Chapter 55: Album Production Meeting

On December 20, 2007, at 1 PM. In the meeting room of LOEN Entertainment, an important meeting was taking place for Lee Yunjae. Only three people were present: Bae Songjin, Lee Yunjae, and Shin Ji, the representative of LOEN's album production team and a gold medal producer.

Before producing an album, holding a production meeting is crucial. The meeting would discuss the singer's music style—whether it would be emotional ballads, hip-hop, or the currently popular dance tracks.

Bae Songjin's fingers continuously tapped on the table, the tapping sound echoing in the meeting room. His other hand rested on his chin, and after a long silence, he said, "Yunjae, you need to understand that the most popular genre in Korea right now is dance music. Groups like TVXQ, Super Junior, and SS501 all perform dance tracks, with only a few emotional ballads. We're planning to produce an album with eight songs. If all eight are ballads, won't it seem too monotonous? Although ballads can easily touch people, we can't deny that the current trend is dominated by dance music. For example, Girls' Generation became famous with their dance track 'Gee.' Ballads lack the excitement that dance music provides!"

Shin Ji thought for a moment and nodded, agreeing with Bae Songjin. Currently, the market for ballads exists but is shrinking. Most artists debut with dance tracks, and very few debut with ballads.

Moreover, the singers who still perform ballads in the industry are seasoned veterans like Kim Jong-kook, Lee Seung-cheol, and Baek Ji-young. They have spent their entire careers singing ballads, deeply touching the hearts of the audience. For Lee Yunjae to compete in this small market would be very difficult.

"President, you can't look at things so narrowly... Although dance music is the mainstream, it doesn't mean that ballads have no market! The current music scene is saturated with dance tracks, whether by solo artists or male and female groups. It's like a dish that has been overcooked. The first time it's cooked, it's perfect. The second time, the taste starts to change. By the third time, it becomes unpalatable. The music scene is the same. If dance music continues to be overproduced, fans will eventually get tired of it!" Lee Yunjae said calmly. "If you had to eat the same dish every day, wouldn't you eventually get tired of it?"

Bae Songjin thought for a moment, shook his head, and disagreed with Lee Yunjae's food analogy, as the two were not comparable.

"President, what Yunjae said isn't without merit. As long as the songs are good, fans will buy them. If we can find good ballads, we could release a mini-album with four or five songs and shoot a beautiful MV. It could be released a few days before February 14, 2008, just in time for Valentine's Day. A touching ballad album would make a unique Valentine's Day gift for couples!" Shin Ji rubbed his temples, thinking about how it was already December 20, and Valentine's Day was just over a month and a half away. If the ballads were good, there would be no shortage of couples buying them.

"Let's try it this time. We'll release a mini-album with five songs. If sales are good, we can add two more ballads and one dance track. An album with only ballads might seem monotonous, but adding a dance track would complement it well. The song 'Elimination' that Yunjae uploaded online is excellent. His voice is slightly deep and raspy, making it easy to touch the hearts of fans. I think 'Elimination' should be included in this mini-album."

Bae Songjin was still hesitant. He saw great potential in Lee Yunjae. Yunjae, who was once set to lead TVXQ, was undoubtedly more talented than the five members of TVXQ. Otherwise, Lee Soo-man wouldn't have entrusted him with the role of captain. Bae Songjin wanted Yunjae to become an instant sensation, full of passion, rather than a singer who performs ballads in a lukewarm manner.

This hesitation wasn't entirely Bae Songjin's fault. He was genuinely afraid. He had seen many groups and artists fail, despite the strong support and promotion from LOEN. They would start with a bang but eventually be washed away by the Korean wave, failing to even reach the level of second-tier artists. If Yunjae failed to become a sensation, Bae Songjin would have no choice but to resign, unable to face the shame of holding a high-paying position without achieving anything.

The hesitation and indecision made Bae Songjin hesitant. As an "old-timer" at LOEN, Shin Ji understood Bae Songjin's concerns. However, this was a time for decisive action. Dragging his feet would benefit no one. If they were to release a mini-album focused on ballads, they had no time to waste. They needed to select songs, record them, design the album, and shoot the MVs. The list of tasks was overwhelming.

"President... Let's make Yunjae's first mini-album primarily focused on ballads. The songs he has created, such as 'Elimination,' 'No Longer in Love,' and 'Like Being Shot,' are all ballads. The latter two, especially, are tear-jerkers. 'Elimination' has a subtle sadness that matches 'No Longer in Love' and 'Like Being Shot.' They are rare, touching ballads. I think we should give it a try. Yunjae can create one or two more ballads, and the company can also acquire a few more from external studios. We should aim to make it a must-buy for couples on Valentine's Day!" Shin Ji said firmly.

Bae Songjin was somewhat swayed by his words. If all couples bought the album on Valentine's Day, it would be a huge success. With a population of 50 million in South Korea, even if only 5% were young couples, and only 10% of them bought the album, that would still be 250,000 copies. No LOEN artist had ever sold 250,000 albums, and the company had even incurred losses. Selling 250,000 copies would be a significant milestone, indicating that LOEN still had the capability to compete with other agencies. Failing to reach this number would mean it was time to reconsider the company's strategy.

Lee Yunjae had a unique fondness for ballads, evident from his early works like 'No Longer in Love' and 'Like Being Shot' for Baek Ji-young at the age of 16. This showcased his talent for ballad composition. He wanted his first album to be a classic ballad collection. This didn't mean he couldn't write other genres; his three years with Yoo Yong-jun and his solo composition of TVXQ's 'Spell' proved his versatility. Writing a ballad, however, came naturally to him, and he could easily create one in just a few days.

"President, I'm currently working on a new ballad. I can guarantee that it will be a masterpiece that people will want to listen to again and again!" Lee Yunjae said confidently, clearly believing in his work.

Although he had over 30 of the best songs from a collection of 3,000 accumulated over four years, he didn't want to reveal all his cards at once. It was wiser to take things step by step.

"Can you guarantee that?" Bae Songjin looked at him skeptically.

Lee Yunjae nodded firmly and joked, "President, you're not thinking of making me sign a military order, are you?!"

Ha ha ha... Bae Songjin and Shin Ji laughed at Yunjae's joke. A military order? Do you think LOEN is a military camp?

"Alright... Since you're so confident, let's do it. I hope you don't disappoint me!" Bae Songjin finally agreed to Yunjae's proposal, albeit reluctantly.

In the end, the style of Yunjae's first album was decided to be primarily ballads.

Of course, Bae Songjin wasn't blindly optimistic. If Yunjae's mini-album flopped, he would be in a dire situation. Although he agreed to Yunjae's proposal, he made a secret decision. Learning from past failures, the initial shipment of the album would be limited to around 200,000 copies. If it sold well, they could produce more. If it didn't, the loss would be manageable.

While LOEN might appear to be a subsidiary of South Korea's largest telecommunications company with ample funds, Bae Songjin was actually in a difficult financial situation. Multiple failed debuts had led to significant losses for LOEN, causing SK Telecom to be very disappointed and drastically reducing their annual investment. No one would throw money at a company that consistently lost money, even if it was a subsidiary. The fact that they hadn't shut it down was already a sign of leniency.

This year, LOEN had launched a group and a solo artist, and Bae Songjin had ambitiously acquired MelOn (similar to iTunes). However, due to the failure of the new artists and the lack of established artists, even their own music website was struggling to fill its content.

Bae Songjin sighed deeply. Currently, Lee Yunjae was the most promising artist LOEN had, and the company was far behind S.M., JYP, DSP, YG, and CCM in this regard.