Chapter 89

The five members of the band gathered together, discussing the arrangements for their new album.

Suddenly, the door opened, and the manager rushed in with a laptop in hand.

"What's going on?" the lead singer asked, the manager's flustered appearance making him feel uneasy.

"Quick, take a look. I just found a video. At the Hong Kong Olympic Grand Performance, an athlete sang a song." The manager placed the laptop in the center of the group and started playing a video. It was a clear video that the manager had struggled to find.

"When I'm different from the world, let me be different. Persistence to me means using strength to overcome strength."

"If I compromise with myself, if I lie to myself, even if others forgive me, I can't forgive myself."

"..."

"How is this possible? The lyrics are exactly the same!" the lead singer exclaimed. As the songwriter, he had memorized every word of the lyrics.

"And the name is the same too, it's also called 'Stubbornness,'" the manager added.

At that moment, everyone in the room had a thought: the new album had leaked!

"Could our new album have leaked?" the band's guitarist asked.

"It's impossible," the band's oldest member, the drummer, said. "For this new album, we specifically went to Japan, and we chose ten songs from twenty-seven original tracks, which were then produced by a Japanese company. The media doesn't even know about the progress of our album, let alone a leak."

The drummer then turned his gaze to the lead singer. The song was written by the lead singer a few months ago, and the band members only heard it after they arrived in Japan. If there was a leak, the lead singer, as the songwriter, would be the primary suspect. However, as a team member, the drummer did not doubt the lead singer. They had been in the band for several years, and they were very close. He knew the lead singer's character and knew he would never intentionally leak the new song.

The lead singer watched the video again and said, "Listen carefully, the arrangement is different from ours."

Everyone listened carefully. The singer's pitch and rhythm were the same as their version, but the arrangement, while partially similar, was different upon closer inspection.

For a song, the melody is the soul. If the arrangement is different, it means the song has a different soul. From a professional musician's perspective, it can't be considered the same song. For example, many cover artists change the singing style, lyrics, or even the language of the lyrics, but as long as the melody remains the same, it's still considered a cover.

"This arrangement is great, definitely top-notch," the guitarist said.

The lead singer nodded in agreement. In terms of style, this arrangement was clearly more mature. He could feel the deeper life experiences and insights contained in the music.

"The arrangement is fantastic, top-level," the lead singer said, frowning in thought. "This level of arrangement is better than ours, so it's unlikely they copied us!"

"What should we do now?" the drummer asked.

The lead singer hesitated and then said, "Let's change the song. We still have a dozen other options."

"But this song is the main track of our album, and it's your masterpiece. Can you bear to give it up?" the drummer continued. "Besides, only the lyrics are the same, and our arrangement is different."

"But the essence is the same!" the lead singer shook his head. "This year, you know what I've been through. My grandmother passed away, and some family issues were exposed by the media. I felt like I fell from heaven to hell. I felt like the whole world had abandoned me, and everyone was cursing me. I almost wanted to give up, but I knew I couldn't. I wouldn't give up. So I wrote that song. It's my heart, my pursuit of music, my commitment to my ideals."

"If someone else sang this song, I might have stopped them. I was worried they would desecrate my music, desecrate my ideals." The lead singer paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "But Zhang Guan is different. He's an Olympic champion, and he broke a world record. I understand that as an Asian, he must have endured hardships and pain to get to where he is today. He must have experienced setbacks and failures. When he sings, it's not just a song; it's a commitment to his ideals. We are all pursuing our ideals, and perhaps on this path, he is more persistent and determined than we are. But no matter what, we and he will walk this path stubbornly, without retreating!"

...

Manager Wang was the main business manager responsible for track and field at Nike. Last winter, he had gone with the Athletics Management Center to find Zhang Guan, hoping to sign him as a spokesperson, but Zhang Guan refused. Soon after, Zhang Guan entered the Olympic preparation phase, and all commercial activities for the Olympic participants were halted. Manager Wang had forgotten about signing Zhang Guan.

However, when the news of Zhang Guan breaking the record and winning the Olympic 100-meter championship reached the country a few days ago, Manager Wang was stunned! As a Chinese person, he was very pleased with the significant breakthrough in the 100-meter sprint, but he also regretted it. If he had applied a bit more pressure or offered a slightly higher price, Zhang Guan might have signed. Spending a few hundred thousand to sign the "world's fastest man" as a spokesperson would have been a great achievement, enough to make President James look at him differently, and the possibility of a promotion and a raise would have greatly increased!

But now, regretting it was useless. He received the latest instructions from President James, requiring him to sign Zhang Guan as soon as possible. The company had learned that several competitors' agents had already moved, hoping to sign Zhang Guan as a spokesperson to increase their market share in the country.

So, Manager Wang went to the Athletics Management Center. Instead of finding the leader responsible for the athletes' commercial operations, he found Director Sun, the same person who had taken the contract to Zhang Guan last winter.

Leaders can't handle every detail; they just need to set the direction and make decisions. For specific tasks, it's mainly the responsibility of people like Director Sun.

In the office, Director Sun sipped tea, smoked the soft-pack cigarette Manager Wang had just given him, and said with his legs crossed, "Signing Zhang Guan is not an easy task! To be honest, several sports brands have already contacted us, as well as many other industries. So, our center needs to consider carefully and strictly control this. We are responsible for our athletes!"

Director Sun's tone then changed, and he continued, "Of course, your company is one of the most well-known sports brands internationally, and we have a deep friendship with your center. In terms of qualifications, there's no problem."

Manager Wang smiled, but he was very unhappy inside. Although Director Sun's words sounded good, based on Manager Wang's understanding of officials, the more formal and polite they were, the more likely they were to pass the buck. If this continued, his visit today would be in vain.

"Director Sun, our company is very sincere, and we have decided to increase the signing fee. Last time, we talked about 300,000, but this time, the company has increased it tenfold, to 3 million per year!" Manager Wang held up three fingers and deliberately made an exaggerated expression, as if 3 million was a shocking number.

In reality, Manager Wang knew that the company's negotiation limit was not just 3 million. James told Manager Wang that he could directly agree to anything under 5 million, and for anything over 5 million, he should report back. As long as it wasn't too high, it wouldn't be a big problem. However, saving money for the company was always good, so Manager Wang exaggerated his expression skillfully.

"3 million..." Director Sun smiled and then said, "From what I understand, the leadership doesn't really approve of this number. Signing Zhang Guan for 3 million will be difficult."

Director Sun then leaned forward, lowered his voice, and said, "Young Wang, I'll give you a hint. Other companies are offering much higher prices!"

"Sure enough, the competitors have already made their moves!" Manager Wang thought, but he still had to show a grateful and surprised expression.

"What price does the leadership approve of?" Manager Wang asked.

"Ha ha..." Director Sun smiled meaningfully, pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, and fell silent. Indeed, the conversation ended with "ha ha."

Director Sun knew that although these multinational corporations were wealthy, they were all very cautious. Manager Wang wouldn't get any information from him just by talking. He needed to offer something tangible.

Manager Wang immediately understood. From Director Sun's attitude, it was clear that he couldn't get information for free. Manager Wang straightened up, took out another cigarette, and offered it to Director Sun, saying, "Director Sun, let's go to the Rich Hotel tonight. I've booked a table for the premium Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."

"Premium Buddha Jumps Over the Wall..." Director Sun thought for a moment. The premium Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at the Rich Hotel cost 2,666 per person, almost a month's salary for him. He usually just heard the name, and eating there was out of the question.

"Alright, since Manager Wang is so kind, I can't refuse!" Director Sun smiled and continued, "I've heard that the spa on the sixth floor of the Rich Hotel is excellent."

Manager Wang cursed inwardly but said, "Don't worry, we'll have everything. After dinner, we'll go up to the sixth floor!"

...

In the early morning, Manager Wang saw Director Sun off and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After playing the role of a humble subordinate all night, Manager Wang had learned the prices offered by other competitors and, more importantly, the 5 million yuan price set by the center's leadership for Zhang Guan's sports brand endorsement.

"5 million a year, a reasonable price for Zhang Guan's achievements. However, by domestic athlete endorsement standards, it's a bit high, but still within an acceptable range." Manager Wang smiled in victory.

Nike had always maintained a good relationship with the Athletics Management Center. Now that he knew the center's bottom line and the situation with the competitors, he would have a significant advantage in the negotiations. Although he spent over ten thousand yuan that night, Manager Wang believed he could earn it back many times over at the negotiation table.

"If I can save a bit on the endorsement fee, maybe I'll get an extra year-end bonus!" Manager Wang thought.

He was just an ordinary person. For him, working hard, getting promoted, and giving his family a better life was his greatest ideal. For this, he could give up his dignity and do things he was unwilling to do.

However, neither Manager Wang nor Director Sun knew that Zhang Guan's management team, the Champion Team, had already started operating systematically.

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Chapter 1 is here, please give me a recommendation.

Many football and basketball novels choose to start their careers abroad, which can directly avoid the constraints of the system. However, for other projects, especially non-professional ones, the issue of agents is hard to avoid. This is the last part of the second volume. The third volume will start to include some other track and field events. From the initial draft, the pace of the third volume's competitions feels a bit fast. That's all for now, I'll bow and exit.

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