After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 645 The Great Master's Reform Plan
Zhou Haoran agreed with Dongfang Lang's statement.

They decided to adopt his strategy of "luring the snake out of its hole".

However, institutional reforms cannot be done haphazardly.

Zhou Haoran knew that for the arts troupe to truly improve, minor adjustments and tweaks wouldn't suffice. The simplest and most effective approach was privatization. Eliminating the current model that served the authorities and allowing private capital to enter and serve the market would quickly lead to substantial profits.

Just like the current reforms of many state-owned enterprises.

Many state-owned enterprises with an open mindset will relinquish state-owned shares to private entities or transfer them to management through management buyouts (MBOs) in order to promote the development of the enterprise.

There is a lot of resistance and risk in doing it this way.

But the effect is good.

Twenty or thirty years later, most of the large state-owned enterprises that can dominate the market have followed this path. The most well-known ones are Haier, Gree, Lenovo, Skyworth, TCL, and ZTE.

Several other companies dared not do this, or did not receive approval, and inevitably lost out in market competition, such as Changhong, Panda, Julong, Datang, and Tongfang, which were at their peak in the 1990s.

Wahaha is the former; despite later facing much criticism, it still succeeded. Jianlibao is the latter; under a conservative strategy to prevent the loss of state-owned assets, it didn't even have the opportunity to be criticized by the public and went out of business early on.

The same principle applies to the reform of arts and cultural troupes.

It's all done in three steps.

The first step is to implement an employment system; the second step is to implement a shareholding system; the third step is to relinquish control to private capital.

The most typical example is crosstalk.

The reason why crosstalk is barely surviving at present is because crosstalk troupes are all employed with guaranteed jobs.

It was changed later.

This has become the most marketable and profitable industry in the performing arts world.

Take Peking Opera, for example.

The reforms were quite successful at one point, and they even made money... Unfortunately, the Peking Opera circle is too powerful, far more so than the crosstalk circle. With crosstalk, if someone gets jealous, at most they'll voice their opposition to vulgarity and shout slogans, but the impact is minimal. Peking Opera is different; it has a massive backing, and if someone gets envious, they can crush the entire market.

However, this is also related to the fact that private capital has gone too far in innovating Peking Opera.

Innovation is the key to market success. If we want to revive Peking Opera, innovation is necessary. However, many private business owners have gone too far, creating bikini-clad Peking Opera or death-themed Peking Opera... They've certainly gained box office revenue and popularity, but they've seriously challenged the older generation of artists and the privileged enthusiasts.

He was killed by a single blow with a stick.

This led to a situation where, while other major theatrical genres across the country flourished and improved under market-oriented reforms, traditional Chinese opera genres remained stagnant.

Zhou Haoran wants to push forward with the reform of the arts troupe, but he can't be too drastic.

Let alone introducing private capital, even shareholding is impossible.

If we can truly implement the employment system outside of the formal staffing system, that would be quite good.

Go and talk to Shan Wendong first.

"A contract-based employment system? Isn't that something that's been being promoted seven or eight years ago?"

Shan Wendong was genuinely worried that Shan Wendong was too young and impetuous, but seeing his composure, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Haoran said, "The employment system has been promoted, but the arts troupe has its own unique characteristics. The employment system of the arts troupe should be distinguished from that of universities, television stations and other enterprises and institutions."

"Oh?"

Shan Wendong really doesn't care much about such trivial matters.

The core of Red Star Media is Red Star TV.

If the TV station is running well, nothing else matters.

Zhou Haoran explained, "The arts troupe has many outstanding artists, singers, actors, dancers, or playwrights and directors. In addition to their work within the troupe, they may also receive many external invitations."

"Ah."

Shan Wendong became cautious.

Zhou Haoran said, "Like our TV station, we don't allow hosts to take on private gigs outside. That's considered an external invitation. Such a ban has a relatively weak impact because hosting weddings or opening ceremonies outside only earns a few hundred or a thousand yuan, which is far less important than the work at the station. And universities, if a famous professor from a university wants to give a lecture at another university, he needs to apply to the university. Whether it's approved or not, the impact is not significant."

Shan Wendong said seriously, "But it's different for those artists. They are invited from outside and are likely to receive high prices. An actor might earn tens or even hundreds of thousands of yuan for a role."

"Yes, that's the hidden big contradiction."

Zhou Haoran had to remove the obstacles that allowed the artists from the arts troupe to work part-time for Tangren Media.

"It really is!"

Shan Wendong hadn't considered these things before, but after hearing Zhou Haoran's explanation, he realized it made perfect sense. The unique nature of the arts troupe necessitates a different hiring system.

"Take the drama center, for example. The harbor has nurtured many outstanding performing artists, but most of them have left. How can our drama center compete with the Beijing People's Art Theatre and the National Centre for the Performing Arts, given that we both deal with drama?"

This is what pains Zhou Haoran the most.

The harbor has nurtured many outstanding actors, but due to a lack of local resources, they all went north to Beijing to work in the entertainment circle, such as Li Jianyi, Liu Wei, and Xiao Yanzi.

This is practically a loss of assets for Tangren Media.

How can we retain talent?

Shan Wendong also didn't want to lose talent and thought Zhou Haoran's perspective was excellent, always prioritizing the big picture. Zhou Haoran said, "We must take advantage of the seaport!"

"Oh?"

Shan Wendong raised an eyebrow.

"The port city is a commercial hub, and it's the most market-oriented place in the country. If our arts troupe wants to compete with the capital's arts troupes for talent, we must have a greater competitive advantage! The first step is to break down the power structures within the system and the restrictions they face!"

Zhou Haoran prioritizes the overall situation, but he will not neglect personal matters for public duty.

These days, privately-owned entertainment companies lack competitiveness.

Good prospects won't sign with private companies.

They all went to state-owned enterprises.

State-owned enterprises couldn't get in, which is why they were forced to sign with private entertainment companies.

This has led to a situation where Tangren Media lacks competitiveness when it wants to sign some promising talents; you may want to sign other companies, but they may not want to sign you.

How to do?
Mr. Da has resources.

If Tangren Media can't sign them, let Red Star Broadcasting Art Troupe sign them!
Signing a talent troupe is like signing a talent with Tangren Media – it's all on our side. We absolutely cannot let talented graduates like Ren Quan and Li Bingbing, who were snatched up by Beijing's elite film and television circles after graduation, happen again.

Shan Wendong nodded. "Okay, what are you going to do?"

Zhou Haoran succinctly stated, "We will adjust the employment standards for contract employees and give them the greatest freedom. This will allow them to take on external business orders without any restrictions, giving them both the security of working within the system and the opportunity to earn big money outside."

"Unrestricted?"

"Yes, the current model is too restrictive. Whether you're a director, screenwriter, singer, or actor, if you want to take on commercial projects outside, you either have to do it secretly or you need to get approval from your superiors."

"This is preventing them from making money!"

Shan Wendong deeply understood the principle that people die for wealth and birds die for food.

Zhou Haoran said, "That's right. If an actor accepts a film contract worth over 100,000 yuan, but the boss doesn't approve it, wouldn't that create internal conflict? I've heard that some actors have to give a portion of their salary to their superiors in order to get roles outside. Some actresses even have to sleep with their superiors to get a signature."

Shan Wendong's expression suddenly changed. "Who? Do you have any evidence?"

Zhou Haoran said calmly, "Tong Liwei, the deputy director of the drama center, has been doing this for years."

"Scoundrel!" Shan Wendong slammed his fist on the table in anger. "Investigate him!"

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "I'm in contact with colleagues in the supervision department, and it's underway. However, this is only a temporary solution. To address the root cause, we need to start with the system and stop giving them the power to approve things. We should allow contract employees to choose freely. If they don't want to film the plays arranged by the company, they don't have to; if they want to take on commercial projects outside, they can do so freely."

"This will cause chaos in management!"

Shan Wendong was somewhat worried.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "Director, you don't need to worry about that. Those who have the confidence to take on projects outside are usually well-known in the industry. Their presence is like that of a spokesperson, which can enhance the brand value of the drama center. We don't really need them to participate in drama rehearsals anymore."

Then he submitted a reform proposal.

The system remains primarily based on established positions and contract-based employment.

However, some details have been modified.

Being employed on the payroll is a secure job; you can't just enjoy the benefits without contributing anything. If someone wants to take on external commercial projects, they don't need leadership approval. However, they must give 50% of the revenue from those projects to the company.

They are employed on a contract basis, and are considered temporary workers.

Poor attractiveness.

However, if an actor takes on commercial gigs outside the company, all the profits belong to them personally and do not need to be handed over to the government. This can greatly enhance their appeal to many well-known actors.

You can make a lot of money outside, and you can also have the security of being backed by a state-owned enterprise.

Zhou Haoran explained the reform plan: "Director, the essence of this reform lies in mobility. Everyone wants a permanent position and is scrambling for one. Once you have one, it's a lifetime appointment. But the number of positions in the unit is limited, which leads to a shortage of available positions, leaving newcomers with few opportunities."

Shan Wendong also saw it and squinted his eyes, saying, "Your plan can encourage many people to voluntarily give up their government-funded positions."

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "That's right. Some actors become famous and popular outside, and their salaries increase significantly. They are no longer willing to share the profits with their work unit, so they give up their permanent positions and switch to contract employment. In this way, permanent positions can be freed up. The final result is that ordinary people who have no development opportunities outside have permanent positions, and they are the main force in theatrical performances; those who develop well outside and can make a lot of money are all on contract employment. This can effectively resolve internal and external conflicts and various differences in interests."

"Good."

Shan Wendong was very satisfied.

This reform is not radical; it is a deepening of the overall reform plan for national arts and drama troupes developed in previous years.

Make no mistakes in the general direction.

They paid attention to the little details.

If it affects someone's interests...

Those must be the leaders of the performing arts troupes. They no longer hold the power of life and death over the artists. They have changed from managers to service providers, having to please and retain them, with the aim of serving the artists, thus adopting an "agency" model.

Shan Wendong approved the reform policy!

It can be done!

(End of this chapter)