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

At Tudou.com headquarters, Wang Wei practically slammed his fist on the table and gave the operations department a death order:

"Quick! Quick!! Push Xianming's work to the homepage."

Almost simultaneously, Youku and 56.com issued this order.

"But?"

"What do you mean 'but'? Baidu won the case! The safe harbor principle for the internet is now in effect."

The platform is not responsible for the content uploaded by users.

"Even if they sue, there's nothing they can do. Hurry!! Push them before others do it."

Wang Wei stared at the press release on the screen regarding the collaboration between Xianming and Qiandu.

Although the contract was signed long ago, it was still a matter of waiting for things to develop naturally under the influence of the immortal name.

The entire industry is currently in a land grab, and being a step behind could damage relationships and easily lead to a wave of creators leaving.

In another corner where the documents are kept.

Old Chen watched the entire press conference with a smile on his face.

"I see, I see. I won't play along with you guys, and I won't get worked up or try to put you down."

"We can't find any evidence against them."

"If he were to appeal on stage and utter a single complaint or cry out for injustice, he would be at a disadvantage in the confrontation."

He then opened the Baidu MP3 ranking list.

"A Diao"

"Dust in the Fireworks"

"What a great new song!"

He recalled the arrogant and commanding manner of Zhou Zhengqing, whom he had mentored, upon his return from the Central Academy of Drama.

Old Chen immediately opened the Tianya Music Forum and happily watched netizens mock the China Audio-Visual Copyright Association.

Where did the China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA) go wrong? Let me tell you what I've just figured out.

"RT, I've been watching the drama all day, but the Laughter Association's ban was all for naught; they didn't even get a chance to participate."

"But after laughing, I thought about it: Did the China Audio-Video Copyright Association really lose?"

"The channels are still in their hands—radio stations, karaoke bars, commercial performances, awards—Xianming can't get into any of them."

Then it suddenly dawned on me.

"The Music Association is not selling the present, but the future."

1L: "Bump this post, OP, please elaborate."

LZ: "Physical records are dead, ringtones are being rectified, where is the future growth market? It's on the Internet."

"The China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA) has no jurisdiction over places like Baidu MP3, Qiuqiu Music, Tudou.com, and Youku.com."

"Because of the safe harbor principle, they can't win the case."

2L: "First comment, now I understand."

LZ: "And what's even more ruthless is that what did Xianmingqian do? He helped creators establish copyrights and helped platforms connect with legitimate content."

"Platforms used to be afraid of being accused of being accomplices to piracy, but now that they have a legitimate name, they can openly say that we are the genuine product."

3L: "So, Xianming is being used to whitewash someone's image on internet platforms?"

LZ: "That's one way to understand it."

"But while the platform was whitewashing the content, the creators got the money, the platform got the content, and Xianming took a cut of the service fee."

"As long as the immortal's reputation remains intact, this model is a win-win-win situation."

"If you were a creator looking to enter the industry, where would you go?"

"It's obviously a fairy name, right?"

4L: "What about the China Audio-Visual Copyright Association?"

LZ: "The China Audio-Video Copyright Association still has existing content; radio, karaoke, variety shows, and other media still rely on them."

"But the growth? There's no more, including fresh blood, but not the players who want to participate in the competition."

"I won't go into details about the competition here; you know what I mean."

5L: "Got it. Existing resources will be exchanged for new growth; audio-visual collaboration will be the future."

6L: "This post is giving me the creeps... Is Wang Song from Xianming really only 19 years old?"

7L: "19 years old? I was still playing video games in my dorm when I was 19..."

8L: "So, what do the creators think?"

9L: "I'm one of them. I used to call Xianming a troublemaker, but now I see that he's really doing things."

"I'm not saying anything more, I'm going to apologize. Maybe this path hasn't made everyone profitable yet, but their spirit..."

Old Chen chuckled as he scrolled through the forum, muttering to himself, "Listening to music and reading jokes can be quite enjoyable."

"Ring ring~"

Old Chen's phone rang.

"Hey, old classmate, still making ringtones? I just wanted to ask, what's going on with that Music Copyright Society?"

"Our karaoke system was threatened with the China Audio-Video Copyright Association, trying to force me to pay. I kicked them out."

"I saw him making such a big fuss, how come he can't even handle a student army?"

The caller was a classmate who had come out to make music with him. Later, one of them became a ringtone brand, and the other went home and opened a karaoke bar.

He has an exceptionally fiery temper and is known as the "Death Sentence".

Old Chen thought for a moment and then laughed, "The China Audio-Visual Copyright Association is just an empty shell, don't be afraid."

"Got it. Come back early for the New Year and I'll treat you to dinner." A hearty laugh came from the other end of the phone.

Old Chen knows.

The China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA), the largest source of revenue for KTVs nationwide, is about to face its fiercest resistance.

When the news reached the preparatory group of the China Audio-Video Copyright Association, Gao Xiaosong remained silent for a long time.

He finally understood.

Once deterrence is broken, it can never be restored.

Gao Xiaosong sighed:

"That's the situation. Several pilot stores, like Melody and KTV, saw that we couldn't even solve the problem with a single student team."

"We are now explicitly refusing to pay."

"The resistance was greater in non-pilot locations. When the people working on the karaoke system went to gather information, they were... asked to leave."

Taihe and Zhang Yuan immediately retorted, "Why? It's because our copyright library isn't big enough!!"

"The China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA) must possess more than 60% of the core copyrights in the entire industry for it to officially take effect!"

His gaze was fixed on Universal and Warner: "Some people always treat copyright as a bargaining chip, hiding it away, unwilling to actually give it up!"

Warner, Rolling Stone, and Universal are all too familiar with each other.

Gao Xiaosong spearheaded the formation of the Music Copyright Society of China, but he was also a co-founder of Taihe Music.

The bulk of the copyright revenue goes to Universal, Warner, and Rolling Stone.

Why should we have more copyrights, while you take the lead and have the final say?

Take another step back.

If the association is actually established, but the copyright fees are not collected, they still won't get any revenue.

This newly established association is about to fall apart, and the copyright has already been licensed to the China Audio-Video Copyright Association.

Therefore, the idea of ​​regional pilot programs was proposed.

As a result, the pilot program was interrupted, and the KTVs didn't want to pay either.

An awkward stalemate ensued in the meeting room.

Having exhausted all other options, Zhang Yuan changed the subject: "Tell me, if we in Taihe kill the immortal's name first, will everyone be willing to hand over the copyright?"

"How do you kill chickens?" the Rolling Stone executive couldn't help but ask.

"I checked the data on immortal names."

"Qiandu MP3 released a total of 20 songs, and in less than a month, the total number of plays reached nearly 20 million."

"What's more, the Mantis..." The Warner executive stopped him, not continuing.

On stage, Gao Xiaosong's face darkened even more.

Because everyone knows Taihe's nature, the mantis that has been cursing for three years has now joined the opposing camp.

Another lawsuit against the internet?

What did you say? A thousand wins? Winning means the same case, and the same case means the exact same judgment.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Hua Yi stepped forward and suggested:

"How about this, we'll advance the funds to form a nationwide fee collection team and get the leadership of the China Audio-Video Copyright Association up and running first."

"Let the team directly under our company handle the collection, instead of sending people to gather information."

Why do I have to invest money before I've even seen any returns? And if I do invest, will I actually get my money back?

Hey!

Why is the topic back to urging the KTV to pay the bill?

The interaction between the left and right hemispheres begins.

No one said a word.

Meanwhile, Old Chen received another call from his classmate.

"Old classmate, they really are just an empty shell. So many days have passed, and no one has filed a lawsuit against me."

"Thanks, I'll treat you to dinner when I get back. Quit that crappy ringtone business and come back to open a karaoke bar with me."

"I'll call two for you then—one on the left and one on the right." An even more unrestrained laugh came from the other end of the phone.

Old Chen laughed and cursed, "You old rogue!" before hanging up the phone.

"Young man, you've gone too far with this move."

The reason the China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA) was able to come together before was not because of any grand industry principle of upholding copyright.

It's because they believe that after the establishment of the China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA), they can monopolize the copyright of the entire industry and make money effortlessly.

And you, you don't need to personally get involved in the fight.

All we need is a role model to show the entire industry that the China Audio-Video Copyright Association is just a paper tiger and there's nothing to be afraid of.

Now, the entire industry has turned against us.

When the promises made can't be fulfilled, all the previously hidden conflicts of interest naturally come to light.

Everyone wants to make more money, and nobody wants to bear the costs.

What those who uphold it fear most is the future of the China Audio-Video Copyright Association.

They fear that once the China Audio-Video Copyright Association is officially established, it will really bring up old grievances.

But they forgot that if they can't even take this first step, how can they expect a future?

"Ring ring~ Ring ring~" Old Chen looked at his phone.

"What's he doing here?"

The call connected, and it was a young man.

"Hey, Mr. Chen, long time no see!"

……

"Yes, Xianming Culture...a collaboration?"

"Which video platform are you from...? Okay, okay, I'll write it down and have our legal department contact you later..."

Zhao Lan and Luo Dan squeezed together at a small table, with four unauthorized copyright receipts piled up in front of Zhao Lan, the legal counsel.

Zhao Lan didn't even look up: "Luo Dan, how much money do you have left in your account? Hiring people costs money."

"Two million is sitting in the account, that's more than enough, but..."

Rodin looked around at the bungalow, which was filled with people, scripts, figurines, cardboard boxes, tables, computers, and equipment.

"Boss, we should move to another place; this place is too crowded."

"I'm looking, I'm looking, don't worry, don't worry." Wang Song hung up the phone.

"We need at least five legal counsels, four more for finance, and an assistant for Yao Beina and Chang Sisi in the music department."

Jiang Yilei quickly jotted it down: "Stop reading it, boss, stop reading it."