Huayu: Starting from Fahrenheit

Chapter 420 Entertainment Earthquake

About ten minutes later, most of the people who were supposed to come had arrived, and those who weren't coming wouldn't show up no matter how much longer they waited.

Thus, the gathering of this rights protection alliance officially began.

Gao Xiaosong, with an expression that said "I'm the initiator, I'm awesome," took the lead in speaking.

"Everyone knows what the music industry is like right now."

Our profits have already been driven down further and further by those unscrupulous pirates.

Now, they are openly supporting online music piracy.

This is a complete infringement, and it's a real threat to our livelihood.

Therefore, Ya Dong and I formed this alliance and invited everyone.

I hope we can all unite as one and protest against this infringement.

Ladies and gentlemen, you all know what the future trend is.

Digital music will inevitably replace the traditional record industry.

If we don't make these internet companies clean up their internal affairs and acknowledge the rights of us creators, then we will face consequences.

So, in less than two years, none of us will receive a single penny in royalties.

To be honest, Gao Xiaosong is really good at speaking. With just a few words, he made everyone in the room feel a sense of shared hatred for him.

A lyricist from mainland China stood up and said:

"I agree with what Xiaosong said. Everyone, we can't sit idly by any longer. If this continues, what rights will we creators have left to protect?"
Last year, the domestic music industry generated over 30 billion yuan in revenue, but how much of that actually ended up in the hands of record companies and us?
Less than a tenth of that money was taken by either pirates or by internet giants like Wolf Factory that support pirated online music.

Look at other countries, they've long had established royalty systems for online music.

You can ask Mr. Wu Zhuo about this; he should be an authority on this matter.

His records also garnered significant streaming numbers on overseas online platforms, and these streams brought him royalties.

And what about in China? Wolf Factory supports a large number of pirated music websites. It's one thing for them to pirate and use our songs, but they also want to destroy our roots.

I absolutely cannot tolerate this happening.

Upon hearing his words, everyone turned their gaze to Wu Zhuo.

"Mr. Wang is right. My song royalties abroad are indeed very high. In countries like Japan and South Korea, the income from digital music is even higher than that from physical albums."

This is because of the protection provided by copyright law.

On foreign websites, regardless of the quality of a song, you can get royalties for every single play.

This has never happened before in the country.

Wu Zhuo is indeed the best person to prove this point.

To be honest, he has earned far more money abroad than in China in the past two years.

We won't discuss physical albums for now.

Light's digital music career has only taken off in recent years, and in 08 his total income was $1000 million.

By last year, 09, his income from this area had risen to 3 million US dollars.

This year, the figure has increased even more dramatically. Due to the popularity of his new album, his digital music revenue has reached $7000 million so far this year.

This year, he has become one of the world's highest-earning celebrities.

Because of his exceptional ability to generate revenue overseas, Sony even suggested that he abandon the Chinese market and focus solely on the international market.

Let's get back to the main topic.

In fact, if China were to properly integrate digital music channels and reduce piracy, singers' incomes would see a significant increase, given the country's massive population.

"Therefore, our alliance is imperative, and Wolf Factory must pay the price for their infringement."

Gao Xiaosong spoke loudly.

Then he looked at Wu Zhuo:
"However, Wolf Factory is a big company after all, and they didn't take us seriously at all."

We have protested many times before, but they have ignored us.

Abel, we need your help.

Of all those present, you have the greatest influence. Your every move attracts a lot of media attention. One sentence from you carries more weight than ten sentences from any of us.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhuo stood up and looked at the group of lyricists and composers who were looking at him expectantly.

"Now that I am here today, I am one of you, but my strength is still limited."

I suggest that everyone in our alliance file an appeal with the court.

I remember that China's copyright law includes laws regarding copyright infringement.

"With all of us filing this appeal together, I don't think anyone will take it lightly."

If possible, Wu Zhuo would certainly prefer to handle this matter alone.

But the truth is, even if it's Wu Zhuo, Wolf Factory won't be too impressed.

The main issue is that the two sides don't have much business dealings.

If they had business dealings like Tencent, involving endorsements and song licensing, that would be fine.

As for Wolf Factory, this company has almost no dealings with Wu Zhuo.

In fact, many people in later generations have described Tencent as a major villain, calling him a hegemon.

But compared to Wolf Factory, Tencent is really nothing.

Tencent's actions are basically all within the bounds of the law.

Online sources say that Tencent's legal team has never lost.

what is the reason?
Natural people understand the law before doing anything, knowing that it can only be implemented within the scope of regulations.

Unlike Wolf Factory.

Wolf Factory is a company that operates solely on how to make money.

Nationwide, countless illegal and criminal websites rely on Wolf Factory for survival.

Doesn't Wolf Factory know?

In fact, we know that they are a search engine company, and the emergence of any webpage or website will be associated with them.

They could ban these kinds of websites if they wanted to.

But the reality is that no matter how much they ban or crack down on these online wars, they always exist.

For example, there are pirated music websites associated with Wu Zhuo and others.

Wolf Factory not only strictly controlled the distribution of pirated music, but they even supported the rampant spread of these pirated music tracks within the Wolf Factory, causing significant losses to the legitimate music industry.

When record companies approach them, they'll say, "It's all spontaneously spread by others; it has nothing to do with us."

For this reason, Wolf Factory is almost the most hated company by Wu Zhuo and other industry professionals, and almost no company is willing to cooperate with them.

Conversely, while Fujimoto might also bully his boss due to his size, he is very well-behaved in all aspects.

For example, regarding song royalties.

QQ Music is the first music platform to pay record companies royalties.

At the same time, the price will be slightly higher than other platforms.

It's also because he has no connection with Wolf Factory; Wolf Factory won't back down on him on his own.

So even if Wu Zhuo wanted to stand out, it was useless; he had to drag everyone else along with him.

"it is good!"

Zhang Yadong slammed his hand on the table. "Wu Zhuo is right. We can't rely on any one person to accomplish this."

I suggest we all file a joint lawsuit to show Wolf Factory that we're not to be trifled with. Furthermore, we should not only sue Wolf Factory, but also sever all business ties with them as a response.

After he finished speaking, he looked at the crowd.

Hearing this, many people frowned.

Many of these individuals have authorized Wolf Factory's music copyrights.

Seeing this, Wu Zhuo decided to take the lead and said directly, "I will announce that I will not authorize the copyright of my songs to any company related to Wolf Factory until this matter is resolved."

At the same time, my personal copyright company will also monitor any instances of piracy of my music on Wolf Factory, collect evidence, and, once the evidence is conclusive, my copyright company will immediately file a lawsuit in court.

This is actually related to Wu Zhuo's personal interests.

If we're talking about who suffered the most from the piracy by Wolf Factory, then it's undoubtedly Wu Zhuo and the other four new Heavenly Kings.

Their songs are among the most widely circulated on the Wolf Factory website.

He didn't receive a single penny for these promotions.

Therefore, Wu Zhuo also used this incident to strike a blow against Wolf Factory, to stop them from being so arrogant in their piracy.

After a pause, Wu Zhuo continued, "I have song licensing agreements with several major music platforms in China."

QQ Music also holds the exclusive first release rights to my album, and they have also suffered greatly from the piracy by Wolf Factory, losing a lot of money.

I will persuade them to join our side.

Upon hearing Wu Zhuo's words, everyone's spirits immediately lifted.

If Wu Zhuo can really bring in a few music platforms, even if they're just there to cheer him on, it would be a huge asset for their alliance.

At that moment, Gu Jianfen, who served as the honorary chairman of the Copyright Association, also spoke up.

"The Music Copyright Association will stand with everyone. Wolf Factory's behavior is an outright infringement and has seriously violated the rights and interests of the association. We will not allow this situation that damages the industry to continue."

Once Gu Jianfen spoke, everyone no longer hesitated and began to add their chips.

"All my works are licensed to Wolf Factory, and I will withdraw all licenses for my works."

"Many of the songs I wrote lyrics for have had their copyrights purchased by Wolf Factory. I will terminate the agreement. If they do not stop their infringement, I will absolutely not license them again."

“Our JVR Music will also revoke any company’s rights to use songs related to Wolf Factory, and Jay Chou will stand by our side.”

The statements from each lyricist and composer officially signify that this alliance has been united as one.

In fact, don't underestimate the people who came today.

When everyone works together, the song copyrights they own are enormous.

If they were facing a music platform instead of Wolf Factory at this moment, and faced with the song copyrights they had revoked.

This music platform might even go bankrupt.

Therefore, when these people unite, the power they unleash is terrifying.

Especially with someone as influential and popular as Wu Zhuo involved.

Three days after the alliance reached a consensus, Wu Zhuo took the lead in attacking Wolf Factory, listing dozens of Wolf Factory's crimes and demanding that Wolf Factory immediately stop infringing on his and all other peers' music.

Perhaps Wu Zhuo's influence is too great, unlike in the previous life when only a few dozen lyricists and composers directly confronted Wolf Factory.

This time, it happened after Wu Zhuo held a press conference and spoke out online.

Jay Chou, Wang Leehom, and JJ Lin followed suit, strongly demanding that Wolf Factory stop infringing on their songs.

The new Four Heavenly Kings are all creative individuals, and almost all of their classic works are their own creations.

Moreover, the four of them are almost the most influential people in the Chinese music scene.

The moment the four of them spoke out, it caused a sensation throughout the entire entertainment industry.

There's a saying, what was it again? The world has suffered under the Qin dynasty for too long.

This statement also applies to Wolf Factory.

The entertainment industry, including movies, TV series, and songs, has been influenced by Wolf Factory, the largest online piracy company in China.

Many companies have suffered significant losses as a result.

Previously, Wolf Factory was a large company that no one dared to mess with.

But things are different now; four of the most influential singers in China have stepped forward.

Then almost all the well-known creators in the music industry stepped forward.

This immediately inspired others to follow suit.

Some directors in the film industry have criticized Wolf Factory for its shamelessness.

Then the TV series director.

Then, the company, actors, and singers all joined in the condemnation of Wolf Factory.

To be honest, even Wu Zhuo didn't expect that his statement would attract so many people to cheer him on.

However, this is indeed a good thing.

Due to protests from numerous entertainment industry personnel, and even lawsuits filed directly in court, Wolf Factory finally couldn't hold out any longer.

They dared not remain silent any longer.

Because a large number of court summonses have been sent to their company.

Not only that, but because of this major upheaval in the entertainment industry, some people directly named Wolf Factory.

Although they only said they would take this matter seriously, it still scared Wolf Factory pretty badly.

In addition, a number of entertainment companies have stated that they will no longer authorize Wolf Factory's works, which has even directly or indirectly affected Wolf Factory's stock.

In less than a week, Wolf Factory's stock price plummeted from $60 per share to $46.

And it continues to decline.

What worries Wolf Factory even more is that several investment firms have shown interest in the browser at this time.

360 even boldly declared that it would invite major companies in the entertainment industry to cooperate with it.

They absolutely value every creator in the cultural industry.

These actions frightened Wolf Factory so much that they quickly contacted Wu Zhuo and other members of the alliance, wanting to negotiate.

In fact, many people in the league disagree with the negotiations.

Everyone thought that Wolf Factory was scared, and with the support of the entire industry, they were bound to win.

Some have even suggested that Wolf Factory should compensate everyone for the losses incurred in the past few years.

However, their ideas differ from those of others.

Wu Zhuo and others felt that they should stop while they were ahead.

Some things are best left at that point. If you push things too far, and the other side chooses to fight to the death, then you're finished.

Therefore, in mid-October, the two sides held talks on this matter.

Wu Zhuo also sent representatives to attend the negotiations.

Both sides were willing to reach a settlement, so the first round of negotiations yielded initial results.

Although Wolf Factory does not admit to infringement, it agrees to strengthen management in the future. In addition, Wolf Factory will pay corresponding royalties for any cultural works that appear on Wolf Factory in the future.

The royalty is determined based on usage.

At the same time, Wolf Factory will shut down some of its pirated music websites.

Then, and most importantly, downloading music for free on Wolf Factory requires paying the relevant copyright fees.

(End of this chapter)