I became a music industry godfather by writing confidantes.

Chapter 100 Experimental Repertoire

October 7th, the last day of the National Day holiday.

On the plane to Beijing, Yang Du found his seat in first class.

Then, upon closer inspection, she realized that the middle-aged man sitting next to her, who was flipping through a magazine, was none other than Huo Xintong.

"Director Huo?" Yang Du greeted him with some surprise. "I didn't expect you to be in Hangzhou as well."

Upon hearing this, Huo Xintong looked up and smiled in surprise: "Yang Du? What a coincidence, visiting an old friend in Hangzhou. And you, I remember your hometown is Hangzhou, right?"

"Yes, I went back to my hometown to spend a few days with my parents," Yang Du said as he fastened his seatbelt. "I really didn't expect to run into you on the plane. Are you also heading back to Beijing?"

Huo Xintong was amused by this and pointed to the porthole: "Otherwise what? Even if I wanted to get off the plane midway, the flight attendants wouldn't let me, otherwise it would become an accident."

"Hahaha."

After the plane took off smoothly, the cabin quieted down. Huo Xintong looked at the students around her, feeling more and more appreciative and proud.

"You really made Beijing Conservatory of Music look good this National Day Gala."

There's a saying that there are three towering mountains in China's music academies, referring to the three most prestigious music institutions: Beijing Conservatory of Music, Central Conservatory of Music, and Central Conservatory of Music.

Although these three universities are all top-tier, they are clearly distinct in their respective ecological niches.

As the saying goes, the Central Conservatory of Music produces musicians, the Middle Conservatory of Music produces singers, and the Beijing Conservatory of Music produces great singers.

It is not hard to see that the teaching system and training direction of Beijing Conservatory of Music are more inclined towards popular music and market application, and cultivate high-achieving students who can quickly monetize in the commercial music system.

The middle school is the domain of folk vocal music, folk instrumental music, and opera music; it is truly the cradle of the national team.

The Central Conservatory of Music, on the other hand, has the strongest academic atmosphere, focusing on Western classical music and instrumental music, and considers itself the orthodox academic school in the music circle.

Because of this natural division of factions, Yang Du, a senior student at the Beijing Conservatory of Music—who will be a senior after the start of the new semester in September—singing two songs on the National Day Gala stage is a huge victory for the entire Beijing Conservatory of Music faction.

It's important to understand that in these traditional galas, Beijing opera is at a relative disadvantage, while folk and bel canto styles are the regular performers.

"Did you see yesterday's rankings?" Huo Xintong asked.

"Yes, I watched it."

Yesterday, October 6th, the charts were updated, and "The Lone Warrior" successfully topped the list with 4.3 million downloads and 310 million streams in four days, helping Lin Xu win his second number one single in his career.

Furthermore, after deducting 10% from Jinshi Publishing and 5% from Lin Xu's artist royalties, it still brought Yang Du a net income of over 1400 million yuan.

This is the benefit of owning the master tape copyright: you directly pocket the lion's share. The revenue from one song in a week is equivalent to the revenue from three songs over several months in the past.

"This is all thanks to your recommendation, Director." Yang Du said sincerely.

Huo Xintong shook her head: "I can give you the key to get in, but whether you can get in depends on your own ability, right? Otherwise, with so many people at Beijing Conservatory of Music, and you're not the only talented one, why are you the one who gets to perform at the gala? Ultimately, it still comes down to the quality of your work."

As they were talking, a flight attendant pushing a food cart stopped beside them and began distributing meals. When she saw Yang Du, her eyes lit up, and she excitedly lowered her voice, "Mr. Yang Du? Is it really you? My daughter and I both love your songs... Could you please give us an autograph later?"

"no problem."

Half a minute later, Huo Xintong watched the flight attendant's departing figure, smiled meaningfully, and said, "Look, you're a celebrity now, at least a little."

"However, I do feel it's necessary to give you a heads-up. You're currently enjoying too much popularity, and expectations from the outside world are too high. I suggest you take some time to calm down and reflect. Being overly enthusiastic and flamboyant isn't necessarily a good thing."

"My agent also suggested that we control our exposure."

Huo Xintong wholeheartedly agreed: "That's right. Besides, although the two songs at the National Day Gala temporarily silenced Jiang Yinglan and her group, it doesn't mean they've truly submitted."

"Those people at the Central Conservatory of Music consider themselves the orthodox masters of serious music, and they already have a prejudice against pop music. You just retaliated with your work, so they must be secretly watching you with a magnifying glass, waiting for you to make a mistake or fall down so they can come back stronger."

Yang Du thought that this made sense.

As a certain celestial squid Taoist once said, choosing a path is essentially equivalent to automatically choosing the corresponding friend or foe.

He came from the Beijing Conservatory of Music, which meant he was destined to clash with certain people at the Central Conservatory of Music.

"Hmm, it's quite a coincidence. I was resting at home a few days ago and suddenly had a burst of inspiration, a style completely different from my previous pieces. Could you give me your feedback?"

Huo Xintong perked up immediately: "Okay, I'll listen."

Five minutes and thirty seconds later, Huo Xintong took off her headphones and said incredulously, "You set the entire poem to music?"

"Yes." Yang Du nodded. "Bai Juyi's 'Pipa Xing'."

"Not bad, this experimental piece. The entire 'Pipa Xing' is probably around six or seven hundred words long, right? It's a long piece with a relatively fixed sentence structure. You've managed to write it into a song that fits the structure of modern pop music, and you've also incorporated traditional opera elements into the singing style. It's very creative."

"However—" Huo Xintong pondered for a moment, then thought of a problem, "If this song is to be truly produced, the most difficult part is not the arrangement, but the singing."

Yang Du smiled and said, "Actually, I also have this concern. I feel that if we find a regular pop singer to sing it, they might not be able to carry the performance."

Huo Xintong said, "That's right. To sing 'The Song of the Pipa' well, vocal skills alone are not enough. The singer must also have a sense of language and a certain level of literary literacy. Otherwise, even if you sing it, it will just be a soulless, frivolous ancient-style song, a waste of Bai Juyi's lyrics."

"Therefore, the most suitable person for this song should be a professionally trained vocal student who has a solid technical foundation and has not been misled by the market routines in the industry."

Yang Du spread his hands and said, "If we follow this standard, then we have to exclude Beijing Conservatory of Music first."

Huo Xintong wasn't angry when she heard that.

"The Beijing Conservatory of Music is definitely not a top contender in this category. Our strength lies in popular singing styles and market applications. Of course, the Central Conservatory of Music is no better. They follow a scientific and bel canto-style Western approach, so having them sing 'The Song of the Pipa' would be completely out of place."

After eliminating Beijing accent and Central accent by process of elimination, the answer is obvious.

Yang Du outlined a range: "Mezzo-soprano, vocal major, specializing in folk singing, preferably with experience in traditional opera."

Huo Xintong added, "The middle school students are closer to the opera world, and they have more opportunities to be exposed to opera singing and traditional pronunciation in their daily lives, which makes them better able to sing the unique intonation and charm of ancient poems."

"But, Director, I have absolutely no connection with the Central Conservatory of Music," Yang Du said pitifully.

"That's easy. I'll make a call later and see if there are any good prospects that meet your requirements."