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

"They refused again."

"Okay, come back. Call those other companies, and we'll have a proper talk in a week."

Inside a private reception room in Yanjing.

The leading companies in Huayi, Taihe Wheatfield, Peacock Records, Birdman Art, China Universal, China Warner...

They sat around a round table, cigarette butts piled up like a small mountain, without exchanging pleasantries or formalities.

Yesterday, they were mortal enemies, but today...

Huayi's head, Zhou Ming, slammed the report on the table. "Physical record revenue has dropped by 70%! What does that mean?!"

"In mainland China, a top-tier singer is considered a huge hit if their official album sales exceed 10 copies. But even at 40 yuan per copy, 10 copies only amount to 400 million yuan."

"After deducting production, promotion, and revenue sharing, what we actually get isn't even enough to fill a tooth."

Zhang Yuan of Taihe Wheatfield couldn't help but shout, "What are you yelling about? We signed Pang Long, Peacock took Zheng Yuan, and Phoenix Legend..."

"I gave you all the most popular fairy names, but you were stupid enough to throw dirty water into the school and couldn't even handle a group of students."

Li Mingyuan from Peacock Records nodded. The market has always been about selecting the best performers.

And right now, the only top-tier product on the market is Xianming.

Zhou Ming slammed his fist on the table. "You talk like you signed it, but you still came back looking disheveled."

"You even let go of the resources you've already got your hands on, yet you, Taihe, don't seem to have much strength."

Zhou, a veteran of Rolling Stone, shouted, "Stop arguing! I brought you here to solve the problem."

"A group of students and an ordinary person, the song's music video has been downloaded and played over a million times across various channels within a week."

"These newcomers in the industry all think they don't need to sign with our record company, they can become famous just by signing with Xianming! And they're all undermining each other."

Warner Music's Zhao Ke nodded. "All the works bypassed us and went straight to the market, and the Super Girl performance was top-notch."

"Not to mention he dared to bypass us and directly place a secret bid with SP."

"Now SP is following suit, becoming increasingly distant from us, and secretly maintaining a bunch of small teams from universities."

"If you give SP even a little more time to actually build up a system, you're all doomed."

"Old Zhou and I can simply go back to headquarters, but what about you? If you lose the ringback tone distribution channel, what are you going to do?"

Warner Music and Rolling Stones have the power to make this announcement to these people.

Kongque Li Mingyuan frowned, clutching Zheng Yuan's "Ten Thousand Reasons" ringtone trump card in his hand.

They made a fortune.

With a hint of hesitation in her voice, she said, "But they have the school protecting them. If we go through the legal channels, we won't get anywhere."

"If legal channels don't work, then we'll use business rules!" Zhang Yuan tapped the table.

"Can a university protect their copyrights and their business? No university has ever dared to do that."

"We've been making music for so many years, and we've never relied on lawsuits, we've relied on distribution channels!"

He laid out his core calculations directly: "Right now, the only ringtone singer on the market who can compete is Xianming!"

"We, a few companies, control 90% of the domestic singers' music library. Do you think service providers (SPs) would dare disobey us?"

Hua Yi Zhou Ming chimed in, "That's right!"

He recalled how a little kid had directly exposed the collapse of the physical record industry that day, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed.

Peacock Li Mingyuan: "But if we do this, won't it force Xianming to completely side with SP? That would make things even more difficult."

"They've lost their chance." Zhang Yuan waved his hand. "We've already spoken to Gao Xiaosong's music association."

Someone muttered under their breath, "Isn't it a bit beneath us to go to such lengths for a student studio?"

"In the end, isn't it just a few catchy ringtones and popular songs?"

"Degrading?" Zhang Yuan laughed. "You're still thinking about your physical records."

"If you look down on ringback tones, then give your SP channels to Taihe, and we'll take them all."

Zhang Yuan stood up and glanced around the room: "Everyone, the thing that his copyright belongs to the creator is the real killer."

"We've been doing this for decades, what have we relied on? Signing artists, controlling copyrights, and managing distribution channels. If he returns the copyrights to the creators, then what are we?"

The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

"I know you all have your own agendas, but on this matter, our interests are aligned."

"Meeting adjourned today. Everyone agrees to keep the same message: make the 'Immortal Name' model disappear completely within a week."

"We'll talk about other things after we remove this nail."

The group exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Rivals who usually fight tooth and nail have reached an unprecedented consensus on maintaining their common monopoly.

Same city, different atmosphere.

"This video is sponsored by Kangshifu Instant Noodles. Feeling tired, hungry, and don't want to cook? Try Kangshifu Instant Noodles."

Jiang Yilei stared at his own face on the screen, his expression complex.

Three days ago, Tudou.com called to say that the plan to broadcast GG's voice was approved and asked if we had any suitable videos for a pilot program.

Without thinking much at the time, she submitted Jing Tian's music video.

The other party was incredibly efficient; the deal was finalized on the same day, the voiceover was recorded the next day, and it went live on the third day.

Now, her face is displayed at the beginning of the music video, solemnly reciting the GG lyrics.

In the comments section, some people are already commenting: "Has Papi Jiang switched to selling noodles?"

Jing Tian was in an even worse situation than her.

At the end of the music video, she and Jiang Yilei sat side by side, each holding a bowl of noodles, laughing like two idiots.

"Hello everyone, I am Jing Tian, ​​the singer of this song."

"I am Papi Jiang."

Harmony: "Thank you everyone for liking the MV. If you're tired, hungry, and don't want to cook, try Kangshifu instant noodles."

When Jing Tian first saw the finished film, she froze completely.

She turned to look at Wang Song, her eyes saying: You made me film this?

Wang Song didn't even look up: "GG offered a higher price."

Jing Tian opened her mouth, but could only silently say, "Okay."

In another corner that Jing Tian couldn't see.

Wang Song didn't beat around the bush and looked directly at Bai Baihe: "You knew that Jing Tian got the role of Xiao Shui, right?"

Bai Baihe lowered her head and nodded.

"It's not her fault," Wang Song said.

"Blame Jiang Yilei for his mouth. He started making empty promises as soon as the person arrived, which made the person happy and he immediately took out his money to invest."

Wang Song took out a stack of papers from his pocket and handed them over.

The two were stunned.

"Love is Not Blind," Wang Song said. "It's the script outline. You two go back and take a look. The female lead is Bai Baihe."

Wang Song looked Yang Shuo up and down. "Forget about the male lead. He's an effeminate character. You can't play him well."

Yang Shuo thought for a moment, "Okay, don't bite off more than you can chew."

Wang Song glanced at him. "Don't tell her."

"Who?"

"Jing Tian," Wang Song said, "she doesn't know she's taken someone else's role. Don't let her feel burdened. Blame Jiang Yilei, understand?"

Yang Shuo paused for a second, then stood up straight with a snap, and said solemnly, "I am willing to serve President Wang!"

three days later.

"One million!! We've broken one million!! Wang Song!!" Jing Tian rushed in.

Wang Song checked Tudou.com and confirmed it was indeed over a million. It seemed Tudou.com had invested heavily in this project.

"Yes, congratulations."

"Huh???" Jing Tian's eyes widened. "That's your reaction? It's surpassed one million views! My music video has surpassed one million views!"

Jiang Yilei chimed in with a sarcastic remark: "That's because Kang Shuaifu spent their money wisely and pushed the traffic up."

Jing Tian paused for a second, then continued grinning foolishly: "That's my music video too!"

She snatched Jiang Yilei's computer and scrolled through the comments section one by one.

News from Baidu MP3, backend data from Tudou.com, and discussion threads about "A Little Happiness" on forums.

He would occasionally let out a chuckle.

"...It's hopeless."

Meanwhile, Wang Song called Luo Dan into the conference room and asked in a low voice, "How is the company's cash flow analysis going?"

"Miss Jing transferred one million this morning. The remaining funds will be paid when we actually start preparing for the movie."

"As long as you, boss, don't invest it in the stock market, it'll be enough to cover staff salaries, operations, and Super Girl competition preparations for six months."

Wang Song nodded, then found Jiang Yilei: "The cooperation framework between Tudou.com and GG must be finalized and signed this week, don't delay."

Finally, he sent a message to Yao Beina in Xingcheng.

"Don't believe any resource promises from the production team. Polish your work to the extreme, and fan votes are the key."

He knew the record industry's backlash would come sooner or later, and he had taken the most basic precautions, but the vague unease in his heart could not be shaken off.

"What are you thinking about, Wang Song?!" A cheerful voice broke Wang Song's thoughts.

Jing Tian approached at some point.

"I'm thinking about how to list Xianming on the stock market," Wang Song said casually.

Jing Tian paused for a second, then laughed and said, "Look at this buzz! Let's not wait any longer! Let's start filming 'A Little Thing Called First Love' right away, how about that?"

She counted on her fingers, "The forums are full of discussions about it. If we announce the movie at this time, the hype will double. If our movie is successful, it will also boost our stock price."

Wang Song couldn't help but chuckle: "You know about this?"

Jing Tian replied matter-of-factly, "That's right, that's what Sister Lin and the others all said."

Wang Song nodded, "Okay, okay, let's do it during summer vacation after we're done with this busy period."

"Alright then." Jing Tian didn't press the matter further, although he didn't understand why someone would look so gloomy at 19.

Is this the price of going to college?

That's what she thought.