Murphy was recording a show at Xiangbei TV station, but Mo Xiaojuan didn’t go with her. She had to head back for Tianmei’s monthly agent meeting. Though attendance wasn’t mandatory for her, she showed up for the sake of Murphy’s new album.
This agency, despite having forty or fifty signed singers and actors and over twenty agents of varying seniority, hadn’t actually delegated any real authority. Whether big or small matters, it was still Sister Ling who called the shots.
You could tell from the meeting itself—basically, Sister Ling did all the introducing, analyzing, and task assigning.
“Alright, that’s about it for today’s meeting. Does anyone have anything to add?” Niu Meiling closed her notebook and clapped her hands.
Mo Xiaojuan had been waiting for that moment. She quickly raised her hand and stood up: “Sister Ling, I’ve been listening to this month’s work schedule and the rough plan for the second half of the year. Why don’t I see anything about Murphy’s new album?”
As soon as she spoke, a buzz of murmurs filled the conference room. The other agents exchanged glances, looking at Mo Xiaojuan with surprise, disdain, or even anger.
Mo Xiaojuan could vaguely catch some of it.
“Seriously? Didn’t she just release an album not long ago? Another one?” “Her last album didn’t even do well. Shouldn’t she reflect on that…” “That’s too much. She’s just throwing her weight around as a top-tier star. Our Yueyue has been waiting in line for years and still hasn’t gotten a slot for an album. She just sings the same old songs every year.” “Exactly. Ours was the same at the start of the year. They said she could prepare a new album, but then she came back and announced a comeback, and the whole company had to hunt for songs for her. She’s not even that good, and she messes up everyone else’s work!”
Mo Xiaojuan could only pretend not to hear these complaints.
There was no helping it. The entertainment industry was a brutal world of survival of the fittest, where fairness had to match strength.
As a former queen of pop and Tianmei’s biggest star, Murphy naturally had the best resources and highest priority in the company!
In other words, the company was willing to invest in Murphy because they knew she could bring them even more profit!
Of course, no one expected that Murphy’s comeback album was rushed out so hastily, leading to her current plummet in popularity.
If it weren’t for Murphy being down on her luck now, back in the day, when Mo Xiaojuan made such a request, those junior agents wouldn’t dare gossip like this in front of her!
But this time, Niu Meiling didn’t stop them. Instead, she waited meaningfully until the chatter died down a bit before speaking kindly to Mo Xiaojuan: “Murphy wants to put out another new album now? Isn’t that a bit too hasty?”
Niu Meiling truly was one of the top agents in the industry. Facing her, Mo Xiaojuan felt immense pressure and could only steel herself: “Sister Ling, I submitted an application to you the day before yesterday. Even though Murphy’s new album doesn’t need to be rushed out like before, shouldn’t we at least start collecting songs now?”
“Oh, I saw your application.” Niu Meiling narrowed her eyes and said to Mo Xiaojuan, “You mentioned you already have two songs?”
Mo Xiaojuan quickly nodded: “Yes, they were written by Murphy’s fans. Murphy thinks they’re really good and wants to include them in her future new album.”
For some reason, Mo Xiaojuan felt she shouldn’t bring up the name “Mu Zi’ang” to Niu Meiling. So she used the fan angle instead.
“Fans?” The other agents burst into sneers, gossiping without restraint. “Fans have that kind of talent to write songs? Murphy must be losing her mind!”
In their view, Murphy had clearly lost her marbles. Otherwise, why would she think songs written by fans could make it onto her album? If fans had professional skills, would they still be called fans? She was definitely about to release another album no one would buy!
“Sister Ling, you can’t go along with her nonsense!” A more influential agent named Jian Chuo stood up indignantly. “Our Zhenzhen is finally about to prepare a new album. You need to help her find good songs. You can’t always cater to Murphy. What kind of nonsense is that?”
Zhenzhen, whose full name was Zhen Muqian, was Tianmei’s third-ranked female star. She hadn’t released a new album in two years, but as a dual-threat artist, she’d gained fame from a TV drama last year and had been appearing on major variety shows recently, showing strong momentum.
“Chuo, sit down first. Don’t be so impatient!” Niu Meiling chuckled and gestured with her hand. “Zhenzhen’s performance this year has been clear to all of us. We’ll definitely support that hardworking kid, so don’t worry.”
“As for Murphy’s side, Xiaojuan, you need to talk some sense into her.” Niu Meiling’s voice was still gentle, but it grated on Mo Xiaojuan’s ears.
“Murphy just suffered a setback and is eager to start over. We understand that feeling, but a new album can’t be rushed. Slow work yields fine results!”
Mo Xiaojuan couldn’t help but retort: “Sister Ling, we can start collecting songs now. Murphy can wait. Once we have twelve songs together, we can release the new album then.”
“But the problem is, the company doesn’t have that many resources right now!” Niu Meiling’s tone turned stern, and the entire room fell silent. “You heard it too. Zhenzhen is putting out a new album, Ju Jie is preparing his, and there are others waiting for their new songs. The company can’t just drop everything and hunt for songs for Murphy alone, can it?”
At that moment, though the conference room was dead quiet, almost everyone had a “exactly” look in their eyes.
Mo Xiaojuan fell silent. She could somewhat understand the others’ perspectives, but the problem was, she was Murphy’s agent and had to stand by her side.
“If Murphy had her own studio, how much easier would that be? Even if collecting songs costs more, at least there’d be freedom. And with Mu Zi’ang around, we probably wouldn’t have to worry about finding songs, right?” Mo Xiaojuan thought to herself.
That’s right!
Mu Zi’ang!
Mo Xiaojuan lifted her head and said to Niu Meiling: “Sister Ling, what if—what if we collect songs on our own, enough of them? Could the company move up Murphy’s new album plan?”
Niu Meiling frowned. She was wary of this kind of situation, always feeling like a star was getting too independent and ready to fly solo. But she still smiled and asked, “Oh? Where are you getting the songs?”
“From Murphy’s fans!” Mo Xiaojuan said.
Instantly, including Niu Meiling, everyone wore mocking expressions.
Collecting songs from fans—what a ridiculous idea.
“If you can gather twelve songs, the company promises to arrange an album for Murphy immediately.” Niu Meiling made the call decisively.
She had her own plans. She wanted to grind down Murphy’s pride a bit more, make her suffer some more!
Murphy’s contract was in its final year, but Niu Meiling didn’t want to renew such a lucrative top-tier deal. If she could make Murphy “face reality” before renegotiating, the future room for maneuver would be huge!