RAAS ### Chapter 24: Seven Songs
### Chapter 24: Seven Songs
At first glance, 5% doesn’t seem like much. Li Qing invested 470,000 yuan, with a 5% share in Bao Yunyun's album. After deducting recording, production, and advertising costs, the album would need to sell 500,000 copies just for Li Qing to break even.
But if sales reached platinum status, which is one million copies, Li Qing's 470,000 yuan investment would double to 940,000 yuan. If it sold two million copies, it would be 1.88 million yuan. As long as the sales continued to rise, Li Qing's profits would far exceed the initial 470,000 yuan investment.
This is why Ma Xujing was adamantly opposed. His nickname wasn’t just for show—“Platinum Godfather”! Just these four words almost guaranteed sales. Every artist he had worked with had at least one platinum album.
If the profit sharing was 5%, it would definitely be a sure-win deal. This didn’t even include income from tapes, vinyl records, and other products. Adding those, the numbers would be astronomical. Li Qing could easily become a millionaire with this album alone.
However, with rampant piracy at the time, many top producers could only sell one platinum album. Achieving higher sales afterward was nearly impossible. Even the Platinum Godfather Ma Xujing couldn't guarantee that every album he produced would sell a million copies. But based on his track record, he was the most likely to launch a newcomer to platinum status.
Therefore, Ma Xujing firmly opposed the 5% figure. He had no factories, distribution channels, or promotional networks. Even basic recording studios and camera equipment had to be rented, costing at least millions. After splitting profits with other factories, distributors, and media promotions, and giving the artist their share, Ma Xujing estimated he could only get 20-30%. Plus, he bore almost all the upfront costs, making his burden the heaviest.
Li Qing only had to write a few songs to get 5%. No matter how good those songs were, Ma Xujing couldn't accept such a profit-sharing number.
After an hour or two of negotiations in the private room, during which the food had gone cold, both parties finally agreed on a mutually acceptable price. The songs would still be bought out for 70,000 yuan each, but on top of that, Li Qing would get a 3% share of sales from records, tapes, and other formats, including vinyl, CDs, and DVDs.
However, there was a condition: Li Qing had to supervise the entire album production for free and ensure every song met the quality standard of “Those Flowers” and “Sudden Self.”
Once Li Qing agreed, Ma Xujing quickly prepared the contract. After Li Qing and Han Han carefully reviewed all the terms and Li Qing signed, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief and felt rejuvenated.
“Pleasure doing business!” Li Qing shook hands with Ma Xujing.
Beside them, Bao Yunyun was whispering to Han Han, seemingly very curious about Han Han, Li Qing's personal assistant. Jiang Zhongnan, who witnessed his two friends sign the contract, felt happier than anyone else.
After dinner, Jiang Zhongnan dragged everyone to a city KTV to celebrate.
The next morning, Ma Xujing drove an SUV to Li Qing's home and took him to a studio called "Butterfly" in the outskirts of Beijing. It was a five-story office building, quite old, with ivy-covered walls.
The studio was on the fourth floor. They walked down a long corridor, passing several rooms, before opening a glass door. There, Bao Yunyun was standing by the window, practicing her voice, while a few others were chatting nearby. Around them were instruments like drums, pianos, bass guitars, and regular guitars. The walls were covered with posters of contemporary stars.
Seeing Li Qing and Ma Xujing enter, Bao Yunyun excitedly walked over. “Qingzi, you’re here.”
“Yes, I'm here,” Li Qing nodded, glancing around the room at the others.
These people seemed to be singers too. Like Bao Yunyun, they occasionally showed off their singing skills, earning applause from others. But Bao Yunyun seemed like an outsider, practicing alone.
Ma Xujing gave them a few instructions before stepping out to contact the recording studio manager.
“Did you bring the lyrics and music?” Bao Yunyun asked excitedly. When Li Qing nodded, she eagerly asked, “Did you bring the song you sang at KTV last night, ‘Zebra Zebra’?”
Li Qing smiled. Last night at KTV, Jiang Zhongnan and the others had a blast singing some rock songs of the era. Even Han Han was moved by the atmosphere and sang a sweet song. When it was Li Qing's turn, he turned off the KTV machine and, with Han Han holding the microphone, played his custom “Zebra” guitar and sang “Zebra Zebra.”
Through the microphone, the clear and pure guitar sound filled the room, and Li Qing’s voice slowly sang out “Zebra Zebra,” leaving the room silent except for his singing and guitar.
When Li Qing finished the final line, “I want to sell my house and wander the world,” Bao Yunyun was reminded of her years struggling in Beijing, her nose tingling with emotion.
She tearfully insisted that Li Qing include this song among the seven he was selling, for two reasons. First, the song was called “Zebra Zebra,” just like the guitar she had given Li Qing. Second, the song was genuinely touching. If she didn’t believe such high-quality songs couldn’t be made quickly, her first thought would be that Li Qing had written it specifically for her.
Ma Xujing, of course, had no objections, as the song was of high quality.
Coming back to the present, Li Qing took out several sheets of A4 paper from his backpack and handed them to Bao Yunyun. She carefully examined them, knowing these lyrics and music were worth 470,000 yuan, the price of a top-tier songwriter. Not to mention the 3% sales share!
Bao Yunyun’s signing bonus was only 100,000 yuan, being a newcomer. To earn millions, she would have to reach the level of a superstar like Leng Ling. Fortunately, Ma Xujing wasn’t purely a capitalist. Besides the 100,000 yuan signing bonus, she would get 8% royalties. If the album reached platinum status, her earnings could be in the millions.
Bao Yunyun cautiously flipped through the scores, besides the anticipated “Those Flowers” and “Zebra Zebra,” she saw “Girl Waving Wings,” “Listen to the Sea,” “Sunshine Always After the Rain,” “Meet in ‘98,” and “Rose in Iron.”
She grew more astonished. Aside from the two folk songs, the others were all popular styles of the current market! Each song, even just recalling them in her mind, seemed classic and catchy!
Previously thinking Li Qing only did rock and campus folk, Bao Yunyun was completely thrilled. She hadn’t expected Li Qing to have such a keen sense of the contemporary music scene. It was like these songs were crafted specifically to boost her album sales!
Imagining these songs of various styles, each one a potential hit, in her debut album, Bao Yunyun felt she could see the bright future ahead.
She had a strong feeling that she was on the verge of a breakthrough.