Huayu: Starting from Fahrenheit

Chapter 419 Chinese Music Authors' Rights Protection Alliance

Because HIM International Music never considered that Wu Zhuo would renew his contract, Wu Zhuo's negotiations with them went very smoothly.

Both parties agreed to a peaceful separation, and Wu Zhuo's future record work will no longer be handled by HIM International Music.

It's not that they shouldn't be held responsible at all.

The record business in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia will still be handled by HIM International Music.

However, they are no longer operating under the name of Wu Zhuo Records, but rather as an outsourcing company.

After terminating his contracts with both his management company and record label, Wu Zhuo spent some time dealing with the aftermath of the situation.

Then in late August, he and his original team established an artist studio and set up a brokerage company under the name of Legend Entertainment, and affiliated the studio with this brokerage company.

It's worth mentioning that after Wu Zhuo's contract with Tianxi ended, most of the people who originally belonged to Tianxi in his team chose to leave with him.

Even their agent, Chen Huiying, chose to resign from Tianxi and leave with Wu Zhuo.

He joined the agency, which Wu Zhuo named Legend Entertainment, as its general manager.

After Legendary Entertainment was established, all the artists originally under Legendary Pictures were transferred to Legendary Entertainment.

At the same time, the company also launched a nationwide recruitment drive for company employees and new actors.

Singers are not being considered for the time being.

In fact, many people have suggested to Wu Zhuo that he open a record company.

But Wu Zhuo rejected them all.

The reason is actually very simple.

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

The people who encouraged him to set up the record company were mostly laymen.

To the uninitiated, the music industry appears to be booming and highly profitable.

This can be seen from the revenue of the domestic music industry in recent years.

This year, with only a little over half the year gone, the domestic music industry's revenue has already approached 20 billion yuan.

On the surface, this is undoubtedly a huge pie.

But in reality, the industry is already riddled with problems.

The rise of piracy and digital music has led to a significant reduction in production by many record companies, and some have even gone bankrupt.

Just last month, someone from Sony Music told Wu Zhuo.

Sony's RCA Records Group is facing bankruptcy, and Sony has decided to close its three subsidiary record companies next year—Jive Records, Arista Records, and J Records.

Meanwhile, EMI, a century-old British record company, is about to be acquired by Universal Music after several years of financial difficulties.

At this point, the global record industry will be reduced to just three giants: Warner, Universal, and Sony.

And these are just the giant companies.

In recent years, countless small companies in China have gone bankrupt and changed industries.

It can be said that, both globally and in China, the traditional record industry has reached a dead end.

Under these circumstances, Wu Zhuo would be foolish to enter the record industry now.

And the digital music industry.

It's not actually a good time to go in.

Because making money is equally difficult in the current digital music industry.

The current mainstream of digital music is free.

Everyone listens to music online for free.

At a time when everyone was listening to free music, even Wu Zhuo himself didn't dare to release a digital music album, let alone others.

In short, now is the time for piracy, whether it's physical records or online digital music.

In this situation, everyone was retreating, but Wu Zhuo didn't think he was so great that he could go inside.

He will not attempt to start a record company now.

His records are all released in collaboration with Sony.

……

"what is this?"

At Legendary Entertainment Agency, Wu Zhuo finished reading the script for "Nirvana in Fire" prepared by Kong Sheng and others, stretched, and was about to get up when he suddenly noticed an invitation on the table.

Xiao An was watching a drama not far away when she heard Wu Zhuo's voice. She turned around, glanced at him, and immediately replied:

"It is a Chinese music authors' rights protection alliance initiated by some songwriters and composers in mainland China. The initiators are musicians such as Gao Xiaosong, Xiao Ke, and Zhang Yadong."

"Chinese Music Authors' Rights Protection Alliance?"

Wu Zhuo's gaze sharpened; he already had a guess in mind, but he still asked:

Did they say what it was about?

If Wu Zhuo remembers correctly, this should be the famous Chinese Music Authors' Rights Protection Alliance formed in 2011 by the China Audio-Visual Association Record Working Committee and numerous music lyricists and composers.

The purpose of this alliance is to condemn Baidu for copyright infringement.

As mentioned before, piracy was rampant during this period.

Among these, the biggest pirate is undoubtedly Baidu.

Numerous music piracy websites were established with the support of Baidu.

These pirate websites never pay a single penny to the songwriters or copyright holders; they directly and openly use pirated, free songs.

This has caused significant losses, both directly and indirectly, to copyright holders and songwriters.

In order to deal with this increasingly serious piracy problem, the largest seller of counterfeit goods.

The power of one person alone is clearly not advisable.

So several well-known creators joined together to form this alliance.

The goal, of course, is to unite and resist Baidu's hegemony.

And that was indeed the case. According to Xiao An, they had already gathered quite a few people, but they still needed someone influential like Wu Zhuo to join.

"What time is it?"

Wu Zhuo still needs to join this alliance.

If Baidu could really submit like it did in its previous life.

Wu Zhuo's song copyright fees are expected to increase significantly in the future.

The reason why Jay Chou and others' copyright fees soared in the years following the previous life was due to the influence of this incident.

This incident almost indirectly led to improvements in music copyright fees in mainland China.

"It will be at the Jianguo Hotel in Qianmen, Beijing, this Saturday."

"Notify them that I will be there."

……

Welcome, everyone!

On Saturday afternoon, Wu Zhuo arrived at Qianmen Hotel as agreed. As soon as he got out of the car, he saw Zhang Yadong and Gao Xiaosong welcoming the songwriters and musicians.

The person being warmly welcomed at this moment was not a nobody, but Liu Huan and a somewhat elderly lady.

Wu Zhuo didn't recognize the old lady at first, but after looking her over carefully for a few moments, he realized that she was Gu Jianfen, the teacher of Na Ying and Mao Amin.

As soon as Wu Zhuo's car stopped and he got out, Zhang Yadong spotted him. His eyes lit up, and he told Gao Xiaosong and the others to entertain Liu Huan and the others while he quickly walked over to Wu Zhuo.

"Wu Zhuo, welcome, welcome! Your arrival gives us even more confidence."

He happily reached out his hand to Wu Zhuo.

"I feel it's necessary for me to support everyone so that future creators can have a fair and just environment."

Although this is something that costs money.

But Wu Zhuo certainly wouldn't put it in such a vulgar way.

"Oh, Mr. Shih Jen-cheng is here too. Welcome, welcome."

At this moment, Zhang Yadong saw another person getting out of Wu Zhuo's car and quickly welcomed him.

This person was none other than Shi Rencheng, Wu Zhuo's official lyricist.

Shih Jen-cheng is also a well-known lyricist, while Zhang Ya-dong and others are aimed at creators throughout the Chinese-speaking world.

They extended invitations to anyone even remotely well-known.

Zhang Yadong originally thought that most people wouldn't come.

Unexpectedly, Wu Zhuo not only came, but also brought people with him.

"Mr. Zhang, please go ahead and do it. Although I can't do much, I can still cheer you on." Compared to Wu Zhuo, Shi Rencheng was much more low-key.

Although Shih Jen-cheng and Vincent Fang are known as the people behind the two kings of Taiwan Province.

But he wasn't as high-profile as Vincent Fang.

The three exchanged a few words and then headed into the restaurant.

Upon arriving at the hotel lobby, they discovered that Liu Huan and Gu Jianfen were still there, seemingly waiting for them.

"Mr. Wu Zhuo, it's been a long time!"

Upon seeing Wu Zhuo enter, Liu Huan smiled and shook hands with him, then introduced Gu Jianfen, who was standing next to him, to Wu Zhuo.

“This is my teacher, Ms. Gu Jianfen. She has always wanted to meet you.”

"Hello Mr. Gu, I especially love your 'The Mighty Yangtze River Flows Eastward,' the music is truly inspiring."

Wu Zhuo respectfully went over to help Gu Jianfen up.

She is 75 years old this year. Although she looks very energetic, she is a true senior.

"What a polite junior. No wonder he's become a global sensation."

Wu Zhuo's actions greatly pleased Gu Jianfen.

She has met many of the younger generation.

But very few people's first action upon seeing her is to come over and help her up.

"You're joking. We younger generations achieved what we have today by standing on the shoulders of giants."

Compared to you older generations, we still have a long way to go!

Wu Zhuo was quite good at coaxing the elderly; a few words made the old lady very happy, and she took Wu Zhuo's hand and walked inside.

Liu Huan was left standing there, touching his nose.

He finally understood why everyone said Wu Zhuo was polite.

This is not just ordinary politeness.

Judging from his teacher's demeanor, he'll probably be praising Wu Zhuo quite often in the future.

Many people know Gu Jianfen, but generally only know that Na Ying and Mao Amin are her disciples.

In fact, Liu Huan, Xie Xiaodong, Sun Nan, and others also studied music under her and were her students.

This is also why Na Ying is so arrogant.

Besides her own impressive status in the music industry.

Their network of connections is really huge.

The mentor holds various titles, including committee member and honorary chairman of the music composition association.

My fellow students are all famous singers, each of whom is very influential in the country.

With that background, plus her own connections, she couldn't help but become arrogant.

Wu Zhuo helped the old lady and followed Zhang Yadong to the private room they had reserved.

In fact, Zhang Yadong is no ordinary person, as he was one of the initiators of this alliance.

Back in the early 90s, when rock music in China was just starting out, he was already hanging out with Cui Jian.

Later, he served as a producer for a large number of folk singers, including Faye Wong, Xu Wei, and Pu Shu.

In the new century, he did just as well, producing albums such as Li Yuchun's "Queen's Road".

He should be considered one of the top producers in mainland China.

It is also because of this identity that he was able to serve as one of the initiators.

The group chatted and laughed all the way, and soon arrived at the private room prepared by Zhang Yadong and the others.

There were already quite a few people inside.

Many of them were acquaintances.

Cui Jian, Lin Xi, Yuan Weiren, Xiao Chong, Li Sisong, Li Weisong, Jin Peida, Tan Dun, and many other influential figures in the domestic songwriting and composition industry are all present.

"Haha, Wu Zhuo is here! I knew you would come!"

Vincent Fang, who looks a lot like Ng Man-tat, smiled and spoke when he saw Ng Cheuk.

"Since you're all here, of course I had to come too. By the way, where's Jay Chou? I haven't seen him."

Wu Zhuo glanced around but didn't see Jay Chou.

Logically speaking, if Vincent Fang was there, Jay Chou should have been there too.

"Jaylen is busy, so I'll take care of things here."

Fang Wenshan explained with a smile.

This guy loves to laugh.

"He certainly knows how to slack off."

Wu Zhuo smiled and helped Gu Jianfen to her seat.

Wu Zhuo greeted Gu Jianfen for a while, and when he saw that some mainland creators came to chat with Gu Jianfen, and that Liu Huan was accompanying her, he took the initiative to give up his seat and went over to sit with Fang Wenshan and Xiao Chong and others.

"Be careful, from what these guys are saying, they probably want you to lead the charge."

After Wu Zhuo sat down, Fang Wenshan spoke in a low voice.

Xiao Chong chimed in, "Baidu is a powerful company, so they still have reservations. You're famous, a singer, and have a fan base, so they want you to be the vanguard."

Although Wu Zhuo has always considered himself to be from mainland China.

But in reality, both Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China consider him to be from Taiwan.

The only difference between him and other Taiwanese people is that he has more connections with the mainland.

Therefore, whenever Wu Zhuo attends events that bring together people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, a crowd of people will unconsciously gather around him.

Everyone regarded him as their leader.

For this reason, Wu Zhuo is familiar to many people in the music and film industries in Taiwan.

As one of the most well-known creators in Taiwan, Wu Zhuo naturally had dealings with Xiao Chong.

"It's fine, being a leader is fine too. I was worried I'd be bored here!"

Compared to the timidity of others.

Now that Wu Zhuo has arrived, he naturally has nothing to fear.

Ultimately, Baidu is just a company; although it is large, it is not an official entity.

However, their alliance actually had the help of the authorities.

Otherwise, Gu Jianfen wouldn't have come.

Moreover, Wu Zhuo also intends to use this incident to increase his influence in the industry.

If he takes the lead and resolves this matter...

His reputation in this circle will reach its peak.

Future songwriters will all owe him a debt of gratitude.

Because many people haven't arrived yet, the gathering hasn't officially started for a while.

Everyone is chatting with acquaintances.

Wu Zhuo was chatting with Fang Wenshan and others when he suddenly saw Lin Xi walking over.

"Mr. Wu Zhuo, this is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lin Xi."

Wu Zhuo looked up, somewhat reluctant to respond, but after thinking for a moment, he replied:
"Hello there!"

"Mr. Wu Zhuo's music is really amazing. I wonder if we will have the opportunity to collaborate."

Lin Xi seemed not to notice the smile gradually disappearing from Wu Zhuo's face, and sat down next to him.

"Let's talk about it another time. If I find a suitable piece, I'll definitely collaborate with you."

Wu Zhuo was somewhat perfunctory.

However, Lin Xi seemed not to notice and insisted on chatting with him.

Finally, when Wu Zhuo was getting impatient, he got up and left.

"Do you have a grudge against him?"

Fang Wenshan, who had been standing nearby, immediately realized from Wu Zhuo's expression that Wu Zhuo disliked Lin Xi.

"I still cherish my feathers."

Wu Zhuo said something that Fang Wenshan didn't quite understand.

(End of this chapter)