Sometimes Cheng Ran would also pay attention to how Qin Xizhen spent money, and sometimes he had to admit that Lao Qin had a talent for making money. Although he had a nickname of "moving hamster" and was stingy with the details of his life, he had a keen sense of how to make money.
For example, if he heard that he wanted to make a big profit, he would take 12 million, and later he would earn 20 million, and the return on investment would be nearly 70%.
This time, she clapped her hands in approval without hesitation, having tasted the sweetness of success. So she and Chen Muyi attacked from both ends, and in addition to making songs, they mainly promoted the progress of this matter.
Qin Xizhen is not very prolific in music. She has always believed that good music is 30% inspiration and 70% experience, so she sometimes jokes about having a detached body to pursue worldly ideals. What does it mean to be detached? Making money and falling into the eyes of money is detachment, because capital is what makes this world go round.
This matter aroused her enthusiasm, so most of the time she was controlling things behind the scenes as the boss.
The plan of Tianxing Music Platform is a top secret of Qin Xizhen and Cheng Ran. Currently, only four people know about it. The other two are Chen Muyi and Jiang Zhou. The platform cannot reveal the inside story. Things like Jiang Zhou's wiping out the underground music circle in Chengdu are generally small-scale battles that can only be accomplished in one fell swoop. It cannot be carried out in a big way, and there is no need to replicate it widely in other places.
Besides, information was not well developed at that time. Although a person's fame and artistic career could spread relatively quickly in the music industry, the commercial activities involved would be much slower.
What Qin Xizhen wants to do is to ambush the entire Chinese music scene, so he must start from the top. Music platforms cannot be made public at the beginning, otherwise competitors will react. After sweeping the copyrights of the new field of upstream music, and then collecting some from the middle level, the situation will be formed, and finally the music platform will be pushed to the front line, and then it will be safe.
When Cheng Ran asked who they were negotiating with today, Qin Xizhen mentioned Dayang Company and mentioned several names in succession, Ye Lei, Zhang Shuren, Wang Zhitong, and Zhao Pu.
Cheng Ran nodded. These few were relatively famous. They would definitely have a place in the top 100 pop songs in the future. Some of them might even make it to the top 10. However, some of their songs survived, but the singers became outdated like meteors. "Then I wish you success."
When he finished speaking, he felt a little unreal. He had never been involved in this industry before, so it felt very strange that the musicians and singers who sang those familiar songs were right across from Qin Xizhen.
Qin Xizhen's other side is a world that is both familiar and strange to him. As long as he reaches out, he can intervene in that world at any time. The decisions he makes can affect many aspects of that world. This is a kind of power will that he himself does not even pay attention to or realize. It is more like planting a vegetable garden and observing the patterns in his palm.
What we need to do is to cultivate, sow and fertilize this vegetable garden diligently, and what we are waiting for is a good harvest.
Qin Xizhen said straightforwardly, "I haven't appeared yet. Chen Muyi is over there, but I don't think he can stop me. I'll follow him. I'll accept your congratulations in advance."
…
Chen Muyi felt a bit awkward at the scene. Apart from the sharp-eyed CEO of a record company in China who was on good terms with him, the singers and musicians discovered by the CEO himself were arrogant and could not stand Chen Muyi, a businessman full of money.
The record company boss also makes a living by the sales of these singers, especially in today's increasingly difficult industry situation. Who can believe that the entire company is now losing so much money that it can't even take out half a million? The boss says he is the boss, but in fact he has the lowest status in the company. The opinions of these big guys are more important than each other, and he cannot make the final decision.
The musician Zhang Shuren was the most eloquent among them. He could talk about astronomy, geography, history and legends, and whether he knew them or not, he could talk about a lot. There was no problem chatting, and he was also interested in this kind of cooperation, but he was very stubborn about the money. He insisted on giving everyone's copyrights together for 2 million yuan. If not, we could just have a drink together and get to know each other. This was beyond Chen Muyi's expectation, and 1 million yuan was already the bottom line.
On the other hand, the musician named Zhao Pu was the most aloof and accomplished, but he was like someone who was being dragged along by the crowd. He didn't speak a word and left it to Zhang Shuren and Wang Zhitong. The same was true for the female singer Ye Lei.
Wang Zhitong is the most demanding. When he debuted with just a guitar, he sold 600,000 copies of his album, cassettes and CDs, which was considered first-rate. He is aloof and spends a lot of money. He loves money very much. He always tries to get Chen Muyi's advice, thinking that if they could copy Chen Muyi's approach, they could also start their own business.
Chen Muyi sneered in his heart. It was obvious that these people were colluding and forming an alliance. It was irrational to attack them today, but they were not united. He saw the clues. Although Zhang Shuren was cunning, he knew the benefits of this. Given a certain vision, he could be defeated. Ye Lei and Zhao Pu were not good at socializing. As long as they united with the record company bosses who they called brothers, they could come down and defeat them. Even Wang Zhitong felt that he could turn over in the record company and become the boss or even the agent. If it didn't work, he could give up.
When Chen Muyi made up his mind to make a strategic retreat today, Qin Xizhen called and said she had arrived.
As soon as Qin Xizhen entered, the popular musicians of Ocean Records stood up immediately. Although they knew who was behind Chen Muyi, it was still different to see Qin Xizhen in person. At least Zhao Pu blushed, Ye Lei also showed admiration, and Zhang Shuren was instantly excited, "Hey, Xizhen... you came in person... ah, so happy..."
Wang Zhitong's eyes were wandering around the elegant Qin Xizhen in the windbreaker. Wang Zhitong, who was known as the killer of literary young women, loved wine and women the most. A woman like Qin Xizhen was more in line with his pursuit of the highest level of taste and could be called an ideal. Facing Qin Xizhen, he actually felt a little ashamed.
There was no way. They were the top names of Ocean Records and were also well-known in China. However, in terms of technical level, even if it was just the skill of playing the guitar, Qin Xizhen was far better than them. This was not an exaggeration. Qin Xizhen was recognized as the most professional and skilled person in the domestic music scene. This was achieved after Qin Xizhen learned from the two hidden masters, the Riggs couple, in the United States and perfected his vocal skills. This was a comprehensive suppression. When they faced Qin Xizhen, they were as helpless in the professional field as the Jiangnan Seven Freaks faced Huang Yaoshi.
If we can't compare her skills, then what about her creations? Needless to say, Qin Xizhen's famous songs of different styles, including folk songs, blues, rap, and cross-fields, are so impressive that they are admired by many people. Not to mention that there are rumors that she is the mysterious songwriter who has bombarded the music world and is the incarnation of a music master.
"Please sit down. I will make it short today. Chen Muyi and I are two different lines. I just heard that he had an appointment with you today, so I came here to see you. I believe that you are sincere. That's it. I don't know how to do business. I always speak directly. I plan to build a platform to collect the copyrights of everyone in the field of new technologies. In fact, it is to serve everyone.
You know, the industry is getting more and more difficult right now. In this respect, we are different from the European and American markets that have enjoyed the rich profits brought by cassettes and CDs for more than 30 years. The domestic music market has been conquered by piracy since the appearance of CDs. In the past, the production cost was high in the cassette era, and the profit from piracy was not high, so it was not too serious. However, once the new technology was promoted, coupled with the shortcomings of domestic record companies in publishing, such as the problem of overpricing, piracy quickly occupied the mainstream market. Even if the price of CDs is lowered, there is little profit left. The cost of piracy is low, a few dollars less. Even if the genuine products are suppressed, even if they only make one or two dollars per copy, they are just struggling to survive. Selling a million copies of a music album only makes one million, and even the production and distribution costs cannot be recovered. In this regard, performances or advertisements have to be relied on to make up for it.”
"If the entire industry wants to survive, it must make changes. My future is to make breakthroughs in new technologies. I studied in Europe and the United States some time ago and observed their systems. If we want to make money, we must increase the revenue share of content and support the content providers. But there is no say in this area. There are no regulations in the industry. Each record company fights on its own and has no unified understanding. Therefore, there is no way to negotiate with the channels to get the share we win, let alone jointly combat piracy with the channels. Then there is a gap in the new technology field. I hope to put everyone's new technology copyright in it, so that in the future, through online paid subscriptions, or have the bargaining chip to renegotiate with the channels on an equal footing."
"On the other hand, the reason why I emphasize the copyright of new technology is to divide this area into smaller parts. In the past, our songs were shown on TV and radio stations, and were submitted to radio stations for evaluation and ranking. We always felt that this was begging others for publicity, and it was good if we didn't pay for publicity, but in fact, this is not healthy. Our songs actually nourish the radio stations, and various song evaluations have won them popularity and advertising income, but we actually didn't get any benefits. Can't we separate the copyrights used specifically for radio promotion and charge them a certain fee? Of course, you may find it incredible, because the radio station can't use this song at most, but if the industry follows this practice and everyone abides by this rule, then it will become natural for us to share the profits. As I said, we must have a backbone and a long-term vision. We should not dig for food in the cracks of piracy for a lifetime. Everyone is not united, and each is on guard against competing for a few buckets of rice. So to achieve this point, we need an integrated platform to negotiate with the other party on an equal footing. Otherwise, fighting alone will never be able to win this part of the right to speak and the benefits."
Chen Muyi felt that he was worthy of being Qin Xizhen. Not only did he take the initiative, but he also put the industry's problems in front of everyone, telling everyone that this was a matter of life and death, and it was not a business where you earn more today and I earn less. If they didn't act quickly, everyone would have to beg for food in the end.
This set of tactics is extremely sharp, combining defense and attack.
But there are still problems. As expected, Wang Zhitong frowned and said, "As for the so-called integration of new technology platforms, if we talk about selling them online, let's not talk about whether there are any successful cases. But listening to music online is probably more convenient than buying pirated CDs! And can you prove that this platform can actually bring benefits?"
Qin Xizhen took out a few contracts and said, "This is the contract between Southeast Music Station and China National Radio. It explains the fees for using the songs on my platform. This is just the beginning."
Everyone looked at each other and saw that they were interested. Yes, it would be impossible for them to do such a thing, but Qin Xizhen's reputation was different at the moment. With her taking the lead, it would be possible to make this happen. They didn't care about the Internet, but if they could get a share of the advertising revenue from music stations and TV stations, it would also be beneficial to the record industry.
"Tomorrow we will have a meeting with a record company and another singer. The signing fee is clearly stated here, and the share ratio is also in the contract. You can take a look at it. If you think it's okay, we'll finalize it."
Wang Zhitong picked up the contract and read it, then frowned. "As for the signing fee, the gap between this and our expectations is really too big."
Of course, the difference was huge. According to Qin Xizhen's contract, if they were sure to sign and join the Tianxing platform, the total cost would only be 500,000 yuan. This also included the cost of purchasing digital music copyrights, which was a far cry from the 2 million yuan they had previously thought of asking for. This was simply unacceptable.
Qin Xizhen glanced at the other party and smiled, "If you want to sell songs, then we will talk about selling songs later. The fees above are just combined with the purchase of digital copyright fees, and the advance payment you make through third-party channels such as radio stations. When you make money through the platform, it will be deducted from this money. So what's the difference between 500,000 and the 2 million you proposed before? You want 2 million, okay, I can advance you 2 million, but the share ratio above will change, from 30% to 15%, how about it? Just nod, and I will immediately let Chen Muyi pay 3 million. The extra one million will be considered as a personal friend of yours."
"No need to say more!" Zhang Shuren was the first to express his opinion, "I believe Miss Xizhen... I'll sign!" He was almost possessed by Qin Xizhen's charm.
Wang Lei and Zhao Pu also nodded.
Finally, it was Wang Zhitong. He probably felt that he could not do it alone and it was indeed difficult for him to make a breakthrough from Qin Xizhen. He thought that even if he set up a similar platform independently, he would not be able to get those radio station contracts. That would require a figure of Qin Xizhen's level and the scale of a connected platform to achieve that.
But if he took real money but suffered a loss in the profit share ratio in the future, would he have a mental breakdown
After everyone nodded to sign the contract, Chen Muyi nodded slightly. He wanted to conquer these people, not only did he use various tactics, but it took a long time and he couldn't catch them all in one fell swoop. But when Qin Xizhen showed up, he cut the Gordian knot with a few strokes and wiped them all out. This was Qin Xizhen's reputation.
After the matter was settled, Wang Zhitong privately said to Zhang Shuren, "I really don't know what Qin Xizhen is thinking. Piracy has been gaining ground in the computer field. Everyone knows that it's free to listen to music online. If you want to buy digital music copyrights, you're just throwing your money down the drain!"
Zhang Shuren smiled slightly, his eyes still lingering with the image of Qin Xizhen when he saw her off. "It doesn't matter. At least this money is not an advance payment. It's just a new concept that can be ignored. It's okay to take a little. The most important thing is that you saw her radio station contract. This path is feasible. We can receive licensing fees for the use of these channels in the future. This is also a path. And someone is helping us to fight for us. Why not?"
Wang Zhitong nodded.
…
After coming out with Chen Muyi, Qin Xizhen called Cheng Ran.
The tone on the phone was relaxed, and he said with a smile, "Done, all done."
Cheng Ran laughed and said, "You are using a bait to get the digital music copyright through a third-party channel. Chen Muyi said you have a song licensing contract from the radio station. How did you get it?"
Qin Xizhen smiled, "You can guess, right? Otherwise, where did I spend my money?"
Cheng Ran thought for a moment and said, "You have to connect with the radio station, sponsor the Golden Songs Chart, and then you have to decide on the songs, and then agree with the radio station on the usage fees for these songs, and come up with a few contracts? In this way, you can get the copyrights of the musicians you want?"
Qin Xizhen didn't answer, but hummed a song over there, a heavenly sound.
Qin Xizhen's establishment of Tianxing Music was not a completely secretive act. It was certainly not possible to keep it secret. It was inevitable that it would be known to the industry, and there would definitely be people who would follow her. However, the fog created by Qin Xizhen would definitely lead those who came later astray.
Because no one could have imagined that the so-called third-party channel profit sharing by Qin Xizhen was actually a smokescreen to collect the digital music copyrights of musicians. If you follow Qin Xizhen step by step, you will fall into the cage of a war of attrition.
Even if the people behind him understood Qin Xizhen's actions, the situation was already over.
When it comes to business, Qin Xizhen's talent is not much less than her talent in music.
Of course, the main reason for all this is that she firmly believes in Cheng Ran's idea.
This idea is only useful in this era.
After all, if digital music copyrights are really purchased on such a large scale, it will just be a waste of money, as Zhang Shuren and others believe, and whoever does it will be the one who gets taken advantage of.
But who could have expected that just when piracy had brought the legitimate music market to the brink of death, and when piracy combined with the Internet was destroying the Chinese music scene, Mobile DreamNet's ringback tone service would emerge.
As soon as ringback tones appeared, mobile companies stipulated that all music provided by content service providers must obtain copyright authorization from record companies. Once this turning point came, Qin Xizhen would have a nuclear bomb in his hand.
Through the phone, Cheng Ran listened to Qin Xizhen humming a whole song over there.
The starry sky is brilliant above my head.
A new moon is like a beautiful woman.
The witch Qin Xizhen, who was destined to stir up a bloody storm in the martial arts world, said, "Does it sound good?"
Cheng Ran nodded, "Not bad."