163 – Final Activity (2)
Jung So-hyun, Top East’s AR general manager, climbed the stairs.
The place where my steps stopped was on the 4th floor of the office building, where the CEO’s office was located.
Jung So-hyun walked to the door and knocked on it.
ㅡKnock knock.
And the voice of CEO Kim Wi-dong is heard through the door.
ㅡOh, come in.
The representative director’s office entered, and the representative sat at the head of the table.
No, judging by his uncle’s expression of calm, it seemed like he had already made up his mind.
“So, are you here?”
“Yes, uncle.”
My uncle got up from his seat and stood in front of the coffee machine.
“Would you like some coffee?”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll talk to you soon and then I’ll come down. I have some business to take care of again.”
“… Then you get sick, so take it easy. Even so, your mom is always nagging my nephew for making him work overtime.”
“Yes, just finish the important work first.”
“Stubborn.”
My uncle sighed and sat down again with his brewed coffee.
“Okay, we’ll have to consider things, but… Sohyun, what do you want to do?”
Jeong So-hyun took out her tablet and handed it to Kim Wi-dong, her representative and her uncle.
A graph of the Save profit rate trend was displayed on the screen.
“First, let’s start with the graph…”
But my uncle’s expression as he looked at the screen was indifferent.
Kim Wi-dong took a sip of coffee and touched the graph.
“The expected rate of return is definitely high when Gocheok Dome sells out. They are better than most male idols.”
Jeong So-hyun first annotated the graph.
“Yes, it’s Gocheok Dome. Moreover, it’s even more meaningful because it’s the first time a girl group has sold out a group. No matter how big the market is, unless it’s Coral Blue, it’s completely impossible for any existing girl group. Probably including our kids. Even members’ prices would have risen sharply.”
“Yes, that’s right. Do you think coral blue would be able to sell out Gocheok Dome?”
Jeong So-hyun, who was wondering with her head, came up with an answer.
“…Yes, I think it is possible. Additional meaning would have to be given. Just as this Gocheok Dome concert is giving the impression that it is the last concert of the Saven members, or a confirmation of fans’ purchasing power to extend it. Yo. This.”
Of course, that was LE’s strategy.
It gives hope that the Save Project will be extended once Gocheok Dome is sold out.
“That’s right. Those LE idiots who only belong to a large corporation, their higher-ups haven’t changed anything. There’s no such thing as coexistence with the fans or with the agency. All they do is build up their performance.”
But because of the commerce, each company had to actually use a calculator.
Should it be extended or not?
Anyway, Gocheok Sky Dome was sold out.
Jung So-hyun then pointed to a graph.
“Anyway… First of all, the response to Saven is increasing not only in Asia but also in Western countries including the United States, which is the trend on Spotify here…”
But the conversation did not last until the end.
“Director Hwang Hyeon-man came and went earlier.”
Because CEO Kim Wi-dong turned over the tablet with the graph displayed.
“The head of the headquarters said this. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep the two of them as Saben.”
Jeong So-hyun felt the urge to refute immediately, but she listened quietly first.
Even though he was my uncle, he was still the representative.
“First of all, we have two members, so a large proportion of the money that Saven earns as he grows up. Think about Season 1 of Idol, Yoo Ah-hyun, who was a hit and achieved the top personal brand reputation for girl groups, is also a spin-off group. When we failed, we ended up becoming so-so celebrities. But is there any reason for us to give up the sure source of income that is Saven?”
“Uncle, it is absurd to compare Yoo Ah-hyun and Do-hee…”
“Listen to the end. I still have something left to say. If Saven’s extension fails due to rejection by other companies, it is the performance of the spin-off group that determines the money they will earn in the future, so it would be better to have them debut as actors or solo singers. How are you feeling?”
The CEO and the A&R general manager’s eyes met.
Dalssagi saw Jeong So-hyun’s mouth and Kim Wi-dong said.
“Let’s put the graph aside and just get to the point, Sohyun. If I make you work overtime again for no reason, your mom will come after me.”
However, Sohyun Jeong turned her tablet over again and displayed her graph.
“Uncle, I’m not comparing Yoo Ah-hyun and Do-hee that the director said… No, let’s skip this. Fundamentally, I see three reasons for the failure of existing spin-off groups.”
Thanks to this, Kim Wi-dong sighed.
“Maybe it’s because she takes after her older sister, but she’s stubborn. She picks on everything.”
“First, the lack of charm of non-survival members. Fans who have been introduced to survival programs only see aces and have high expectations. So, expectations are also high for non-survival members of spin-off groups.”
As I turn the page, the profiles of three trainees appear on the screen.
“Naeun. I was in 8th place in the final season of Jerkass season 3. As a leader, all the members follow me well.”
“Wow. Before Dohee came, she was a core member of the next generation girl group we selected. Currently, we are considering the center position with Dohee because she fits the image we envision.”
“Chiyo… A foreigner with the most personality and a unique character that the public will like.”
And then I turned the page again.
Profile photos of Saven members, Seoyoon and Dohee.
“More than anything, these two are uniquely certain to act as a revolving door.”
Once again, the screen of the page I went to showed a graph of the profit rate of the spin-off group from Season 1 of Jealousy.
“The second reason is the division of the fandom. Because Saven is a survival project girl group, there is still a large concentration of individual fans. And since it started out as a competitive system, I am used to the system in which my child can only move up by pushing out the child next to him. “There is a high possibility that they will turn into malicious personal fans.”
Significant rate of return only for first debut.
And as time goes by, the curve slopes downward.
“Of course, there are still many people who say that they will support all fans even if the disbandment is disbanded, but this is only true at the beginning of debut. As time passes, a large percentage of fans will turn into malicious individual fans, or so-called evil fans. In other words, the disbandment will not result in a complete transfer of the fandom. Not only that, but it also means starting with malicious people.”
Kim Wi-dong, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.
“Yes. Moreover, if the extension fails, LE will not take responsibility for the articles they recklessly made to sell Saven for the last time. And they will try to blame it on the members’ agencies, and that is a possibility. “You know we’re the ones this high, right?”
Jung So-hyun nodded.
“Yes, I recommend it, but Park Ye-eun’s company is small and medium-sized, so there is a high possibility that they will agree to the extension of Saven in the first place.”
So there was no justification for being passed over.
“And the remaining agencies of Eun Se-ra, Jeon Ha-rang, and Gong Chae-rin will oppose the extension, but JS, HARU, and ZY are very large agencies.”
Even from the perspective of LE, a large corporation, it is unfortunate that these agencies are of such a size that it is difficult to keep an eye on them.
“From LE’s point of view, the relatively easy one is our Top East, and furthermore, since we only have two members, it’s easy to blame them for having a higher say than other agencies.”
“Yes, the rumor that they disbanded because of us will spread underground. Thanks to this, fans who have a strong all-fan mentality will also be disappointed by the disbandment, so there will be members they want to blame, and it is highly likely that they will be us. That’s right. In other words, it’s our kids who will have the most malicious fans from the start.”
Representative Kim Wi-dong, who continued speaking calmly, trembled at the end and his face turned red.
Seeing her uncle like that, Jeong So-hyun turned the pages of her tablet in a familiar manner.
“Still, there are some measures in place. First of all, Dohee has the largest number of personal fans among the Saven members, and Seoyoon is also quite a few.”
On the screen was a JS Entertainment schedule report obtained from a securities company.
“The launch of JS’s new girl group is written in the first quarter of next year. Of course, since it is just a rumor, it is impossible to confirm its authenticity yet, but considering the recent rumor that JS is secretly in contact with the companies of Kwon Hana and Park Ye-eun, “I think they’re trying to buy out two members.”
Buyout, means paying money to the member’s agency to buy the member.
“Yes, in terms of timing, it is probably certain that JS will launch a girl group.”
In other words, since they paid a lot of money to buy it, they meant that they would soon launch it as a girl group and make more profit than that.
“Yes, so we can continue to spread this information to the community. JS was also planning to launch a girl group with Eun Sera at the center, so the rumor that it was disbanded because the two Top East members refused has subsided to some extent. Of course, there are malicious fans who believe what they want to believe.”
CEO Kim Wi-dong nodded his head as if he agreed with his niece Jeong So-hyun’s words.
“Okay, I understand the first and second reasons. What about the third and final reason?”
And at the same time, there was a clear goal in Jeong So-hyun’s eyes.
“Incompetent agencies lack planning ability. In the end, the concept and song are overwhelmingly more important to box office success than the members.”
Starting as a new member of the A&R team at my uncle’s company, I worked my way up to the A&R general manager.
Jung So-hyun has proven her ability, not just a parachute, by forming solo singers and groups such as X-10 and Pastel Love.
Her goal was to create her group, fully conceived from start to finish.
As a producer, not as an A&R team.
“This is your first time doing general producing, but are you confident?”
She was planning to achieve that goal starting with this girl group.
Her shares were also gifted to her uncle and she was scheduled to become a director within the company.
“Yes. And…”
Jung So-hyun thought of Do-hee.
Director Hwang Hyeon-man comparing Yoo Ah-hyun and Do-hee was somehow funny.
The star quality of the two is not only incomparable.
“Dohee is a girl who will produce on her own even if I can’t do it anyway. At that time, I will just direct.”
The CEO, who was looking at her nephew, A&R general manager Jeong So-hyun, who rarely shows emotions, chuckled.
“Yes, anyway, I had no intention of extending the contract by splitting the money 5 to 5 with those LE bastards. Even if we just brought them in and made them debut, our income would be similar, so what’s the point?”
“You may have to give me more stock options because you are going to hand it over significantly.”
The CEO was laughing.
Her uncle looked the other way.
Seeing her uncle like that, Jeong So-hyun stood up from her seat.
“Then I’ll go. I have some work left to take care of.”
As she saw her uncle nodding his head and leaving, she heard him muttering to himself.
“My relationship with LE won’t be good for a while, huh.”
“I’m going to make you look for it in LE later anyway.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Ah, Sohyeon.”
“Yes?”
“Stop working and now bring my nephew and son-in-law.”
Sohyun Jeong left her CEO’s office.
“Your mom is criticizing me again for making me work!”
Corporate politics in this novel is really slick