Business Closed Loop: Starting with Ringback Tones to Take Down Giants

"Wang Song is supposed to be so arrogant, why is he apologizing so quickly?"

Professor Ding Ruru picked up her teacup and blew on it.

Wang Song grinned: "The kid doesn't know any better, he was just joking, it's about exploring a differentiated creative path."

He continued to argue, "Although the process was wrong, the result was completely correct."

"Oh?"

"They even called me, an old man, to find out who the academic affairs teachers at the Central Conservatory of Music and the Middle Conservatory of Music were."

Seeing that it didn't seem fake, Wang Song gradually stopped smiling.

"..."

"People asked, 'Is the student from your Central Academy of Drama who led the challenge named Wang Song? He's got a very active mind.'"

Ding Ruru paused, looking at Wang Song's vanished smile, and slowly added:

"You wouldn't want the other party to actually come to our door for a discussion, putting the school in a difficult position, would you?"

"You wouldn't want the remaining innovation and entrepreneurship support funds to be delayed because of the impact on unity, would you?"

"You wouldn't want the copyright registration process, which involves assistance from the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Office, to be so slow, would you?"

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Looking at Wang Song's expression, which looked like he was holding back a booger, Ding Ruru suddenly felt incredibly relieved, as if her prostate was bursting with energy.

How could this end? The professor had turned the tables on them.

These schools are still too conservative; they get scared at the slightest hint of trouble.

In short, the school took responsibility, but we need to see the substantial results of the exchange and joint development with other universities.

Back in the bungalow, Wang Song didn't waste any words and directly called the six members of the music group over.

"I just received my pledge." He tapped the whiteboard, on which the words "ringtone" were already written.

"The goal is simple: to make money from the market and bring fame to the school with 'Wait a Minute' and 'Decent'."

Li Ran and Zhou Tao exchanged a glance, hesitating to speak.

The instinctive aversion to college party ringtones remains, but the two singers are fine; it doesn't matter what they sing.

Wang Song didn't give them a chance to speak.

"Whether the song is good or not, you all know in your hearts, but whether it sells well or not is up to me."

He picked up a piece of chalk and drew a simple triangle on the whiteboard: "What does the market want? Emotion, memorable moments, and word-of-mouth."

"Your task is to turn these two songs into ringtones that people can remember within 30 seconds."

"The specific details were coordinated by Senior Yao."

He looked at Yao Beina, who nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

"As for how much to sell it for," Wang Song said, patting non-existent dust off his hands.

"That's my business."

"You just need to believe that what you make is absolutely worth a higher price, rather than being bought out by someone else."

He paused, his tone softening, but still leaving no room for argument.

"We have urgent matters to attend to, so I spoke a bit loudly just now. Please forgive me."

He pulled an envelope from the drawer and handed it to Yao Beina, who was sitting next to him.

"The budget is 10,000. Any unused portion will be allocated according to contribution. If it's not enough, submit a report and let Senior Sister Yao allocate it."

Six pairs of eyes lit up instantly.

Wang Song observed their reactions and continued:

"I've already renewed my subscription to the recording studio, and the equipment is available for everyone to use. This 10,000 yuan is purely for encouragement."

"But—" he changed the subject.

"If I haven't sold anything, you can question me all you want. But now, there isn't even a finished product, so that's your problem."

Let's take action.

The group was somewhat bewildered by this combination of attacks and countermeasures.

But the words "ten thousand yuan" and "any unused portion will be distributed according to contribution" firmly captured their attention.

The recording studio had already renewed its fees, which meant that apart from a small amount of necessary tuning costs, the rest went to the studio.

What else is there to say? Just do it!

Is Wang Song really that kind-hearted?

of course not.

Wang Song gave Yao Beina a wink, and the two moved to the inner room.

As soon as the door closed, Wang Song pulled out three more sheets of paper from his notebook and handed them to Yao Beina.

"This is it again..." Yao Beina took it.

The paper still only contained fragments of lyrics, without sheet music.

"Your damned tenderness is making my heart ache and my tears flow, right when you said you loved me..."

Let the autumn wind carry away my longing, carry away my tears...

"Will we ever meet again? I've been praying before Buddha for thousands of years..."

Wang Song cleared his throat and hummed the key parts of the verses and choruses of the three songs.

It's still simple and straightforward; you can sing it after listening to it twice.

After listening, Yao Beina remained silent for a few seconds: "These songs... sound a lot like you..."

"They're pretty much the same," Wang Song nodded.

"These three songs are our added bargaining chips."

"Same as always, 45 seconds is enough, a little roughness doesn't matter."

He pointed to the envelope in Yao Beina's hand: "The expenses will come from here."

"But you have to keep an eye on things, don't let them all go to waste."

"This might also include potential studio rental fees for next month, as a reserve fund, you know what I mean?"

Yao Bei understood in that instant.

"You're making me play the bad guy. I'll pay the money, and I'll be the one to be stingy." Yao Beina glanced at him.

"The capable should do more, Partner Yao," Wang Song grinned.

With the goal set, the next step is execution.

Wang Song sat down directly in front of that bulky CRT computer.

"Vice President Jiang, come here." He opened the backends of several music forums. "Let's start by setting up a buzz."

"To...make a nest?" Jiang Yilei leaned closer.

"Well, let's stir the water up first," Wang Song added.

"Our songs are only discussed on the three major university forums and campus BBS, but now we need to expand our influence."

As Wang Song wrote the title, he explained, "Pretending to be an ordinary internet user, I pretended to overhear and frantically asked to download it."

"Finding resources is always the part that netizens like the most."

deep feeling.

My roommate is heartbroken and keeps listening to these two songs on repeat. I'm begging for their names!

Comparing and belittling.

Is this song not as good as "Two Butterflies"?

ask.

Seeking expert guidance: What is the ringback tone code?

Jiang Yilei stared in disbelief: "Boss, what you're doing..."

After Wang Song finished making the arrangements, he turned around and grinned at the somewhat bewildered people in the room:

"This is called 'playing hard to get'."

Jiang Yilei pouted and complained, "Boss, your title is so corny."

"It's no different from those clickbait posts on forums."

"You yourself said it's a clickbait post, aren't we one too?"

Wang Song retorted.

"If it's too detailed, it'll look even more fake. Quickly add some background noise to the demo and upload it soon."

"Ma Xiaojun, Liu Jianjun!"

Without turning his head, Wang Song said, "Register ten random accounts and come online to bump this thread in half an hour."

The two hurriedly agreed.

Ma Xiaojun's fingers were already on the keyboard: "Boss, ten accounts, right? Register them now?"

"Nonsense, I'll post this in half an hour, right on time."

Wang Song tossed over a small notebook with a few crude words written on it, used to criticize the post.

"Let's do it this way: three people begging for resources, two people complaining about the operator's terrible playlists, and the remaining five arguing back and forth."

"One person said this song is better than 'Two Butterflies,' another said it made their ears pregnant, and yet another said it made their ears miscarry."

Chen Shu, who was watching the scene unfold, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Ma Xiaojun smiled and nodded, "Ambidextrous fighting, we're both very familiar with that."

Liu Jianjun pondered for a moment: "How do we gauge the appropriate level of argument? What if the argument gets too heated and the moderator deletes the post?"

"Just delete it and repost it. Continue with a different account." Wang Song waved his hand dismissively.

"The key is to stir things up, get people asking for the song and others discussing it, so the post doesn't get buried."

"Remember, you are not allowed to mention the studio or Senior Sister Yao at all. We are just a group of anonymous passersby."

Jiang Yilei took a moment to lean over and whispered, "Boss, won't we get caught for faking this?"

Wang Song smiled and said, "Forgery? Which of our statements is false?"

"Is the song good? Has it not been officially released yet? Are netizens really unable to find the ringtone code?"

"We're just talking about market demand."

"To put it in a slightly more appealing way, it's called market warm-up."

Ma Xiaojun had already registered two accounts and asked, "Boss, what are the usernames? Anything will do?"

"Just pick anyone, the more ordinary the better. Don't go for anything fancy, something like 'Working Li' or 'Student Zhou'—something that feels real."

Wang Song leaned against the edge of the table, watching Jiang Yilei post messages and Ma and Liu register accounts.

He stroked his chin, pondering to himself.

Once these posts gain traction, even if we can't negotiate a revenue split, we can still sell them for a decent price.