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

The sound of keyboards and mice clicking and clattering filled the room inside the bungalow.

Ma Xiaojun and Liu Jianjun, referring to their notebooks, began to role-play as schizophrenic passersby A, B, C, and D online.

"This song is so good! Can someone please tell me its name?"

This is a random passerby.

"It's just so-so, not as good as 'Mice Love Rice'."

This is cannon fodder Liu.

"The person upstairs can donate their ears! That voice is so heartbreaking!"

This is bandit Jiang.

Jiang Yilei watched as he cried out for resources on the screen.

The posts were filled with arguments and fierce debates between the users.

His lips twitched: "Boss, aren't we... getting a little too carried away?"

"This is exactly the effect I wanted." Wang Song looked at the post with satisfaction.

"The highest level is when it's impossible to distinguish between truth and falsehood. The fiercer the argument, the higher the buzz."

Yao Beina stood by the side the whole time, watching this somewhat magical realism with a complex expression.

It's fine to do artistic creation, but this kind of... down-to-earth marketing is really a bit beyond the scope of what's expected.

The next morning, when Wang Song pushed open the door of the bungalow...

Ma Xiaojun turned on his computer and refreshed the page.

"Boss! All those posts combined only have two hundred replies." He pointed to the screen.

"A few more were deleted by the moderators. Are we doomed?"

Wang Song carefully examined each floor: "Hmm, a small-scale discussion, but the water isn't murky enough yet."

There were indeed people seriously discussing the melody in the comments section, and a few were asking about its origin.

But more often than not, it's just a bunch of paid troll accounts engaging in a battle between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

Wang Song turned to look at the people inside the room.

"Ma Xiaojun, create a new account and start a new thread."

"Just write: These two demos seem to be discarded drafts leaked by a certain king's producer. Those who know, come in."

Ma Xiaojun's eyes lit up. "That's a brilliant move! It creates an air of mystery by staging an accident."

"You can make up the content yourself," Wang Song added.

"Just say you have a friend at a record company, make up a friend out of nothing."

"I heard they wrote a batch of songs, and the ones that the king rejected were released, emphasizing the idea that a pearl is covered in dust."

"Okay." Ma Xiaojun immediately started typing.

"Liu Jianjun, Chen Shu." Wang Song turned in another direction.

"Go register a few blog accounts and give them some artistic names."

In 2005, blogs were all the rage. Countless people wrote diaries and shared their thoughts on them.

"Write some short essays about your feelings, like heartbreak, missed opportunities, or regrets."

"I must mention at the end that these two songs truly expressed my feelings."

Liu Jianjun and Chen Shu nodded.

Chen Shu slowly began, "But boss, do you really want me to write about heartbreak?"

"Then tone it down a bit. Just make sure you write something so cheesy that it makes you cringe," Wang Song joked.

Wang Song finally looked at Jiang Yilei.

"Hehe, if I tell them, they can't talk about me anymore."

Jiang Yilei immediately sat up straight. "Alright, boss, you go ahead and say it."

"Take your DV camera and go film something simple."

Wang Song took out a piece of paper from the drawer, on which was a simple storyboard drawing.

There are only two scenarios:

"On that tree-lined path at our Central Academy of Drama, a boy and a girl parted ways."

"One person walks away, one person turns back, one person turns back, one person walks away, and they just miss each other."

"In another scene, the girl is in a phone booth, holding the receiver without saying a word, tears streaming down her face."

"Where are the actors?"

"Go to the acting department and find Yang Shuo and Bai Baihe."

Jiang Yilei took the paper: "Okay, I'll go and persuade... no, I mean, invite them."

"After filming, we'll just cut a 30-second clip," Wang Song added.

"Don't use complicated shots, just that rough, realistic feel."

"Use your Papi Jiang account to promote directly."

Jiang Yilei noted: "Understood, to prevent the work from being passed off as a fraud."

The group accepted the order and left.

The sound of rapid keyboard clicks filled the air again from inside the bungalow.

Three days later, the effects began to appear.

Ma Xiaojun's post about the king's discarded manuscript sparked a lot of research among music fans.

Some people meticulously analyze the arrangement style, while others list the production teams behind a certain pop star's albums over the years.

The post quickly reached 500 replies.

Liu Jianjun and Chen Shu's blog posts were reposted in several online communities frequented by young people with artistic interests.

Jiang Yilei's music video is still waiting to be discovered by someone with a real interest.

The water started to turn muddy.

On the afternoon of the third day, in the recording studio.

Li Ran and Zhou Tao were tuning the last string section of "Wait a Minute," while Chang Sisi was practicing a trill in the next practice room.

There was a knock on the door.

A middle-aged man in a suit, carrying a briefcase, was rubbing his hands together and peering out from the doorway.

"Excuse me, is Wang Song here?"

Wang Song looked up from behind the control panel: "Yes, that's me."

"Oh, nice to meet you!"

The man strode in, ignoring everyone else in the shed, and went straight for Wang Song.

He handed over a business card with both hands, saying, "My surname is Zhao, Zhao Ming. Friends in the industry call me Brother Zhao out of respect."

Wang Song took it and glanced at it briefly.

This middleman who's trying to find bargains is really incompetent.

A name, a phone number, not even a company name.

"I saw it while browsing a music forum," Zhao Ming said, spitting as he spoke.

"First, someone asked for resources, then there were posts saying it was some kind of discarded manuscript by a superstar, and I immediately thought it was promising!"

He lowered his voice: "Finding that post about the Northern Expedition took quite a bit of effort."

"I asked around for recording studios near the Central Academy of Drama, and here I am!"

Wang Song didn't respond, but quietly watched him perform.

Seeing that he remained unmoved, Zhao Ming immediately got to the point:

"I have a few brothers here who work in SP (Service Provider) services; they have extensive resources and a strong promotional reach!"

"They asked me to inquire about buying out both songs as a package deal for this price. How about it? Clean and straightforward!"

"Twenty thousand? A buyout?" Wang Song raised an eyebrow, his tone indifferent.

"Ah! Buying out the shares saves so much trouble!" Boss Zhao said in a sincere tone.

"Now that the song is a hit, your fame has spread, and we can negotiate a better price for future collaborations!"

Wang Song didn't reply, but glanced at Jiang Yilei.

Jiang Yilei quickly stepped forward and pulled out a series of certificates like a treasure bag.

Copyright acceptance receipt, special prize, and school innovation and entrepreneurship office filing certificate.

The smile on the broker Zhao's face faltered.

He picked up the certificate and looked at it carefully. His initial enthusiasm faded. "I understand. It's a good thing for a student team to have ambition."

He gently put the certificate back.

"However, the market has its own rules. Your terms... I need to go back and discuss the price and profit-sharing method with my friends. They are indeed higher than usual."

Chang Sisi whispered, "He... he's already gone?"

Zhang Zhen chimed in, "Twenty thousand...that's actually quite a lot."

Brother Li, who hadn't spoken until now, chuckled.

"He's just a middleman who sells songs; he doesn't have any regular SP collaborations."

"They specifically look for newcomers, who have a good attitude, and use the 'Instant Money' offer to get as many songs as possible at a low price."

"Twenty thousand yuan isn't the lowest, but you weren't blinded by the price; you had some self-control."

Wang Song looked at Brother Li: "Brother Li, how many songs does someone like him usually have circulating?"

Brother Li scoffed: "There are plenty of them, all plagiarized, cobbled together, as long as they make a sound."

"Someone like you, he might only see you twice a year."

Wang Song turned around, smiled at the crowd gathered in the shed, and said, "Did you hear that? The fish smell it, so be alert and don't embarrass yourselves."

That evening, a small celebration banquet was held in the bungalow.

Wang Song held up the beverage can in his hand: "In the first round of probing, we didn't lower our standards."

"Most of your seniors failed at this step."

"The fact that their prices are even lower than ours proves that our songs are really good."

He looked at Chang Sisi and Yao Beina.

"Senior Sister Yao, Chang Sisi, I have a question for you."

The table quieted down a bit, and several pairs of eyes turned to look at us.

"Do you want to participate in next year's 'Super Girl' competition?"

Clang.

Chang Sisi dropped her chopsticks on the table.

Her face flushed red, and she hurriedly picked them up, stammering, "I...Is this okay?"

Wang Song smiled and handed over a tissue: "Of course, that's on the condition that the ringback tone is done well."

"If the ringtones don't sell, you guys will be competing on stage, while we can't even afford a light stick."

Jiang Yilei quickly picked up the conversation.

"Great! We'll make sure you guys have the brightest light sticks for the Super Girl contest."

"How about Senior Sister Yao sing one?"

"I agree!!!"

"Sing one, sing one!!"

"You guys... eh... okay."

Bread can make people work, but ideals can make people work willingly.