Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 274 The Legend of the King of Film Sales Still Shines Bright

Yi'an Company, Conference Room
Yan Li walked in, and Xiao Guan, the vice president in charge of distribution, along with the director of the distribution department and several other responsible persons, all stood up to greet him.

"President Yan."

"Everyone sit down."

Yan Li gestured for them to sit down, then went straight to the head seat in the conference room, and the others gradually took their seats as well.

"Wow, there's a newcomer."

Yan Li looked at the two people at the bottom of the conference room. The distribution department was a department that Yan Li had personally trained and had dealt with a lot, so he knew almost all the senior management and most of the middle management.

If a boss can't remember the faces and names of his closest subordinates, it may not necessarily have a negative impact on management, but it certainly lacks a positive influence.

Yan Li has a good memory and is quite attentive to this aspect.

He makes a special note of the company's talented employees and those with outstanding performance, and he even remembers their resumes.

Often, when he encounters subordinates he doesn't know well and has the opportunity to chat, he proactively praises and affirms their resumes and achievements, which is more effective than raising salaries.

Not only does it motivate employees, but it also ensures that his personal prestige and reputation are consistently good among the company's key personnel and grassroots employees.

Even minor internal mistakes can be interpreted by subordinates as a sign that several vice presidents or directors are incompetent, have failed to live up to President Yan's trust, and are unworthy of their positions, and so on.

The head of the distribution department came out to introduce them, saying that these two were newly promoted managers of the company.

Yan Li looked at one of the men with longer hair and said, "Yang Qu, you must be an old man. I remember you were in the cast of 'Chinese Paladin'."

Yang Qu was surprised that Yan Li remembered him, and stood up excitedly: "Yes, President Yan, I joined the company at the end of 04, and 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy' was my first project."

Yan Li joked, "Then you're getting promoted pretty fast. Keep up the good work and put some pressure on your General Manager Xiao and the Director."

Yi'an is developing rapidly, and its internal employees are also being promoted at a fast pace.

After all, the company was registered at the end of 2002 and officially founded in early 2003. It truly entered its development phase starting in 2004 and began to rise in 2005.

In the entire company, including Yan Li and Lin Jiachuan, no one has been with the company for more than five years.

Yang Qu joined the company less than three years ago and was promoted to the position of head of a distribution project, which is barely considered a middle-level position. His progress was not fast, but it was not slow either. He was a promising talent who could be cultivated and caught Yan Li's eye.

Another newly promoted manager looked at Yang Qu with some envy.

His qualifications were similar to Yang Qu's, but he was unlucky and didn't spend much time on projects supervised by Yan Li. Yan Li had some impression of him, but not much.

However, Yan Li did not neglect him, offering a few words of encouragement, but it was clearly not as prestigious as Yang Qu's.

Management often requires balance, and it is also appropriate to allow for a certain degree of difference.

Differences create a sense of satisfaction and need, allowing both to be used to one's advantage.

Yeah, anyway, they're just inhuman!
The two new leaders could only wait anxiously for Yan Li to speak before responding; those who couldn't answer could only smile shyly.

As a high-ranking executive in the company and a close confidant of Yan Li, Xiao Guan didn't need to worry about so much and took advantage of Yan Li's joke to complain.

"You keep urging people on like this every day, making these guys keep an eye on me all the time. They're even getting gray hairs from working overtime late into the night."

Yan Li glanced at Xiao Guan's hair. If he remembered correctly, the kid already had some gray hair when he first joined the company.

"If you're really under a lot of pressure, why don't you take a break?"

Xiao Guan's expression turned serious: "I love working overtime, I love taking on challenges."

He was unwilling to give up the position of vice president in charge of distribution, Yi An.

In addition to his basic salary and bonuses, as the direct supervisor of the distribution department, he also receives a share of the department's performance evaluation.

Moreover, Yan Li is personally leading fewer and fewer projects at this stage. He is in charge of many key projects, and he will receive bonuses for successful sales.

Besides money, as the head of Yi'an Publishing, he inevitably deals with various film and television production companies, and is now considered a prominent figure in the industry.

They have money and power; their lives couldn't be more comfortable.

However, Xiao Guan had a ulterior motive: as Yan Li's business expanded and his companies and enterprises increased, his attention would inevitably be diverted.

The current president of Yi An is Yan Li. In the future, he may relinquish this position or create a new position to manage the company in his absence.

Without a doubt, Xiao Guan is one of the top candidates, and he also aspires to become the head of this film and television giant.

rest?

He wished he could sleep at the company so that President Yan could see his unwavering loyalty.

"Alright, enough joking around, let's get down to business."

Yan Li likes to joke around with his old subordinates, especially in non-important meetings, to liven up the atmosphere and build rapport.

The familiar subordinates and long-time employees are used to it, but the topic we just discussed was probably a bit sensitive, and even the director of the distribution department didn't dare to chime in.

Yan Li can make fun of him, and Xiao Guan can make fun of himself, but if he goes along with it, he might be targeted.

Realizing that the joke had gone wrong, Yan Li took the initiative to let it go and began the formal meeting.

The director of the distribution department took the initiative to turn on the TV screen in the conference room and began to talk about the distribution department's performance over the past few months, as well as the progress of key projects.

"..."

Yan Li listened quietly to the report. Although it hadn't even been a full season since the Spring Festival, there were new changes every day in Yi'an, which was developing rapidly.

The consecutive successes in 2005 and 2006 gave Yi'an an absolute leading advantage in the distribution of TV dramas.

According to incomplete statistics, there are currently many TV dramas being filmed in the industry.

Aside from those cheap, money-laundering, and poorly made filler dramas, about one-third of legitimate TV drama production teams, especially those hoping to be broadcast on satellite TV, will contact Yi An.

The remaining two-thirds either had connections with companies or TV stations, or wanted to contact Yi An but couldn't stand the long queues.

That's right. Now, apart from some popular dramas, many mid-to-high-end dramas have to wait in line to collaborate with Yi An.

As mentioned before, Yi'an's distribution capabilities are strong, but not to an unrealistic degree.

To date, Yi An plans to release approximately 20 to 30 TV series each year.

As the company grows, the number will definitely increase, but we will try to keep the number from growing too fast.

One reason is manpower, but the most important reason is that there are too many dramas, and Yi'an's stable channels for cooperation cannot handle them all.

Moreover, these average or slightly better dramas can't command high prices, don't earn much, and their performance and reputation are risky, making them a rather undesirable choice with low cost-effectiveness.

Therefore, despite the industry's enthusiasm, Yi'an Publishing still insists on pursuing a high-quality approach and prefers to collaborate with popular drama production teams.

Popular drama productions have high viewership potential, attract many buyers, and prices are negotiable. In the end, it's a win-win situation for the production team, the TV station, and Yi'an, making more money and saving them a lot of trouble.

However, popular dramas aren't so easy to snag.

There are many interests involved, and even if Yi'an can make more money, not everyone will buy into her scheme.

For example, Huayi Brothers and Hairun might cooperate with Yi'an, but they would only choose a few high-return projects to earn more money, and they would not cooperate with Yi'an in all aspects.

The reason is simple: handing over the distribution of the TV series to Yi An is tantamount to letting Yan Li hold their lifeline in his hands.

Tangren and Zhouyi couldn't do it because they lacked the resources, while Huayi and Hairun could publish their own content, even if they earned less, it was still better than having to depend on Yi'an's whims.

Some subsidiaries or centers with television station backgrounds also wouldn't seek cooperation with Yi'an on a large scale.

On the one hand, there are existing channels, and on the other hand, it involves personnel and influence.

Even if the work is poorly done, it has to be done by our own people; it can't be outsourced, and we certainly can't lay them off.

In addition to various other reasons, it is difficult or impossible for Yi An to publish only high-quality and popular projects; she will also take on some ordinary or slightly better projects.

But these kinds of projects are everywhere in the industry, and many people want to collaborate with Yi'an, so you have to wait in line. If you can't wait, you have to find someone else.

Under these supply and demand conditions, Yi An's influence has also increased, often directly translating into benefits. For example, if a production team wants to collaborate with Yi An but lacks the resources for a key project and can't get a spot in the queue, they can offer additional benefits to jump the queue.

Distribution revenue is the most basic aspect. In addition, there are other collaborations, such as granting Yi'an access to investment, casting, and advertising opportunities in the project or other projects.

Previously, there was even a producer who planned to secure Yi An's distribution contract by offering her the lead role and an 18% share of the distribution revenue, and then use that contract to attract investment.

Yi An's distribution contract could attract investment, and the key was that people actually bought into it. Yan Li was somewhat convinced when he heard it.

Although Yi An eventually kicked this guy out, this incident also indirectly proves the influence and appeal of Yi An Publishing in the industry.

The above only refers to television dramas. Although Yi An is still in the development stage in film, she has also performed well.

The two films, "Protégé" and "Love Transfer," which were both self-invested and distributed, have grossed nearly 100 million yuan at the mainland box office.

In particular, "Protégé" remains the highest-grossing Chinese-language film of 2007.

Other projects that China Film Group was solely responsible for were few in number and had mediocre box office performance, but China Film Group had taken a share of the business related to Hollywood films.

To reiterate, Yi An's current film distribution capabilities are not as strong as those of established companies, and it is not yet widely trusted in the market.

However, Yi An Film Distribution's unique advantages of on-the-ground promotion and anti-theft measures have made many film crews, especially large film crews and distributors, willing to cooperate with them.

Even Hollywood blockbusters need on-the-ground promotion and theft prevention!
Even if China Film Group isn't that proactive in promoting these Hollywood films, no one would object if they could make more money.

Yan Li was also not very interested in these Hollywood movies. If all the audiences went to watch Hollywood movies, who would watch his movies?

However, the distribution department now has several hundred people on the ground. The film business can't just rely on a pittance. It doesn't have to make money, but the team needs to be trained and developed. So Yan Li just let it be.

To be honest, the initial goal of establishing the ground promotion business was actually to target movies, but now advertising and TV drama business have become the mainstream.

Fortunately, Yi An's work extends beyond movies; otherwise, given the current film market, these hundreds of people would be nothing more than a burden.

This also explains why, despite knowing that on-the-ground distribution would be effective, only two film companies, Yi'an and Enlight Media, actually engaged in large-scale distribution of films.

Because only these two companies have stable funding from other businesses, while other film and television companies either don't value them or can't afford to support them.

This also led to some minor friction between Yi'an's ground promotion team and the lighting team.

However, due to its first-mover advantage, film and television connections, Yan Li's attention and support, and the special advantage of anti-theft measures, Yi An is clearly ahead of Enlight Media in terms of on-the-ground promotion and distribution.

As Yan Li had predicted, some of Enlight Media's ground promotion strategies began to copy and borrow from Yi An.

Yi An's publishing department was greatly dissatisfied, and Xiao Guan even made a veiled criticism of Guangming on his blog, but Yan Li never paid any attention.

He didn't know why he cared, after all, he was the one who copied "Future Ray" from the intelligence first.

Yan Li didn't seem to care much about the plagiarism, but then he turned around and mocked the other person...

He can't control whether his subordinates criticize him or not, but he himself is too embarrassed to speak up.

However, although there are some undercurrents between Yi An and Enlight Media, on the surface, the two companies have a good relationship, and Enlight Media is even considering bringing in Enlight Media for "Painted Skin".

Enlight Media's television media and variety show resources were very helpful in promoting "Painted Skin".

In fact, Tianyu Media, a subsidiary of Hunan TV, can also do this, but it is not as comprehensive as Enlight Media.

It has good relationships with many provincial and satellite TV stations, and its media resources can cover most TV stations and some internet networks across the country.

Yi An has a lot of connections and channels in television stations, but mainly focuses on film and television, and is inferior to Enlight Media in terms of media variety shows.

If Yi An and Enlight Media join forces, the promotion and distribution of "Painted Skin" can be directly broadcast to millions of households through television.

...

Yan Li values ​​the overall development and performance of the distribution department more, but the performance of key projects cannot be neglected.

"Since the end of last year and the beginning of this year, our department has successively taken over the distribution work of several popular TV series such as 'The Legend of Chu Liuxiang,' 'The Legend of Yang Yuhuan,' 'Struggle,' 'New Shanghai Bund,' 'Sweet Honey,' 'Golden Wedding,' and 'The Deer and the Cauldron.'"

"Currently, 'The Deer and the Cauldron' and 'The Legend of Chu Liuxiang' are the most popular in the market because they combine the lingering heat of the Jin Yong and Gu Long battle, and they are also the dramas we have the highest asking price for."

"The initial asking price for 'The Legend of Chu Liuxiang' is 110 million to 125 million yuan, while the price for local channels and county and city stations is over 2500 million yuan. The DVD rights are still under negotiation, but due to market reasons, we are not very satisfied. However, the price for online streaming has increased significantly."

Yan Liwei showed some interest: "How much are you asking for?"

"Tudou.com offered 110 million yuan, Youku offered 125 million yuan, and two other websites offered more than 80 yuan."

As mentioned before, due to large institutional investors buying up properties and the rise of video websites, the price of online film and television streaming services is increasing.

However, the increase is not particularly exaggerated. At least apart from some popular dramas, there are not many that have exceeded 10,000.

For example, the acquisition price of "Golden Wedding" by a media company that is keen on acquiring copyrights was only 5500 yuan per episode, and the entire series cost less than 30 yuan.

The TV series "Soldiers Sortie," which became popular on DVD and online in the first half of the year, was acquired by a certain company at the end of last year for less than 3000 yuan per episode after its premiere.

Currently, only "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" have broken the million-yuan mark for online streaming.

At the time, the price was partly driven by speculation, intended to expand the influence of the two TV series and Tudou.com. The media at the time also referred to the transaction as an "astronomical price."

Unexpectedly, just one year later, the websites that started vying for traffic have already begun to adapt to this "sky-high price".

Yan Li had a premonition that, due to his own butterfly effect, several video websites might start a copyright war even earlier.

The price of the copyrights he owns is also about to skyrocket!

"For our own dramas, we'll follow the old rules. If someone is vying for a drama we release, we'll set a higher price. If someone buys it, we'll sell it; if no one buys it, we'll let Yi'an take it."

These popular TV series definitely need to be sold; otherwise, it would just benefit piracy.

But whoever sells it to, in the past, Yi'an would give a price and then buy it directly.

Now that video websites are vying for them, Yan Li can decide to resell his self-produced dramas to Yi An at a reasonable price, and that will be enough. As for the dramas that are distributed, the highest bidder wins.

In principle, Yi'an can also grab it, but Yan Li doesn't really approve of grabbing it except for a few exceptions.

Dramas priced at hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan are, in the current market, a huge bubble.

With the same amount of money, Yi An could easily have taken on several or even a dozen good dramas.

"The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" has performed well, with the total sales revenue exceeding 6000 million yuan so far.

The Deer and the Cauldron is of a higher standard.

Although Huang Xiaoming's casting has been somewhat controversial, he is indeed very popular now, and the character of Lord Wei with seven wives is also a hot topic.

Coupled with the halo of Jin Yong's works and Zhang Da Hu Zi's reputation, this series was more favored by television stations than "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang".

Yan Li was used to it; no matter how much hype there was between Jin Yong and Gu Long, Jin Yong dramas still had a larger audience than Gu Long dramas.

The last battle between the Phoenix and the Eagle already showed this, but it wasn't as obvious because of Yan Li's various hype and association.

The cast of "Legend of Chu Liuxiang" is inferior to that of "Legend of Lu Xiaofeng," and it also lacks the buzz and hype. Therefore, "The Deer and the Cauldron" has a much bigger impact.

Although the price per episode was only a little over 100 million, the show has 50 episodes, which means that the revenue from the first round of broadcast on satellite TV will exceed 5000 million.

Including revenue from terrestrial channels and other miscellaneous sources, the initial revenue of "The Deer and the Cauldron" is expected to reach 7500 million.

Yan Li even considered getting the total price of the drama to exceed 100 million yuan, which would make Yi An's distribution department even more famous.

However, he really didn't want to give this honor to Huayi Brothers and Zhang Dahuzi's project, so he was still hesitating.

Regardless, this battle between Jin Yong and Gu Long still brought Yi An considerable revenue, with the total selling price exceeding that of last year's Phoenix Carving, resulting in Yi An earning even more.

Despite the ever-changing landscape of the entertainment industry, the legend of the king of film sales remains as brilliant as ever.

Even though Yan Li only offered some guidance on these two dramas and didn't participate in the actual distribution work at all...

　(95000)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)