135: Chapter 135 Voice Masks and Traffic Engines

In Taylor Swift's studio, the lingering echoes of 《First Quiet》 seemed to settle in the air. The negotiations regarding the Universal contract and the episode with Theo had been hashed out, and the wine had been drunk to the perfect point of light intoxication.

Alex leaned against the sofa, his gaze falling on an old but well-maintained reel-to-reel tape recorder in the corner; its rough metallic texture suddenly sparked an idea.

"I'm thinking," he set down his wine glass, his voice sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet room, "can we turn the act of 'listening to voices' itself into the largest-scale game ever?"

Taylor turned her head, signaling him to continue.

"A music variety show, but the core isn't the face, not the story, and not even entirely the singing ability." Alex sat up straight, his speaking pace steady but filled with the certainty of someone constructing a blueprint. "The contestants are masked throughout the entire process, appearing with code names and carefully crafted vocal personas. The judges and audience can only guess based on their vocal characteristics, taste in song selection, stage presence, and the extremely limited 'crossover clues' we provide—they could be a long-famous singer, a mysterious internet figure who has never shown their face, or even a top figure from a completely unrelated field, such as a writer, an athlete, or even a scientist."

Taylor's eyes slowly widened; she had already seen the skeleton of this idea, as well as its terrifying appeal.

"The judge lineup needs to be a mix," Alex continued to outline. "It needs top musicians like you to analyze vocal techniques from a professional perspective; it needs sharp observers like Lauren (we can invite famous commentators with similar styles) to deduce identities from logic and clues; and there can also be a 'Crossover Surprise Officer,' filled by celebrities from different fields each episode to provide unexpected perspectives. The guessing and judging itself will become the biggest suspense and topic."

"And off-stage," he paused, this being the key point, "all the contestants' pre-interviews, practice clips behind the masks, interactions with other contestants, and even the little tricks they carefully design to mislead the judges—all these 'behind-the-scenes' moments will become exclusive, continuous content for our Flashpoint and Voice of Truth platforms. Before each episode airs, we release previews and clue discussions; during the broadcast, we live-stream the judges' backstage reactions and audience connections; after the broadcast, we release unaired footage and the contestants' 'inner journeys.' We want to turn a weekly variety show into an interactive feast that lasts week after week, spanning multiple platforms."

Taylor took a breath: "You want to use the 'main feature' of a top-tier variety show as the detonation point, and then funnel all the derivative traffic and deep interaction into your own pond."

"Not only that." Alex's eyes flashed with the light of calm calculation. "The source of the contestants for this show will become our most powerful bargaining chip and incubator. We can open recommendation slots to giants like Universal and Warner, letting them send in newcomers they want to promote or older artists looking to transition, but we retain the final screening rights and the right to design the 'storylines' within the show. This can greatly increase our leverage when negotiating with music companies, especially for the joint label Echo Manufacturing—we can promise that potential newcomers signed to the label will receive priority participation qualifications, which is an extremely weighty resource."

"At the same time," he looked at Taylor, "the 'Wanderer Partners' community, and even all users on Flashpoint with unique voices, now have a channel to reach the top tier that they wouldn't even dare to dream of. People like Theo, if his voice has enough dramatic tension, why couldn't he put on a 'Gear' mask and go up there? This is more direct and intense than any gallery exhibition. The show will become the top outlet and ultimate reward for our entire content ecosystem, firmly attracting all talented people."

He concluded finally, his tone like an engineer confirming a blueprint: "This show, we'll tentatively call it phantom singer》. It must be produced under the leadership of Echo Vision, and broadcast in partnership with a capable television station or streaming platform (like a partner of Universal) to ensure top-tier coverage. But all derivative content, interactive portals, and the breeding ground for contestant stories must be Flashpoint and Voice of Truth. What we want is not just the show's ratings, but to use the show to inject a year's worth of massive, high-stickiness active users into our own platforms, and to hold the 'right of definition' for selecting and shaping vocal idols in our own hands."

The room was quiet for a few seconds. Taylor clapped her hands lightly, not out of courtesy, but out of admiration.

"One idea solves at least four problems: platform traffic attraction, commercial negotiation leverage, an outlet for the talent ecosystem, and continuous content production." She shook her head and smiled, "I'm really curious now if you have a precise content industry simulator in your brain. This idea... is damn feasible, and the chain of interests is terrifyingly clear."

"So," Alex leaned back onto the sofa, "I need you, not just as a potential judge. I need you as a co-founder of this idea, and as the chief gatekeeper for musicality. Your name and taste are the guarantee of this project's artistic credibility."

"I'm definitely in." Taylor didn't hesitate. "This is too interesting, and... think about those guys who can wear masks, temporarily cast off all burdens, and fight purely with their voices; the stage will definitely be spectacular. However," she changed the subject, "copyright, profit distribution, and especially the contestants' subsequent management contracts and music distribution rights—these pitfalls must be filled in from the very beginning. We can't let the show become a hit only for the people to be signed away by others, or for the rights to derivative content to become tangled."

"So the next step is to have Marcus and Lauren form a special task force to first create a detailed business plan and a 'Bible' for the model internally, clarifying all chains of interest. Then, take it and go talk to Universal." Alex had already thought through the steps, "This will become a heavyweight, irresistible additional proposal in our joint venture negotiations with Universal. They provide the channels and part of the funding, we provide the creativity, production core, and all derivative operations. Once successful, the value it brings will far exceed a traditional record contract."

After leaving Taylor's studio, Alex connected to a conference call with Marcus and Lauren in the car, briefly explaining the concept of phantom singer》. A brief silence came from the other end of the phone, followed by Marcus's irrepressible excitement and the sound of Lauren rapidly typing on her keyboard to record the key points.

"I'll assemble the team immediately and have the first draft of the proposal within a week!" Marcus promised.

"I need to intervene early to design the legal firewalls and interest-splitting models within the show's framework, especially the full-cycle contract templates for contestants from participation to derivative content to subsequent development." Lauren's voice was as calm and pragmatic as ever.

Back home, the system interface appeared as expected.

【Historical Cumulative popularity】 113,800,000 points

【Available popularity】 33,530,030 points

【New Notification: The host has conceived a "large-scale content event/product" (phantom singer》) with extremely strong system integration and traffic harvesting potential. This concept highly aligns with the "multi-channel influence deep cultivation" and "control over content definition rights" strategies. Reward advance (to be settled after the project officially launches): Slightly improve the 【Cultural Trend Anchoring】 sensitivity to predicting "mass pop entertainment focuses." Unlocked new trait tendency: Large-scale content production and dissemination hub (inactive).】

【"Sound of Echoes" urban stress relief theme collaboration project (pending launch) has been added to the strategy list.】

【New long-term strategic project: "phantom singer" variety show ecosystem construction (planning stage).】

The system's reaction once again confirmed his direction. The reward pointed directly to the ability to better operate such large-scale entertainment projects. He closed the interface and walked to the window.

In the night of Los Angeles, countless lights flickered in the darkness like data streams. A successful national-level variety show is like a powerful pump, capable of continuously extracting and gathering hundreds of millions of units of attention. This attention (popularity) will nourish his platform, consolidate his business status, and provide more massive, stable "fuel" for his hidden, extraordinary path.

phantom singer》 is no longer just a variety show concept. It is the core traffic and influence engine for the next stage that he has built for himself. It will cleverly weave together his multiple identities as an "internet celebrity," "star," "platform operator," and "behind-the-scenes pusher," and push them to a new height.

And all of this will be wrapped in the guise of pure musical competition and an interesting guessing game. People will go crazy for it, argue about it, and be moved by it, but they may not necessarily fully grasp how the precise commercial and strategic Gears underneath are meshing and turning.

Alex picked up the phone and dialed Rex: "I need you to help keep an eye out for whether there are any program model patents or successful cases similar to the 'masked singer' format domestically or abroad, and analyze their pros and cons. At the same time, start an initial screening of amateurs or semi-public figures who have the potential to have 'unique voices, stories, and suspense,' and build a preliminary database. Keep it confidential."

"Understood. Has the new hunt begun?" Rex's voice came through.

"No," Alex corrected, his gaze piercing through the night, "it's a new fishing ground, and it's time to start building the dam."

Feet on the ground, blueprint in hand.

The next step is to turn the roaring imagination into silent and efficient reality.