I became a music industry godfather by writing confidantes.

Chapter 113, 1 interview

The release of "Pipa Xing" was not promoted in any way, but that doesn't mean nobody knows about it.

Yang Du is no longer the same person he used to be. Now he is a genius producer with multiple number-one hits and an emotional blogger with over 350 million followers.

In other words, they already qualify to be targeted by marketing accounts.

So, as soon as "The Song of the Pipa" was released on Tencent and NetEase Cloud Music, marketing accounts caught wind of it.

A very cunning marketing account was the first to post a Weibo.

Everyone probably knows that Yang Du performed two songs at the National Day Gala. A month later, in a corner that no one paid attention to, this genius producer quietly released a new song, "Pipa Xing".

So what is this "Pipa Xing" like?

I'm also very curious, so let's take a look together.

As you can see, this is a new song released on November 8th, called "Pipa Xing". The composer and producer is Yang Du, and the singer is a newcomer named Wu Peng.

By now, I believe everyone has a basic understanding of the new song "Pipa Xing".

So, is this song good or not?

Honestly, I don't know either (grinning face)

If you're interested in "The Ballad of the Pipa," feel free to discuss it with me!

A chorus of curses erupted from below.

[Damn, have you ever seen a fist the size of a clay pot? What could be said in one sentence was stretched into a whole paragraph.]

What a waste of a minute, damn it!

[Time, place, and people—the three elements of news—are they difficult to grasp?]

With the intentional or unintentional promotion of these marketing accounts that were trying to ride the wave of popularity and traffic, the originally quiet release of "Pipa Xing" quickly spread, and the hashtag #YangDuPipaXing# successfully made it to the top of the trending searches.

Whether a song is good or not depends on the technical details such as the arrangement to those who know about it, and on the melody to ordinary people. But "Pipa Xing" takes a different approach and spreads particularly quickly among students, becoming wildly popular in just a few days.

Students quickly took over the song's comment section.

[Here's a high school senior: Mom no longer needs to worry about me not being able to memorize "The Song of the Pipa"!]

Those who don't understand "The Song of the Pipa" are in trouble.

[Who understands the sense of redemption that comes from a Chinese teacher saying that even if you can't recite "The Song of the Pipa" from memory, you can still sing it? (covers mouth and cries)]

"I understand! The only problem is that I have to sing it from the beginning."

—"Hahaha, that's hilarious. What are you waiting for? I'm waiting for the interlude."

Some people even vowed that if they got the song "Pipa Xing" on the college entrance exam, they would support every single one of Yang Du's songs in the future.

Of course, some people are happy while others are sad. For college students who have escaped the sea of ​​suffering and entered higher education institutions, the appearance of this song is quite depressing.

Adhering to the principle of "I'll tear your umbrella even if I get rained on," college students started to do some silly things.

【No, I'm asking you, Yang Du, why did you wait until I was a freshman to show me something this good? Huh?】

[Take it down, it must be taken down, I'm serious, I'm not jealous.]

[@CommanderYang, look in my eyes and answer me!]

The appearance of "Pipa Xing" has sparked a new wave of popularity online. On November 10, Yang Du, the center of the discussion, was being interviewed by China Youth Daily at Qiuniu Studio.

According to Yuan Xiuqing, Yang Du's buffs were almost fully stacked.

It would be strange if an officially recognized young artist, a college student entrepreneur born in the 00s, and someone who also runs a rural music education fund didn't come for an interview.

The recent online discussion surrounding "The Song of the Pipa" presents a perfect opportunity.

Yang Du had assumed that the person in charge of this interview would be an ordinary reporter, but after Yuan Xiuqing's introduction, he learned that this kind-looking woman in her thirties was actually the deputy director of the cultural news department of the China Youth Daily, as well as the chief reporter, named Chen Yunmeng.

"Let's begin then." Chen Yunmeng smiled and posed her first question, "Recently, 'The Song of the Pipa' has received a very good response online. But as far as I know, you didn't do any promotional activities when the song was released. Was that intentional?"

"I guess so. This song was experimental in nature, so its commercial success wasn't my top priority."

In your opinion, what distinguishes experimental works from formal works?

"Hmm—" Yang Du thought for a moment, "For formal works, I need to be responsible to the audience and consider the public's listening habits. In layman's terms, it's about whether the melody sounds good and what kind of instruments are more suitable for accompaniment. These are all important considerations."

"But experimental nature allows for prioritizing listenability, breaking conventions, and making arrangements and harmonies less rigid and formal."

Chen Yunmeng continued, "I've seen many students say that after reading 'The Ballad of the Pipa,' they can finally recite it. When you wrote this song, did you ever imagine that one day it would become a cheering anthem for college entrance exam takers?"

Recalling Yang Ting's captivating smile, Yang Du couldn't help but chuckle.

"At first, I didn't think that far ahead," Yang Du admitted. "My cousin is in his final year of high school, and he's finding it very difficult to memorize 'The Song of the Pipa,' so..."

"So your cousin was the first listener of this song?"

"Yes."

……

"After the release of 'The Lone Warrior,' it resonated deeply with the public, with many netizens commenting that patriotic themes could be written in this way. As a musician who excels in songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing, what are your thoughts on the term 'patriotic theme'?"

This is a very broad question that is also easy to fall into traps with. If the answer is too official, it will seem pretentious and empty; if the answer is too casual, it will seem insincere.

Yang Du replied earnestly, "I don't think the main theme should be a fixed label or category. 'The Lone Warrior' is not a main theme, nor was it created with the aim of being a main theme."

"He just happened to be on the right stage at the right time, and that's how he touched people's hearts. As long as a work can convey genuine feelings and allow people to find resonance and strength in the current society or era, it is a good work."

"There is absolutely no need for us to label him with a mainstream ideology beforehand, and then try to define the creative direction or analyze the creative techniques."

Chen Yunmeng nodded and continued, "The Guanghui Daily previously praised you by name, commending you as a young literary and artistic worker. This title carries great weight; what does it mean to you?"

"It means responsibility. With greater ability comes greater responsibility, so you have to be more demanding and stricter with yourself."

"Will you feel pressured?"

"Definitely," Yang Du didn't deny it, "but I try my best not to let that pressure affect my performance. I'll still write songs when it's time to write songs, and I'll still post on Weibo when it's time to post on Weibo. I'll just focus on doing my best."

Chen Yunmeng suddenly smiled and asked, "Should I still write about 'soulmates' when it's time to write about 'soulmates'?"

This is a problem that wasn't in the script we went over beforehand.

"Hahaha." Yang Du laughed so hard he almost fell over, admitting, "Yes, I'll still keep writing when it's time to write."

After laughing, Chen Yunmeng continued to exchange ideas with Yang Du on whether he preferred to be a music producer or a blogger of emotional literature, how he came up with the idea of ​​establishing a country music education fund, his views on entrepreneurship, and his daily music creation.

"One last question." After about 45 minutes of interviewing, Chen Yunmeng closed her notebook. "Any new song plans in the near future? Would you mind sharing a little bit?"

"Yes," Yang Du said. "The name of the new song is 'Big Fish'."

The interview has officially ended.

Chen Yunmeng turned off the recorder and took out a notebook from her bag: "Could you please sign this for me?"

"certainly."

"You know what? This autograph is for my mom; she's a big fan of yours."

"Haha...really?" Yang Du was taken aback. "Does it require a TO signature?"

"Is that alright? Um, my mother's surname is Xiao, the 'Xiao' in the Chinese zodiac, so I'll write 'TO Ms. Xiao'..."