The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 104 The Birth of an Internet Celebrity Company
Hu Ling was stunned on the spot.

A wedding planning company buying song licenses from an author? Isn't that a huge rip-off?
After regaining her senses, Hu Ling smiled.

"That's right, that's indeed Wang Jingming's consistent style."

Yang Muyi asked curiously, "Ms. Hu and Mr. Wang have known each other for a long time?"

Hu Ling gestured for Yang Muyi to sit down, and then sat down herself.

“Wang Jingming and I were college classmates. When I was a freshman, he was a second-year graduate student. The story is quite cliché: a girl fell in love with a boy who was six years older than her, but the boy didn’t love her and married another woman a few years after graduation.”

"Ms. Hu, what are you doing now—"

Yang Muyi remembered that when Hu Ling was Qiao Jingjing's agent in her previous life, she had a husband.

A qualified "virtuous wife" is also known as a "soft rice man" (a man who lives off his wife).

"I'm single and unmarried. I dated someone before, but we broke up. Now I just want to focus on my career."

Hu Ling's words had a double meaning; in fact, she was also revealing her intentions to Yang Muye.

Seeing this, Yang Muye stopped beating around the bush: "Ms. Hu, you must have done some research on me before you came."

Hu Ling nodded. Most of her knowledge of Yang Muye came from Cheng Feng and Wu Di's accounts, and she then did some research herself.

The result was quite shocking.

"I write songs purely for fun, and I think these songs I've written are quite valuable. To be frank, even if I were to sell them, no one in the industry could offer me a price right now."

Yang Muye put it very bluntly.

Hu Ling listened very attentively.

If she hadn't met Wang Jingming, she probably would have thought Yang Muye's words were a little arrogant.

However, considering Yang Muyi's current age and his legendary entrepreneurial experience, Hu Ling felt it was quite normal.

What kind of young person isn't ambitious and hot-blooded?

"Mr. Yang, may I ask if I may? How much did Wang Jingming pay for the exclusive rights to your song?"

"One hundred thousand."

"ten years?"

"Lifetime authorization".

Hearing this, Hu Ling already knew what was going on.

Although she verbally called Wang Jingming a great traitor, Hu Ling had no doubt about his business acumen.

Not to mention that before starting his own wedding planning company, Wang Jingming also worked as an agent in the entertainment industry for a period of time.

Good taste and discerning eye.

In this era of rampant piracy, the fact that someone would spend 100,000 yuan to purchase an exclusive license shows that Yang Muyi's song is an absolute gem.

With the addition of "The Lone Warrior," we already have two excellent songs.

No, there's also "Little Apple".

Hu Ling was truly amazed when she first heard about the idea of ​​a girl group singing and dancing.

This was even after Cheng Feng and Wu Di forgot to tell Hu Ling about the songs "If One Day I Become Very Rich" and "Want to Go to the Beach".

"and this."

Yang Muyi took out the voice recorder that Ma Siyi had given him the night before and let Hu Ling listen to the three songs on it first.

After hearing this, Hu Ling's eyes were filled with shock.

Apart from "Our Time," which leans towards folk style and is a bit bland, "You Who Were Young" and "The Light of the Way Home" are far above average.

Before Hu Ling could speak, Yang Muye's voice rang out first.

"Having said all that, Ms. Hu, have you decided to join the vast universe?"

"The vast universe?"

"Our journey is to the stars and the sea. I really like this sentence. I wrote a song about it and I'm also planning to start an MCN company with this name in mind."

"What is an MCN company?" Hu Ling asked curiously.

"To put it simply, it's a talent agency for internet celebrities, but it's quite different from a traditional talent agency," Yang Muye replied.

"Internet celebrity?"

Hu Ling frowned: "Like the boys from the back dormitory?"

Yang Muye shrugged. "I thought you would ask what the difference is between the two types of companies first."

Seeing that Yang Muyi did not directly deny it, Hu Ling frowned even more deeply.

Now it was Yang Muye's turn to be curious.

"What, Ms. Hu, are you very familiar with the boys from the back dormitory?"

"You should know that the Back Dorm Boys entered the entertainment industry after being signed by a company, right?"

"So the agency that signed them is the one Ms. Hu used to work for?"

"Yes, my former employer."

Yang Muye nodded.

No wonder you wanted to switch jobs.

Hu Ling smiled.

Yang Muye kept changing the subject.

When asked by the Back Dorm Boys, Yang Muye explained the difference between MCNs and talent agencies.

Now, when talking about Back Dorm Boys, Yang Muyi brought up her resignation again.

"Is there any connection between the two?" Hu Ling asked irritably.

Yang Muyi countered, "Do you know how popular the Back Dorm Boys were online before?"

"I know, but what's the use?"

Hu Ling retorted emphatically: "Besides working for video websites for free to gain traffic, have they earned a single penny? I'm not saying this to look down on internet celebrities. Just look at how the Back Dorm Boys performed after entering the entertainment industry. The company initially invested resources in them, but they didn't make it. They were only popular online, and no one cared about them in real life."

"Is it possible that your former employer, or your current agency, simply doesn't know how to manage an online celebrity?"

Hu Ling looked up at Yang Muye but didn't say anything.

The brokerage firm doesn't understand, but you do?
Of course, this is not Yang Muye's fault. He achieved success at a young age and easily made tens of millions of dollars through the internet. Anyone would feel a sense of pride and ambition to look down on all the heroes in the world.

Yes, it's that line from Master Duan Shui Liu: "I'm not targeting anyone in particular, but I'm saying that everyone here is trash."

You have to understand that the entertainment industry is such a deep pool that even coal mine owners who have been pouring money into it for years haven't figured it out.

Is this young internet entrepreneur trying to change the rules of the entertainment industry?
Yang Muyi then spoke up: "Ms. Hu must be familiar with Michael Ovitz, the founder of the Hollywood entertainment agency CAA, right? When he was in charge of CAA in the 90s, he launched a bundled package business."

This bundled service is somewhat similar to bundling the Internet Explorer browser with the Windows system. When a project is favored by a film company or investor, CAA will "thoughtfully" provide a one-stop service from screenwriter and director to actors.

They only use artists signed with CAA.

This was actually the earliest form of MCN gameplay.

By uniting professional content creators, we can provide customized services for multi-channel distribution and multi-form monetization. "As internet celebrities, Back Dorm Boys' fan base is already fixed on the internet, but your former employer only thought about how to transfer their internet fame to the entertainment industry, which is putting the cart before the horse."

The right way for companies to sign influencers is to help them transition from UGC (user-generated content) to PGC (professionally generated content). In other words, it's about helping influencers transform their previous "coarse grains" (content produced with rudimentary equipment and rough editing) into high-quality, professionally produced "fine grains."

"Ms. Hu, you and your former employer did not sign a non-compete agreement, did you?" Yang Muye suddenly asked.

Hu Ling shook her head.

If a non-compete agreement had been signed, one would have had to change careers like Wang Jingming, and wouldn't be sitting here chatting with Yang Muye.

"Actually, it doesn't matter if you sign, because you will soon find that although internet celebrities and stars have many similarities, they are actually two different tracks."

Hu Ling laughed, sounding annoyed.

Originally, she wanted to sign Yang Muye, but now it's Yang Muye who wants to sign her.

"Judging from Mr. Yang's tone, he seems quite certain that I will accept the invitation to join your company."

Yang Muyi countered, "If Ms. Hu wanted to stay in her comfort zone, why did she resign in the first place?"

Hu Ling shrugged: "To put it nicely, it's more freedom; to put it bluntly, it's not wanting to be someone's slave."

"I can give you five percent of the shares in Xingdahai, as well as the status of a senior partner."

"How is this any different from my previous jobs?"

"Does changing bosses make a difference? Ms. Hu has been in the entertainment industry for so long, she should know that choices are far more important than hard work."

Hu Ling looked at Yang Muye curiously:
Why should I believe you'll be a good boss?

Yang Muyi countered, "Do you think JYP Entertainment in South Korea is a good boss?"

Hu Ling countered, "Do you think JYP is a particularly successful entertainment company?"

Yang Muyi replied calmly, "I won't be like JYP, always trying to steal the spotlight from my artists. I just want to be a boss and do my job properly."

Hu Ling then asked, "So how do you plan to make the 'Old Boys' famous? Will you have them make funny videos to gain traffic, like the 'Back Dorm Boys'?"

Sure enough, the prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain.

In the eyes of most people working in the entertainment industry today, internet celebrities are either like the Back Dorm Boys, who engage in pranks, or like Sister Furong, who seek fame through unconventional means.

In short, his role is that of a clown, someone who can't be entertained on stage.

"Ms. Hu, you must know that Cheng Feng's whistleblower video was on CCTV News last night, right? Once the 'Lone Warrior' music video is released on various video websites, this song will definitely become the biggest hit of the year, without exception."

"and then?"

Hu Ling bluntly pointed out: "Expecting them to make hundreds of millions like Pang Long and Yang Chengang with just one song? The mobile ringback tone business is not as booming as it was a couple of years ago."

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized his mistake and quickly added, "The quality of 'The Lone Warrior' is definitely far superior to 'Two Butterflies' and 'Mice Love Rice,' but in terms of ringtone revenue, it will be difficult to reproduce the glory of the previous two years."

"Surely we can get twenty or thirty million?" Yang Muye asked.

Hu Ling nodded, about to say it was about right, when she suddenly realized something.

Twenty or thirty million is no small sum!
All the artists I've managed before combined haven't earned this much money for the company.

Now, Old Boys can achieve this with just one song.

According to industry practice, the royalties from music works are distributed as follows: lyricist and composer receive 20%, singer receives 20%, and production company receives 60%.

Of course, the specific revenue sharing ratio depends on the relative strengths of the author, singer, and company.

Well-known songwriters, big-name singers, and music giants can all get a larger share.

In cases like Old Boys, Yang Muye alone could get 80% or even more.

This only covers the revenue from ringback tones.

Add to that advertising, commercial endorsements, commercial performances... Hu Ling only now realized how appealing Yang Muye's five percent stake was!

"President Yang, what happened after Old Boys became famous with 'The Lone Warrior'?" The change in address already revealed Hu Ling's attitude.

Only if they agree to join will they care about the future development of Old Boys.

If Yang Muyi hadn't proposed the MCN concept, the next step, according to the usual practices in the entertainment industry, would have been to collect songs, produce an album, and test the waters in the music scene.

However, it is clear that Yang Muye does not intend to play that game.

"After you become famous, you can continue your studies like me, go to university, and at least get a diploma, right? Besides, being an internet celebrity is different from being a star. Internet celebrities need to be closer to real life. For example, the reason why the Back Dorm Boys became popular was largely because they were college students and recorded the real lives of college students, which resonated with a wide audience."

Yang Muye, who has lived two lives, knows better than anyone how important a persona is.

The most typical example in reality is Tang Lei, who sang "Lilac Flower".

When "Lilac Flower" was first published, it wasn't very popular. Later, someone published a fraudulent article in "Reader" magazine, "exposing" the poignant story behind the creation of "Lilac Flower".

Tang Lei initially denied the article, stating that the song's content was purely fabricated and contained no real events.

Later, seeing that "Lilac Flower" was becoming increasingly popular because of this article, I stopped clarifying and instead allowed this claim to continue to spread.

Not long after, the truth was revealed, and everyone was furious, feeling they had been deceived.

Not only is "Lilac Flower" being boycotted, but Tang Lei is also being boycotted as well.

From being extremely popular to disappearing from the public eye, this is the consequence of a persona collapsing.

The initial premise of the "Old Boys" is that of two passionate college students who love music. If they drop out of school because a song becomes popular, that would be putting the cart before the horse.

Even Yang Muyi, the boss, is still obediently staying in school. What right do Cheng Feng and Wu Di have to be arrogant just because they made one song popular?

"So what is your public persona?"

Hu Ling then asked another question.

Yang Muyi replied with an indifferent expression, "An ordinary lead singer of a campus band, the kind who sings when he wants to and doesn't sing when he doesn't want to, with a Buddhist-like attitude."

"..."

Hu Ling was speechless when Yang Muye added another sentence.

"The main players promoted by the Barbarian band are guitarist Ma Siyi and bassist Hu Youyu. Both of them can be signed to the company."

Both of them have backstories, which makes it easier to establish their personas.

Hu Youyu, in pursuit of his musical dreams, turned against his father, severed ties with his family, and ventured alone to Beijing. He slept under bridges and lived in basements, making him a typical "grassroots drifter" in Beijing.

Ma Siyi's situation was even worse. Her grandmother and younger brother, who were each other's only support, passed away one after another. In order to get rid of her vampire mother, she chose to submit a blank exam paper for the college entrance examination, ran away from home, and made a living through music.

If someone with that background were to participate in "The Voice of China," they would definitely be highly sought after by the mentors.

However, Yang Muyi did not intend to use Ma Siyi's tragic background to create a persona and attract attention.

No need.

Hormones are the primary driving force behind the internet.

Ma Siyi's exquisite and unique mixed-race face is the perfect persona.

Not to mention that Ma Siyi also has a considerable inheritance waiting to be passed down in Italy.

They can find an opportunity to expose this under the guise of searching for relatives, which will not only generate buzz but also allow them to expand into overseas markets.

YouTube will be Ma Siyi's main battleground from now on.

(End of this chapter)