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

2006年6月26日，7：00-8：59

Everything is inauspicious!

This massive reshuffling, initiated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in conjunction with telecom operators, has entered a period of concentrated verification and enforcement.

Wherever it went, cries of agony followed.

Kongzhong Corporation headquarters.

Zhou Zhengqing's phone had been ringing non-stop since 7 a.m.

"Mr. Zhou, the access port in Tianjin has been cut off! The operator's people went directly into the data center and pulled the line!"

"Mr. Zhou! The finance staff have been taken away by the telecom operator! They say they need to cooperate with an investigation into illegal deductions!"

The operations director threw the rectification plan directly at Zhou Zhengqing's face.

"Zhou Zhengqing, you fucking tell me!!"

"The operator's verification team has arrived downstairs."

"You can't even produce licenses for over 300 songs, and you're telling me the record company will cover it? Where did that cover go?!"

Zhou Zhengqing dared not speak again. The only reason he stayed here was to take the blame for the last time.

Two weeks ago, he patted his chest and assured headquarters that the United Records Alliance would crush Xianming.

Not only can they obtain low-priced music libraries from record companies, but they can also take advantage of the rectification campaign to eliminate small partners.

But now, the telecom operators who once tried so hard to please them are gone.

A large-scale investigation will be launched.

The investigation uncovered the complete licensing chain promised by those record labels in one fell swoop.

It's just a substitute contract signed by a middleman, a dead copyright that even the original author can't find.

The general counsel spoke up, "You should be glad that President Chen persuaded the Central Academy of Drama to back down."

The operations team looked utterly dejected. "Let's go downstairs and meet the inspection team."

He watched the bad news constantly popping up on the screen and his subordinates with long faces.

He had only one thought in his mind.

chaos.

Chaos with no end in sight.

He even envied Old Chen, who was pushed out to take the blame but was relegated to a marginal department for his contribution in withdrawing the lawsuit against the Central Academy of Drama.

At least, I don't have to deal with this mess anymore.

Inside a private room at the same time.

The ashtray was filled and emptied, then filled again.

The door was pushed open, and Zhou Ming from Huayi walked in quickly, slamming a stack of rectification notices on the table.

"Warner and Rolling Stones have left."

Everyone in the room looked up instantly.

"Zhao Ke just called me and said that headquarters requires them to abide by local laws."

Zhou Ming sneered: "To put it another way, you guys fight it out yourselves, don't drag us down with you."

Li Mingyuan of Peacock Records slammed his fist on the table: "Those foreign devils are unreliable! They were the loudest when we formed our alliance!"

"Never mind him." Zhang Yuan from Taihe rubbed his face.

"Let's get to the immediate issue: how should the fines from the telecom operators be distributed?"

Hua Yi's Zhou Ming slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Don't give me that crap!"

"It was you, Taihe, who first suggested that we join forces to destroy Xianming and put pressure on SP to choose between us."

"Kongzhong.com has now been fined the maximum amount of two million yuan, had 30% of its ports shut down, and operators across the industry are required to reissue licenses."

"You, Taihe Music Library, have the largest volume, yet you only bear 20% of the costs? Where's your shame?"

Li Mingyuan, nicknamed "Peacock," slammed his hand on the table.

He held Zheng Yuan's ringback tone data in his hand, making him the only one among everyone present with a stable income.

"If you hadn't insisted on using the name of the China Audio-Video Copyright Association to create some kind of industry convention back then..."

"Forcing SPs to remove Xianming's songs, can telecom operators really keep an eye on copyright compliance issues?"

"All of Peacock's songs are officially licensed. Why should we clean up the mess of your dubious pop songs?"

"We at Peacock won't pay a single cent for this cost!"

A mid-sized record company stood up, annoyed:

"You were the ones who said that by using the name of the 'Dead Immortal,' the ringtone market could return to its previous profit-sharing structure? Huh?!"

"A third of my Curry's songs have been removed!"

"one third!"

"Physical record distribution has long been killed by piracy, and now operators are cracking down on the licensing chain."

"For a song, from the lyricist and composer to the singer, and then to our company's sub-licensing documents, not a single one can be missing."

"Additional signatures later? Right now they're just telling you to take it down first, and we'll talk after you've completed the necessary steps!"

"Our only chance to survive is through ringtones. How much money will we lose if they're taken down for even a day? We're not as big and powerful as you guys."

"Will you compensate for this loss? I'll even pay you 8 yuan in rectification compensation?"

"We won't pay a single penny of this money!"

Mid-sized record labels are outraged.

The two bosses behind him echoed him, and the sounds of cursing, arguing, and banging on the table mingled together.

No one mentions the immortal's name anymore, and no one mentions industry rules anymore.

Everyone was busy trying to find a piece of driftwood on this sinking ship and trying to shift the blame.

As for small record labels, they don't even qualify to be on the table.

Old Zhou from Fengyu Records silently stared at the numbers on the screen.

1247.6 yuan, which is one-thirtieth of last month's amount.

A stack of removal notices from SPs were piled up next to me, stating that the copyright was non-compliant and should be removed immediately.

He switched web pages, and the forum was also flooded with posts:

"Another SP (Service Provider) has been confirmed to be shut down; settlement is now in jeopardy!"

"New operator regulations explained: Authorization documents must include scanned copies of the originals; photocopies are no longer accepted!"

"Help needed: Does anyone know if XunJie Technology, this SP (Service Provider), is still operating? The final payment hasn't been settled for three months!"

"Brother Zhou, I just got a call. The remaining five songs must be taken down by tomorrow."

Old Zhou closed his eyes wearily.

The rosy vision described by the giants.

If we suppress the troublemakers, market rules will return, and everyone can make money peacefully. The rectification will only involve eliminating small service providers (SPs).

just now.

The troublemakers didn't die, so rectification became the sharpest knife.

The giants might be able to hold on, but what about small companies like his? Where will next month's salaries come from?

The two record companies next door have already been deregistered.

He watched it being cancelled with his own eyes.

The young employee's voice was trembling with tears.

"We don't even have enough money in our account for this month's rent. What are we going to do?"

Old Zhou didn't say anything more.

He has been making records for almost ten years, from cassette tapes to CDs, and then to ringtones.

They watched as physical records were ruined by pirated record companies.

Just when they finally caught their breath with ringtones, they were forced by major record labels to sign a copyright buyout agreement.

Now we're being told by these giants to pay for our shady dealings.

"Brother Zhou, there are thirteen companies in total, and everything has been agreed upon." Another employee pushed open the door and came in.

"They said that this money absolutely cannot be paid out. They have almost finished sorting out the alliance's shady accounts and will send them to the operator's verification team first thing tomorrow morning."

"And... they said they wanted to find another way out, and couldn't just hang themselves on the tree of the major record company."

"A way out?"

"The entire industry is undergoing rectification right now. SPs (specialty stores) are afraid to accept our songs, and major record labels are pressuring us to the death. What way out do we have?"

"If the rectification of ringback tones isn't finished by next month, let's cancel it."

Immortal Name Culture.

"Huh~ It's so quiet all of a sudden, it's really not my habit." Jiang Yilei looked at the news, his smugness returning.

"Interim results! Growing pains of compliance!"

"It's a mess! It's all a mess!" Ma Xiaojun exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the computer.

"Boss, this is an opportunity! How many SPs are desperately short of content to save the day?"

"Those small and medium-sized record distributors are barely surviving! Anyway, the people with the right connections are busy cleaning up their messes and haven't come yet."

"If we rush in now and don't sign an exclusive licensing agreement with them, we can absolutely sweep them all!"

"Yes! And promotion too! These days, SPs will negotiate anything to survive!"

"Strike while the iron is hot!"

The young people in the team had their eyes shining and were eager to get started, as if they had seen a vast blue ocean.

"That's right!!" Chang Sisi waved her fist.

Even Yao Beina, who was mentioned in the article, nodded in agreement, her eyes filled with resentment.

When everyone had calmed down enough, they all turned to look at him, waiting for him to make a decision.

He looked away and picked up a document sealed in a brown paper bag.

It bears the official seal of Xianming Culture, a seal across the seam.

"Jiang Yilei, send the document to Daolang Studio. The address is on the email."

Jiang Yilei paused for a moment, then reached out and took the document.

"Okay, I'll get on it right now." She took the documents, turned around, and quickly walked out of the small house.

The others in the room were also stunned, exchanging bewildered glances.

But they didn't discuss the previous issue again; their boss never did anything meaningless.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door.

Ding Ruru stood at the door, holding a thermos in her arms, and slowly walked in.

He chuckled. "Wang Song, you're really that composed?"

"From the Super Girl competition to suing Kongzhong Corporation, I was criticized for half a month in between."

"The label of 'cancer of the entertainment industry' and 'profit-driven' has been attached to them one after another, forcing the Central Academy of Drama to close the campus and not allow the media in."

"So far, all you've done is file a lawsuit. Why aren't you giving it a push and exposing all this dirty laundry?"

What appears to be encouragement is actually a test.

This will test Wang Song's patience, and also test whether he will be swayed by the current chaos and public opinion.

Wang Song smiled and poured him another glass of warm water. "I understand the principle of 'when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down'."

"But there is some truth to the saying that even a centipede that dies does not fall down."

"If the wall that was pushed down hit me, my small body couldn't withstand it."

"If all else fails, should the school be locked down again?"

Ding Ruru looked at him, paused for a few seconds, and then smiled.

"I'm just here to tell you that this isn't over yet, so don't fall for it."

"So, teacher, you're relieved?"

"Alright, I'm leaving. Think it over yourself."

Wang Song's gaze returned to the computer screen, to a medical student named Vae.