Chapter 43

When Li Mu and Chen Wan arrived at Jinling University, it was already past five in the afternoon.

Inside the Jinling University gymnasium, the stage and sound equipment had been set up in the afternoon. The competition would start at eight in the evening and last until eleven, but due to the special nature of band performances, the participating bands began to gather at the gymnasium from four o'clock, first drawing lots to determine the performance order, and then tuning their instruments in reverse order of the draw.

It was said that more than fifty bands from the entire Southern Jiangsu Province had registered for the competition, and the preliminary rounds would be held over three days. Today was the first day of the preliminaries, with sixteen bands participating.

After the preliminaries, eight bands would be selected to participate in the provincial semi-finals, and only the champion of the semi-finals would qualify for the final in Beijing.

At this moment, Zhang Kexuan's "Jinling Noise" band had already completed the draw and tuning. They were the ninth band out of the sixteen participating today.

Seeing Li Mu, Zhang Kexuan, who had been nervously watching others tune their instruments, finally relaxed a bit.

Seeing his restless appearance, Li Mu couldn't help but tease, "It's just a third-rate competition. Look at you, so nervous, you're such a wimp."

Zhang Kexuan and the other three immediately exploded upon hearing this.

"What do you mean, a third-rate competition!"

"This is a nationwide band competition, okay!"

"This is a collaboration by multiple satellite channels, and the preliminaries will be broadcast on TV, okay!"

Seeing their angry faces, Li Mu shook his head repeatedly.

Even if it was a nationwide competition, it was impossible for it to have first-rate influence. The current TV stations lacked the courage and vision to produce large-scale talent shows on a national scale, whether it was mainland China or Hong Kong and Taiwan. They hadn't yet realized the vast potential of the talent show market. While singing and dancing competitions had existed before, none had truly gained widespread influence. Therefore, they organized this kind of multi-channel collaboration to share costs and make a small splash.

It seemed that the golden age of talent shows would have to wait for Hunan TV's "Super Girl" to emerge. Only then did shows like "Happy Boys" and "The Voice of China" become nationwide phenomena.

Li Mu couldn't help but scrutinize Zhang Kexuan and the others. To be honest, from their appearance, attire, to their band name, they were all standard failures, with no chance of becoming famous.

Rock music was a niche taste in China, and most rock bands focused more on form than music. For example, Zhang Kexuan and his band hadn't even found their suitable music style, but they exuded a strong rock vibe. Each of them wore leather jackets and pants, and the shortest hair was almost to the shoulders, while Zhang Kexuan's hair reached his chest. This look wasn't cool at all; in Beijing, perhaps a few female artsy youth might like it, but nationwide, it had no market.

Li Mu began to worry whether the song "Li Bai" would really be ruined by these long-haired guys, and then a few years later, be sung to fame by some contestant in a talent show, like Song Pang's "Miss Dong."

The reason Song Pang didn't make "Miss Dong" a hit was partly due to his company's lack of effort and partly because his image made it hard for him to become famous. No matter how much promotion, he could only make the song famous, not himself.

While the four were still indignant, Li Mu suddenly asked Zhang Kexuan, "Can you pull your long hair back so I can see your face?"

Li Mu's words made Chen Wan and the other four people freeze.

"What... what for?"

Zhang Kexuan felt a bit strange.

Li Mu said calmly, "To see if you have the potential to become famous."

Everyone looked at each other. If someone else had made such a request to Zhang Kexuan, he might have punched them, but since it came from Li Mu, he felt awkward but, after a moment's hesitation, reached up to pull all his hair back, revealing his entire face.

Li Mu nodded, "Clear and handsome, not bad."

Zhang Kexuan's face darkened, "What do you mean?"

Li Mu didn't answer his question but suddenly became interested and looked at Zhang Kexuan, asking with a smile, "Why do you play rock?"

"Because I like it!" Zhang Kexuan replied casually, "Rock is a spirit, it's awesome."

Li Mu asked again, "Then why do you have long hair?"

Ye Tianming said, "Damn, how do you say it in Beijing, it's the vibe!"

"What vibe?" Li Mu frowned, "The vibe of being a show-off?"

Ye Tianming got upset and was about to argue, but Li Mu asked, "What's your real purpose for participating in this competition?"

"To prove ourselves."

The four answered very straightforwardly, in unison.

Li Mu asked bluntly, "To prove yourselves by buying my songs?"

The four blushed.

Li Mu said, "If you want to become famous, just say it. I can be your behind-the-scenes promoter and write songs for you. As long as you listen to me, I have the confidence to make you the most famous band in the country."

"Really?"

Li Mu smiled slightly, "Becoming famous is very simple. It can be the song that becomes famous, or the person, or both."

The four looked at Li Mu as if he were a monster, unable to understand why he made fame sound so easy.

For Li Mu, a business idea was already taking shape in his mind.

The internet music industry was still in its infancy. In a couple of years, songs like "Rats Love Rice" would truly demonstrate the impact of the internet on music distribution. To achieve such widespread influence, understanding how to leverage the internet was key.

Li Mu was already preparing to develop the Eting music website. If he could find a way to make Zhang Kexuan and his band famous, it would greatly benefit Eting in the future. Once Eting grew and matured, it could, in turn, support them and push them to even greater heights.

The reason he asked Zhang Kexuan to reveal his face was to see if he had the potential for both the song and the person to become famous. It had to be said, the guy wasn't bad-looking, just hindered by his long hair.

The last time in their rehearsal room, Li Mu had already gotten a general idea of Zhang Kexuan's voice. He had a good foundation and, with proper guidance, could sing with feeling. In other words, his voice was up to par.

Now, his appearance was also up to par, and the songs were no problem. Knowing so many good songs from the future, he could easily pick out seven or eight widely popular songs and, combined with the internet, push anyone to fame.

Li Mu was thinking, while the four were stunned. Chen Wan broke the silence, "Li Mu, do you have a way to make my brother and his band famous?"

"Yes," Li Mu came back to his senses, "If you really want to become famous, you must listen to me in everything. There is no other way."

The four exchanged glances and nodded in unison, "Okay, we'll listen to you!"

Rich second-generation kids also have dreams. Zhang Kexuan and his band's dream was to become famous in music and be awesome, but they knew their skills were limited. However, Li Mu was different. His songwriting skills were not just awesome, they were incredibly awesome.

Seeing their unified attitude, Li Mu cleared his throat, "First, before the competition starts, go find the organizers and change the band's name."

"Huh?" The four were stunned.

"Why change the name? Our current name is pretty good, right?"

"Good my ass!" Li Mu sneered, "Jinling Noise? You're basically saying you're making noise. What else is there to say? Besides, do you want to be famous only in Jinling or nationwide?"

"Of course, nationwide..."

"Then change the name," Li Mu said firmly, "It must be changed. The name doesn't have many requirements, just simple and catchy."

"How can we think of a name right now..." Zhang Kexuan looked dejected. The name "Jinling Noise" had taken the four of them two weeks to come up with.

Li Mu waved his hand, "Just call it Simple Plan."

Although it wouldn't be long before a punk band called Simple Plan appeared abroad, and later a band called Escape Plan would form in China, the principle of "first come, first served" applied, and Li Mu was naturally not hesitant.

"Simple Plan..."

The four pondered the name. It was indeed simple, but it sounded catchy. After repeating it a few times, they all found it increasingly smooth and interesting.

Zhang Kexuan gritted his teeth, "Alright, let's call it Simple Plan. Xia Ji, go find the organizers and change our name now."

"But the competition is tonight, can it still be changed?"

"Of course, if not, just bribe them. It must be changed!"

He was increasingly convinced that "Jinling Noise" was a terrible name...

Xia Ji nodded and turned to leave.

Li Mu patted Zhang Kexuan, "Before the competition starts, go get your long hair cut."

"What the hell are you talking about!" Zhang Kexuan immediately jumped up, "Cut my hair? No way, my dad has been telling me for years to cut it, and I ignored him!"

Li Mu countered, "Apart from niche rock bands, can you name any big stars who have long hair like yours?"

Li Mu emphasized the words "big stars."

"Uh..." Zhang Kexuan thought for a moment, "Power Station!"

"Forget it, the song is famous, not the people. If it weren't for 'The Story of the Concubine,' you might not even know them."

"Dick Cowell!"

"What's the difference? Are you going to say Teacher Liu Huan next?"

"I didn't mean to say Liu Huan..."

"Then are you going to say Guo Feng?"

"Get lost!" Zhang Kexuan, out of ideas, waved his hand and grumbled like a怨妇, "My hair is not moving!"

Seeing him angry, Li Mu didn't mind, just asked, "Do you want to become famous or just show off?"

"Uh..." Zhang Kexuan stammered for a while, then lowered his head in shame, "I want to become famous..."

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[Thank you to "Black Hand Conceals the Sky" for the tip, update vote, and evaluation vote. Thank you to "Great Sage with a Golden Staff," "Youth Must Act Early," "ufwthdk," and "Dugu Yang 1988" for the tips.]

[The data for this book from the time it was uploaded has been very poor. The author is not good at speaking or emotionally appealing for votes and collections, so I can only focus on writing and updating steadily. I hope that when you read this book and find it good, you can give it a few recommendation votes. It's a small effort, but it means a lot to the author. Thank you all!]

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