Jeremy Chan, Who Is Now A Mediacorp Artiste, Says It Was “Awkward” When He Had To Negotiate His Pay As A Freelancer

8 DAYS: Welcome to the Mediacorp family! What made you decide to become a full-time artiste with the company?

JEREMY CHAN: When I was a freelancer, I had to manage everything myself. It was quite tough to handle, especially when my schedule and filming dates were packed so closely together. At the end of the day, having an agency will be much better. I can focus more on my career.

What have you learned in the past three years?

I had a lot of freedom as a freelancer. I could decide on what I wanted to do with my career. But when it came to manpower, I’m only one person. I realised that it can be quite difficult when it comes to negotiating money. My position was a bit awkward: I was my own manager, but also an artiste. It was tough when I had to negotiate certain things.

There’s pros and cons to being a freelancer. There's freedom but you have to do everything on your own. When it comes to filming, you can’t really concentrate because sometimes you wonder if you have replied an email, or informed a production house about your schedule. There was just too many things going on. I’m the type of person who can’t really multi-task well. And there were times when I double booked myself without realising it. It’s not an easy job to be a freelancer. I even had to issue invoices! (Laughs)

Yeah that's something you wouldn't need to do if you had a manager.

Yes! That's why I’d keep thinking about work even when I was back home. It was like I was doing the job of three people. As an artiste, I can’t only take on one job at a time. Typically, I had three concurrent projects so I had to liaise with as many different production houses at once. After all of that, I had to read my scripts! It was so tiring.

What kind of difficulties did you encounter when negotiating contracts?

The whole world faces the same issue: budget. As an artiste, you sometimes have to stand on your ground. But it can be quite awkward for an artiste to reject a producer over small issues. At the end of the day, you don’t really develop a very healthy relationship because it gets to the point where the producer will go, "Can lah, this one can lah. Just come one more day lah".

It's like if you buy a movie ticket but you were late for the movie and then you tell the person manning the ticket booth, ‘Eh, I was late for 15 minutes, can you give me a S$2 discount?’ The person selling the ticket would also be paiseh to reject you.

What made you sign with Mediacorp?

Mediacorp is the biggest. (Chuckles) We have so many platforms: radio, TV and digital. We produce both dramas and varieties. It’s a huge platform for me to improve myself. I can grow and I can hone my talents on these multiple platforms. Mediacorp is a huge family that I’m happy to be part of. I’ve been single for the past few years and I’m finally attached now! (Laughs) Most importantly, I can concentrate on my career and I can let [my manager] babysit me. (Laughs)

What did Jesseca say about going full-time with Mediacorp?

She’s always very supportive regardless of whatever decision I make, and she also felt that I needed to go somewhere with a bigger platform and where I can grow. Artistes need to focus on their main jobs, and behind-the-scenes things should be entrusted to our managers.

Any chance of her rejoining the Mediacorp family? [Ed: Jesseca is now managed by HIM International Music]

(Laughs) It would be nice but at the same time, there's no point in pulling her back to the company as she's happy with where she is. I don't think forcing her to do so would work, and I'll leave this decision up to her. I consider her half a Mediacorp artiste, so she’s my colleague too!

What are you busy with right now?

I’m still in the midst of starting a small business, but it’s too early to share details right now.

Are you going into the food biz?

No! (laughs) I like food too much and I think that everything is delicious. Food is very personal and what I find delicious might not be yummy for others. Maybe in the distant future, but I don’t have a food biz planned for now. My partner and I hope to launch our biz within the year.

That sounds exciting.

Yes! I’m also working on my EP. I want to write my first song; I want to be involved in the songwriting process, and I’m looking for music teachers to help me with that.

They say that self-composed songs can be very personal. How do you feel about sharing your innermost thoughts with everyone with a song?

It really depends on how you look at it. It’s a good way for everyone to understand me. Some people might be able to relate better to me, regardless of whether it’s about friendships or relationships. You know what they say: there’s no such thing as you being the only suay person. There are other suay people around too. (Laughs) But I’m still thinking about what kind of song I want to write, so I haven’t decided on what it’ll be about yet.

Watch Jeremy on the latest episode of #JustSwipeLah.

Catch Jeremy & Jesseca in Crouching Tiger Hidden Ghost, which is available on demand for free on meWATCH. Click here to watch. The drama also airs weekdays 9pm on Ch 8.

Photos: The Celebrity Agency, Jeremy Chan's Instagram