Chapter 45

Liao Liao listened to her recording, and suddenly it became smooth.

For more than four consecutive days prior, she had failed to complete the recording of "Wildflowers," but after a brief confrontation with Huang Yueqin, she seemed to have suddenly found her groove. So, on that day, she completed the recordings of "Wildflowers," "Persistence," and "Cheers to Friends" in one go!

The next day, the recordings of "My Passionate Hometown" and "Unfinished Love" were completed!

On the morning of the third day, with the completion of the new song "Desert," written and composed by Cao Zhan, the recording phase of Liao Liao's first album was officially declared complete!

Now, her album had a total of eleven new songs, and with the inclusion of the previous single, the album had twelve songs.

A cassette tape's two sides can be used for recording for about 45 to 60 minutes, and if needed, it can be extended to a maximum of 75 minutes without affecting the reading speed and quality. A CD's theoretical storage time is also approximately 60 to 75 minutes.

Therefore, theoretically, an album can contain up to 17 to 20 songs.

However, in reality, albums rarely have more than 15 songs.

Firstly, this is to accommodate cassettes. Although in recent years, the sales share of CDs has been gradually increasing, cassettes are still the dominant format. Once a cassette's playback time exceeds 60 minutes, it will inevitably cause the tape to become overweight, which, although it has a negligible impact on sound quality, still has some effect.

Secondly, it is to consider production costs. After all, each additional song incurs many additional expenses, from lyrics, composition, and arrangement to the recording of accompaniments, the use of recording studios, and the increased costs due to the album's length when it reaches the production plant. All these increase costs.

Thirdly, it is to consider market sales. Once costs increase, the price must also rise. Although listeners may not care much about an extra one or two dollars for a favorite singer or song, if your album is even one dollar more expensive than others, it will affect consumers' perceptions and thus directly impact sales.

In market sales, the sales figures of hardcore fans and enthusiasts are always the foundation. For an album to sell well, a movie to sell well, or a book to sell well, the most important thing is to influence the peripheral floating population outside of hardcore fans and professionals!

Therefore, by convention, the number of songs on an album is usually between eight and twelve, with ten songs being the most common.

But after careful consideration for two days, Liao Liao finally convinced the producer, Zhao Meifeng: her new album would have twelve songs.

Because the five songs that had already been recorded, as well as the previous single, were definitely to be included. Each of the five songs written by Li Qian was a favorite of Liao Liao, and none could be omitted. As for Cao Zhan's "Desert," although its quality did not reach Cao Zhan's true level, it was still a collaborative effort, and it was written specifically for Liao Liao's voice. Although the song quality could only be considered above average, it was very suitable for Liao Liao to perform.

So... all retained!

However, retaining all twelve songs was not a problem, and a slightly higher price was also not a big issue, but which song would be the main track was a big problem!

According to Liao Liao's idea, she naturally wanted to make "My Passionate Hometown" the first main track and "Persistence" the second main track, or "Wildflowers" could also be considered. But this idea was directly rejected by Zhao Meifeng even before it reached General Manager Zheng!

In her words: "The second main track can be 'My Passionate Hometown,' but the first main track must be 'That Summer'!"

"That Summer" was a song that Liao Liao had already recorded, a city love song, but not in the style of Zhou Mo. It tells a warm story of a relationship, which Liao Liao and Zhao Meifeng both liked. In Zhao Meifeng's view, this song should help Liao Liao gain recognition and boost the album's sales!

Objectively speaking, if it weren't for the songs obtained from Jinan, using this song as the first main track would have been no problem. When there were only six songs, even Liao Liao herself had considered this. But now, with "Persistence," "Wildflowers," and "My Passionate Hometown," she was a bit reluctant.

But... Zhao Meifeng was the producer of this album! In the end, Liao Liao found it difficult to convince her and had to choose to compromise, agreeing to follow the company's previously established promotional plan.

Once the two main tracks were determined, a cover photo and several lyric page color inserts were selected from the hundreds of photos already taken, and the part of the album belonging to the producer and the singer was considered complete.

The next steps of pricing, production, and packaging were the company's responsibility, as were the pre-release promotions and charting, mainly handled by the company's publicity and distribution department. Liao Liao only needed to cooperate with their work, participating in some radio music programs and TV variety shows, and continuously singing, singing, singing, interviewing, interviewing, interviewing...

Of course, before the album was sent to the production workshop, there was one very important thing.

That was the internal listening session of the company.

All the singers, producers, and senior management of Changsheng Records, as well as lyricists, composers, arrangers, producers, and music critics who maintained good relations with the company, and those involved in the album's production, would receive advance notice. If they had the time and interest, they could come to Changsheng Records' listening room to enjoy the new album played on top-tier audio equipment, getting a taste of it.

Of course, if the singer was a big name, many people would attend the listening session, either to show support or out of genuine curiosity and anticipation. But if it was a new singer, it was clear that, apart from the company's internal personnel, there would be no unrelated people to show up.

Liao Liao was not a big name. Although the single she had previously released received good reviews, it was hard to say that it would make music critics eager to come to Changsheng Records for a listening session.

Considering those who were unavailable, uninterested, out of town, or indifferent... in the end, only about ten people attended her album's listening session.

The three executives led by General Manager Zheng, the company's three key figures: Art Director Du Xiaoming, Deputy Art Director Zhao Meifeng, and Deputy Art Director and Manager of the Artist Management Department Sima Jie, as well as two sound engineers, the manager and deputy manager of the publicity and distribution department, the deputy manager of the production department, Liao Liao, and Huang Wenjuan.

The professional listening room, which cost over a million to build, had excellent sound quality. However, just as a voice that sounds good in everyday life can easily reveal flaws in a recording studio, the more professional the audio equipment, the stronger its amplification ability: strengths are amplified, and weaknesses are also amplified.

From a vocal perspective, Liao Liao was very steady, almost flawless.

But the content of the album, the songs, made the manager and deputy manager of the publicity and distribution department whisper to each other.

After the more than 40-minute album finished playing, General Manager Zheng stood up and said, "Let's go to the meeting room next door for a meeting."

In the meeting room, General Manager Zheng tapped the table and said, "Everyone, speak up and share your thoughts."

The deputy manager of the production department was just there to make up the numbers; he only needed to take the production plan back after the meeting, so he didn't need to speak. The two sound engineers and Huang Wenjuan didn't have the qualifications to attend, so in fact, apart from Liao Liao, a total of eight people attended the meeting.

The deputy manager of the publicity and distribution department spoke first, saying, "The style of this album is relatively consistent, but if I'm not mistaken, there are actually three light rock songs... I don't understand music, but I understand the market, so... I suggest the company adopt a more conservative strategy for promotion and distribution, and try to chart first."

The manager of the publicity and distribution department nodded, "It's a bit risky. Many light rock songs have already flopped. However, I think this album still has its highlights. Liao Liao's voice is one, and the two main tracks are another. 'That Summer' as the first main track is great! For distribution, I agree with Old Zhang; a conservative approach is better."

This meeting was to set the tone before the release, and the publicity and distribution department naturally had a lot of influence. After they spoke, an executive directly nodded, "I agree. Let's start with a baseline? 200,000 cassettes, 20,000 CDs, and for vinyl... I remember Liao Liao's previous single sold well on vinyl, even though vinyl doesn't have many years left and is about to be phased out, but there are still audiophiles who like it. So, I suggest we release more vinyl... 3,000 copies? What do you think, General Manager Zheng?"

General Manager Zheng nodded and turned to look at Art Director Du Xiaoming, "Old Du, what do you think?"

Du Xiaoming habitually touched the braid on his back, regardless of how many people were in the meeting room, and directly took out a cigarette and lit it, saying, "It's average! I think... getting a gold record is no problem. Higher than that... I'm not as good at female singers as Meifeng! Liao Liao is her protégé, and this album is her work, so let's focus on her opinion!"

Hearing this, Zheng Changsheng's expression immediately turned a bit grim.

He was clearly not optimistic about this album!

If it were another female singer under the company, Zhao Meifeng would have countered at this point, but now, she felt that even if she did, she couldn't come up with a strong reason—she herself felt that this album was quite risky!

So, when General Manager Zheng's gaze turned to her, she thought for a moment and said, "It mainly depends on the two main tracks. I think this album has a certain level, but I can't predict the market response. However, the quality of this album is definitely solid!"

General Manager Zheng nodded and looked at Sima Jie.

Sima Jie hesitated for a moment and said, "Perhaps... the spring of light rock has come? Ha ha, I think Liao Liao's light rock songs are quite flavorful! We can't say for sure if the spring of light rock has come, but at least this album, I think, won't flop too much. A baseline of 500,000 copies, and a chance to aim for a platinum record, is not entirely hopeless!"

Zheng Changsheng nodded, then lowered his head to think for a moment, and looked up at Liao Liao, "Liao Liao, what do you think? Estimate the sales of this album."

Since entering the listening room, Liao Liao's face had shown no expression, and in the meeting room, she had been looking down the whole time, not knowing what she was thinking. Hearing General Manager Zheng call her, she looked up and said somewhat stiffly, "I will follow the arrangements of the leaders, and I will follow General Manager Zheng!"

Hearing this, Zheng Changsheng's eyes narrowed slightly. But he quickly smiled and thought for a moment, saying, "Alright, let's follow Old Zhang's suggestion and take a relatively conservative approach. The production side will follow the plan General Manager Liu mentioned. The album will be released in early August, and the specific promotion and distribution plan will be developed by the publicity and distribution department. We wish Liao Liao's first album, 'Liao Liao,' to be a big success! That's it, meeting adjourned!"

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