Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 39 - 37 Mr. Wu, please sign a contract with us!

Chapter 39: Chapter 37 Mr. Wu, please sign a contract with us!

Signing with an MCN company definitely has its benefits. At least in terms of personal promotion and image packaging, they are professionals, and they can arrange product endorsements and various commercial activities which is much better than trying to get such deals on one’s own.

However, the way Zhang Xiaodong approached him that day had made Wu Li acutely aware of one thing: once you sign with a company, you might become just a commodity, losing your autonomy.

Therefore, Wu Li was somewhat conflicted. Signing with a company would definitely increase his popularity faster, and popularity meant Fan Value, but he worried that some of the company’s arrangements might go against his wishes, which would be really annoying.

Looking at the dozen or so business cards laid out in front of him and the continuous stream of messages on his phone, Wu Li couldn’t help but sigh: I’m dealing with pressures that one shouldn’t have to at this age.

In the end, Wu Li decided to talk to these companies first. What if they were willing to offer enough autonomy?

However, it wasn’t feasible to negotiate with every company. Picking up his phone, Wu Li started to do some research; he wanted to select a few of the most powerful ones.

Lemon Culture, among their internet celebrities, had three with over twenty million fans, two of whom had been phenomenon-level influencers. The company’s market value exceeded ten billion. In the rankings of various MCN agencies, they were always in the top three.

Peak Entertainment had one top internet celebrity with over fifty million fans. Though a bit past their prime now, they were still a significant figure. They also had seven or eight influencers with fan counts ranging from eight to fifteen million. Their level of activity was high, and they had a good ability to attract money, so the company had both face and substance.

Lemon Culture and Peak Entertainment were the two capital-rich MCN companies Wu Li had identified. They had ample funds for promoting their artists, and since they both had top-level influencers, promoting a newcomer was straightforward: just interact between artists to create a topic of discussion.

Besides these two, Wu Li also found a relatively weaker but very spirited company, Qingteng Media.

Qingteng Media had created several influencers over the past six months, all with their distinct characteristics and fan counts between five and ten million, which were still rising. This showed that the company had an excellent system for creating stars, and those in charge had good vision.

Wu Li decided to talk to these three companies separately tomorrow. If Lemon Culture and Peak Entertainment were willing to give him more autonomy, he would give priority to these two.

...

The next morning, in a coffee shop near the hotel, Wu Li first met with an agent from Lemon Culture.

"Mr. Wu, here is a promotional brochure from our company that you can have a quick look at."

The speaker was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses.

Wu Li briefly looked over the brochure in his hands, then looked up at her. "Could you tell me about the benefits of signing with your company?"

The woman adjusted her glasses before speaking. "Lemon Culture is at the forefront of all MCN companies. If you sign with us, we will customize a systematic promotional plan for you, ensuring a rapid rise in your popularity. Besides, as you can see in the brochure, our company collaborates with many high-end brands. You could promote these products and earn a commission. We can discuss the detailed commission rates and promotional plans in our company."

Wu Li nodded. All MCN companies were similar; the only difference lay in their promotion methods and resources. The thing he really cared about was not this. "May I ask, if the developmental plans laid out by the company for future cooperation clash with my personal wishes, what would happen?"

The Lemon Culture agent looked at Wu Li calmly. "The company is definitely more professional when it comes to promoting artists. We all aim to help you develop better, so there’s no conflict. If there really are any objections, we will explain them to you in detail."

"What if, after you’ve explained, I still insist on my own ideas?" Wu Li looked at her directly.

The female agent slightly frowned. "Since the company has invested a great deal of resources in you up front, the development plan would certainly not be easily changed."

Wu Li nodded. Her meaning was clear: the company had spent money on you, and now you had to follow orders.

It was logical, though. Even though his Mo Yin account had gained four million six hundred thirty thousand fans overnight, a sudden increase of over a million, to Lemon Culture such things were trivial. Many influencers with more fans than Wu Li were vying to sign with Lemon Culture, so from the female agent’s perspective, her taking the initiative to approach Wu Li was already showing him a lot of face. How could Wu Li be in a position to set terms?

"I understand. Thank you for your company’s appreciation," said Wu Li calmly.

The female agent looked at Wu Li in slight surprise. "Does that mean you don’t plan to sign with us?"

"Correct," Wu Li nodded.

"What do you want?"

"Autonomy."

"That’s not possible."

"I understand."

"... Alright."

The female agent nodded, maintaining basic courtesy without sarcasm or confrontation, and simply got up to leave.

Then Wu Li met with an agent from Peak Entertainment. Although their attitude was somewhat better than Lemon Culture’s, when it came to the issue of autonomy, they were just as firm: the company could not allow its artists to interfere with its operations.

Wu Li sighed. He wasn’t famous enough yet. The two big companies were not willing to give him autonomy. If he had been a top-level influencer or a celebrity with great influence before signing with them, the talk about autonomy would certainly have ended differently.

Recovering his spirits, Wu Li prepared to meet with Qingteng Media. He had deliberately left this company till last because he had the most hope for them. Qingteng Media, unlike the other larger companies, wasn’t as domineering and was currently on a strong upward trajectory. They needed new potential talents to raise their status. If they really valued Wu Li, perhaps they would be willing to offer a certain level of autonomy.

Unfortunately, an hour later, Wu Li regretfully bid farewell to the agent from Qingteng Culture.

He had been too optimistic; even a company like Qingteng Culture was strict about controlling autonomy and was not ready to grant it to artists easily.

"Do I really have to go it alone?" Wu Li massaged his temples.

"Hello, Mr. Wu."

At that moment, a voice interrupted Wu Li’s contemplation. He looked up to see a relatively delicate-looking young man, who appeared to be around his age.

"Who are you?"

"I’m the chairman of Bo Yuan Media Culture Co., Ltd.," the other person politely said.

The chairman? So young? Wu Li was astonished.

"Mr. Wu, please sign with us!" The young man suddenly bowed to Wu Li with his hands clasped together.

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