192-194

Chapter 192: Success! 

Ronan was slightly taken aback, "..." 

They were teammates who saw each other every day, so they were incredibly familiar with one another. Suddenly starting to shower him with compliments out of nowhere? It didn't seem necessary. Why did it feel a little strange? 

Ronan couldn't help but laugh. "Maxim, I'm in the booth right now. I won't bite." A playful remark eased the slightly serious atmosphere. 

This reminder made Maxim realize that his words might have been a bit... exaggerated. Simply nodding to indicate "pass" would have been enough, but the flowery words of praise had just tumbled out, as if that was the right thing to do. This afternoon's work had indeed subtly changed something without them even realizing it. 

Now, when Maxim looked at Ronan again, his mindset was different. 

But Ollie didn't care at all. He simply stood up, constantly clapping and giving Ronan thumbs up with both hands. Then, he leaned over Maxim, pressed the red button, and spoke into the microphone, "Ronan, you're the best! This song has soul because of you!" 

After speaking, Ollie continued to applaud Ronan enthusiastically, making a series of exaggerated strange noises. Maxim and Cliff both looked disgusted and playfully "attacked" Ollie, trying to get him to stop making those weird howls and yells. But Ollie just dodged them while stubbornly holding up his thumbs. 

The scene instantly turned into a circus. And Ronan, standing in the recording booth, couldn't hear the sound, only see the visuals. It was like stepping back into the silent film era. Quietly appreciating the scene before him, Ronan didn't panic at the memory of "deafness" being triggered. Instead, he relaxed. 

Ronan knew that Ollie was still worried about his lack of confidence, so he never missed an opportunity to encourage him, hoping he would become more self-assured. 

Watching his teammates playfully bickering outside the recording booth, Ronan couldn't help but laugh heartily. Then, he had to remind them, "Alright, settle down a bit. We need to stay focused. The recording isn't finished yet." Tick-tock, tick-tock, time continued to pass, and the work was still not done. 

Regaining his composure, he threw himself back into the work. 

Undoubtedly, recording is a task that heavily relies on individual state. This is true for band performances, and even more so for singers. 

Judging from today, Ronan was in excellent form. 

Returning to the recording studio after a long absence, Ronan gradually found his familiar rhythm and state after overcoming the initial tension and nervousness. The song "Chasing the Light" contained all of Ronan's emotions towards his dreams, music, and current situation. No one knew it better than him. 

This was his territory, his world. 

Once the recording officially began, Ronan went into full power mode. His effortless and well-controlled singing seemed to enter an ethereal realm. Both his vocal condition and performance were perfect. He hit the high notes with ease, and the recording process turned into an enjoyment, even a feeling of unrestrained freedom. 

The entire recording went very smoothly. 

All in all, Ronan only spent about thirty minutes to successfully complete the recording of the entire song—at least, in Maxim and Ollie's opinion, there were no issues. 

However, after leaving the recording booth, Ronan still listened to the complete version he had recorded. He listened to it carefully several times, pointed out a detail that needed to be fixed and improved, and communicated his thoughts with Maxim and Ollie. After ensuring they understood the effect he wanted to achieve, he returned to the recording booth again. 

The re-recording work was a bit tedious because it was all about the details. The related discussions were also very fragmented. They stopped and recorded for about ten minutes before taking a break. Ronan then left the recording booth again to confirm the latest version. He studied it back and forth for quite a while before finally giving his approval. 

However... the recording work was still not over. There was still the harmony part. 

From the perspective of simply listening to music, most listeners rarely pay special attention to the harmony part. This is because harmony is often hidden within different vocal parts. They are not the main focus; their original purpose is to provide a supporting effect, so they naturally won't steal the spotlight. 

But from the perspective of music creation, harmony is an indispensable and important component. It adds layers to the song and makes the overall sound fuller and richer, just like the supporting characters in classic movies—their presence is necessary and important. 

Harmony is not as easy as it seems. 

Not only because of the different vocal parts, but also because it requires mastering many professional techniques. The professional requirements for the singers are actually stricter. They need to truly understand the melody, vocalization, pitch, vocal parts, etc., so that they can increase the completeness and layering of the song without overshadowing the main melody. 

In the music industry, there are professional harmony singers and professional background vocalists for live performances—these are two different professions, but some people hold both roles. 

Among them, top professional harmony singers are very rare because they need to be able to endure loneliness. Perhaps the general public doesn't even know who they are, but their voices appear in countless popular songs. Of course, through royalties, they can live very comfortably, but do these top harmony singers not have a dream of stepping into the spotlight? Are they willing to hide behind the scenes? 

From "American Idol" to "The Voice," many harmony singers and background vocalists have appeared on talent shows, hoping to realize their musical dreams. 

It is precisely for this reason that top harmony singers are indeed not common. 

Returning to the song "Chasing the Light," harmony is a very important part. 

From an arrangement perspective, Ronan went back to simplicity, enriching the layers through details, hoping to construct an entire three-dimensional "architectural sense of space." But this cannot be achieved solely through melody, because his solo singing voice can easily be drowned out by the grandeur of the orchestra. In this situation, the importance of harmony becomes prominent. 

On the one hand, harmony can increase the thickness of Ronan's singing; on the other hand, harmony can increase the layers of the entire song. 

For the harmony part, Ronan was still the main recording force. 

But in addition to that, Cliff, Maxim, and Ollie also had harmony tasks. Even during live performances, they have their own microphones and can join in the singing—of course, if they are not in good condition, using the studio version of the harmony is also fine, after all, they are not the lead singers. 

The recording of the harmony took another effort. By the time all the recording work was finished, the hour hand was approaching eleven o'clock. This meant they had spent nearly twelve hours in the recording studio from start to finish. When they entered, the sun was shining brightly, but when they came out, the stars filled the sky. 

Despite this, the recording work was finally completed smoothly! 

And, more importantly, "Finally, we can eat!" 

Chapter 193: Late-Night Snack Time 

"...Alice, are you sure you don't want to join us?" 

Ollie noticed the gaze from the side, slowly sat up straight, and greeted Alice with a smile. 

"The fried chicken today is from Koreatown. It has a unique flavor, a bit different from what we usually eat. The meat is especially tender, and with one bite, your mouth will be full of juice. The crispy skin also has a hint of salt and pepper. You can also choose your favorite sauce. Ronan recommends soy sauce. I think this isn't made with factory-farmed chicken; it's really delicious. Are you sure you don't want to try some?" 

As he spoke, Ollie even held up the two chicken legs in his hands, mimicking a Western cowboy with dual pistols, enthusiastically recommending them to Alice. 

Alice swallowed hard, exerting all her willpower to suppress her impulse— 

It was already past midnight. Eating at this time was inherently sinful and bad for her health. And the menu was oily and salty fried chicken, practically a warning sign for weight gain. She had to control her urge, otherwise she would have to pay for tonight's gluttony for some time to come. 

She wasn't like Ronan. That guy could never control his mouth, and what was most annoying was that he never gained weight! 

So infuriating! 

Glug, Alice swallowed again, using every ounce of her strength to shake her head. "No, you guys go ahead and eat. Don't worry about me." 

Ollie looked disappointed but still a little worried. He turned to look at Ronan, only to find him engrossed in his meal, eating with gusto. Ollie's forehead creased with black lines. He quickly nudged Ronan's leg with his knee and whispered, "Are you sure it's okay?" 

Smack, smack. 

Ronan looked up, tearing off a piece of chicken leg with his teeth. The tender, smooth meat came off easily and disappeared into his mouth with a slurp. Hot steam rose in the oily sheen, and the aroma of fried food filled the air. Seemingly because it was a bit hot, Ronan's features scrunched up, but he didn't stop chewing quickly. His expression clearly showed how tender it was. 

Glug. 

Forget Alice, even Ollie couldn't help but swallow, completely forgetting he was holding two chicken legs himself. 

"You basically just had a sandwich for dinner, which is practically nothing. You definitely need to replenish some calories. Although late-night snacks aren't good for your health, from a nutritional balance perspective, your body is definitely protesting. You should listen to what your body is telling you." 

Alice was about to say something, but Ronan didn't give her a chance and continued, "Of course, from a calorie perspective, eating fried chicken now is a bit much. But Allie, tonight doesn't end here. We still need to upload songs and stuff later, and you need to edit videos. Before you close your eyes to rest, there are at least two more hours." 

"So, I think you can totally eat a little bit." 

Having said that, Ronan stuffed the rest of the chicken leg directly into his mouth. You couldn't even see him chewing. A second later, when he took it out, there was only a clean bone left, not a single bit of meat remaining. The crunching sound of chewing danced between his lips and teeth. The unique taste of tender and crispy combined melted perfectly in his mouth, and the aroma of grease left a sheen on his lips. 

Alice: "..." 

Speechless with admiration (or perhaps exasperation). 

"Ah!" Alice cried out in despair, looking up at the ceiling, then glared at Ronan. "Ronan Cooper, if I gain weight, it's all your fault!" 

"Oh, if you gain weight, I'll exercise and lose weight with you," Ronan said with a smile, looking at Alice casually. Then, he reached for another chicken leg, his eyes still sending signals to Alice: Are you sure you're not going to eat? Really? Can you really resist? 

Alice glared at Ronan, finally unable to resist any longer. She gave up the struggle and embraced the deliciousness of the "late-night fried chicken." 

As the fragrant and crispy fried chicken entered her mouth, a gentle chew released a greasy, crispy yet tender and juicy sensation that instantly made every cell in her body cheer and scream. If she had a sip of Coke to go with it – or maybe beer – that feeling would send a shiver of pleasure from her toes to her scalp. 

"Ah..." Alice let out a satisfied sigh from the bottom of her heart. Happiness overflowed, and she couldn't help but want to scream. 

Ronan looked at Alice's expression, and the smile in his eyes also widened. "How is it? Should we order another serving? I feel like we don't have enough. I haven't even felt like I've had a snack yet." 

Not even a snack? 

Maxim and Cliff looked at Ronan with expressions as if they had seen a monster. Even though they spent every day together, surprises still popped up every now and then. 

Alice, however, was used to it. She said matter-of-factly, "Didn't you guys know? Our family was eaten into poverty by him. Max had to go out to work at sixteen just so Ronan could fill his stomach. Otherwise, do you think Max could have become a middle manager at such a young age?" 

This half-truthful statement made the band members look at each other in surprise. 

Ronan's movements paused slightly, and a faint ripple of memory surfaced. Max's sixteenth birthday was Ronan's fourteenth. Some fragments from the depths of his memory reawakened. The corners of his mouth, hidden behind the fried chicken, stiffened slightly for a moment, then he lowered his head to hide his emotions. 

"Be careful, the band is the next target. Now you know why I've always insisted that the band has to continue, right?" Ronan's voice drew his bandmates' attention. Then Cliff realized Alice was joking and couldn't help but laugh helplessly. 

Maxim shook his head, speechless. "Alice, don't learn bad habits from Ronan." 

As a result, they saw Alice give a meaningful look, and Maxim couldn't help but be taken aback. 

Ronan interjected, "Maxim, it seems you really don't understand Alice at all." 

Maxim was at a loss for words. 

"Hahaha." Ollie's earth-shattering laughter, though late, was sure to arrive. His leaning back and forth almost overturned the coffee table. Ronan immediately protected the fried chicken, preventing the remaining food from colliding with the ground, and then roared like a lion. 

"Ollie Love!" 

That sharp gaze instantly made Ollie lean back, but his laughter didn't stop at all. Ronan felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. 

"Didn't you see the fried chicken? Ah! You can't treat food like that. It's not right!" 

Ronan looked at the fried chicken in his hand with heartache, and then... stuffed another piece into his mouth, chewing loudly. 

But others quickly noticed that Ronan was hogging the fried chicken, eating it all by himself. Pairs of wolf-like eyes, filled with a predatory aura, gathered on Ronan. 

Was this... a pack of wolves surrounding their prey? 

Chapter 194: Song Credits 

Completely stuffed and feeling relaxed, Cliff felt all the muscles in his body loosen up. After half a day of intense recording work, fatigue finally began to wash over him. A comfortable and sleepy feeling crept up from his toes to his head, like soaking in a hot spring. His eyelids started to droop. Smack, smack. 

Smack, smack. 

The sound of someone chewing contentedly filled his ears, like the endless chirping of cicadas outside the window on a hot summer night, lulling him to sleep in the heat. Cliff barely managed to open one eye and glance over. He saw Ronan still going strong, continuing to eat with undiminished energy. 

Looking down at his own protruding belly, Cliff couldn't help but gently shake his head and murmur in admiration, "Ronan... you're really amazing." 

Seeing that Cliff was already dozing off, Maxim quickly and heavily slapped Cliff's thigh, making a loud sound like a slap in the face. Cliff jumped up, but... he couldn't actually jump. He just struggled with his round belly like a pufferfish out of water, almost as if he was about to spit out bubbles. 

"Maxim, don't hit me! I might throw up," Cliff said with a pained expression, his eyes watery as if he was about to cry. 

Maxim gave Cliff a speechless look. "We still have work to do. Upload the song. Only when it's uploaded will today be complete." 

Cliff took a deep breath and forced himself to sit up straight. He rubbed his eyes hard, but it didn't help. So, he fiercely slapped his cheeks, finally waking himself up. 

Ollie was sitting next to Ronan, still reluctantly licking the sauce off his fingers. His stomach was full, but his mouth wasn't. "How do we upload it? Did you guys look into the song credits beforehand?" 

Just two or three years ago, it was still incredibly difficult for independent musicians to release their own singles or albums. This was because all the distribution channels were controlled by major record labels and professional distribution companies. Not to mention that all the promotion and marketing resources were concentrated in their hands. 

To give a simple example, the United States is known as a country on wheels, and car radios have always been a crucial part of music promotion. However, major commercial radio stations, nationwide stations, and so on, had already signed agreements for the music they played daily. Even details like the list of twenty-five new songs to be played that week and the required playing frequency were all clearly stipulated. 

Of course, old classics were another matter, depending on the copyright library purchased by the radio station. 

It was precisely because of this that listeners often couldn't get their song requests played when listening to the radio. This was because over ninety percent of the radio music playlists were controlled by a small number of companies at the top of the pyramid—independent radio stations were a different story altogether. 

Faced with the layers of control in the commercial market, independent musicians who hadn't signed with a record label or management company had almost no room to survive. 

Recording an album wasn't difficult. You could do it in a garage or rent a recording studio. But without distribution channels, it meant you couldn't put your music on sale. Independent musicians had very limited options: either perform on the streets and hope passersby would buy their albums, or leave them at local small record stores and hope that seasoned music fans who came to dig for records would be willing to try their album. 

Simply put, without sales channels, independent musicians could only sell "one-on-one." Even printing three hundred albums might leave them with two-thirds of them in storage. 

Therefore, even for small independent record companies, independent musicians had to sign contracts. This was their only chance to promote themselves. 

But now, the whole world had undergone a tremendous change, with Justin Bieber's rise on YouTube as a watershed moment, ushering in a new era— 

From this perspective, perhaps many people don't like Justin Bieber personally or his music, but he is indeed a landmark figure of his time. 

The full rise of digital audio sources and online music completely broke the blockade of major record labels and distribution companies, opening up a brand new path. 

YouTube and Facebook were one way, while iTunes and Spotify were another. But both paths led to the same destination: both provided a platform for independent musicians and grassroots musicians to showcase themselves. Anyone could record music and display it on online platforms. 

Of course, promotion channels and marketing resources were still in the hands of industry giants, which limited the development of independent singers. It wasn't easy to stand out in the vast ocean of the internet. However, it at least opened a window for independent musicians, and that was enough to change the times. 

Justin Bieber became the first YouTube singer to break into the mainstream market, and that's where his historical significance lies. 

However, although independent musicians could now skip the distribution company step and directly release digital audio sources on online platforms like iTunes and Spotify, offering purchase downloads and online listening, the process was very, very cumbersome. 

These platforms not only had comprehensive requirements for details such as music format, music length, recording quality, and original lyrics, but also had strict requirements for the quantity of music— 

For example, Apple stipulated that a singer must have at least fifty registered songs under their name to be able to upload to iTunes. This single restriction discouraged countless independent musicians. 

Ultimately, whether it's iTunes or Spotify, they are all large companies in their own right. Pursuing commercial interests is their common goal. It's just that their channels and methods are slightly different from traditional record labels and distribution companies, but the essence is the same. 

Not to mention the headache-inducing and complicated legal clauses. Even without being a professional lawyer, one could know that these large companies have a huge team of lawyers. They would absolutely not suffer any losses. Instead, they would exploit the interests of independent individuals at every level. Once a dispute arose, it would be very, very difficult for independent individuals to find room for resistance in front of large companies, and their interests would be squeezed to the lowest possible limit. 

Of course, large companies weren't without their benefits. Aside from the advantages of platform traffic and a large user base, large companies wouldn't engage in petty tricks and deceptions. Everything was openly announced to the world, which meant that independent individuals would at least not be harmed by unseen hidden clauses. 

It was against this backdrop that Song Cast came into being. 

This could be understood as equivalent to an online distribution company, distinct from traditional distribution companies, open to all ordinary people preparing to release songs. At the same time, it assumed the responsibilities of a distribution company, responsible for contacting online sales platforms, protecting the interests of singers from the standpoint of "company vs. company."