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

September 5, 2006, marked the start of another school year.

New things, briefly symbolizing beauty.

On September 1, the Beijing High Court held its final hearing on the copyright infringement case brought by seven major record companies against Qiandu MP3.

The case was won a thousand times.

In order to shed its reputation as an accomplice to piracy, Baidu sought to showcase its advanced technology.

The two sides hit it off.

Let's have a unique press conference.

The interview vehicles lined up from one end of the street to the other, with people carrying cameras, microphones, and equipment, crowding the entire way.

The security guard shouted at the top of his lungs, "ID! You've lost your ID!"

Nobody paid him any attention; everyone was pushing their way in.

At the very front row were the editors-in-chief of several mainstream media outlets.

In the middle are representatives from small and medium-sized record companies who were invited.

In the back row and aisle, a number of young people carrying guitars came: independent musicians, online singers, and forum moderators.

Everyone is waiting to see what solution Baidu will come up with after this victory.

Nine o'clock sharp.

In the center of the stage, a huge screen slowly lit up, displaying only a single line of simple white text:

"Immortal Name Culture × Baidu MP3"

Li Yanhei walked straight onto the stage: "Thank you everyone for coming."

The words were brief and the tone was flat.

"In the past few years, Qiandu MP3 has caused a lot of controversy and has been involved in many lawsuits."

"A few days ago, the law gave us a clear conclusion."

"But I know that many people still have another question in their minds: What happens after winning the case?"

He paused, and the screen behind him switched, displaying two arrows moving in opposite directions.

One point points to the controversy, the other to the resolution.

"Perhaps, we don't have to be pirates."

"There are no winners today, only a new possibility for future music creators."

As he finished speaking, another beam of light shone on the other side of the stage.

Wang Song walked in like a college student who had accidentally wandered into a foreign land—simple, calm, and without the slightest aggression.

"My name is Wang Song, founder of Xianming Culture."

Whispering sounds came from below.

"Yes! That's right, rule breakers, industry disruptors."

Wang Song smiled and calmly gave his evaluation on the Internet.

"But I don't understand."

"It seems like our Xianming has never released a single song anywhere."

"So how can you talk about causing trouble?"

As soon as those two words were uttered, the audience fell silent.

The editors-in-chief of the media in the front row sat up straight, and all the cameras were pointed at the center of the stage.

"We only sang two of our songs on the Super Girl stage, and were eliminated due to our lack of talent."

"But we are still young, and we still have opportunities."

Wang Song deliberately emphasized the phrase "insufficient strength".

The record company observer, who was mingling in the crowd, instantly darkened his expression.

"Secondly, we have only authorized ringback tone platforms."

"I've never released a single physical record."

"I've never been on a radio show to promote my music, never performed at a live commercial event, and never applied for any awards."

He paused, then smiled and said:

"It's like, I can't even get into Tsinghua or Peking University, but they say I broke their school rules."

The entire room fell completely silent.

They spent half a year trying to label Xianming as a troublemaker.

Wang Song's few words completely dismantled it.

They've never been in your circle, never eaten a bite of food in your industry.

How can you say it's disrupting things?

They even humbly compared the record company to Tsinghua and Peking Universities, putting them directly in a precarious position.

Wang Song withdrew his gaze, looked at the whispering crowd below the stage, and smiled:

"So, we're not sitting here today to prove who's right and who's wrong."

"I just wanted to let everyone know that there is another road here."

He raised his hand in a gesture, and the large screen behind him slowly switched:

"Xianming Internet Original Music Service Platform"

The audience fell silent, everyone staring at those few words.

Wang Song walked back to the center of the stage, his tone calm:

"This platform does not produce physical records, does not chart, and does not award prizes."

"We do the hard and tiring work that others are unwilling to do."

He raised the first finger:

"Help creators clarify the copyright of their songs."

"You don't trust the buyers of Baidu MP3, Qiuqiu Music, and Sina MP3."

"But you can trust us."

"The telecom operators investigated three times, but not a single one of our songs was taken down. We can handle this."

Whispers came from below.

"This is about building a trust platform for the industry; the landscape is completely different."

The record company observer chuckled dismissively, "Easier said than done."

Wang Song on the stage made a downward pressure with his hand.

"With proper copyright, we need to help creators find a way to make their work heard."

"So, Baidu, Sina, Tencent... we'll talk to any platform that's willing to accept legitimate songs."

"Finally, the full copyright belongs to the creator; you only need to authorize us to distribute it online."

"If you make money, we charge a service fee; if you don't make money, we don't charge a single penny."

"I only earn when you earn; the more you earn, the more I earn. The service fee is calculated based on the money you receive, not taken from your pocket first."

A collective gasp filled the room.

"Hiss~"

This is the complete opposite of the practice of record companies buying out copyrights and SPs exploiting the rights at each level.

They have completely tied themselves to the creators; their fates are intertwined, one prospers and the other suffers.

"But this model won't last long. Once this period of trust crisis is over, the platform will be able to bypass them."

"Unless they can become the most trusted brand in the industry within this extremely short window of time."

Someone raised their hand, "So how exactly do you play it?"

Wang Song smiled, then turned to look at the side of the screen:

"So I invited two friends to help me out."

The side curtain moved.

A person walked out.

Wearing a faded baseball cap and an ordinary gray shirt, he looked like he had just come from the Northwest.

There was a half-second silence in the audience, then the sound of camera shutters exploded.

"Mantis!" "It's Mantis!" "Why is he here?!"

Daolang walked to the center of the stage, stood next to Wang Song, and said nothing.

Wang Song turned to the side and looked at the side curtain:

"There's one more."

Another young person has emerged.

He was polite and well-mannered, wearing glasses and carrying a guitar, like a college student who had just finished class.

Whispers could be heard from the internet company and forum moderators in the back row and aisle.

"Is that Vae? Xu Song?" "Holy crap, it really is."

Immediately afterwards, Yao Beina and Chang Sisi appeared and stood behind Wang Song with smiles on their faces.

"The Xianming platform has our own self-operated content."

"There are joint ventures like Daolang and Xu Song."

"Perhaps in the future, new friends and old friends will want to follow this path, and we welcome them all."

He turned to look at Li Yanhei, smiling as he extended his hand:

"And now, we're going to sell to our first customer, Qiandu MP3."

"Mr. Li, what do you think?"

Li Yanhei went on stage while clapping.

"Qiandu MP3 officially welcomes Xianming Culture, Teacher Daolang, Teacher Xu Song, and all musicians to join us."

"We paid Mr. Daolang 500,000 yuan to purchase a five-year non-exclusive Internet distribution right."

"In addition, GG will receive an extra share once the number of listens reaches one million."

Dao Lang spoke slowly, his voice hoarse: "I have no objections."

Wang Song smiled and pressed further, "Then I'll take a 5% service fee from you, do you have any objections?"

"You built the road, I put it on the road, so it's only right that you get the compensation you deserve for your hard work."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in applause.

The record company observer, who was mingling in the crowd, put away his notebook, his face pale.

Their nearly three-month-long campaign of smearing, blocking, and encircling them all came to nothing.

All your punches landed on thin air.

You can't even blame him, because he didn't steal your things; he just gave someone else another place to go.

The other party simply disdains playing by the rules they set.

They set up a table for themselves.

This table, in fact, originated from the old table, where more and more disillusioned people and onlookers gathered.

This is what we call value appreciation.

The only thing they can criticize is that "the songs are unsophisticated and the lyrics are unsophisticated."

After a brief pause in their voices, Wang Song and the others scanned the faces below the stage.

There were reporters, record company employees, young people carrying guitars, and middle-aged people with dark circles under their eyes.

He raised his hand in a gesture of apology: "Actually, we are just a group of students."

"At this time last year, I was still at school figuring out how to write songs. To be honest, standing here this year, my legs are shaking a little."

A burst of good-natured laughter rang out from the audience.

He paused:

"So the path we've chosen may not be the smartest, it may be slow, and it may have many pitfalls."

"But we also want to try, to see if a new path that no one has ever taken before can be followed, and if it can go far."

"It's the start of the new school year, and new students have countless paths to choose from as they walk through the school gates."

"Our Xianming Culture hopes that creators will also have countless paths to choose from."

He looked at the audience and asked with a smile:

"So, everyone... do you understand?"

There was a two-second silence in the audience, followed by more applause.

Wang Song raised his hand and pressed it down:

"Well... we have two more new songs that we're preparing for the Super Girl competition."

"I originally wanted to sing on TV, but I didn't get the chance."

"Today is perfect, let everyone hear it."

The lights dimmed, and applause erupted.

On the screen, the text has changed:

"A Diao"

"A tribute to the spirit of pursuing freedom, perseverance, and refusing to be ordinary."

The old semester for Chinese music is coming to an end, and the new semester officially begins today.