Chapter 40: 040 The Key Is The Persona
“What do you think of my singing?”
Pei Ningle stared at him, her small face full of expectation.
Wang Heng said calmly: “Very good.”
“Oh… that’s it?”
“Yeah, I already said it’s very good, what more do you want?”
The young girl couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. After all, while singing, she had closed her eyes and secretly fantasized about what kind of reaction Wang Heng would have—would he be dumbfounded or full of praise? She was very confident in her voice, but Wang Heng’s performance right now was too ordinary, just like he was saying—this level isn’t anything special.
Pei Ningle spoke honestly: “I thought you would be very surprised.”
Wang Heng: “You said you were a resident singer in a bar in the Imperial Capital for a while, and before that, you ran away from home because you felt you could make a living with music. So logically, your singing strength should be quite strong for that to make sense. I already had high expectations before you started singing, so I really wasn’t that surprised.”
“So what do you think?” There was a bit more expectation in the young girl’s gaze, “Can I make a living with this?”
Wang Heng thought for a moment.
If judging by the plot development of the first playthrough, Pei Ningle’s music future was naturally not to be underestimated. Before the cleaver tragedy, she had already entered the entertainment industry, counting as a promising second-tier new singer. Among the girls Wang Heng knew, besides Lu Qi who started her own business, Pei Ningle had the highest value. But thinking carefully, her path was full of ups and downs, and success had a lot of accidental factors.
However… if a reincarnator helped, it would be completely different.
Wang Heng said: “Hard to say, even the best wine fears a deep alley. If you’re just resident singing in a bar without marketing promotion strategy, purely relying on strength to become famous is extremely, extremely difficult.”
“What what…” The young girl tilted her head, “Strategy?”
“Sound effect promotion strategy. You have to know, the entertainment industry is a business, singing strength is just one influencing factor. The first problem to solve to become famous is how you attract others’ attention, making people who have never heard of you notice you.”
“So what should I do?”
Wang Heng: “Don’t you go online? Definitely through the network.”
Pei Ningle: “But I’ve already posted songs online…”
Wang Heng shook his head: “Without a promotion strategy, no one will listen. First, you must establish a persona for yourself, then formulate promotion steps around that persona, and determine the marketing focus.”
“Persona?”
Pei Ningle blinked, her face full of confusion.
Wang Heng had already thought it through. If he could help Pei Ningle get her career started, then once she got really busy, she naturally wouldn’t be able to have any ambiguous relationship with him.
So he explained earnestly: “For example, Shen Siyu, she’s a young idol singer, taking the cute young girl route. Besides her album tracks being almost all light fresh love songs, she gives fans that feeling usually too—no scandals, no smoking or drinking, because fans project into the boyfriend role she sings about in her songs. While Ma Ying is a middle-aged powerhouse singer, same gender, but completely different song style. So Ma Ying can shout and yell on variety shows, often directly confronting people she doesn’t like, but fans don’t mind too much, because her persona is a senior in the music scene, with both strength and popularity, and a straightforward personality.”
Pei Ningle pondered: “That’s what a persona is?”
“Yeah, the so-called character setting is a term from novels and scripts, but it fits the entertainment industry perfectly too. Because every star relies on fans. You could say, the way others view stars, the impression stars leave on others, determines their value. So all entertainment industry activities must consider how to establish a persona.”
The young girl pointed to her chest: “But I don’t have any fame at all right now.”
Wang Heng: “A small boat is easy to turn, better to figure out persona matters early. First think about what kind of persona you want to establish, then consider how to become famous through which channel. For example, a serious traditional singer, taking the singing career route, then go participate in official youth singer talent shows, apply to top music academies, align with official channels. If relying on appearance, taking the cute-selling route… Shen Siyu directly signed with an entertainment company back then, but nowadays a better choice is to join a talent show. As long as your face looks good on camera and your voice is pleasant, quickly blowing up isn’t too hard.”
Just as Pei Ningle fell into contemplation, the prelude of the next song started. She hurriedly said “Talk later” and returned to the stage.
Wang Heng watched the singing girl, then glanced at the audience immersed in rapture, and silently made up his mind.
“Must establish that kind of… idol singer persona for her, national girlfriend, absolutely cannot date!”
————
More than two hours later, Pei Ningle’s first part-time job at this bar ended successfully.
When Brother Tao saw Pei Ningle and Wang Heng out, he expressed great satisfaction: “We agreed, right? Come over every evening from now on, eight to eleven at night, two hundred yuan each time. If you can’t make it, tell me before noon in advance, no problem, right?”
Pei Ningle smiled brightly: “No problem!”
“Then you head back, I have things at the shop, won’t see you off.”
Brother Tao turned and went back.
Pei Ningle and Wang Heng walked out of the bar, and the surroundings immediately quieted down. Near midnight, the streets were naturally much quieter than inside the bar.
The young girl reached out her hand, two hundred-yuan bills handed to Wang Heng: “Look look, tonight’s labor achievement, not a loss, right?”
Wang Heng: “Don’t flash wealth, put it away.”
Pei Ningle shook her head: “I still owe you money, paying you back now.”
But Wang Heng refused: “You keep it yourself. Today you only found work, but no house. Wait until you rent a suitable house and pay the rent, then paying me back makes sense. If rent isn’t enough, you’ll have to borrow more from me.”
“True…”
The young girl hesitated, then stuffed the money back in her pocket.
The two walked along the empty street for a bit, when Wang Heng suddenly asked: “How’s the thinking on the persona matter?”
Pei Ningle turned her head to stare at him, frowning slightly: “I don’t want any young girl persona.”
“Ah?”
“I don’t want to become a pure product, having to check others’ opinions on what clothes to wear every day. I don’t want to act cute either, I just want to sing, and songs I write myself.”
Wang Heng deliberately scared her: “Think it through, the cost of this choice might be never becoming famous in your lifetime, not even entering the entertainment industry, only staying in places like bars…”
“Then I’ll sing in bars for life!”
The young girl’s gaze shone brightly under the streetlight, with an unquestionable determination.
————
