Chapter 372 Cooperation Agreement
"My solution is very simple. Since we can't get the artists' income, why not make up for it from other sources?"

"Artist merchandise?"

Lee Soo Man frowned and looked at Huang Xu, then directly told him his plan.

Huang Xu did not hide it and simply nodded and admitted it.

“Yes, it’s the artist’s peripherals.”

“But this doesn’t make much money, does it?”

Although his tone was still questioning, Lee Soo Man's expression was very certain.

As a veteran in the entertainment industry, how could he not know about the revenue-generating channel of celebrity peripherals?
Not only did he know about it, he was also one of the first people to start playing with it.

For example, Xiaoka, a very famous star in later generations, started playing it several years ago when Girls' Generation released their album.

He had also used various posters, film and television materials a long time ago.

But the final effect is just that. Although it can indeed increase some income, it cannot escape the situation of being better than nothing.

To put it bluntly, only true fans and brainless fans will consume these things.

So now he was staring at Huang Xu intently, wanting to see what Huang Xu was keeping in suspense.

If you fail to express your true feelings, then don't blame him for not giving you face.

However, after seeing Lee Soo Man's expression, Huang Xu still did not panic, but poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then slowly explained.

"I know that you have tried various artist peripherals a long time ago, but the results should not be very good, right?"

"Well, the effect is average, and the income is also average."

Lee Soo Man did not deny it. He nodded and admitted it, then asked Huang Xu.

"Since you know about this, does that mean you have a different opinion?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have made you wait for me for a whole day."

Huang Xu nodded and began to explain to Lee Soo Man with full confidence.

"In fact, I have briefly understood your and your company's previous operations. You basically just printed some photo cards and posters and put them in albums for sale."

“If you really count these, they can only be considered as benefits you give out, not real artist merchandise.”

"And to put it bluntly, you guys are doing this to boost sales of physical albums, right?"

"Yes."

Lee Soo Man listened to Huang Xu's evaluation and did not object.

Since the new century, with the development of electronic devices and the Internet, various electronic music listening devices have basically destroyed the market for physical albums because of their portability and easy dissemination.

Although the sales of those electronic music seem to be higher than before, the income is completely incomparable to before.

So they made some posters and small cards, and even some other materials and put them in the album package to stimulate sales.

So what are the surroundings that Huang Xu mentioned?

What's the difference compared to these?

Huang Xu looked at Lee Soo Man's puzzled expression, and the smile on his face became very bright.

Although he was not an insider in his previous life, the development of self-media has allowed him, an outsider, to learn a lot of things that he didn't know before.

It may even be said that he is the person in the world who knows the most about celebrities and fans.

Even a veteran in the Korean entertainment industry like Lee Soo-man has to wait patiently for his secrets to be revealed.

So Huang Xu did not hesitate any longer and started telling Lee Soo Man the story.

"Uncle, those are indeed artist peripherals, but you haven't developed them specifically for this purpose. You're just using them as a tool to stimulate sales."

"For example, the small cards you print, in addition to printing some standard cards, you can also print a lot of exclusive cards, or collection cards, even classic cards, hidden cards and the like."

"In addition to the normal album photos, you can also use some activity photos, concert photos, or their private photos, or even photo shoots."

"And when printing, we can make it more exquisite and have more varieties, and it would be best if we could form a set."

"In this case."

"you"

Lee Soo Man pointed at Huang Xu, his eyes full of shock.

He had never imagined that Huang Xu was so proficient in this matter, and he had never thought that a small card could be used in so many ways.

He can now imagine how much profit this little Ka will generate if he really operates according to Huang Xu's instructions.

As someone who has been in the entertainment industry for most of his life, from being an artist to now being the founder of a well-known Korean agency, he knows how crazy those fans are.

And one can also imagine what those people would do in order to get a complete set of small cards.

And this is just the small card item. I believe there are many other operations in Huang Xu’s mind.

Otherwise, he would not have left in such a hurry a few days ago and been busy outside for more than three days.

Huang Xu looked at Lee Soo Man's shocked and admiring eyes, and then added another sentence.

"When printing those small cards, some of the more valuable cards can be printed in smaller quantities, or even in single-digit quantities."

"You~~, isn't this a bit too much?"

"Is it too much?"

"I remember that many game manufacturers seemed to do this when making cards."

"As for the American sports card players, they have been doing this since the 1980s and 1990s. We are just following the trend."

"Yeah, they've been doing it for so many years, we're just following the trend."

Lee Soo Man nodded, his face full of regret.

He now regrets that he had already started printing celebrity cards, so why didn't he continue learning?

If this trick had been used earlier, the company's revenue would have increased to a higher level.

But it’s not too late now. After Huang Xu’s reminder, he now knows what to do next.

Then he poured Huang Xu another glass of water and said to him.

"You are young and you are more intelligent than old guys like me."

"So what's next?"

"Explain it to me once and for all."

"There are still many things to come. It would be troublesome to explain them all at once. I will report to you slowly when I have time later."

Huang Xu did not continue to answer Lee Soo Man's questions, but paused the topic, looked up at Lee Soo Man's eyes and said.

"So uncle, what do you think of my previous suggestion?"

"You?"

Lee Soo Man was stunned and paused for a while before he smiled and teased Huang Xu.

"Are you so worried about an old guy like me?"

"How could that be? I have always respected you." "Okay, I agree to your request. Let's set up a company together and put all the artists' contracts in China into this company, okay?"

"Then I wish the next cooperation goes smoothly."

"Happy cooperation!"

Lee Soo Man smiled and clinked glasses with Huang Xu, then spoke to him.

"Then I won't ask you how to do it specifically. When you think the time is right, you can explain it to this old man. Now it's time to move on to the next step."

"Which circle should we choose, which person should we choose?"

"Hehe, actually, I don't plan to choose any of these circles. Although these people hold a large part of the power, they also have a lot of connections."

“But they are not a good choice.”

"Oh?"

Lee Soo Man looked at Huang Xu with some surprise.

"You just made these circles sound so awesome. They basically control most of China's entertainment industry."

"If you don't choose them, is there anyone else to choose?"

"Of course. China is so big, how could it be completely controlled by those people?"

As Huang Xu spoke, he placed a few more packets of tea next to the teacup and sat down to demonstrate.

"If we talk about the entertainment industry, then it's basically their world, but outside of the entertainment industry, there are still many people and companies!"

"The first are the three Internet companies BAT."

"As the most popular and richest company at the moment, they are now aggressively entering the entertainment industry in an attempt to complete the layout of the entire industry."

"If we can join these three companies, we can naturally enter the Chinese market, and we don't have to worry about being boycotted. The resources are also quite abundant."

"The next is the Wanda system. After so many years of development, they now own the most large screens in China and have a lot of film resources."

“Then, it’s…”

"."

“Are there so many choices?”

Lee Soo Man looked at Huang Xu blankly. He didn't expect that after talking about so many regional circles, there would still be so many options to choose from.

"So which one should we choose?"

“We don’t choose these.”

"Hmm~~?"

"why?"

"Because after joining them, we will lose our autonomy and can only follow their arrangements."

"Because these people are not professionals, they don't know a lot about the industry. And because they are quite domineering in the industry, they bring this kind of atmosphere here."

"Is that so?"

"So which one should we choose?"

"Of course it's this one."

Huang Xu said as he took out the documents he had prepared long ago from his backpack and handed them over.

"What is this? LeTV?"

"Website and TV?"

"Yes, his family was a coal boss, and later he entered the communications industry, and later started a video website, made his own TV, and then invested in various movies and TV series to build his own ecosystem."

"At present, although his LeTV is not the largest video website in China, it is one of the websites in China that can achieve a certain profit because it has live broadcasts of various sports events and a large number of film and television resources."

"Behind him, there are many deep-pocketed investors, and within the circle, there are..."

"It looks like there's nothing wrong with it, but I still need to investigate it thoroughly."

Although Huang Xu's words were very good, as the decision maker of the company, Lee Soo Man did not agree immediately. Instead, he put the information away and then said to Huang Xu.

"And you must have some special reasons for choosing them."

"Of course, what makes them different from other manufacturers is that they don't have as much money as some others, and in order to realize the pie they painted for investors, they are recruiting people at full speed to realize the layout of the ecosystem."

"If we join in now, it can be regarded as timely help, but it can also be regarded as timely rain."

"If we talk like this, the conditions will be much more relaxed, and many of our operations will become more convenient."

"That's right."

Lee Soo Man then showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, and then discussed with Huang Xu for a long time about the issues of establishing a company and joining those companies.

But this time we didn’t have a very deep conversation, we just talked about some general things.

After all, he also knew that Huang Xu would not reveal many details before everything was confirmed.

But even so, the two of them chatted for the whole morning, and only ended the day's negotiations when their stomachs began to send out hunger signals.

After the two had a simple lunch together, Huang Xu sent Lee Soo Man to the airport. Before they parted, Lee Soo Man extended an invitation to Huang Xu.

"Xiao Xu, when you return home next week, bring Sunny to our house for a get-together."

"The last time your aunt saw you, she kept nagging you to go home more often."

"And your two younger brothers just happened to be back from vacation this time, so you can meet them too."

"Yes, if I go back to Seoul, I will definitely come to disturb you."

After making the agreement, the two parted ways at the airport.

Huang Xu then turned around and returned to the car and called Kim Tae-woo.

"Taewoo, I just reached an agreement with Mr. Lee Soo Man. Next, our company and SM will set up a new agency in China to represent all artists' entertainment activities in China. You should prepare in advance and see if you can come up with a draft."

"By the way, you need to communicate with them about the specific conditions and listen to their ideas."

"Yes, I will come up with a draft as soon as possible."

"Okay, thank you for the hard work."

Huang Xu couldn't help but smile when he heard Kim Tae-woo's excited voice on the phone.

To be honest, for a makeshift group like them to be able to cooperate with SM is indeed an honor.

After all, they are one step ahead in terms of resources and professionalism.

Cooperating with them now proves that the company will get better and better, which is a happy thing for Kim Tae-woo.

But then Huang Xu remembered something and made arrangements to Kim Tae Woo.

"One more thing, how are the editing and post-production staff I asked you to recruit doing now?"

"We have already recorded several episodes of the program, and now we need to start editing and producing."

"After a while, when their TV show is aired, we should quickly upload the variety show to the internet and start promoting it."

(End of this chapter)