections."
At Kingstone, especially in the artists and production departments, getting Fang Lei on board means the job is more than half done.
"However—" Sister Hong added with a smile, "Director Fang said something at the meeting: 'We can trust Yang Du's abilities, but we can't trust his appetite, otherwise he'll get bitten by a pixiu sooner or later, haha.'"
Yang Du was speechless: "Director Fang is still thinking about that 10% cut from 'Red Rose'."
Hong Jie glared at Yang Du: "Is 10% only for 'Red Rose'? If you open this door, all your future single revenue sharing will probably be split in half. You've drained the company's coffers so much, and you don't even want people to feel a little bit of pain?"
"Alright, alright, let's get back to the point." Yang Du coughed lightly and said seriously, "Senior, I'm willing to take on the role of producer for the second album."