Wearing a neck pillow around his neck and dark circles under his eyes, the youngest A&R guy, Jo Yoon-chan, looked like he had spent the whole night at the office.
“Ugh, I’m so sleepy.”
As he let out an enormous yawn, he habitually moved his mouse to check the proposal email that always stayed at the top of the A&R team’s inbox.
“Huh? What’s this?”
He saw the subject line of an email that had just arrived:
[ For Sale. ]
What in the world could be for sale?
“Is this spam?” he wondered.
Narrowing his eyes, he noticed the email had an attachment and quickly opened it.
Click.
After reading the email, he murmured in a low voice:
“Good grief, what the heck is this guy up to now?”
The email was simple. It said:
“Attached are samples of 3 demo songs. I’m willing to sell them for 3 million won each. Please contact me if you’re interested in purchasing. —Composer HS, 010-XXXX-XXXX.”
It was a short message saying that this composer was offering demos of his original songs for 3 million won per song if someone wanted to buy them.
However, even if the quality of the songs was high, there weren’t many companies willing to pay 3 million won for a demo from a new composer.
“You’ve really got some nerve,” he said, shaking his head.
“Why does this guy’s tone sound so full of swagger?”
Yoon-chan assumed that the sender was a bold, hot-headed composer. He snickered, thinking that no matter how many emails like this were sent out, none of them were ever going to sell. If the composer really had what it took, he would have already signed an exclusive contract with a big company.
“Tsk tsk.”
He figured that sooner or later the sender would have to face reality and learn some humility. Also, he might eventually realize that he wasn’t as talented as he thought.
“Hey, bear!”
At that moment, someone’s voice called out from behind.
“You were just sitting here reading comics instead of working again, weren’t you?”
Startled, Yoon-chan replied, “Eh? No, I swear! I worked all night today!”
That was Han In-kyu, the head of the A&R team.
“Yeah, your face kind of gives it away.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“In my opinion, you look like you pulled an all-nighter for nearly two weeks.”
Half-jokingly, Han In-kyu asked, “By the way, what email had you so absorbed?”
“Ah, it’s from some crazy guy sending weird emails from early morning.”
When In-kyu asked, “Some crazy guy?” Yoon-chan explained, “He sent an email offering to sell 3 demo songs for 3 million won each. He said, ‘If you’re interested, contact me!’ and left his number.”
In-kyu asked, “Is he a composer you know?”
“Ah, no.”
“So he’s just some unknown newbie?”
“Yeah, he’s a newbie.”
“Just ignore him then.”
After saying that, the team leader paused for a moment.
“Hmm?”
After thinking a bit more, a plausible theory started to form in his mind.
Maybe it was a seasoned composer who, for some reason, was in trouble. He knew roughly what a new composer’s song should sell for.
“Newcomers usually sell for around 3 million won per song.”
It might have been a price he picked up from somewhere, but not many people would know that LS Entertainment sometimes buys songs via a per-song contract.
“Maybe the sender is an industry insider,” In-kyu mused.
For example, maybe he’s under contract with another company but urgently needs cash—or perhaps, for some unknown reason, he’s an active composer sending his work.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted already with all these crazy emails from morning.”
Just then, as Yoon-chan was about to delete the email, In-kyu said, “Hey, wait a minute.”
“Why?” Yoon-chan asked.
“Let’s listen to it.”
In-kyu continued, “Just in case, forward the file to the engineer’s room.”
“Really? Is that really necessary?”
“If we’re going to listen to it, we might as well give it a proper listen.”
Reluctantly, Yoon-chan grumbled and sent the file via the company messenger to the engineer’s room.
“Let’s go listen to it,” In-kyu said, leading Yoon-chan to the engineer’s room.
“Whose song is this?” asked one of the engineers as soon as they entered.
“It’s the song we just received by email,” Yoon-chan replied.
“By email?”
“Yeah. The guy wants to sell his demo,” Yoon-chan explained further: “He sent 3 demo song samples, saying he’ll sell each one for 3 million won if someone wants to buy them, and he left his number.”
An engineer shook his head and said, “Even these days, people like that still exist? You must watch too many dramas.”
With a small laugh, the engineer added, “Alright, let’s play it.”
They all listened to the song for a while.
“Wow,” the engineer was the first to speak up.
“It looks like he used only free tools—there isn’t much editing here.”
The team leader immediately asked, “Free tools?”
Then he explained, “Since it’s just a demo, he can’t give many details, but from what I heard, it’s nearly perfect. The basics are rock-solid, even though he only used free sources.”
“And?” someone asked.
“To me, he doesn’t seem like a complete newcomer. It sounds like he’s been working in this industry for a while and has even recorded some tracks independently.”
The team leader thought again, “Could it really be a seasoned composer?”
Then the engineer said, “Let’s listen to the other two songs.”
They quickly played the remaining two songs—each was so short that it only took about a minute in total to listen to both.
“Geez, what a miser,” the engineer commented again.
“Even though they’re just demo samples, cutting them into 30-second pieces is really stingy, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, exactly,” another agreed. “If you want to hear more, you’ll have to pay up.”
In-kyu then said, “Right? Even as samples, they’re too short.”
“Then tell him we’ll buy all three songs.”
“All three? For 3 million won each?”
“Yeah. Call him right now.”
Since all three songs were of good quality, they would work well as “emergency options” if needed. With this level of quality, they could even fill gaps in their contracted artists’ albums.
More importantly, In-kyu was convinced that the composer who sent these songs was not a total newbie but rather an established composer.
“If we make a good impression with this deal, when their contracts with other companies expire, we might even be able to sign him.”
It wouldn’t be a loss.
Then In-kyu said, “Forget it—I’ll call him.”
He started dialing immediately.
Beep, beep, beep.
After a few rings, a voice answered on the other end.
“Hello?”
With a smile, In-kyu replied, “This is Han In-kyu from the LS Entertainment A&R team.”
“Are you calling to buy a song?”
“Yes, sir. I was very impressed by your work.”
Right when he was about to continue, the voice on the other end said, “Alright, but first, please send over the digital copyright contract.”
“Excuse me?”
“If you’re planning to sell, it would be best to transfer the payment first.”
In-kyu’s tone became serious as he added, “We can discuss small talk after the deal is closed.”
After that, the call ended.
Beep!
Soon after, In-kyu’s phone buzzed with a text message:
“Account Number: [Korea Bank 110-353…]”
Beep!
“Account Holder: Min Hyun-seung”
Two things became clear.
First, “This composer is a nobody,” which wasn’t a big deal because talented composers usually don’t ask for money like this.
And secondly, “Min Hyun-seung…”
It turned out that the arrogant composer who sent the email was none other than Min Hyun-seung.
A few days later, a message came from the web:
Korea Bank
Payment Received: 8,703,000 won
LS Entertainment
When Hyun-seung saw the deposit notification on his phone, a smile spread across his face.
“Oh, the payment came through.”
After sending back the electronic contract via email, just a few days later, the net amount (after a 3.3% withholding tax) was deposited exactly as stated.
“Finally, a secure payment.”
In his past life, he had never bothered about checking royalty settlements or deposit notifications—but now, hearing that payment was incredibly satisfying.
“Maybe I should upgrade my equipment a bit?”
He glanced at his computer, which was running on less-than-ideal hardware. Although it was disappointing, he already had a plan to avoid spending his own money.
“If I can turn my music into a golden egg, then I’m like the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
LS Entertainment wasn’t just buying my three songs—they were also about to try to sign me. Since it was obvious they’d want an exclusive contract, I could instead ask for equipment support so I wouldn’t have to spend my own money.
“Or maybe I can use my track record of selling songs to LS to reach out to other management companies.”
For now, all extra money would go to my family.
“First, I need to pay the overdue bills.”
After paying the bills, he tore up all the paid notices.
Once he finished tearing up the last bill, he said lightly, “Alright.”
Hyun-seung then got up to head out. It was a good day—he planned to buy small gifts for his family.
He went out onto Garosugil for a stroll, thinking, “I should wear sunglasses since there are so many people,” but his worry turned out to be unfounded… Nobody recognized him. In his past life, it would have been nearly impossible to walk around like this.
“Only the best and most expensive,” he decided with his simple shopping philosophy, and soon his bank balance was nearly empty.
On his way home, he even got a whole chicken to go.
“Good…
I’ve started things off right, so everything should work out smoothly.”
That hopeful feeling made his steps light as he headed home.
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