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As the first major pan-entertainment awards ceremony of 2016, the conclusion of the 16th Asian Chinese Music Awards was undoubtedly a big event in the entertainment world, especially within the pop music scene.
The next day, February 19, headlines across major entertainment newspapers and websites were dominated by coverage related to the awards ceremony. Various gossip and commentary articles flooded the media, bidding farewell to this authoritative music award that had lasted over a decade.
"After Ten Years of Effort, Zhang Linzhi Finally Wins Best Female Vagabond Singer at the Chinese Golden Melody Awards!"
"Chen Fei'er Narrowly Loses to Zhang Linzhi, Faces Difficult Career Transition!"
"An Era Ends: Tan Hong Exits the Pop Music Scene Alongside the Chinese Golden Melody Awards!"
"Lu Chen Lives Up to Expectations, Wins Best Newcomer Award!"
"From Best Newcomer to Best Composer: Musical Prodigy Lu Chen Shocks the Chinese Golden Melody Awards!"
…and so on.
That morning, Lu Xi deliberately cleared out the file cabinets in her office and solemnly placed the two Golden Skylark trophies inside, carefully cleaning the glass doors so the awards could be seen clearly.
This was Lu Chen's first time winning music-related awards, and both trophies were extremely prestigious.
As his sister, she wanted to preserve these honors forever as a keepsake.
She also uploaded a video clip of Lu Chen's interview with CCTV Music Channel (Channel 15) to the Lu Chen Workshop blog.
Like many celebrities, Lu Chen currently had three official accounts on Langchao Blog.
The first was Lu Chen FMX, registered by Lu Chen himself, boasting over 15 million followers. This was his personal celebrity blog, mainly featuring lifestyle and entertainment posts.
The second, registered two months ago, was the official Lu Chen Workshop account with over 3 million followers, mainly posting news related to Lu Chen, like announcements about new songs or endorsements.
The third was the Lu Chen fan support group, known as the Lu Family Army, with over 5 million followers.
The first two accounts were primarily managed by Lu Xi, especially the Lu Chen Workshop official account, where she personally handled daily content updates.
The fan group's management was more complex, involving several people including Li Mubai.
With Lu Chen's music and film projects emerging one after another, his fame and influence both online and offline continued to grow. In less than a year since debut, he already had the aura of a first-tier star.
Of course, the world is vast and complicated. No celebrity idol can be liked and admired by everyone. Just as there is light, there is darkness; where there are true fans, there will inevitably be haters. Where there are supporters, there are always critics.
One of China's largest portal websites, NetEase Entertainment Channel, ran a headline that day titled: "Chinese Golden Melody Awards Best Composer: Biggest Upset or Biggest Scandal?"
Among the four major Chinese portal sites, NetEase was known for its bold and provocative style, often stirring up sensitive controversies around hot topics to grab more traffic and attention.
Many headlines on domestic current affairs, entertainment gossip, military, and economy news were extremely eye-catching. Editors would frequently insert their own biases shamelessly, causing numerous scandals and jokes. Netizens often mockingly called it a "pig farm."
For example, in reporting the Asian Chinese Music Awards, NetEase Entertainment Channel was clearly unwilling to blend in with other media outlets. They singled out Lu Chen as a target, subtly attacking him in the article, with a sensational headline.
In the piece, the editor first highlighted the other three nominated composers for Best Composition, Dong Zhen, Zhang Keyi, and Tang Xiya, detailing their identities, qualifications, and works. In contrast, Lu Chen was only briefly mentioned.
For readers unaware of the facts, this made it seem like those three far outclassed Lu Chen, so how could Lu Chen have possibly won Best Composition? Surely there must have been backstage deals?
The article never told readers that in 2015, Lu Chen's works surpassed those three competitors in both quantity and quality. Nor did it clearly state that Lu Chen won for the song "I Love You, China," a widely popular revolutionary anthem in the Jiangnan and northern regions.
The article criticized CCTV and Lu Chen, and even stirred up some tension about Lu Chen's relationship with industry veterans. The NetEase headline made Lu Xi, who had just started browsing online news, almost furious enough to explode: "I'm going to sue them!"
Lu Chen laughed and said, "Don't bother with them, the more you react, the happier they get."
Dealing with media is a sophisticated art for stars. Some celebrities get utterly smeared by the press, while others receive endless affection and praise from all sides. Is this because of a vast difference in their character and morals?
The answer is a definite no. Entertainment agencies all have PR departments specifically tasked with media relations, and artist managers have similar responsibilities. It's a crucial part of their daily work.
When ordinary entertainment reporters come to interview, slipping a bribe is standard. For larger media outlets, providing some benefits is like paying protection fees. If a star suddenly gets involved in a scandal, handling crisis PR quickly is extremely important.
Lu Chen's rise was incredibly fast, and because of that, Lu Chen Workshop really lacked experience and network connections in this area. Even if they wanted to throw money around, they had to spend it wisely, otherwise, they'd just end up being taken advantage of as easy marks.
The NetEase Entertainment Channel's headline actually served as a wake-up call for them.
Of course, as Lu Chen said, there was no need to pay it any mind. The more you argue or defend yourself, the easier it is to get smeared. As for suing them, that was purely Lu Xi's angry talk.
Lu Chen wasn't actually upset. The fact that even NetEase was smearing him meant he had some real influence now.
The likes of random nobodies? NetEase wouldn't even waste space on them!
Lu Xi understood the real reason: "They're just jealous and retaliating. Before, our albums never came out on NetEase, and they never got to air our TV dramas."
NetEase owns NetEase Games, NetEase Music, NetEase Video, NetEase Live Streaming, NetEase YY, and more. When Lu Chen's 'My Old Classmate' album was released online, NetEase Music had proactively reached out. They also held the online premiere rights for 'Autumn in My Heart', and there had been contact with NetEase Video as well.
But Lu Chen chose the stronger platforms, WeChat Music and WeChat Video. If NetEase didn't harbor any grudges, that would be downright strange! Even Senchi, the brand Lu Chen endorsed, was running major ads on WeChat's portal.
If the 'My Old Classmate' album release was just a small fry, Autumn in My Heart was a real cash cow. This 20-episode TV drama had racked up over 3.5 billion views on WeChat Video, setting the highest average views per episode ever!
Just from video ads and new memberships, WeChat Video made a fortune, making countless peers green with envy, NetEase Video being definitely one of them.
So it was only natural for NetEase to throw shade at Lu Chen now.
Of course, media ethics like this were basically non-existent. If Lu Chen sold the online premiere rights for his new TV drama to NetEase Video, they'd immediately sing his praises.
Lu Xi pondered: "We really need to hire a professional media PR team."
As mentioned before, Lu Chen's rise was too fast, and Lu Chen Workshop simply couldn't keep up. The team was still just a handful of kittens. Lu Xi worked hard herself but couldn't cover everything.
Hiring more professionals was absolutely necessary, it was the only way to better support Lu Chen.
Lu Chen agreed: "Let's hire some people. Also, we need to move the Workshop."
It wasn't just about adding staff. They had to expand the Workshop's scale. Lu Chen had already talked to Lu Xi about building a Recording Room, and she agreed.
The foundation determines the superstructure. With a strong team and their own solid base, they wouldn't be easily controlled by others.
The only question now was, where to open the new Workshop?
To avoid repeating past mistakes and to accommodate the Recording Room, the new Workshop needed a large space with room and potential for future growth.
But finding such a space in the capital, where land was extremely scarce and expensive, was tough. Unless they moved way out to the suburbs.
Lu Xi said, "I've already asked Director Lin to help check if there's any space in the Art Park area."
The New Era Art Center was established in 2001, located between Haidian Park and Capital City University. Covering nearly 700 acres, it was one of the capital's key art and cultural development projects.
After over a decade of development, the Art Park gathered many of the country's well-known film, music, literature, and fine arts production companies. There were thousands of companies and workshops there, making it a true cultural hub.
For Lu Chen Workshop, there was no better place to grow. But the problem was, the place was so good that there were hardly any vacant spots, unless another company moved out.
That meant luck and connections mattered. Even if a spot opened, there was no guarantee they'd get it.
Lu Chen thought about it and felt a headache coming on. He'd promised Wang Hui to get the Recording Room up as soon as possible.
"I'll ask Fei'er sis. She probably knows people in the business."
Compared to Flying Stone Records' Lin Zhijie, Chen Fei'er's connections in the showbiz community were undoubtedly stronger.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, someone lightly knocked on the manager's office door.
Lu Xi and Lu Chen turned their heads simultaneously. Lu Xi's assistant, Chen Xin, appeared at the door and said, "Sister Lu Xi, Brother Lu Chen, Miss Chen Fei'er is here."
Chen Fei'er?
Lu Xi and Lu Chen exchanged looks, talk about speaking of the devil!
Lu Chen jumped up immediately: "I'll go greet her."
Chen Fei'er had called Lu Chen earlier, knowing he was at the Workshop, but nobody expected her to come directly over.
She must have something important.
(End of chapter)