Entertainment News: I'm Not a Scumbag After Rebirth!

This time, the phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

Li Jun's voice was so cold it could shatter ice crystals:

What's the deal with "Love in the Windy City"? What's the deal with "Take Me Away"?

On the other end of the phone, Yuan Tao remained silent for longer than ever before.

When he spoke again, his voice was filled with exhaustion: "Teacher Li...you saw it."

"I need an explanation."

Li Jun gritted his teeth:

"The contract is in black and white, authorizing 'Love is Not Blind'. And what is this? Huayi is using my song as the theme song for your own new movie?"

Yuan Tao remained silent for a long time, his tone complex:

"I didn't handle this matter. After the copyright buyout contract was signed, the ownership and handling rights of the song belonged to the company. The supplementary authorization clause you mentioned does exist."

Hearing this, Li Jun slowly nodded, thinking that Yuan Tao was not such a person.

"But the company's senior management, specifically the film and television production department, felt that 'Love in the Windy City' needed this song to drive market attention, and the film was a key project for the company in the second half of the year. They went through the internal process and re-evaluated the licensing matter."

"Reassess?"

Li Jun laughed angrily:

"So the evaluation result is to tear up the written agreement with me and take the song away? Mr. Yuan, that's not what you said when you nodded in agreement."

Yuan Tao's voice lowered:

"I went to the company with the contract to confront them, saying that I wouldn't win a lawsuit like this. They said that legally, it might be interpreted as an intentional authorization rather than an exclusive mandatory authorization. The company's legal department took action on this. By the time I got the news, the company had already decided to give the song to 'Love in the Windy City'. I tried to communicate with them, but it was no use."

Li Jun understood; he had been tricked.

Huayi used the most commercial and shameless methods:

They bought out the copyright with a seemingly compliant contract, and then easily pried off the "supplementary agreement" given to him through internal operations and legal means. Yuan Tao may have been aware of it, or he may have only found out afterward, but in any case, he represented Huayi, and Huayi chose to maximize its interests and did not hesitate to treat Li Jun as a soft persimmon that could be easily manipulated.

"So, what about my 'Love is Not Blind'?"

Li Jun asked coldly.

"The company's suggestion is to offer some financial compensation. Alternatively, you can choose other songs."

Yuan Tao's words lacked confidence even to himself.

"Economic compensation? Other songs?"

Li Jun repeated it, then suddenly laughed, a laugh devoid of any warmth:

"Mr. Yuan, please thank your company's senior management for me. This lesson was absolutely profound."

"Li Jun, I've done my best. You know that Huayi has always been at the bottom of the music division. Although I am the director, I don't have much power in the board meetings."

"Ugh."

Li Jun interrupted him, his tone calming down, but that calmness was more frightening than anger:

"You guys can manipulate contracts, you're in the right. I accept that. Five hundred thousand for a song, and incidentally, to sober me up. It's not expensive."

He paused, then said, word by word:

"This isn't over. Huayi thinks I, Li Jun, am just a songwriter that they can manipulate at will, right? Once or twice, fine."

"Alright. Let's see who pinches whom then."

After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for Yuan Tao's response.

The room was quiet, with only the hum of the computer fan.

The report about "Love in the Windy City" was still displayed on the screen.

Li Jun stared at it for a long time, then suddenly leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

In my past life, I struggled on the fringes of the entertainment industry and witnessed countless power struggles and schemes.

I never expected that even with a second chance and some leverage, I still couldn't escape this fate.

Huayi's move not only snatched a song from him, but also humiliated him, clearly telling him:

In this circle, there is no equality, only strength and weakness.

If you're weak, even a contract is just a piece of waste paper that can be interpreted at any time.

"A head-on collision."

Li Jun muttered to himself and opened his eyes.

He previously wanted to leave room for maneuver, to leverage external forces, and to play within the rules.

Now, Huayi has torn the rules to shreds with its own hands.

Then don't blame him for not playing by the rules.

He picked up his phone and first sent a message to Tang Yan:

"Are you free? Come and finish filming the rest."

Then, he called Jia Peng, his tone leaving no room for argument:

"Jia Peng, the filming schedule will be accelerated for the next period of time. I'm going to start targeting Huayi Brothers."

"What?!"

Before Jia Peng on the other end of the phone could even hear clearly, was Li Jun going to challenge Huayi Brothers, the biggest entertainment company in the industry?

Finally, he turned on his computer and began searching for information about all of Huayi Brothers' recent projects, especially "Love in the Wind City".

Sure enough, promotional activities began to emerge online, and there were even claims that the theme song had been taken over from Li Jun's "Take Me Away".

The initial reason for cooperating with Huayi was that they could make money quickly and have free copyright, but this time they played tricks on this, which means it's destined to break ties.

Huayi thought Li Jun would tone it down a bit. They believed that Li Jun would eventually run out of ideas and would definitely not cause too much trouble with their big company.

At worst, we can just offer more compensation; it's clear from these negotiations that he's very short of money.

But it's different for Li Jun. He won't run out of ideas. He has plenty of songs. If he releases a song every day from now on, he could release enough for a year to bring down Huayi Music.

However, he did not intend to do so; he wanted to approach things from Huayi's perspective.

Even though the music aspect has dealt a heavy blow to Huayi, it has actually had no impact on the company as a whole.

The maximum loss can only be achieved by inflicting a major blow on his strengths.

They want to support the two "Bingbing" actresses to become their brand ambassadors, so let them poach them.

......

Beijing, Huayi Company headquarters, Yuan Tao sat in his simple office.

The flowers and plants obscured his face, preventing his subordinates from discerning his facial expression.

He slammed his fist heavily on the coffee table, causing the cups to fall off.

"President Yuan, please calm down. President Yuan, please calm down."

His men fell silent, but one of them, a bit bold, stepped forward to try and calm Yuan Tao down.

Yuan Tao made no other move, but slowly lay back down, propped his head up with his hands, and fell into deep thought.

Since the reforms at Huayi, his position has become increasingly marginalized.

This troubled him greatly. Although he still held a relatively high position in the company as music director, he no longer had much real power.

This troubled him greatly, and now he had also put Li Jun in a difficult position.

He had only received the news a short time ago, and before he could figure out how to tell Li Jun, the phone rang.

After all, Li Jun considers him a friend, so it's really not right for him to do this.

Yuan Tao hesitated for a moment, then became more determined.