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

The Spring Festival went by a little too fast.

Yesterday, Old Zhao was still reciting on the Spring Festival Gala, "Your grandpa will always be your grandpa."

In the blink of an eye.

Well, it's the eighth day of the lunar month.

People's entrepreneur Wang Song offered a voluntary return policy, reimbursing travel expenses for those returning on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year and providing overtime pay of one thousand yuan per person.

Offering benefits first, then changing the rules, makes perfect sense.

Jiang Yilei was the first to arrive, and he was wiping the plaque of Xianming Studio.

Wang Song joked, "Vice President Jiang, you had a good New Year, your face looks rounder."

Jiang Yilei didn't even turn his head: "Boss, you're just jealous that I'm relaxed. Unlike you, who sent me strategic thinking on the first day of the Lunar New Year."

"So, boss, has the profit-sharing details been written?"

……

One by one, everyone arrived.

Liu Jianjun was still carrying several bags he had brought from home. "My mom insisted I bring them," he said.

Then he placed a bag of sausages on the table, saying, "Let everyone try some."

The table was piled with various local specialties, and the student class was still bustling with activity.

As the last local specialty was carefully put away, the meeting room fell silent. Wang Song stood up and walked to the whiteboard.

He placed his briefcase on the table and unzipped it.

Stacks of cash, the bank seals still in place.

No one spoke; the only sound in the room was the sound of breathing.

Wang Song didn't look at the money.

He pulled another item out of his backpack and placed it on top of the money.

"Detailed Rules on Profit Sharing and Responsibilities of Xianming Studio (Trial)".

"SkyNet, the 200,000 yuan advance payment is all here."

He then pointed to the document and said, "This is what we decided ourselves. There will be more money in the future, but the rules need to be changed."

He pushed the document out, but no one reached out to take it.

"I've been thinking about this since before the New Year," Wang Song said, placing the documents on the table.

"How exactly do we students, with our small studio, manage to stay afloat?"

He glanced at the people in the room.

"Based on personal connections? On verbal agreements? Or on the fact that every distribution of money is like today? Are you expecting me to distribute it based on my conscience?"

No one responded.

"This isn't a long-term solution," Wang Song shook his head.

"Relationships can fade, and conscience can't be quantified. What if one day I give too little, or you feel you've done too much, and the group will drift apart."

"That's why I wrote this. Today, let's not talk about feelings, let's talk about rules."

The meeting lasted a long time.

The detailed rules were reviewed one by one, including profit-sharing ratios, option pools, exit mechanisms, and attribution of authorship rights.

I recognize each character individually, but when put together, they seem utterly unfamiliar.

"Here's 200,000 for now. If you have any questions about the rules, come to me privately."

After the meeting, only Wang Song and Jiang Yilei remained in the room.

After the meeting, only Wang Song and Jiang Yilei remained in the office.

"You really don't blame me?"

Jiang Yilei sat across the conference table and smiled, "What's so strange about it? I felt it was burning hot when it was 10%."

"I can make videos, but what about music? Or online novels?"

"To put it bluntly, I'm just someone who works for you. I was lucky to catch the right trend, and now 5% is enough for me."

The studio seems to have changed, yet it also seems unchanged.

Liu Jianjun and Ma Xiaojun are still working hard to update their novel.

But after finishing writing every day, it's no longer about bragging, joking around, or playing games.

Instead, he would open a dozen or so story forums in his bookmarks and occasionally jot down a few notes in his notebook.

Chen Shu had revision suggestions for "Zhenhua" spread out in front of him, his pen hovering in mid-air, not falling for a long time.

"Sister Chen Shu, come and take a look at this."

Liu Jianjun's voice broke the silence of the studio.

Chen Shu walked over, and on the screen was a deserted military history forum.

Liu Jianjun flipped through the old posts one by one, finally stopping at a serial title.

Special Forces Pioneer

"Brother Ma, let's see if this story can be adapted into a TV series like 'Bright Sword'? Or perhaps the IP that Boss Wang mentioned?"

"Okay, let me see." Chen Shu pulled over a chair, and Ma Xiaojun also came over.

The recording studio at the other end.

Yao Beina crossed her arms, while Li Ran and Zhou Tao seemed somewhat distracted.

As a result, both singers' performances declined rapidly.

"Boss, boss, we've found something great!"

"Bright Sword has been a hit since last year, and this book, in my personal opinion, is almost the same. The protagonist of this book, Zhou Weiguo, is..."

It's a snow leopard, you can shut up now.

Wang Song was overjoyed; writers alone could be replaced at any time.

However, if the goal is to discover the value of wild animals, then that demonstrates a unique perspective and is worth cultivating.

"Liu Jianjun's 3,000 yuan is a project discovery award; this IP has great adaptation value."

"Chen Shu and Ma Xiaojun, one thousand each, to assist in the screening."

The three men looked at the money in front of them, but none of them reached for it.

Wang Song didn't urge him, and waited a few seconds before speaking:

"Do you understand the new regulations now?"

The three of them stared wide-eyed, and it didn't seem so hard to understand after all? The boss was still the same generous boss.

Without hesitation, he reached out and took it.

Wang Song smiled and looked at the three of them, "The studio is short of money now, but it will be in the future."

"I'll give you a 100,000 yuan limit to negotiate the copyright for 'Special Forces Vanguard.' If you can secure it for 50,000 yuan, the remaining 50,000 yuan is yours. Do you understand?"

The handbag was brought over from the recording studio again.

This time it's a different bag, even more bulging.

Everyone's attention was focused on that handbag.

"The January ringback tone revenue has arrived," Wang Song said with a smile.

"Wait a Minute," 180,000; Decent, 120,000. Total: 300,000.

Despite being mentally prepared, the number still made several people gasp.

Yao Beina was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected the market response to be so strong.

Wang Song looked at Yao Beina: "Senior sister, according to the new rules, the music department gets 10% of the total revenue, which is 30,000. There are two options."

"Take your 40% of this, 12,000."

"Or give up dividends in exchange for 5% of the studio's shares."

All eyes immediately turned to Yao Beina.

She looked down at the stack of money on her left—nine thousand yuan.

I then looked at the page on the right, which listed the shareholding ratio, option pool, and exit mechanism.

I don't recognize any of them.

"I don't want the 12,000," Yao Beina said decisively. "I'll exchange it for the 5% stake in the studio."

Li Ran and Zhou Tao exchanged a glance.

Giving up the real money that could come every month in exchange for a vague share of a student studio.

This requires considerable courage and immense confidence in the future of this workshop.

"good!"

Wang Song clapped his hands. "Vice President Jiang, write this down."

"Yao Beina, music partner of Xianming Studio, holds 5% of the shares, and voluntarily waives her share of the total revenue from the music department."

Jiang Yilei's pen swished away: "I've got it."

However, Wang Song directly pushed the issue to Yao Beina, saying, "But the work that should be done, the responsibilities that should be borne, and the remuneration that should be received are all separate matters."

"This is your profit share as the producer of these two songs."

Yao Beina hesitated for a moment, then readily accepted the money, saying, "Okay, I'll take this money. Otherwise, I'd feel awkward taking it from the other side."

The atmosphere in the room immediately relaxed a bit.

"Next," Wang Song gestured to Jiang Yilei, "we'll distribute the spoils according to their contributions."

"Wait a minute..."

"Decent..."

The money was distributed piece by piece, but the feelings of those who received it varied.

Li Ran took the wad of money, didn't count it, and stuffed it directly into his pocket.

Zhou Tao aligned the money, put it into the inner layer of his backpack, and zipped it up.

Chang Sisi was even more direct, "Thank you, boss. I knew you wouldn't discard me after you've served your purpose."

Hahahaha.

Finally, Wang Song looked at everyone.

"From now on, all projects where the studio provides creative ideas and funding will be handled in this manner."

"But you found good songs and promising talents from outside, or you composed good melodies and created catchy songs yourself."

"Then Xianming Studio has the right of first refusal. You can come to me to discuss the profit sharing ratio."

"But the right to be credited will permanently belong to the creator; this is the bottom line for hiring you."

"Now, do you understand this new regulation?"

"understand."

Wang Song looked over and saw it was Li Ran's assistant arranger.

The young comrade really wants to improve.

Wang Song clapped his hands. "Understood. We'll have another meeting at the studio tomorrow morning."

On the road.

"Comrade People's Entrepreneur? Is this the point of your departmental division? You won't even let people inquire about salaries."

Wang Song glanced at her sideways and said, "Comrade Xiao Jiang, please refrain from saying anything that is detrimental to unity."

Back in the studio,

Liu Jianjun hesitated, then finally spoke up: "Boss, this three thousand... can I exchange it for something else?"

"explain."

"I don't want this dividend."

Liu Jianjun looked up. "I'm thinking of using this three thousand to buy that IP group from the studio, that one."

"Options," Jiang Yilei answered for her.

It seems that Liu Jianjun understands Wang Song's new rules.

Wang Song gave him a deep look, took the money, and smiled, "Okay, I'll write it down for you. Vice President Jiang, please register."

The new regulations are not difficult to understand.

It's simply that Wang Song's personal profit-sharing wishes have been written down as terms and conditions.

It will no longer be a share of the studio's profits, but rather based on one's own performance.

The challenge is whether anyone is willing to sacrifice their own performance to get on board.