Jiang Juyou, the "boss" of Random Entertainment, always felt that she was operating in her own little bubble, far removed from the real entertainment industry. However, the real entertainment world had already started paying attention to them, especially with their recent big moves that were hard to ignore.
As the year-end approached, few people would choose to leave their jobs at this time, considering year-end bonuses and other benefits were yet to be received. However, many had already formed the intention to resign.
Random Entertainment had moved into a new building - eleven floors above ground and five underground. The scale of it made people clean their ears in disbelief, wondering if they had heard correctly.
It's worth noting that even the top entertainment companies in China only had three or four-story office buildings. Most rented a floor in an office building for their operations, with some even renting apartments in residential areas as office spaces.
Everyone thought Random Entertainment had reached its peak with its own concert venue and shopping mall, but they didn't expect the company to acquire a whole building as well.
The next step was obvious - they needed to recruit people. Even before Random Entertainment's internal referral news could spread, people were already inquiring about positions.
The inquiry caused a shockwave throughout the industry.
Random Entertainment wasn't just nurturing its own artists; it was also developing its own directors, scriptwriters, and behind-the-scenes staff. They weren't overlooking the variety show sector either. Space had already been prepared in the company building for two other departments, just waiting for people to move in.
This news left industry insiders distracted from their own work. Whenever people gathered, they started discussing Random Entertainment, probing each other's intentions.
But as mentioned before, with the year-end approaching, few would leave their current positions. However, the conditions offered were tempting enough to attract visitors.
Over the past few days, Jiang Juyou had met with several directors who had been working in the variety show field for over a decade. They had resigned months ago, aiming to start their own businesses. Their resumes were impressive enough to raise anyone's eyebrows, listing nationally renowned shows.
Such resumes were certainly qualified for Random Entertainment, but she wasn't signing everyone who came along.
"Random Entertainment's goal is to become an industry leader. We need to be the ones setting trends. After joining Random Entertainment, you may face demands for innovation and originality. What are your thoughts on this?" she asked every variety show director she met.
Almost every director expressed agreement with this. After the meetings, Jiang Juyou asked Cheng Yuan to make some inquiries within the industry, conducting a mini background check. In the end, out of more than a dozen directors, only two were signed. For the rest, Jiang Juyou and Cheng Yuan had a meal with each of them, drawing a conclusion to the matter.
Compared to the variety show department, the film and television department was quicker to set up. Cheng Yuan already had connections in this field, so quite a few people came on board. However, they still hadn't signed suitable directors and scriptwriters, the two core positions.
As the remaining positions at Random Entertainment dwindled, more and more people began to show interest.
Previously, Random Entertainment had seemed to build a wall around itself. Their staff had little interaction with the outside world, so people didn't know much about the company or its internal atmosphere.
But now it was different. Several bricks had been removed from the wall, creating an opening for communication.
Those who had recently joined became the "mouths" through which outsiders could gain information.
"They actually pay overtime based on hours worked. Oh, I mean 'we' now, it's our company."
"..."
"Our company doesn't allow work-related communication after hours. Hehe!"
"How is that possible? This is the entertainment industry!"
"We have a unified internal software. Work-related matters can only be discussed through this software. As long as the software shows you're in work mode, you'll get paid for overtime. After work hours, communication is forcibly prohibited because the internal software can only be accessed from company computers. Once off work, nobody knows anybody. Of course, some departments have exchanged personal contact information, but not ours."
"Wait, I'm writing my resignation letter right now."
"How do you communicate with clients?"
"There's a WeChat mini-program with a client portal."
"I checked, it says your hours are 10 AM to 6 PM, with a lunch break from 12 to 1:30 PM, weekends off, and asks to contact you during work hours... Jealousy is making me lose my appetite."
"We had free dumplings for lunch today."
"..."
"But we have our downsides too."
"Like what?"
"We don't have team-building activities. They just coldly hand out money. I was scared to death when I got money for team-building just three weeks after joining the company!"
"... I've written my resignation letter. Get ready to welcome me."
As Jiang Juyou was preparing for the third public performance, the company faced another wave of job applicants.
During the Friday morning meeting, after hearing the number of interviewees reported by HR, Jiang Juyou frowned with a headache, "I forgot to tell you not to schedule interviews for the next few days."
The HR manager paused, "Then..."
"It's my fault, I've been too busy these days. You guys go ahead today. I pulled an all-nighter last night, feeling a bit tired," Jiang Juyou said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
In fact, she had spent the whole night reading academic papers. She had sent her initial draft to her professor the day before, only to be scolded. The professor told her to go back and seriously review her "dog shit" writing, criticizing the chaotic structure and poorly chosen references.
The thesis wasn't actually that urgent, but Jiang Juyou would be increasingly busy after the New Year. She wanted to finish writing as much as possible while she still had time, otherwise, it would become a race against time later.
After discussing the interviews, they moved on to the highlight of the week.
"We didn't have the morning meeting on Monday, and I forgot to tell you later... The third public performance will be held tomorrow. Next month will be the final performance. I was thinking of arranging a tour for the kids before the final performance, I think I mentioned this to you before," Jiang Juyou said, looking at Ge Mu.
Ge Mu nodded, and Jiang Juyou continued, "We don't need to move the equipment, just send the people over. You'll need to go in advance for rehearsals and to check the equipment."
"We'll skip Beijing and Shanghai. Let's go with Shenzhen, Changsha, Chengdu, and Xi'an, one city per week."
After she finished, Ge Mu calculated, "Four weeks... When is the final performance scheduled?"
Liu Jiajia from the New Talent Department also asked, "What about the kids' practice?"
"They start their winter break in three weeks, right?"
"So soon? What date is the New Year this year?"
"Mid-February, not early."
After listening to the others' discussion, Jiang Juyou said, "There's plenty of time for practice during the winter break. Let me see..." She opened her phone to check the calendar and searched online for students' winter break schedules. "Let's schedule the final performance after the Spring Festival. It's perfect, the students will have a week to savor it after watching the final performance."
Liu Jiajia laughed at her words, "A week to curse you, you mean?"
Jiang Juyou laughed along, "It's fine, I'll cover my ears and run forward."
Their banter made everyone else in the meeting room laugh. After the laughter subsided, Ge Mu asked, "So that's four weeks for the tour, two weeks for practice. Should we start next weekend or the one after?"
Jiang Juyou checked the calendar again, "Let's start next week. The earlier we start, the earlier we finish. Yang Siyu, you guys choose the stage program list."
"Okay... Should we also choose the solo stage performances?"
"Yes, choose from those who haven't had a solo performance yet. Pick seven. I remember everyone has prepared a solo stage."
"OK."
After the morning meeting ended, Jiang Juyou returned to her office.
The main reason for conducting the tour was to boost the trainees' popularity once more before the final performance. The affection felt through a screen can never compare to seeing someone in person, and this fondness often intensifies after overcoming difficulties to see the person in real life.
Of course, it wasn't just for the trainees' benefit.
Ever since fans learned that Galaxy had venues in other places, they had repeatedly expressed their desire to have the next performance in a different city. Jiang Juyou had originally planned offline tour signing events, continuing to sell photo cards. But after some consideration, she changed the meet-and-greet into a tour performance, giving the fans more value for their money.
The reason she initially set the ticket prices for the performance so low was to allow fans to watch the show without financial burden, so they wouldn't need to save money for a year and a half to see their idols.
After the trainees' final performance, there would be a long pause. Although subsequent self-produced variety shows would help maintain popularity, the next in-person meeting might not be until the debut battle, which would take at least a year.
So, it was best to meet as often as possible, as some trainees might not even be seen in the subsequent debut battle.
Sitting at her desk, Jiang Juyou scrolled through her phone, checking the company's income for the month, mainly focusing on the sales figures from the pop-up store.
The entire event would officially end on Sunday, and missing those two days of profit wouldn't affect Jiang Juyou's overall assessment.
The pop-up store's momentum was quite strong in the first two weeks, reaching ten million in just three days. The growth afterwards was more steady, except for a few wealthy fans determined to collect complete sets of photo cards for their bias. Most people were content with whatever they got, selling duplicates. Orders from purchasing agents and scalpers had also decreased, as fans started trading among themselves.
Over these four weeks, total sales reached 1.68 million units, with a profit of 79 million. This was just from the photo cards alone, not including the various ranking votes and the increased business throughout the entire Galaxy building in Beijing where the event was held.
In addition to this, there were also the secured business deals.
The final performance would be livestreamed on the Galaxy World app. The marketing department had negotiated an exclusive title sponsorship for 4 million.
Compared to other variety shows with title sponsorships in the hundreds of millions, this seemed small. However, considering it was only for the last episode, the price was actually quite high. The sponsor had initially offered 80 million if they could re-edit the previous episodes to include embedded advertising, but Jiang Juyou ultimately refused.
At this point, the total profit from the pop-up store event, surrounding building revenue, performance ticket sales, and sponsor deposits added up to 85 million for the month.
Before starting this project, Jiang Juyou wouldn't have dared to imagine such figures, but she had actually achieved it.
It felt like a dream, very similar to when she first encountered the system. She kept wanting to confirm if it was real.
In this industry, making money was truly too easy.
-
"Title: Gossip Theory Discussion/SJYL Weekly Spotlight - Tour"
"I knew they'd stir something up after each performance! Sure enough, they're having a concert tour!"
"I think they've set an example for future talent shows. Usually groups tour after debuting, but they're touring before even forming a group."
"You can only praise their ability to make money."
Comments:
"Yay! An 89 yuan concert, here I come!"
"Did they mention if photo cards will be given out at this concert?"
"Haven't you bought enough cards already?"
"Why isn't there a Beijing show? Waaah."
"No Shanghai show either. Looks like the final performance will be in Shanghai."
"No need to guess, the announcement is out. The final show is in Shanghai. Tickets for all shows go on sale at 8 PM tonight, except for Shanghai, which goes on sale at 8 PM next Monday."
"Why are they all on sale at the same time?! This means I can only go to one show!"
"You all seem so happy about being milked for money."
"Are you unhappy because you don't have 89 yuan to see a concert?"
"So excited! If I manage to get a ticket, this might be my first concert ever."
"Can anyone recommend a reliable scalper?"
"There are no reliable scalpers. Galaxy has upgraded their system. You need to do face recognition to buy tickets, so scalpers can't buy them anymore."
"You need to do face recognition after choosing seats, again after payment, and once more when entering the venue. Scalpers have no way around this now, fans can only rely on their own speed."
"Great upgrade, fully support it!"
"Why can't other concerts use Galaxy for ticket sales? Really tired of scalpers."
"Extreme four-choice question: which one would you choose?"
Not only were fans surprised by the official announcement this morning, even the trainees only found out about their upcoming concert tour when Pei Luming told them last night. At first, they thought he was joking, until they saw the official message confirming it was true.
They had just finished their third public performance the day before yesterday. Yesterday, the company gave them a rare day off. Some went straight home, while others toured Beijing's attractions with their parents, only returning to the compound in the evening.
Pei Luming's parents were on business trips abroad and wouldn't return until before the New Year. With nothing to do, he heard the company had moved to a new building and decided to tour it. When he returned in the evening, he brought back plenty of hot news.
"I'm telling the truth! I heard from the staff that the company is going to recruit new trainees, seems like they're looking for female trainees," Pei Luming said while pulling snacks out of his pockets, which he had grabbed by the handful from the cafeteria at lunchtime.
Chen Wu casually took one, opened it and popped it in his mouth, but even eating couldn't stop him from talking, "...Were you eavesdropping?"
Pei Luming squinted at him and quietly pulled the snacks back, "It wasn't eavesdropping, they asked me!"
He then shared another piece of news, "I also heard from the staff that we're going to have a concert tour."
Everyone was about to believe him, but this statement from Pei Luming immediately made them change their minds.
Chen Wu immediately said, "See? I knew he was lying!"
"I'm not!"
Even Gao Xiayu lost interest in his words and was about to get up to wash up, "Go to bed early, you hear?" He said, patting the heads of the others.
"I'm not lying!" Pei Luming retorted angrily.
Chen Wu placated him half-heartedly, "Okay, okay, you're not lying."
Pei Luming's pride kicked in, "...Let's make a bet." He held out his pinky finger.
"Pinky fingers are for pinky promises!" Chen Wu argued back.
"This is a pinky promise. The loser has to buy the winner a skin they want!"
"Who wants to bet with you?"
"Ha! Are you scared?"
Pei Luming's childish behavior made the older boys quickly retreat from the battlefield to do something more meaningful.
Then the next morning, they saw the announcement saying they were going to have a concert tour. Not only were they having one, but it was going to be a full tour.
Before they could even put down their phones, there was a knock on the practice room door. It was one of the staff members.
She poked her head in and said, "Director Liu wants everyone to gather in the main practice room."
The trainees who were sitting on the floor immediately stood up, gathered their things and headed that way. Pei Luming was still saying, "Ha! Didn't I tell you it was a concert? I bet they're going to tell us what performances we'll be doing!"
He had the smug look of a villain who had just succeeded in his plot.
Pei Luming [arrogant]: Hahahahaha!
-
