Chapter 337: Anti-DM Alliance
The questions from the press conference quickly spread across the internet, with countless netizens debating whether DM Entertainment constituted a monopoly.
Jiang Shu's thought-provoking expression during the Q&A session also seemed to convey some information, drawing the attention of many observant individuals.
It was well-known that IZONE held immense power, but no one had been willing to be the first to bring this issue to light.
The reporter's question acted like a fuse, and with it, the 'first to speak out' finally emerged.
Top-floor private room of an entertainment club.
Su Xueyun was led by a waiter to the private room's entrance, where two secretaries guarding the door pushed it open and bowed to welcome her.
As Su Xueyun entered the room, the other occupants turned their gazes towards her.
Being stared at by so many industry bigwigs who frequently appeared in major newspapers, Su Xueyun maintained a poker face, but she felt a slight tension inside.
Su Xueyun walked over and sat beside another director from Cube who had also arrived. As she took her seat, most people looked away.
"Everyone's here. Director Kim, can we begin?" someone from P Nation said lazily, looking at the Cube director.
"Alright." The director next to Su Xueyun didn't beat around the bush. "Everyone here is a representative interested in targeting IZONE, so I won't waste any time."
Su Xueyun listened from the side. IZONE had all other girl groups gasping for air, and at the DM Entertainment campus recruitment fair, that female reporter raised the monopoly question. Following that, Su Xueyun proposed a plan to deal with IZONE during an internal Cube meeting.
Many directors within Cube approved and disapproved, but she ultimately persuaded them. After all, IZONE had essentially blocked the upward path for other girl groups, showing no signs of breaking through the blockade.
Since they couldn't surpass them, they could only find a way to deal with them.
Subsequently, Su Xueyun represented Cube in lobbying various entertainment companies. Most companies were somewhat swayed, but at this point, no one wanted to be the first to speak out. After all, the IVE incident had already provoked Jiang Shu; if it happened again, he might really explode.
Moreover, this 'first to speak out' needed to have sufficient weight, and most companies lacked that status.
Of course, the main reason was that they feared Jiang Shu, this young man, might truly lose his temper and drag them down with him.
Among the influential companies, S.M. was naturally unwilling to do this; DM Entertainment was their second largest shareholder, and their collaborations with DM Entertainment, Red Velvet and aespa, were making a lot of money.
However, Kakao also proposed keeping it confidential. After all, if IZONE was gone, the biggest beneficiary would be aespa, currently the only top-tier group.
After two comebacks, ITZY's popularity was barely maintaining its first-tier status and was no longer a concern.
JYP had some thoughts, but not many. The reason was simple: NMIXX was also a collaborative project. If they truly angered DM Entertainment and NMIXX was ruined by them, it would only result in a lose-lose situation. Nevertheless, JYP still sent someone, not to be the first to speak out, but to observe the situation.
YG…
YG stepped forward.
Others feared DM Entertainment, but they did not.
And Jiang Shu had tricked Yang Hyun-suk last time, and he still remembered it.
As for whether Jiang Shu would explode…
In Yang Hyun-suk's view, he wouldn't. DM Entertainment was not the same DM it used to be. Back then, DM Entertainment only had IVE to show for itself; if IVE failed, Jiang Shu would definitely explode in anger.
But now, DM Entertainment was a large enterprise. Even if IZONE was gone, they still had many girl groups as their foundation. If the recording were released, Yang Hyun-suk would explode, but Jiang Shu wouldn't be much better off.
After all, Yang Hyun-suk was criticized daily, while Jiang Shu's current persona was that of a saint. If it truly came to a lose-lose situation, Jiang Shu would actually suffer more damage.
This was also why Yang Hyun-suk dared to continue targeting IZONE without fearing Jiang Shu would overturn the table.
"If we arrange for internet trolls to smear IZONE as you suggested, they will easily be handled by public relations," Zheng Xu, who had been silent, finally spoke.
Many companies were present at this event, but the highest-ranking were undoubtedly YG Chairman Yang Hyun-suk and JYP CEO Zheng Xu.
However, compared to Yang Hyun-suk, who had been speaking continuously, this was Zheng Xu's first time speaking.
"Our cooperation with DM is deep, so I understand DM's public relations capabilities better than you. They have a dedicated public opinion monitoring system; this level of internet trolling cannot form a significant scale."
That was indeed a problem.
After Zheng Xu finished speaking, everyone fell into contemplation.
DM Entertainment's public relations were indeed top-notch in the industry. After all, what kind of good person kept an entire public relations team within their company?
Wasn't that usually outsourced?
"I have a suggestion." Su Xueyun spoke, subtly glancing at Zheng Xu as she did so.
She was starting to wonder if Zheng Xu was on their side. She had been struggling with how to guide the conversation in this direction, as Jiang Shu's instructions were for high-ranking executives with specific positions to step forward.
Until now, it had only been happening behind the scenes; he needed someone to openly take a stand.
While Su Xueyun was still pondering how to proceed, Zheng Xu spoke.
God-tier teammate or pig-headed opponent?
Su Xueyun didn't know, but as she spoke, everyone looked at this Cube director.
"After the internet trolls set the rhythm, we can arrange for an influential executive to publicly endorse the claims. There hasn't been anything like this in the industry yet. Once someone stands up, even IZONE's fans will start to doubt, and the effect will be very difficult to counter with public relations." Su Xueyun delivered her pre-prepared lines.
Many people's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
It was indeed true.
If you immediately claim Zhang Yuanying is a bully, fans won't believe it, and even passersby might not.
But if an industry insider, especially a high-ranking executive like Zheng Xu, were to come out and say, "I know about this," then the effect would be completely different. Not to mention passersby, even fans would start to wonder, "Could this actually be true?"
Thinking of this, everyone collectively looked at Yang Hyun-suk.
Yang Hyun-suk: "…"
"If I step forward, I'll be sued for defamation." Yang Hyun-suk shook his head and refused. If he personally spread rumors, DM Entertainment would have a specific target for attack, and their legal department wasn't just for show.
"You can indirectly endorse it, for example, by hinting. Even if they sue you for defamation, it would be difficult to fully prove, as you could argue it in other ways," Zheng Xu said, clearly agreeing that Yang Hyun-suk should take a stand.
Yang Hyun-suk frowned and thought for a long time before finally speaking.
"Alright, but after the plan succeeds, you cannot debut new girl groups for one year, and existing groups cannot have more than two comebacks."
"Okay."
"Okay!"
"No problem!"
Su Xueyun smiled when she saw Yang Hyun-suk agree.