Chapter 93

PS: The copyright issues in this chapter are based on my research and personal ideas. I'm not sure if they are correct. If any reader has relevant information, please send it to me! I had a nightmare again last night. In the dream, the number of favorites and recommendations plummeted, and the book reviews were filled with curses. I was really scared when I saw the strong recommendation for this profession! Sigh...

After leaving the Seoul Hospital, Park Jiho hadn't even had time to call a taxi when his phone suddenly rang. He answered it, and Ji's voice came through the phone: "Jiho, are you at Seoul Hospital to see Mingxiu?"

"How did you know, Brother Ji?" Park Jiho asked with a smile, puzzled.

"Haha... I asked Brother Inseok. Alright, just stay there, I'll be right over!" Ji immediately said.

"Oh... What's up?" Park Jiho hadn't finished asking when the call was already hung up.

About ten minutes later, Ji appeared at the entrance of Seoul Hospital, driving a car. Seeing Park Jiho, Ji happily said, "Get in!"

Park Jiho smiled and got into Ji's car.

"Brother Ji... Did you receive the song I sent you?" Once in the car, Park Jiho remembered the song he had sent to Ji.

As soon as the topic of "A Woman Who Can't Break Up, A Man Who Can't Leave" came up, Ji immediately perked up and said, "Wow... Little brother, you're really amazing. 'Mr.' and 'Cold Face' becoming so popular is definitely not by chance. Your talent for songwriting is truly genius. I listened to your song 'A Woman Who Can't Break Up, A Man Who Can't Leave,' and honestly, it's the best song I've heard. It's also very suitable for us Leessang! After I played your song for the company, they didn't hesitate at all. They've all agreed that 'A Woman Who Can't Break Up, A Man Who Can't Leave' will be the lead single for our new album!"

"Really...?" Park Jiho was pleasantly surprised because, although he had two hit songs, none of them had won any awards, mainly because he didn't have a lead single. Hearing Ji say that his song would be the lead single for their album was a huge surprise for Park Jiho.

"Of course, I'm taking you to my store to sign the contract!" Ji said with a smile.

"Go to the store to sign the contract?" Park Jiho was taken aback. Normally, shouldn't they go to the company? Why did Brother Ji say to go to the store? This left Park Jiho very confused.

However, he didn't want to ask directly, so he decided to wait and see when they arrived at the destination. They soon reached Ji's octopus sausage shop. Led by Ji, Park Jiho and Ji entered a private room. Seeing the people inside, Park Jiho was surprised: "Brother Jungkwon (Tiger JK), Sister Yoon Mirae."

Park Jiho knew both of them; they were the partners of Yoo Jae-suk in the "Infinite Challenge" song festival! However, what Park Jiho didn't know was that Tiger JK was one of the most famous hip-hop artists in Korea, and he and his team were considered pioneers in Korean hip-hop. Yoon Mirae was also one of the top female rappers in Korea, a true veteran. Together, Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae were the pinnacle of Korean hip-hop, comparable to Beyoncé and Jay-Z in the U.S.

Seeing Park Jiho, Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae both stood up, and there was also a sullen-looking Gary! Since they were all seniors, seeing the three of them stand up, Park Jiho immediately bowed deeply.

Seeing Park Jiho's humility, everyone in the room smiled. Ji also immediately said with a smile, "Alright, Jiho, no need to be so formal, we're all family!" Then he called out, "Bring the food!"

After eating for a while, in the course of the conversation, Park Jiho finally understood why Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae were there. It turned out that Leessang had joined Jungle Entertainment, and the company's president was Tiger JK. Unfortunately, since Tiger JK founded the company in 2006, the budget had been tight. Park Jiho, with his two hit songs, was no longer a new songwriter but had entered the ranks of top Korean songwriters. After listening to Park Jiho's "A Woman Who Can't Break Up, A Man Who Can't Leave," Tiger JK not only admired but also respected Park Jiho. Therefore, the fee couldn't be too low, as that would be insulting, but it also couldn't be too high, as they couldn't afford it. However, everyone believed that Park Jiho's song would definitely be a hit, so they didn't want to give up. Thus, they were trying to use Ji's relationship to get Park Jiho to make some concessions.

In the end, Park Jiho smiled and asked Ji to explain everything. Tiger JK then awkwardly told Park Jiho that they planned to spend 100 million won to buy 40% of the copyright and 40 million won to buy the usage rights. The 40 million won would be paid immediately, but the 100 million won for the copyright could only be prepaid with 10 million won, with the rest to be paid gradually once the song earned money for Jungle Entertainment. This was an unreasonable agreement.

Spending 100 million won to buy 40% of Park Jiho's copyright and then using the copyright to pay off the debt was a good deal. In Korea, the main sources of income from songs are CDs, digital music, and copyright. CDs are not directly related to songwriters like Park Jiho. Once a company buys a songwriter's song, they have the right to handle the song, including selling it, so the profits from this part go to the company and the artist. The main sources of income for songwriters are digital music and copyright.

Digital music is a general term for digital music in Korea. Digital music revenue usually includes online plays, downloads, background music, ringtones, etc. The high level of digitalization in Korea means that most people legally download or stream music. The rapid development of digital music has led to a quick decline in the CD market. In Korea, singles and OSTs are usually only released digitally, not as physical CDs. Therefore, most popularity charts in Korea are based on digital music, and the revenue from digital music is mainly divided among the music streaming platforms, composers, lyricists, artists, and record companies.

Finally, copyright. In a country like Korea, which values copyright and has little piracy, every time a song is played, there is a copyright fee. The cumulative copyright income is quite substantial. Moreover, most of the copyright income goes to the artists, with little or no commission taken by the company.

However, for a songwriter like Park Jiho who is not from the company, the copyright must be fully or partially bought out. This is because in-house artists and the company sign agreements, so no matter what, the artists belong to the company, and the company controls the copyright. For non-company artists, if a company's artist makes a song popular and the songwriter sells the copyright to another company, the original company can't use the song again. Therefore, it's safer to partially buy out the copyright of a songwriter like Park Jiho. Otherwise, no one would be able to sing the song, and the songwriter's reputation would be ruined, cutting off their own source of income.

Tiger JK's agreement was clearly a bet on Park Jiho's song becoming a hit. This way, they could use the copyright they bought from Park Jiho to pay off the debt to him. After thinking for a while, Park Jiho agreed because he admired Tiger JK and appreciated his recognition of his song. When Park Jiho signed the contract without hesitation, everyone was very happy, and the rest of the conversation was conducted in a very pleasant atmosphere.

To clarify the issue with DSP, it might seem that Tiger JK spent more money than DSP by buying 40% of Park Jiho's copyright for 100 million won. However, this is not the case. DSP's contract with Park Jiho was a 60-40 split of all profits from "Mr.," including CDs, advertisements, concerts, etc. Therefore, Park Jiho was the biggest beneficiary of DSP's contract. In contrast, Tiger JK's 40 million won for the song meant that Park Jiho couldn't share in the profits from CDs, advertisements, concerts, etc.

...

Because they were so happy, Ji, Gary, and Tiger JK kept drinking with Park Jiho. Later... there was no later. Ji, Gary, and Tiger JK all ended up passed out on the table.

Yoon Mirae looked at the three men lying motionless on the table and said, "You three, always boasting about how much you can drink, and today you all got drunk by a junior. You can't say you can drink anymore! It's really embarrassing." Then she looked at Park Jiho and said, "Jiho, you'll have to take a taxi home by yourself. Look at these three, I need to take care of them!"

Park Jiho chuckled and said, "It's fine, Sister Mirae. We don't need to be so formal. Take good care of the brothers. I'm going home now." He then stood up, waved to Yoon Mirae, and left.

However, what Park Jiho didn't know was that in the coming days, he would experience a series of hilarious and absurd events!

---

---

Because they were so happy, Ji, Gary, and Tiger JK kept drinking with Park Jiho. Later... there was no later. Ji, Gary, and Tiger JK all ended up passed out on the table.

Yoon Mirae looked at the three men lying motionless on the table and said, "You three, always boasting about how much you can drink, and today you all got drunk by a junior. You can't say you can drink anymore! It's really embarrassing." Then she looked at Park Jiho and said, "Jiho, you'll have to take a taxi home by yourself. Look at these three, I need to take care of them!"

Park Jiho chuckled and said, "It's fine, Sister Mirae. We don't need to be so formal. Take good care of the brothers. I'm going home now." He then stood up, waved to Yoon Mirae, and left.

However, what Park Jiho didn't know was that in the coming days, he would experience a series of hilarious and absurd events!

---

---

Because they were so happy, Ji, Gary, and Tiger JK kept drinking with Park Jiho. Later... there was no later. Ji, Gary, and Tiger JK all ended up passed out on the table.

Yoon Mirae looked at the three men lying motionless on the table and said, "You three, always boasting about how much you can drink, and today you all got drunk by a junior. You can't say you can drink anymore! It's really embarrassing." Then she looked at Park Jiho and said, "Jiho, you'll have to take a taxi home by yourself. Look at these three, I need to take care of them!"

Park Jiho chuckled and said, "It's fine, Sister Mirae. We don't need to be so formal. Take good care of the brothers. I'm going home now." He then stood up, waved to Yoon Mirae, and left.

However, what Park Jiho didn't know was that in the coming days, he would experience a series of hilarious and absurd events!

---

---

Because they were so happy, Ji, Gary, and Tiger JK kept drinking with Park Jiho. Later... there was no later. Ji, Gary, and Tiger JK all ended up passed out on the table.

Yoon Mirae looked at the three men lying motionless on the table and said, "You three, always boasting about how much you can drink, and today you all got drunk by a junior. You can't say you can drink anymore! It's really embarrassing." Then she looked at Park Jiho and said, "Jiho, you'll have to take a taxi home by yourself. Look at these three, I need to take care of them!"

Park Jiho chuckled and said, "It's fine, Sister Mirae. We don't need to be so formal. Take good care of the brothers. I'm going home now." He then stood up, waved to Yoon Mirae, and left.

However, what Park Jiho didn't know was that in the coming days, he would experience a series of hilarious and absurd events!