Chapter 61 : Theme Song
Chapter 61 - Theme Song
These past few days had been quite busy.
The recording progress for I Love Remembering Lyrics was quite fast; while the second episode had just aired, preparations to record the sixth episode were already beginning.
Chen Ran, Lin Fan, and the others discussed the idea of inviting celebrities for special episodes. They certainly couldn't afford a star who was too expensive, nor would it be cost-effective.
What they intended to find were faded veteran singers whose songs still had decent popularity.
These veteran singers usually had a significant discography, making it entirely possible to do a special episode. Choosing their fans to be on the program for that kind of interaction would be quite interesting.
After careful deliberation, Chen Ran and the others felt it was highly feasible and began selecting singers.
Many singers would pop up for a few years, release two or three albums, and then quickly fade away; these were the targets Chen Ran and the others were picking. Their prices weren't high, but their songs had once been hits, making them both cheap and a good value.
After all, for a local station, they weren't competing on star power; they were just giving the audience a change of pace.
Once the final selection was determined and the plan was submitted, Director Liu looked it over carefully but didn't dare make the final decision. He could only take it up to Director Yang.
Yang Qijun finished reading the proposal and nodded slightly. Inviting a celebrity for one episode to increase the program's fun factor seemed like a good idea.
The proposal was written in great detail. For example, during the game segments, the celebrity could act as the lead singer, and their fans would have to continue the lyrics.
They also set up some small "surprises"—the regular lead singers would be looking at the lyrics while they sang, but the star wouldn't be given the lyrics when singing their own song.
The possibility of a star forgetting the words to their own song while a fan remembered them would create a great effect for the show.
"Very good. Let's try one episode according to this plan," Yang Qijun nodded directly.
Actually, the current momentum for I Love Remembering Lyrics was excellent. To play it safe, they could have maintained the status quo and waited for the ratings to start declining before making any attempts.
However, Yang Qijun was not one to settle for the status quo.
Now that the program’s results had reached this level, he would be happy to see it continue to surge upward by riding this momentum.
If it succeeded, the program’s revenue would be even higher; even if the effect was poor, they would only lose a bit of the budget.
Given the current momentum of I Love Remembering Lyrics, they could afford that small amount of money.
With the approval in hand, the program crew began preparations.
Lin Fan was in high spirits; the proposal had originally been his suggestion. Even though the outcome was different from his initial idea, it had still been adopted in some capacity.
During this time working on I Love Remembering Lyrics, he felt he had made great progress; his thinking was different than before, and he felt much more active.
Seeing him so happy, Chen Ran didn't hold back on his praise.
Just as the recording for the day had finished, Chen Ran received a phone call from Zhang Fanzhi.
"Haven't you been busy recording the song these past two days? How do you still have time to call me?" Chen Ran asked in surprise.
Zhang Fanzhi said, "My voice is tired. I'm resting."
"You need to pay more attention. Don't end up like me, with a throat so sore it hurts to sing."
"I'm a professional, thanks," Zhang Fanzhi said flatly.
Chen Ran was choked by her words. Is she saying I'm unprofessional? Although it was the truth, hearing it stated like that was a bit stinging.
Zhang Fanzhi added, "I'm looking for you because there's something to discuss."
"What is it?" Chen Ran asked.
"It's about the song's copyright," Zhang Fanzhi said succinctly.
"There's a TV drama that's going to be broadcast on a satellite channel. Sister Lin contacted the production side and intends to have this song as the theme song. It needs authorization from the songwriter and composer."
If it was already going to be broadcast on a satellite channel, the production must be finished. A last-minute change of the theme song?
He remembered Zhang Fanzhi saying the company wouldn't provide promotion, but she wasn't afraid to go head-to-head with Lin Hanyun because Tao Lin had resources. Was this what she meant?
Chen Ran asked curiously, "What TV drama is it?"
"Flying Against the Wind."
Chen Ran thought about it carefully and said honestly, "Never heard of it. I rarely pay attention to TV dramas."
Zhang Fanzhi didn't speak for a long time, likely speechless. If you don't pay attention, why even ask?
Chen Ran said, "I'll come over on Saturday. Will that be in time?"
With the recording of the sixth episode finished, they were now waiting for the contacted singers to arrive; the recording of the special episodes was expected to begin next week.
Signing an authorization contract wouldn't take much time. Once he finished his meeting in the morning, going over in the afternoon would be soon enough.
“It will be in time,” Zhang Fanzhi said.
After they finished talking, they chatted for a few more moments before hanging up.
Zhang Fanzhi held her phone, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly; she was in an excellent mood.
Tao Lin walked over, and seeing her so happy, asked, “You look so happy—is the song recording progress going well?”
Zhang Fanzhi’s smile receded slightly as she nodded and said, “It’s alright.”
Tao Lin asked again, “Did you call Chen Ran to ask?”
“I did; he’s coming on Saturday,” Zhang Fanzhi said.
Tao Lin looked at her suspiciously and asked, “You weren't smiling just now because Chen Ran is coming, were you?”
“No such thing.” Zhang Fanzhi remained perfectly calm.
……
“Flying Against the Wind...”
Chen Ran searched online and found that the heat for this TV drama seemed quite high.
It starred several very popular actors; in any case, a search on Weibo revealed a massive amount of discussion.
Furthermore, it had been purchased by Mango Satellite TV—the hottest station in the country—and would premiere next month.
“Tao Lin is quite something; even at a time like this, she can still get someone to change their theme song...”
Chen Ran muttered to himself, feeling a new sense of respect for Tao Lin.
The biggest fear for a good song is lack of promotion. Not to mention that Zhang Fanzhi’s fame wasn't top-tier; even for singers more famous than her, even if the song quality was excellent, it wouldn't necessarily become a hit without promotion.
The current heat for Flying Against the Wind was very high, and it was being broadcast on Mango Satellite TV. Chen Ran didn't know if the drama itself was good, but the song's popularity certainly wouldn't be lacking.
This move of securing a TV drama theme song was more effective than many other forms of publicity!
Zhang Fanzhi was lucky to have a manager like Tao Lin.
Otherwise, with her completely unrefined personality, she would have been sent packing back home long ago under a different manager.
Chen Ran also wanted to see what it would be like when Zhang Fanzhi and Lin Hanyun’s new songs clashed...
……
On Saturday, the ratings statistics were released.
I Love Remembering Lyrics continued to refresh records, already approaching 14%.
Although the growth rate had slowed significantly, it was still rising; barring any accidents, the next episode should be able to break that threshold.
Everyone expressed great satisfaction with this growth.
The market was what it was; the impact of the internet and smartphones on the television industry was quite significant, not to mention the various satellite channels competing for attention.
For a program to achieve such high ratings was already no easy feat.
At noon, Chen Ran left the TV station and headed straight for the airport.
He had booked his flight the night before, so rushing over now was just about right.
By the time he got off the plane, it was already afternoon.
It wasn't Chen Ran's first time in Huahai; the last time was to drop Chen Yao off for school, and now was the second.
It was an almost entirely unfamiliar city.
As he exited the airport, he felt a bit at a loss. He reached for his phone to call Zhang Fanzhi, but it rang a step ahead of him.
“Have you gotten off the plane?” Zhang Fanzhi asked.
Chen Ran had been in contact with her before coming, so she roughly knew the time he would land.
Chen Ran said, “Just got off and exited the airport. I was just about to call and ask where you are.”
Zhang Fanzhi said, “Just exited? Then wait a moment!”
Chen Ran was slightly puzzled; she wasn't even sure where she was herself?
Just as he was thinking this, a car pulled up beside him and honked its horn.
Chen Ran thought it was a driver looking for passengers and was about to wave his hand to say he didn't need one for now, but then he saw the rear window roll down.
There was a pair of exceptionally bright eyes, looking at him spiritedly.