Chapter 45 Internal Arrangements
Jiang Shu drove Bae Joo-hyun to the company. After handing her over to Choi Ji-yeon, he went straight to his office.
IVE's MV team had already completed the recording, and the first cut was out. Jiang Shu planned to take a look.
The first version did not have special effects; the green screen was still a green screen, without any special effects.
The classic airplane jump sequence in “I AM” certainly couldn't be missing, and there were also scenes of dancing on top of the plane, all of which required special effects to complete.
If it was just an MV where scenes were built and then dancing took place, that would only cost time and makeup. DM Entertainment, no matter how poor, wouldn't release a debut song without an MV.
The key was that the MV for this song had a large number of special effects shots, which all required post-production. Filming completion didn't mean everything was done.
Back in the office, Jiang Shu immediately saw the documents on his desk.
He glanced at the documents. They were from the Marketing Department, but he wasn't in a hurry to read them.
After sending a message to Qu Fan, he opened his computer and found the first version of the video sent by the MV production team in his email.
He clicked on it and watched.
It differed from the MV in his memory, but overall it was quite similar. The difference was the complete version after adding the special effects shots.
He fast-forwarded through the three-minute video, closed the screen, and picked up the document from the Marketing Department.
He opened the document.
"Oh?" Jiang Shu looked at the various data statistics for IVE sent by the Marketing Department.
In the past half month since their debut, Liu Zhimin and Zhang Yuanying each already had several fancams with millions of views.
This was unreasonable, but very top-tier.
For mere rookies to achieve millions of views so quickly, should it be said that they truly are our double Cs?
The fastest fancam to reach a million views was Zhang Yuanying's debut stage, while the one with the highest views was Liu Zhimin's third stage outfit, with over three million views as of now, still a considerable distance from over ten million.
Although they were top-tier, they were only top-tier for their current period, not the top-tier from the later data explosion era, so the data didn't increase too ridiculously.
This document was essentially a summary of the girl group records currently set by IVE.
Qu Fan was about to come over, so he would give it to him later and let him give this document to the fans for promotion.
Soon after, Qu Fan arrived.
"Chairman." Qu Fan was about to bow, but his movement stopped abruptly, turning into a slight bow instead.
"Here, take this." Jiang Shu handed the document in his hand to Qu Fan, and at the same time, took the marketing plan from Qu Fan's hand.
Qu Fan looked at the document Jiang Shu handed him and quickly flipped through it.
"Are you asking me to do some promotion?" Qu Fan asked.
"Mm, you handle the marketing," Jiang Shu said without looking up.
"Understood." After reading the data summary, Qu Fan already had a general plan on how to guide fans to rally for IVE.
"This version is much better." Jiang Shu nodded with satisfaction. "Let's go with this plan."
After speaking, Jiang Shu turned and picked up the chairman's seal from his desk, stamped the back of the document, then picked up the pen on the table, signed his name in Chinese, and handed it to Qu Fan.
Qu Fan glanced at the signature at the end, silently noting Jiang Shu's habit.
In Korea, a Chinese signature combined with a seal indeed served as a very effective anti-counterfeiting mark.
Of course, if one truly wanted to forge it, it wouldn't be difficult, just a little harder than a Korean signature, as finding a calligrapher who knows Chinese to forge it would be a bit troublesome.
"Has the announcement for collecting songs for IVE's mini-album from across the country been released?" Jiang Shu asked again.
This was the task he had assigned Qu Fan before going to Daegu.
"It has been implemented. Any songs submitted afterwards will also be collected by the Data Statistics Office."
The work of collecting submitted songs should ideally be the responsibility of the Production Department, but DM Entertainment does not have a Production Department, so there is no situation where these tasks would be handed over to them.
The establishment of a Production Department and the dance studio founded by the dancers Yin Huilin brought are two different matters. The former consists of producers, and most entertainment companies do not have their own independent Production Department.
DM Entertainment's only producer now is Jiang Shu.
"You may leave. Have Choi Ji-yeon come in."
"Understood." Qu Fan responded, and left the office with the document Jiang Shu had signed and the data summary he had just received.
Soon after Qu Fan left, Choi Ji-yeon entered.
"Chairman, you called for me."
"Have Bae Joo-hyun's onboarding procedures been completed?"
"They've been completed. She's currently in the practice room interacting with other trainees. After lunch, I'll take her to see the trainee dorms." Choi Ji-yeon stated Bae Joo-hyun's upcoming schedule.
Jiang Shu nodded upon hearing this.
"The Data Statistics Office is collecting the submitted songs. Send me the submitted songs regularly. IVE's comeback needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible."
June was almost over, and once the second half of the year began, time would pass quickly. The preparations for the mini-album still needed to be expedited.
This time, the comeback with the title track “Love Dive” would not be like the debut song without an MV. After the song is produced, they still need to record the MV, practice the choreography, and so on.
Yin Huilin has already started choreographing the title track. Once the B-side tracks are confirmed, the choreography for those can begin, and then the mini-album can start its promotional work and official recording.
While the work before a group's debut is complex, compared to every comeback after debut, it seems less troublesome.
It's just that comparison makes it seem so.
"Yes, I will send you updates from the Data Statistics Office as soon as there's any news," Choi Ji-yeon said.
"Mm, you can go ahead and finish up Bae Joo-hyun's matters."
"Understood." Choi Ji-yeon bowed to Jiang Shu, then stood up and left.
After Choi Ji-yeon left, Jiang Shu's gaze fell on the documents awaiting his approval to one side. He glanced at the notes on the side, all of which were financial documents.
He estimated they were for approval and signing of various expenditure items.
Jiang Shu reached out and took the topmost document. The first thing that caught his eye was the total expenditure for IVE's nine music show performances during this period, totaling over 360 million korean won. This was to be paid to the various music programs.
He quickly reviewed it, signed his name, and stamped it with the chairman's seal.
Do entertainment companies ever owe money for music show appearances? Yes, they do.
One type is those on the verge of bankruptcy, and another type is the Three Greats who have long-term collaborations.
The former has nothing to lose, while the latter are large and established, with long-standing partnerships, so there's no worry about them absconding, and paying a bit late is fine.
However, companies like DM Entertainment must settle accounts punctually within the stipulated time.
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