Artists leaving companies wasn’t as simple as employees changing jobs.
With all the open and covert struggles in entertainment circles, mishandling relationships with management companies could lead to blacklisting as a minor consequence—companies could even spread negative rumors to completely destroy your future.
Fang Yinnian still had two and a half years left on his Sheng Yao contract. Forcibly breaking the contract would require paying hundreds of millions in astronomical penalty fees. But if the company wronged him first and he caught the company’s weakness, that would be different.
He really should thank Tao Yizhou for running into his crosshairs at this moment.
Tang Che understood Fang Yinnian’s meaning and immediately called his brother-in-law: “Brother-in-law, my friend wants to find a lawyer specializing in copyright. Yes, song copyright. You’ve also handled copyright lawsuits?”
“Excellent! When’s convenient for us to see you… okay, we’ll come right over.”
Tang Che’s sister had moved to Jiangzhou for a foreign company job after graduate school, and his brother-in-law’s law firm had relocated there too.
To avoid recognition, both wore sunglasses and masks, taking a ride-hailing car to his brother-in-law Cheng Siwen’s law office.
Lawyer Cheng dismissed others and prepared tea while waiting.
Fang Yinnian politely said: “Hello brother-in-law, sorry to disturb your work.”
Cheng Siwen smiled gentlemanly: “No need for politeness. Xiao Che wasn’t clear on the phone—what’s the specific situation?”
Fang Yinnian said: “Please first look at my contract with the management company, particularly these copyright clauses.”
He pulled up a file on his phone—the electronic version of his contract with Sheng Yao that he’d always kept. The signed and sealed paper contract was in his mother’s safe at home.
Cheng Siwen examined it carefully: “Singers accept company cultivation during contract periods, with copyrights of created songs belonging to the company.”
He paused: “Industry music companies all have such provisions. How signed singers’ created songs are released and promoted must follow company arrangements. The clauses are fine—seems like the management company’s standard template.”
Fang Yinnian asked: “What about attribution rights?”
Cheng Siwen was stunned, looking up at Fang Yinnian: “Attribution rights? Did the company put someone else’s name on songs you wrote?”
Fang Yinnian said: “Exactly. Though I’m not a legal major, I researched before signing the contract. Song copyrights belonging to companies during signing periods is very common in the industry. But song copyrights only include distribution rights, network transmission rights, etc.—these belong to copyright.”
“Attribution rights are independent, representing the creator’s identity. Authors have the right to decide how to sign their names on works.”
“Novels, scripts, songs, paintings—all literary and artistic works, even after original authors die, people know who wrote or painted them. Original authors never change because attribution rights aren’t limited by time and can’t be stripped by anyone.”
“Am I understanding correctly?”
Cheng Siwen hadn’t expected the young man before him to have such a calm brain, analyzing key issues so systematically.
He nodded: “Correct. If you have sufficient evidence proving this song is your independent creation and others changed attribution without your consent, that’s infringement.”
Fang Yinnian gripped his fingers tightly: “I have evidence. I recorded the entire songwriting process. I have witnesses—my mentor Yu Ziluo helped me revise some details, my friend Chen Mian heard the initial demo I sent him last year. These are all solid proof.”
Cheng Siwen said: “Then the lawsuit would be easy to win. Just have professionals compare both songs. Your song was written earlier than his—he plagiarized you. Courts will give you fair judgment, and you can seek compensation.”
Cheng Siwen glanced at Tang Che, then looked at Fang Yinnian, saying gently: “However, Yinnian, are you certain about directly breaking ties with Tao Yizhou over this one song? I suggest out-of-court settlement where you can propose your desired conditions.”
Tang Che frowned: “Brother-in-law! You’re a lawyer. Tao Yizhou clearly plagiarized—no, he directly took Yinnian’s song as his own. Copy-paste is more disgusting than plagiarism! You think Yinnian shouldn’t sue? Just swallow this injustice?”
Cheng Siwen sighed: “Law can certainly protect Yinnian’s rights. If you want to sue, I can follow this case throughout and am confident we can win. But you must consider lawsuit consequences. You’re still young—offending the company’s ace artist isn’t wise.”
Fang Yinnian said quietly: “Thank you, brother-in-law. I just need to know I have good winning chances if I sue.”
Tang Che looked at him in surprise: “Yinnian, what are you planning?”
Fang Yinnian stood up, saying seriously: “I’ve written many songs and will write more. One song isn’t my lifeline, but it can become my best bargaining chip.”
***
At Fang Yinnian’s request, Tang Che temporarily hid this from teammates. Their disappearance that afternoon was explained as coincidentally meeting for coffee and chat—teammates didn’t suspect anything.
The next day, Fang Yinnian brought the “Sounds of Nature” contract to Sheng Yao headquarters. Xu Baichuan was arguing with President Zhou about something, stopping only when Fang Yinnian entered.
Seeing Yinnian, Xu Baichuan’s expression softened considerably, smiling: “Yinnian, have you decided? Will you go to ‘Sounds of Nature?'”
Fang Yinnian said: “I won’t go. Let Tang Che go instead. Tang Che’s popularity isn’t lower than mine—being a solo regular guest is no problem. I’ll graduate from university soon and want to study abroad.”
Xu Baichuan looked at him in shock: “What did you say?”
Fang Yinnian smiled with firm attitude: “I want to study abroad. I don’t want to take any schedules for the next two and a half years.”
President Zhou’s smile stiffened as he frowned: “What do you mean? Are you crazy? Great prospects but not taking schedules, money delivered to your door but not earning it, running abroad to study some useless books?”
He couldn’t believe such words came from a popular artist’s mouth. With Fang Yinnian’s current popularity and endless variety show invitations, he could earn money while lying down. What stimulation had he received?
Xu Baichuan said gently: “Yinnian, I know you love music and want to learn more. But entertainment circles change so quickly—studying abroad now, wouldn’t you be wasting accumulated popularity?”
He patiently persuaded: “There will be plenty of opportunities later. After we establish firm footing, you can study for a master’s degree abroad—that’s not too late, right?”
Fang Yinnian placed a document on the table: “President Zhou, please look at this first.”
President Zhou glanced down—actually a lawsuit?!
He immediately sat straight, picking up the document to examine carefully.
Fang Yinnian was suing Tao Yizhou for song plagiarism and infringement, with very sufficient evidence listed and professionally written by a lawyer.
Xu Baichuan felt his scalp tingle: “What’s happening? Tao Yizhou plagiarized your song?”
Fang Yinnian looked at the man in the executive chair: “President Zhou, I gave these songs to my manager who passed them to you, right? You said I temporarily didn’t need solo singles and should slowly accumulate songs for future albums—I believed that. But why does Tao Yizhou’s album contain my song?”
His lips curved into a mocking smile: “Even the sheet music is identical—direct copy-paste, afraid I wouldn’t recognize it?”
President Zhou also wasn’t clear on the situation. Hearing this, he immediately called his assistant: “Have the copyright director and Tao Yizhou’s manager get to my office right now!”
Moments later, a man and woman rushed to the office.
Seeing Fang Yinnian, Sheng Yao’s copyright director immediately said: “Hey, Yinnian, I was just looking for you. Yizhou’s new album used one of your songs—wanted to give you copyright fees.”
“Been too busy these days, approval was slow. Copyright fees will arrive this afternoon. Zhouzhou offered you A-list producer industry rates—500,000 for one song. Your songwriting value almost matches Teacher Yu’s, haha.”
“Should I be happy?” Fang Yinnian’s lips curved into a smile. “You did this first and informed later, without my consent.”
Both were simultaneously stunned.
Tao Yizhou’s manager said: “Yinnian, the company has no plans for your solo album. Your songs were just sitting there—isn’t earning copyright fees good?”
“Besides, you’re a full-contract artist. Contract stipulates that song copyrights created during signing periods belong to the company. The company has rights to give your songs to others—you might not understand, but this is really common in the industry.”
Fang Yinnian asked seriously: “Being common makes it right? Taking songs I wrote and attributing them to Tao Yizhou, pretending he composed them, then hearing netizens praise ‘Zhouzhou is so talented’… is that right?”
His eyes were clearly gentle, yet at this moment, the two people he was looking at felt cold sweat on their backs.
Was it right? Of course not…
But entertainment industry attribution practices were such unspoken rules.
Scripts attributed to major screenwriters weren’t necessarily personally written—many ghostwriters and students wrote for them. Singers’ “original songs” weren’t all self-written either. Buying others’ songs and putting your name on them was so common! As long as money was made, wasn’t that good?
President Zhou realized the problem, frowning: “Did you get the process wrong? You should first get Yinnian’s consent, pay copyright fees to Yinnian, then release the song. How did it get reversed?”
The copyright director said nervously: “President Zhou, we checked Yinnian’s contract—copyrights belong to the company. The company can arrange his songs for others to sing, and copyright fees will be paid to him normally. It’s just that finance approval processes have been complex recently, delaying a few days. It’ll definitely arrive this afternoon!”
Fang Yinnian sneered inwardly. Process approvals were all excuses. Ultimately, they felt that unknown producers like him would be thrilled and grateful for 500,000 per song, with no reason to disagree.
President Zhou said flatly: “Enough, enough, the noise is giving me a headache. So it was a misunderstanding—approval processes had some issues.”
He looked at Fang Yinnian with a smile: “Alright Yinnian, don’t throw a childish tantrum. The company didn’t mean to disrespect you—we’ll pay copyright fees according to rules. It’s only been delayed by two days.”
He looked at Tao Yizhou’s manager: “How about this—give Yinnian some compensation. Let’s calculate copyright fees at 1 million, the same price as Teacher Yu.”
Fang Yinnian almost wanted to laugh—trying to settle this with money?
Someone else might have agreed.
One million for a song was already top-tier producer treatment in the industry. Arms can’t twist thighs—you can’t completely break ties with the company over one song.
But unfortunately, he specifically didn’t want this disgusting money.
What worried him more was the “copyrights belong to company” clause. He would write many, many more songs in the future—his future songs couldn’t be randomly taken and ruined by the company like this.
Imagining Tao Yizhou or other company singers lip-syncing emotionally to melodies he’d written made him incredibly disgusted.
Some people in the music industry were truly revolting.
He had to get his song copyrights back!
Fang Yinnian gripped his fingers, speaking calmly: “Copyright fees aren’t the problem—I’ve always been talking about attribution rights. This song was written by me, but attributed to Tao Yizhou. What does that mean? It means Tao Yizhou plagiarized my song.”
“I can sue Tao Yizhou for infringement.”
“This is a lawsuit written by a professional lawyer. I have sufficient evidence proving this song was independently created by me. You put Tao Yizhou’s name on it without my consent—if I take this to court, my chances of winning are quite high.”
Everyone: “…………”
Xu Baichuan looked at Fang Yinnian with a stiff expression: “Yinnian, don’t be impulsive. It’s just one song—let’s discuss this more.”
He was really about to go crazy. These new copyright department leaders were absolutely idiotic. Tao Yizhou was a habitual thief—of all people to steal from, why did he have to target Fang Yinnian?!
Yinnian loved music deeply and especially cared about behind-the-scenes producers. This absolutely touched his sensitive spot. He seemed gentle but was very determined on matters of principle.
Now they wanted to settle with money—how was that possible?
Xu Baichuan was extremely angry yet deeply pained. Angry at these garbage company executives becoming increasingly unscrupulous, pained that his most beloved promising talent Fang Yinnian had to suffer such injustice.
Xu Baichuan walked to Fang Yinnian, lowering his voice: “Yinnian, don’t be impulsive. Come back with me—let’s talk properly.”
Fang Yinnian shook his head: “Brother Xu, don’t try to persuade me.”
President Zhou could no longer maintain his smile, his face darkening: “Fang Yinnian, do you know how many endorsements Tao Yizhou holds and how much revenue he brings the company annually?”
Fang Yinnian said very calmly: “I know. Once I sue him and expose his ‘plagiarism,’ Tao Yizhou’s ‘creative singer’ persona will collapse, causing immeasurable losses to the company.”
President Zhou took a deep breath, saying calmly: “Since you brought the lawsuit to the company instead of directly submitting it to court, there’s still room for negotiation, right? This matter indeed involved major procedural errors on the company’s part. I’ll punish everyone involved and dock their year-end bonuses. You can freely state what compensation you want.”
Fang Yinnian said: “First, let Tang Che record ‘Sounds of Nature.’ Second, let Mo Xun join Director Qi’s team to film the detective drama. Third, I won’t take any schedules—I want to study abroad and terminate my contract with Sheng Yao to reclaim copyrights to all my songs.”
“If President Zhou agrees to these three conditions, I can keep quiet. I’ll treat this song as a meeting gift I’m giving Tao Yizhou to help me regain my freedom—I don’t want a cent from him.”
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
