RAP STAR

Chapter 96 [verse 15. Trend]

Lee Taeseok felt bewildered. But he waited until the end. He kept waiting. He waited until Shin Hayeon's recording was finished, and even monitored the guide mixing. Fortune favors the patient.

Finally, Lee Sanghyun spoke.

"Director."

"Yes?"

Don't show too much excitement.

Act indifferent. Act indifferent.

"Goodbye."

"No, wait, uh, excuse me!"

In the end, Lee Taeseok had to rush over and grab Lee Sanghyun, who was trying to leave the recording studio in a hurry.

Already feeling defeated, Lee Taeseok urgently talked about the advantages of Rush Entertainment, the artists they had, the promotion system, and the fact that they had signed with an indie kid.

Lee Sanghyun, who was seriously listening to his story, said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested."

"What? No, I'm not asking you to buy anything..."

"You're asking for those benefits with my music, right? So, no."

Lee Sanghyun politely greeted again and left the recording studio. Lee Taeseok understood. He wasn't the one who was left behind. He was the one who politely turned his back.

"Oh, what should I do?"

Lee Taeseok scratched his head with a perplexed expression. The engineers, who guessed the situation, looked at him and asked, "Are you trying to play hard to get?"

"I couldn't care less."

"It doesn't seem like you're just brushing it off."

In fact, Rush Entertainment's proactive approach to contact Lee Sanghyun today was because of a request from Oh Gyeong Entertainment.

An early body value assessment.

A pre-contracting strategy commonly referred to as "playing hard to get" by casting directors.

It was a prelude to signing a contract with a rookie musician.

If Sanghyun had shown interest in Rush Entertainment today, Taeseok planned to discuss specific contract terms, including the contract deposit and duration, all right there. He even intended to hand over a standard contract sample for Sanghyun to review at home.

However, Rush Entertainment had no intention of actually signing Sanghyun or 888 Crew. In reality, it was Oh Gyeong Entertainment that was eyeing Sanghyun.

The purpose of such contact was to implant the idea in musicians that "middle-tier companies like Rush Entertainment offer a million." Later, when Oh Gyeong Entertainment approaches with an offer of 80, naturally, musicians might think, "Well, since a big agency is better, this must be a reasonable offer."

Conversely, if Rush Entertainment asks for 100, and Oh Gyeong Entertainment offers 150, it could implant the thought, "Oh Gyeong Entertainment values me more?" Even if they offer a large deposit, they could still negotiate terms in their favor.

But after more than nine years in the casting business, Taeseok knew. He'd do as requested, but Sanghyun wouldn't budge even if they offered 1,000.

Taeseok found it odd. "He seems like someone who'd stake his life on music, so why does he care about being signed to a company?"

In Korea's show business industry, the keyword "personal musicality" had lost importance over the past decade. Since 1997, no singer had proven themselves solely on musical talent. All had been nurtured with capital. And this trend had only solidified and grown stronger into the 2000s.