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

Music Association.

It's simply the most tangible tool that record companies use to openly monopolize distribution channels.

The detailed rules will be issued within one month.

With each layer of markups imposed by channel maintainers, the entire industry is in despair.

The main battleground is the music section of Tianya, where posts are refreshed at a rate of more than ten per minute.

"The China Music Copyright Association (CMC) should get out of the music industry!"

"This is a monopoly! This is robbery!"

"I wrote a song, and just because I didn't pay, I can't even get it broadcast on the radio?"

The full text of the China Audio-Video Copyright Association's "Self-Discipline Convention" has been criticized point by point, while others, tired of criticizing, simply post a "like" to continue their rant.

But what truly ignited public opinion was another post.

The poster claimed to be the owner of a small record company who was unable to continue operating.

"The China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA) wants to collect all the copyrights of our peers for centralized management and to combat piracy."

"Profits from ringtones, records, and commercial performances are distributed among them."

"Not paying?"

"Fine, your songs can forget about getting on the radio, going to karaoke, or appearing on any music programs."

"Commercial performances? The organizers won't even give you a chance to quote a price if you're not an association member."

This post has been shared 100,000 times.

Someone below asked, "So what are you going to do?"

The original poster replied, "I don't know, maybe I deleted the account."

A news article followed the post.

Online singers are all pursuing their own agendas; Yang Chengang calls for a fight for every little thing.

"Yang Chengang's 'Mice Love Rice' created a value of over 100 million yuan, but he only received less than 400,000 yuan for himself."

"Donglai Dongwang, who wrote 'Don't Say My Tears Don't Matter to You,' didn't receive a single penny and was also burdened with a bunch of copyright infringement lawsuits."

"Pang Long's song 'Two Butterflies' has been downloaded over 100 million times, but he only received a little over 300,000 yuan from the record company."

SP said the download count is only this low.

"The record company said that's all the SP (Special Offer) will give us."

"What can creators do? What about money?"

The other side of the glamorous slogans of industry self-regulation and copyright protection.

It is a distorted ecosystem that exploits creators at every level.

Ma Xiaojun read them aloud one by one, then turned to look at Wang Song: "Boss, you've been cursing for a whole month, a whole month!"

"Why hasn't a single record company or member of the China Music Copyright Association responded from beginning to end?"

"The posts accusing us of breaking the rules are still there. Are we really just going to ignore it?"

Wang Song didn't respond and continued looking at the computer.

Beside her, Jing Tian held half a watermelon and looked at Wang Song with the same expression.

She's been coming frequently this past month.

From the day the detailed rules of the China Audio-Video Copyright Association were issued, it was as if she suddenly understood something.

No longer asking when filming will begin, no longer mentioning whether the public outcry has died down.

Just do it anyway.

We deliver fruit, milk tea, and sometimes we don't deliver anything at all; we just sit in the corner and watch them work.

Sister Lin tried to persuade her twice, but she wouldn't listen.

"I know you blamed me before," she suddenly said that day, "but I'm not leaving."

But later, no one refused the things Jing Tian brought.

"So, Wang Song?" Jing Tian scooped out a spoonful of melon and handed it over, but when Wang Song didn't take it, she took it back.

"Someone on the forum has already dug up the post that the stage designer made in April."

"April!"

"In April, the top 10, top 7, top 5, and top 3 of the Super Girl Star City competition, which had just ended last month, were all revealed."

"This is way too dark."

"No record label has responded, and even Hunan TV is remaining silent. Why is that?"

Yao Beina and Chang Sisi had already seen what happened with the stage designer.

Chang Sisi burst into tears again, saying, "We didn't let everyone down, did we?"

Wang Song thought for a moment: "How many internet users are there now? Are there two hundred million?"

Jing Tian shook her head. "I don't know. The news said it just broke 100 million not long ago, so it shouldn't be 200 million yet."

"That settles it then," Wang Song said, shrugging.

"The remaining billion people cannot hear the curses in the forums, nor can they see the creators crying out."

"While they were driving, the radio was playing the music recommended by the Music Copyright Society of China."

"They were shopping in the mall, and the background music was from a catalog authorized by the China Audio-Video Copyright Association."

"They turn on the TV at night, and all the contestants are artists from record companies that cooperate with the China Music Copyright Association."

"Passing by a music and video store, the posters at the entrance also showed that it was an authentic copy of the China Audio-Video Copyright Association."

Wang Song looked at the people in the room who had suddenly fallen silent.

"The internet is one world, and the real world is another."

"They could curse them to the heavens, but they couldn't touch the record companies' core customer base."

Jing Tian opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.

She suddenly understood why those big companies hadn't responded for a month.

There's no need to respond, because the people who are criticizing them don't even exist in their world.

Just then, a knocking sound rang out on the door.

Liu Jianjun didn't recognize him at first: "Who are you looking for?"

The man looked up, wearing a slightly worn baseball cap.

His voice was hoarse, with a strong Northwestern accent: "Excuse me, is Mr. Wang Song here? I apologize for the intrusion."

As soon as he looked up, several people in the room froze instantly.

This face has recently appeared on the covers of various pirated CDs.

Knife beetle? !

The Coke bottle in Ma Xiaojun's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

Without any warning, he appeared at the entrance of Xianming Studio, like an ordinary visitor.

Wang Song came out to greet him, extending his hand: "Teacher Dao Lang, I am Wang Song, please come in."

After sitting down, he didn't beat around the bush and immediately dumped the contents of his briefcase onto the table.

A stack of radio station notices announcing their closure.

The notice to remove KTVs from the market.

There was also a membership notice from the China Audio-Video Copyright Association.

It was exactly the same as what those aspiring musicians in the forum received.

From the day "The First Snow of 2002" became a hit, the mainstream world never recognized him.

His voice could only be heard on pirated DVDs and ringtones.

A month ago, he received the document from Wang Song, and he read it over and over again three times.

He thought the claim that all copyrights belonged to the creator was a scam and never paid any more attention to it.

Until the news of the preparations for the China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA) came out.

They found him very quickly.

You either have to join the association, hand over the collective management rights of all your works' copyrights, and accept their commission and control.

Alternatively, a collective critique of the Four Evils.

Radio stations stopped broadcasting his songs, karaoke bars wouldn't accept them, and he wasn't allowed to perform at commercial events, causing his songs to completely disappear from the public eye.

He did try, he went to radio stations and karaoke bars, but he was turned away by a single sentence.

"We don't have the authorization code from the China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA), so let's register it first."

When he was at his wit's end, he read the document again.

He inquired about the young man's deeds.

He had the exact same experience, but even worse; he was treated even better by the record company.

In the entire Chinese music scene, only this young man is on the same path as him.

The mantis spoke up: "So? Mr. Wang... Mr. Wang."

Wang Song smiled and handed him a cup of hot water: "Don't worry, there are still people, they should be here soon."

One more?

Before the people in the room could recover from the shock, Wang Song's words piqued their curiosity once again.

About two hours later, the knocking sounded again.

A young man, carrying a guitar, looked to be in his early twenties, wearing glasses, and appeared quite refined.

"Hello, my name is Xu Song, but online people call me VAE."

If Dao Lang's arrival was a groundbreaking event, then Vae's appearance was like still waters running deep.

"They've finally arrived." Wang Song stood up, walked over, and extended his hand.

"Studying medicine can't save music."

"What, the China Audio-Video Copyright Association came knocking on your door again? You only realized how good my place is after they came to you, huh?"

"I'll only come if I reimburse your travel expenses."

Xu Song wasn't annoyed and retorted with a smile: "You, who studied directing, don't focus on making movies, but instead are single-mindedly trying to save Chinese music."

"What's wrong with me, a medical student, just joining in the fun?"

Two jokes instantly bridged the gap between the two young people.

Wang Song turned to the side and pointed to the person standing next to him:

"This is Teacher Daolang, whose representative works include 'West Sea Love Song' and 'The First Snow of 2002'."

Dao Lang stood up and nodded to Xu Song.

Xu Song was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting to see this person here.

He quickly nodded in return, "Hello, Teacher Dao... Teacher Daolang."

"This is Xu Song, a medical student. His representative work is 'The Funeral of Roses,' which is more popular online than his real name."

The mantis nodded, and unusually uttered a complete sentence: "I've heard it. It's a good song."

Xu Song was flattered and stood there, unsure of what to say.

Ma Xiaojun finally came to his senses and leaned over to ask in a low voice:

"Teacher Daolang, Xu Song, can I take a picture with you?"

Xu Song looked at him, then at Wang Song, and smiled: "...Okay."

Jiang Yilei smiled and turned to pick up the camera on the table: "This humble abode is truly honored today."

Wang Song looked at the people in the room, smiled, and spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it silenced everyone:

"In the entire Chinese music scene, there are only three artists with widespread recognition online, but who are least recognized by the mainstream music industry. They are all here today."

"Dao Lang, Xu Song, plus our immortal names."

"It doesn't matter if they don't recognize us, it doesn't matter if the industry doesn't recognize us, we recognize ourselves."

Then Ma Xiaojun slammed his hand on the table: "Boss, what do we do next?"

Wang Song stood up, picked up his coat from the back of the chair, and did so swiftly.

He smiled, a smile brimming with the anticipation he'd been waiting for: "What else can we do?"

Wang Song opened the door of the bungalow, and the August heat wave hit him in the face.

"Let's go to Thousand Degrees."