Huayu Chef

Zhu Xiangyang wore glasses and exuded a refined and scholarly air, as well as the composed demeanor of a successful person.

He is one of the earliest practitioners in internet content operation. He is not from a professional entertainment industry background. He graduated from Nanjing Political College with a major in economics and management.

He previously worked at Wuhu People's Broadcasting Station and Economic Broadcasting Station in Anhui Province. He also founded Sohu Music and Entertainment Channel at Sohu Corporation and served as the Content Operations Director at China National Radio and Beijing Flying Network Music Software Development Co., Ltd. In 06, he joined Youku as Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, responsible for Youku's overall content operation and media and copyright cooperation.

In April of this year, Youku underwent a relatively large-scale management reshuffle. Zhu Xiangyang was promoted to Chief Content Officer of Youku and Chairman of the Content Market Committee of Youku Tudou Group, making him a senior member of the management team.

The popular talk show "Xiaoshuo" in the past two years is related to Zhu Xiangyang. He met the eloquent and talkative Ai Dajin at a dinner party, and acted as a matchmaker, which led to the collaboration between Ai Dajin and producer Li Li, and the two of them created "Xiaoshuo".

If the timeline remains unchanged, Gao Xiaosong will stage a dramatic betrayal of his "mentor" next year, leading the entire "Xiaoshuo" production team to join iQiyi.

It's understandable. A wise bird chooses a good tree to perch on. Next year, Youku will face difficulties, while iQiyi, backed by Baidu, will develop strongly and is about to catch up with its big brother. If it were Zhang Jinxuan, he would also choose to cooperate with iQiyi.

Right now, Youku is the preferred partner. But once Youku Tudou is acquired by Alibaba in a couple of years, we'll have to be more cautious.

Distancing oneself is not an option; the Alibaba Group controls a large amount of film resources in the entertainment industry, and the four characters in the previous life were a favorite of the Alibaba Group.

If Zhang Jinxuan can reach a copyright cooperation agreement with Youku for "Wild Kitchen" tonight, with this foundation, he can naturally connect with the Alibaba system in the future, which will be beneficial for making movies and networking.

TV dramas and movies have become an industry. Apart from those giant entertainment companies that span the entire industry chain, even film and television companies that control certain links in the chain have to seek cooperation from outside. Going it alone and trying to monopolize the business simply won't work.

Wu Jing's "Wolf Warrior 1" was shelved for nearly two years before its release. Filming was completed in 13, and it finally hit the big screen in 15. His wife is also a star actress at Enlight Media.

Inside the private room.

Zhang Jinxuan and Zeng Jia shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with Zhu Xiangyang, then invited him to take a seat, with the two of them sitting on either side of him.

After ordering the food and waiting for it to be served, Zhu Xiangyang said to Zeng Jia, "President Zeng, thank you for spending money tonight. If I had known you were going back to Beijing, I should have treated you to this meal."

Zeng Jia smiled and complimented, "Mr. Zhu, you're too kind. It's an honor for me and Jinxuan to have you grace us with your presence. The food at this Chinese restaurant is quite good; I hope it suits your taste."

"I've eaten here once, and the chef's skill is indeed very high." Zhu Xiangyang nodded in agreement, then changed the subject and brought Zhang Jinxuan in, "I heard that Jinxuan opened a restaurant, and the business is very good. I'll go and try it when I have time."

Zhang Jinxuan said politely, "We at Wild Kitchen are very happy to welcome Mr. Zhu. However, our menu is a bit simple. We currently only have braised pork rice, braised chicken feet, and a few kinds of braised black duck. We are afraid that we may not be able to provide adequate hospitality."

Zhu Xiangyang joked, "Aren't you good at cooking duck? Why don't you make Peking duck?"

Zeng Jia couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth and giggling. She was clearly a seasoned driver and got the joke in Zhu Xiangyang's words.

Zhang Jinxuan remained calm and said seriously, "Making duck is expensive, the old-established Beijing roast duck brand is too famous, and there are many delicious roast duck restaurants. New shops sandwiched in between simply cannot last long."

"That's true. But your video 'Wild Kitchen' is very popular on Youku. If you can attract customers with that, you're quite confident you can open a roast duck restaurant. I'm even tempted to try your Peking duck after watching it."

Zhang Jinxuan immediately extended an invitation: "I'll find a place to do it again next week. I would like to invite Mr. Zhu to come and taste it and give me some feedback."

"Okay, call me when you're ready to do it, and I'll bring my friends to the site to take a look." Zhu Xiangyang took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Jinxuan.

Zhang Jinxuan accepted it with both hands and carefully put it away.

Afterwards, the food was served, and the three of them ate and chatted, creating an increasingly harmonious and pleasant atmosphere.

It's no wonder that most projects in the entertainment industry are finalized over dinner parties. With delicious food, fine wine, and perhaps beautiful women around, everyone sits close, which naturally fosters closer relationships. The big shots are flattered, and after a few drinks, they're bound to feel elated, making any project discussion much smoother than usual.

"Mr. Zeng, now that we've started this meal, it's time to tell me what you're really up to," Zhu Xiangyang said, steer the conversation towards the main topic.

Upon hearing this, Zeng Jia smiled and said, "President Zhu, today I'm just helping Jinxuan make a connection."

"What a coincidence," Zhu Xiangyang chuckled. "Actually, I was just thinking of finding some time to chat with Jinxuan. There's no time like the present, so let's talk about it today."

Zhang Jinxuan had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, so he raised his glass to Zhu Xiangyang and said with a smile, "President Zhu, please speak. I'm all ears."

"I'll put this aside for now, Jinxuan, you tell me your story first."

Zhang Jinxuan nodded, glanced at Zeng Jia, and got straight to the point: "President Zhu, the main reason I asked Sister Jia to invite you here today is to discuss the online broadcasting rights for 'Wild Kitchen' with you."

"Online broadcasting rights?" Zhu Xiangyang was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "That's all?"

"yes."

"Okay, go on."

Zhang Jinxuan seized the opportunity and threw bait at Zhu Xiangyang: "Wild Kitchen is planned to have three seasons, with 12 episodes per season."

"Two episodes of the first season have already aired, and the third episode is currently in post-production and will air this Saturday. The first two episodes have received decent viewership on Youku and Bilibili. I wonder if Youku has any intention of purchasing the online streaming rights?"

Zhu Xiangyang suddenly asked, "Jinxuan, have other video websites contacted you?"

Not yet, but it's entirely possible.

It's creating something out of nothing.

Zhang Jinxuan gave an ambiguous answer: "Mr. Xu Yi, the founder of Bilibili, sent me an internal message saying that Bilibili will introduce some measures to encourage original videos. Recently, people from iQiyi and Tencent Video have also contacted me, hoping to strengthen cooperation."

Zhu Xiangyang frowned slightly and asked, "Jinxuan, what are you thinking?"

Zhang Jinxuan looked troubled: "Wild Kitchen was first uploaded to Youku and Bilibili, and its current popularity is inseparable from the strong support of these two websites. That's why I specifically arranged to meet with Mr. Zhu to ask about Youku's intentions. If Youku doesn't need online broadcasting rights authorization, I will cooperate with other websites."

"So you're inclined to prioritize collaborating with Youku?"

"right."

"Okay, Jinxuan, you trust Youku, and Youku won't let excellent content creators down. I've always believed that good content is the foundation of internet marketing. 'Wild Kitchen' has already proven its excellence with its extremely high viewership, and it's worth Youku buying the rights to."

Zhu Xiangyang affirmed the value of "Wild Kitchen" and said firmly, "Youku has bought the online broadcasting rights. Jinxuan, you name your price."

Zeng Jia put down her chopsticks, sat up straight, and looked at Zhang Jinxuan with surprise, quite curious about how much money such a low-class video could sell for.

Finally, the harvest season arrived, and Zhang Jinxuan was extremely excited, but he didn't let the joy cloud his judgment. He calmly passed the ball back to Zhu Xiangyang.

"Mr. Zhu, I'm not very familiar with the pricing of online broadcasting rights. Why don't you name a price?"

Zhu Xiangyang gave Zhang Jinxuan a deep look. He didn't believe that other websites didn't offer prices. Zhang Jinxuan was quite the cunning guy when he came up with this explanation.

"20 per installment."

Zhang Jinxuan was secretly delighted and quickly asked, "How many years is the authorization period?"

"Permanent buyout".

Tsao.

Zhang Jinxuan felt a chill run down his spine. He realized he couldn't have any expectations of the integrity of these platform investors; the pressure was too much.

To borrow a phrase from Boss Jin: 20 yuan is like giving a beggar a free meal; the video alone cost more than 20 yuan...

If you are heartless, don't blame me for being unjust.

Zhang Jinxuan, sharpening his knives, said, "Mr. Zhu, it's 20 per period, and I can only grant Youku a distribution license for one year."

Zhu Xiangyang shook his head and laughed, "Jinxuan, it seems you really don't know anything about this. Have you even watched 'The Voice of China'?"

"I've seen it."

"The total distribution fee for the online broadcasting rights of the first season of 'The Voice of China' was only a few million yuan. One company got it for a little over a million yuan. This is a variety show produced by CCTV-6. Do you think 'Wild Kitchen' can compare?"

Zhang Jinxuan retorted, "Mr. Zhu, 'The Voice of China' is a new variety show with a high risk of failure, so the low distribution fee is understandable. But 'Wild Kitchen' is different."

"The second episode garnered over a million views in 24 hours, which is comparable to last year's 'Xiaoshuo,' indicating that viewers like this format and that it is a success."

"If I remember correctly, Youku's press release described 'Xiaoshuo' as a trendsetter for Youku's self-produced variety shows, which is a very high evaluation."

Zhu Xiangyang adjusted his glasses; the young man was quite aggressive.

"Mr. Zhu, don't you think 'Wild Kitchen' could be perfectly adapted into an outdoor food-hunting reality show?"

"At present, there are basically no reality TV shows or variety shows on domestic TV stations and video websites. We have done it. We are the first to try something new. With our existing popularity, the risk of failure is not too high. If we succeed, Youku's self-produced variety shows will be far ahead and at the forefront of the domestic variety show field."

Zhu Xiangyang's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Zhang Jinxuan.

He wanted to talk to Zhang Jinxuan about the same thing, but he hadn't thought as far ahead as Zhang Jinxuan, because neither of them had experience in making reality shows. The first seasons of "Where Are We Going, Dad?" and "Running Man" were not well received by the market.

"Wait, a reality TV show?"

Zeng Jia realized that original videos and proper variety shows were two different things, and scolded, "Jinxuan, why didn't you tell me you had this idea sooner?"