Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 319 The First Explosion of the New Year

Morning light streamed through the bright, spacious glass curtain wall of the office building, illuminating the office area of ​​Tengda Culture.

As employees gradually arrived at their posts, the entire office area instantly became lively when a tall and beautiful figure came into view.

"Honey!" "Good morning, Honey."

"Honey, 'Palace' is so good!"

Greetings rang out one after another. Across from her, the employees of Tengda Culture were full of enthusiasm and flattery. Yang Mi responded modestly, but she couldn't hide the smile on her lips. She was so popular lately!

After "Palace" premiered on January 8th on Hunan Satellite TV's Golden Eagle Independent Broadcast Theater, it achieved an average viewership rating of 2.6% and a peak rating of 3.5% over two weeks.

It held the top spot in national viewership ratings for ten consecutive days, making it the highest-rated TV series on provincial satellite channels in the past five years.

Luo Qingchuan's name became famous overnight across the country. Yang Mi also dominated the Weibo hot search list for several days with this role, successfully becoming a top-tier female celebrity with popularity no less than Liu Shishi and Wang Luodan.

After having her assistant distribute the prepared milk tea to her colleagues, Yang Mi went straight to Zeng Jia's office amidst expressions of gratitude and praise.

In the vice president's office, Zeng Jia hummed a cheerful tune and fiddled with the flowers and plants on the windowsill, clearly in a very good mood.

"Sister Jia."

Upon hearing the sound, Zeng Jia immediately put down his gardening tools and greeted everyone with a big smile: "Mimi's here, have a seat."

The two sat down on the sofa, and Zeng Jia sincerely congratulated them, saying, "Mimi, congratulations! You finally have a breakout hit."

Yang Mi's delicate face was radiant with excitement: "I never expected 'Palace' to become such a hit. When Yu Zheng rushed to move up the release date, I thought the show was going to flop."

Zeng Jia also remarked, "It's truly an unexpected success! But it's also thanks to the company's strong marketing capabilities, otherwise even the best wine needs advertising."

You weren't happy about the rumors about you and Feng Shaofeng before, but they were just some minor tactics, and now it seems they were all worthwhile.

Yang Mi nodded slightly. She hadn't expected the hype to be so effective. Her mindset was subtly changing. She secretly thought that she could follow the same approach for her future dramas. It didn't matter if the tricks were old, as long as they worked.

"I called you back to the company today because there are a few things I want to discuss with you."

Yang Mi sat up straight, listening attentively, understanding that what Zeng Jia was about to say was of utmost importance.

Although "Palace" is a huge hit, the key now is to maintain this popularity and turn popularity into long-term benefits.

“I, Yu Zheng, and Hunan TV have discussed it. We’ll strike while the iron is hot. You and Feng Shaofeng should go on more variety shows to boost the publicity and hype, and add fuel to the fire for the hit drama ‘Palace’.”

"I'm fine with it, I'll cooperate fully."

Zeng Jia grinned and said, "The second thing is definitely good news! The company has secured three new endorsement deals for you, and five more are currently under negotiation."

Yang Mi's beautiful eyes lit up instantly, sparkling with excitement, and she eagerly asked, "Sister Jia, tell me quickly, what is the endorsement!"

Zeng Jia listed them off with great familiarity: "We've already reached agreements with Veet skincare, Guangyuan biscuits, and Sharon mobile phones. We're also in talks with Sony digital cameras and Qiaodi Shanghui cosmetics."

With the sudden addition of three brand endorsements, Yang Mi beamed with joy: "With these three brand endorsements, I probably have the most endorsements among the four little actresses."

"Nine endorsements do surpass Liu Yifei, Liu Shishi, and Wang Luodan in terms of quantity, but the quality still needs improvement."

Yang Mi, on the other hand, took it all in stride, displaying a great attitude and brimming with confidence: "Take it slow, there are still 5 companies I'm in talks with. I'll catch up and surpass them!"

Zeng Jia nodded slightly, confirming Yang Mi's point that the success of "Palace" still has room for further exploration, and it remains to be seen which of the next generation of actresses will surpass it.

"What I'm about to say is of utmost importance!" Zeng Jia's tone suddenly became serious, his expression grave. Seeing Yang Mi composed herself, he continued solemnly:
"Nowadays, celebrities in the entertainment industry like to create a persona. Compared to Liu Yifei's fairy-like image and the fairy sister image, Liu Shishi is as gentle as a chrysanthemum. Wang Luodan is straightforward, opinionated, and a representative of urban women."

Your "workaholic" persona feels a bit lacking in sophistication and highlights. Top-tier female stars need to have class, so I'm thinking of changing your persona/style.

Yang Mi thought about it carefully and compared it silently in her mind. She felt that "workaholic" was really too low. It sounded like a life of hard work, as if she were a laborer in the entertainment industry.

"Sister Jia, a celebrity's persona has to match their image and temperament. What new persona do you think I should adopt?"

"I've discussed and researched with the company team, and we suggest you take the route of becoming a traffic queen and a fashion queen."

This persona generates a lot of buzz and can maintain extremely high popularity, but it also brings constant controversy and may lead to long-term skepticism from netizens.

"Queen of Traffic, Queen of Fashion!" Yang Mi muttered softly, feeling a sense of déjà vu. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly realized, "Isn't this the route Fan Bingbing is taking? All about hype, grabbing attention, and standing out?"

"Yes, it's basically the same approach! Treat yourself as a product and market yourself by constantly creating controversial topics to generate buzz and maintain high popularity."

But every coin has two sides. This path will definitely attract a lot of haters. Look at Fan Bingbing, she gets attacked online every day. You need a very strong mentality, otherwise you won't be able to handle it!

Yang Mi curled her lips, looking unconvinced: "Which celebrity doesn't have haters? Even Liu Yifei and Liu Yifei have a ton of haters. If no one hates you, it means you're not popular! But Jia Jie, don't my image and career path overlap with Fan Bingbing's?"

Zeng Jia further analyzed: "There is still a difference. Now she runs her own company and is her own boss, and she is starting to cultivate the image of Fan Bingbing and female CEO."

Your marketing focus should be on your image and personal style. Participate in more variety shows and fashion events to increase your exposure and cultivate a unique personal charm.

Yang Mi has always been decisive: "Sister Jia, you and your company team are professionals when it comes to celebrity image packaging."

Since you believe this path suits me, I will trust you, follow this character setup, and continue down this path from now on.

"Honey, don't worry, I will definitely make you the most popular female star in the entertainment industry."

After all, Yang Mi had known Zeng Jia for many years, and it was Zeng Jia who strongly recommended her to star in "Palace," which led to her current popularity. Yang Mi still trusted her quite a bit: "Thank you, Sister Jia."

Zeng Jia's eyes were deep. He paused for a moment, as if he was preparing something: "Mimi, your contract with Tengda is for three years, right?"

"Yes, it expires in 13 years."

"Have you made any long-term plans? Have you thought about what to do when your contract expires in three years?" Yang Mi was taken aback. Her contract with the company was only in its first year. She was busy filming and attending events, and had never thought about such a long-term thing.

Seeing Yang Mi's bewildered expression, Zeng Jia knew that the young girl didn't have long-term plans, so he decided to get straight to the point: "Mi Mi, I won't lie to you, I plan to start my own business in a few years. I'll open a film and television company."

Yang Mi was startled: "Sister Jia, you're leaving Tengda?"

"Yes and no." Zeng Jia nodded first, then shook his head, giving an ambiguous response that left Yang Mi completely confused.

"Tengda Group is an internet company. Tengda Culture is deeply influenced by its headquarters in terms of business philosophy, and it likes to invest in shares and make strategic plans."

That's why Qiao Zhengyu's establishment of his own studio went so smoothly. The same idea is why the company was willing to invest in and support director Teng Huatao in setting up his studio after "Love is Not Blind" grossed 2 million yuan.

This year, Wang Luodan and Wang Kai may also establish their own studios. Therefore, the company does not object to them going independent.

Zeng Jia spoke slowly and carefully observed Yang Mi's expression. Originally, she wanted to reveal her plan to start a film and television company later, but she did not expect that the drama "Palace" would make Yang Mi suddenly become a hit.

Fearing that if his most promising young actress opened her own studio, it would be difficult to persuade her to start her own business, he had no choice but to inform Yang Mi of the plan in advance.

"Sister Jia, do you mean you want to start your own company and get Tengda Culture to invest?"

"Yes! After all, it's hard for a new company to develop without support. With Tengda Culture as a shareholder, it's good to have a big tree to lean on."

Yang Mi seemed to understand what Zeng Jia meant: "Sister Jia, do you want to start a business with me?"

“Yes!” Zeng Jia nodded very seriously. “Just like Fan Bingbing and Mu Xiaoguang. Without Tengda’s support, how could her small company have developed so smoothly?”

"You and I are both from Tengda, and our relationship with the company is much closer than theirs. If we start a company together, we'll definitely get more support from Tengda than Fan Bingbing."

Zeng Jia's beautiful vision captivated Yang Mi, but starting a business is no child's play. Details such as the amount of investment and equity distribution need to be carefully considered and cannot be decided hastily in a short time.

"Sister Jia, let me think about it. Besides, my contract with the company hasn't expired yet!"

Seeing that Yang Mi hadn't directly refused, Zeng Jia felt a little relieved and said gently, "There's no rush. Take your time to consider it. I still need to find an opportunity to test President Zhang's attitude."

I'll try to expand my network over the next couple of years and build a production team. Let's discuss your upcoming schedule.

At the same time, in contrast to the joyful atmosphere at Tengda Culture, a somber and oppressive atmosphere permeated the headquarters of Donghai Tangren Film and Television.

After Cai Yinong hurried past the office area, a female employee breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Cai looks terrible."

"That's right. Ever since 'Palace' aired, I haven't seen President Cai with a good expression. Every time the show's ratings improved, President Cai became more gloomy."

"Both 'Palace' and our company's 'Scarlet Heart' are time-travel dramas set in the Qing Dynasty. The latter is so popular that it will definitely affect 'Scarlet Heart' due to the competition between similar works. President Cai must be worried."

As the employees were gossiping, Cai Yinong entered the office, his anger barely contained. He roared, "Yang Mi, you're ungrateful! Yu Zheng, you're just a piece of trash who only knows how to plagiarize!"

Knock, knock, knock—a knock came at the door. "Come in!"

Director Li Guoli walked into the office and saw Cai Yinong's ashen face. He sighed and advised, "Calm down. It's too late to get angry now."

"Yu Zheng did it on purpose!" Cai Yinong paced back and forth in his office in frustration.

"I asked around and found out that 'Palace' was originally scheduled to air in March. After learning that 'Scarlet Heart' would air in early February, he urgently changed the schedule to seize the opportunity."

A low-quality drama with shoddy costumes, props, and a cobbled-together plot has somehow become incredibly popular thanks to its novel subject matter and the title of the first mainland Chinese time-travel idol drama! These accolades should have originally belonged to *Scarlet Heart*.

Cai Yinong was furious and became more and more agitated as he spoke. He said that the two dramas were very similar in theme, and the popularity of "Palace" would inevitably steal the attention of "Scarlet Heart".

Tangren Media was hoping to turn things around with "Scarlet Heart". If the ratings were not ideal, Tangren would probably suffer a major blow and be back to square one.

Li Guoli frowned: "I'm still confident in the quality of 'Scarlet Heart.' If we strengthen the promotion, the ratings shouldn't be bad. By the way, what did Shishi say?"

"Don't even mention it. 'Palace' was a huge hit, and Tengda Culture made all the money. Shishi was completely unwilling to show her face."

Cai Yinong looked helpless. The other party had even accurately predicted Liu Shishi's personality, and was certain that the top female star would not step forward.

Since Liu Shishi doesn't step in, and with the backing of Tengda Culture and Yu Zheng of Hunan TV, she doesn't need to worry about Tangren at all, and she really has no way to deal with him.

Realizing that they could only rely on Tangren's own strength, Li Guoli offered a suggestion: "We need to be strong ourselves. I've seen 'Palace,' and it was just so-so. We can start by comparing the quality of the two dramas and focus on promoting them."

Cai Yinong's eyes flashed with a cold light: "I have my own ideas about publicity. 'Palace' is currently very popular, so it's not impossible for me to use it. Tangren Media is not to be trifled with."

After seeing Li Guoli off, Cai Yinong immediately summoned the company's legal director and asked bluntly, "If I sue Yu Zheng for plagiarism of 'Palace' and 'Scarlet Heart', what are my chances of winning the case?"

The general counsel looked troubled: "President Cai, plagiarism in film and television works is inherently difficult to define. Furthermore, Yu Zheng is extremely cunning, patching things up and piecing things together, making the plot of 'Palace' seem ambiguous. If we really go to court..."
We are facing difficulties in collecting and verifying evidence, and our chances of winning are not high. Moreover...

Seeing that the legal representative seemed hesitant to speak, Cai Yi-nong calmly said, "And what else? Just say it."

The director took a deep breath: "President Cai, lawsuits take a long time. Even if we win the first instance, Yu Zheng can still appeal."

If this case drags on to a second or third trial, it could take three to five years to conclude. Even if they win by then, "Palace" will have been airing for years, and the hype will have died down.

Tsai Yi-nong nodded slightly. That's the logic. Everyone knows that lawsuits are difficult to win, but the general counsel's fear of difficulty made her unhappy.

His gaze was sharp as a knife as he instructed, word by word: "Go back and prepare the materials immediately. This lawsuit cannot be fought illegally. If you feel you are not up to the task, I will hire a professional legal team from outside."

Seeing the boss's resolute attitude, the general counsel knew that further persuasion would be futile, so he could only focus on preparing the lawsuit materials.

Silence fell over the office again. Cai Yinong stared intently at the trending topics about "Palace" and Yang Mi on the computer screen, carefully considering his next move.

No matter how difficult the copyright lawsuit is, Tangren Media will definitely persist in fighting it. They must take a tough stance in order to label Yu Zheng's "Palace" as pirated and infringing, and establish the impression of "Scarlet Heart" as the genuine version in the minds of netizens and viewers.

(End of this chapter)