It has been a quiet year for Zhang Liyin. After releasing two new soundtrack songs earlier this year – “Answer” and “Ashes of Time” respectively – it went quiet in terms of new content. But on September 15, it was announced on Weibo that Liyin had recently signed with Chinese artist management agency Beijing S.W. Culture Media.
There was a flurry of excitement amongst fans on Weibo after it was announced on the company’s Weibo. The news was a pleasant surprise after many months of silence. We mentioned previously that there was fan speculation that Liyin had actually left her previous company, Show City Times, last year, but there had been no proof.
While we do not know the full extent of Liyin’s new contract with Beijing S.W. Culture Media, the future does look promising.
Weibo posts and comments
After the news broke on the company’s Weibo and after fans left comments on the announcement post, the company posted a quick succession of posts regarding Liyin, promoting their new signing:
- The original announcement post can be translated as such: “Korean SM Entertainment artist Zhang Liyin signs as artist, returns to China to expand, now undertaking opportunities for commercially sponsored performances and fan meetings! We welcome invites and conversations!”
- Beijing S.W. Culture Media then shared Liyin’s single “I Will” from QQ.
- Followed by Liyin’s single “Agape”.
- Then her “Moving On” single from 2009.
- Less than a week later, Beijing S.W. Culture Media shared the website banner image on Weibo as well: “Notable works of powerful goddess Zhang Liyin: ‘Timeless’, ‘Agape’, ‘I Will’, ‘Moving On’. Commercial performances, concerts, endorsements, now open… We welcome appointments.”
The company also interacted with fans on the original fan post – something that fans have rarely gotten from Liyin’s prior management companies! While their replies were kept vague, they were again, quite promising.
In one reply to a fan’s comment about the use of a very old promotional photo – it was an image used when Liyin was promoting “Breath” from S.M. The Ballad – her new company acknowledged the old photo and said that there are plans for Liyin to undertake a new photoshoot.
Her new company also acknowledged – though did not confirm or deny – recent rumours of Liyin appearing in season two of the latest trendy TV singing competition, Sisters Who Make Waves. Rumours have gotten some traction on Weibo in the past couple of months as former miss A members Jia and Fei had appeared in the first season of the show. Beijing S.W. Culture Media said nothing specific about the rumours, but merely asked fans to wait for any future promotions.
Official company website
The intriguing aspect of Liyin’s new association with Beijing S.W. Culture Media is that she is now part of a large collection of famous celebrities listed on their company website.
Beijing S.W. Culture Media’s website works similarly to an e-commerce website, where brands can select their preferred celebrities based on listed prices and then “checkout” based on their selections. A number of incredibly well-known actors and singers are listed on their website, with their prices blatantly displayed for anyone to investigate. Former SM Entertainment labelmates Han Geng, Kris Wu, and Zhang Yixing; former Show City Times labelmate Jane Zhang; and several of Liyin’s co-guests on TV singing shows are also listed on the website.
As for Liyin herself, her artist page on the company website offers a biography of her career so far as well as the contract prices she can be “bought” for.
| Price (China) | Price (USA) | |
| Performance Fee (per show) | 60,000 RMB | 9,000 USD |
| Brand Sponsorship (per two (2) years) | 250,000 RMB | 37,500 USD |
| VCR Sponsorship (per video) | 1,500 RMB | 225 USD |
Other company partnerships
The agency’s Baike webpage also lists several other entertainment agencies as their partners, including China’s EE-Media and Huayi Brothers, Korea’s SM Entertainment, Hong Kong’s TVB, and Taiwan’s Warner Brothers Music.
With all this information, we can assume that Beijing S.W. Culture Media may not necessarily be Liyin’s core management agency, but rather a company that will help her negotiate contracts for event appearances and brand sponsorships. Admittedly, we are not too familiar with the inner workings of the Chinese entertainment industry. If you know more about this company and how they function within the Chinese market, leave a comment below!
We are optimistic about Liyin’s future and we hope that by signing with an artist management agency that has a successful history of working with well-known celebrities, we will see more of her at events and other promotional activities. Fingers crossed!
Edit (October 25, 2020): Beijing S.W. Culture Media left a comment on our Weibo to suggest using a better logo of their company, so we have made the update to the above image.
