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

It was the third day after Wang Song left.

The lively atmosphere inside the three-story building was drowned out by the overwhelming number of demo submissions.

The good news that Qiandu MP3 has surpassed 100 million plays was reposted by Tianya Music World and major music forums.

It traveled all the way through the internet to the ears of independent musicians across the country.

In a corner of the lobby on the first floor, three large cardboard boxes were stacked together, all filled with CDs that had arrived that day.

Jiang Yilei squatted down and flipped through the delivery slips, with a stack of unopened packages next to him.

"Three hundred and twenty-seven, three hundred and twenty-eight..."

"Four hundred and thirty-two." Jiang Yilei put on a stern face.

"It's only Monday, maybe it's only in Yanjing."

She didn't even dare to open her email; the computer had been beeping non-stop since morning.

Old Chen came downstairs with a stack of printing papers in his hand.

"The copyright registration forms have also been flooded. Zhao Lan said that there are more than 50 to be reviewed today alone."

"Most amateur creators don't understand the copyright process, and they often lack materials, making things a bit difficult."

On the second floor, Li Ran took off his headphones and rubbed his temples.

Zhou Tao, standing beside him, asked, "How's this one?"

"It's alright, we can send it." Li Ran's voice was weak. "But how long will the interrogation take?"

Zhou Tao glanced out the window: "This is just the beginning. Once the news of breaking 100 million views is released, there will only be more to come."

Guo Ding, who came to visit, was also forcibly dragged away to work as a laborer.

"I can't take it anymore, I really can't hold on any longer." Guo Ding took off his headphones and buried his face in his hands.

Li Ran sighed.

"At this rate, creators in line will have to wait half a month. No wonder people are cursing us."

Just when the entire building was suffocating from being overwhelmed by demos and copyrighted materials.

Ma Xiaojun's signature loud voice came from downstairs.

"Stop busy, everyone! Brother Ma has returned in triumph!"

Liu Jianjun carried a briefcase, and the two walked in one after the other.

Jiang Yilei looked up from the pile of cardboard boxes: "You're finally back! Come and help..."

"Put aside the help for now!" Ma Xiaojun rushed in and put his backpack on the ground.

"The trip to Tianjin was a complete success!"

He sat down in a chair and began to recount his experiences in Tianjin with great enthusiasm.

"I handed over cash, along with stacks of cost invoices and purchase records."

"You didn't see it, their eyes were practically glued to the screen."

"After hearing his suggestion, he immediately decided to give us the film and television adaptation rights first!"

Li Ran was taken aback: "Really?"

"Of course it's true!" Ma Xiaojun said smugly.

Chang Sisi's eyes lit up: "Ma Xiaojun, you're amazing!"

"Of course," Ma Xiaojun said without any modesty.

Liu Jianjun silently put down his bag and took out several documents from it.

"I wasn't as dramatic as him, but I did discuss the adaptation, and they relented, saying we could talk again."

Jiang Yilei patted him on the shoulder: "Old Liu, steady."

After about ten minutes of commotion, Old Chen walked over and glanced at the clock on the wall:

"Alright, you've bragged enough. Go do what you were supposed to do."

Ma Xiaojun looked up and saw three large cardboard boxes in the corner. "What's this?"

"A demo." Jiang Yilei sighed. "I received it this morning, over four hundred copies."

Ma Xiaojun's smile froze on his face.

Liu Jianjun walked over, picked up a disc, looked at it, and then put it down: "How many... have we interrogated?"

"Less than a third," Old Chen said.

"Besides, this is just a submission; there's also copyright registration and various consultations. Your return is just in time, as we're short-handed."

Ma Xiaojun scratched his head, took off his coat, and threw it on the chair.

"Fine, what should I do?"

Liu Jianjun silently sat down in front of the computer and opened the song review interface.

Ten minutes later, Xiaolou resumed her previous busy work.

The only difference was the sound of two more keyboards.

The cheerful atmosphere lasted until 3 p.m.

The young woman's expression suddenly turned serious when she answered the landline at the front desk.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Penguin Music...Business Cooperation Department?"

……

The next day at 10 a.m.

When Jiang Yilei came down from the second floor, he saw three people dressed in suits and ties walk in.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Jiang Yilei led them to the conference room.

Old Chen and Zhao Lan followed in, standing on either side of Jiang Yilei.

The person in charge, Yan Kuan, got straight to the point: "Ms. Jiang, we have reviewed the information on your platform."

"We've noticed that Baidu has 100 million views."

"We at Tencent Music need high-quality content and would like to discuss cooperation with you."

Jiang Yilei nodded: "We welcome cooperation. What are your specific ideas?"

Yan Kuan gestured to the young man next to him to hand him a document.

"This is the cooperation framework we have prepared."

"It's not an exclusive license, but we want priority in song selection. We can discuss the revenue sharing ratio, and the settlement cycle is quarterly."

Jiang Yilei listened silently.

Old Chen and Zhao Lan stood silently to the side, reviewing the documents and ensuring compliance.

Jiang Yilei thought about how Wang Song handled it: first determine the nature of the matter, then discuss the conditions.

"Priority song selection right?"

She thought for a moment and understood, "Sorry, there is no precedent for priority song selection."

"You can import whichever high-quality songs you like directly; there is no order of priority."

"As for songs by complete amateurs, we release them for free; you can choose for yourselves."

Yan Kuan was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting a female student to react so quickly.

"Miss Jiang, it's quite lively here." He said casually.

"On Tianya and Xici Hutong forums, creators are praising your sincerity."

"In this industry, you are truly one of the few who can achieve this level."

"We conduct manual screening, pay for copyright registration upfront, and don't seek compensation if there's no revenue; we only charge a 5% service fee."

He deliberately emphasized the importance of the human screening process.

Jiang Yilei's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it on his face.

"Taking responsibility is a good thing," Yan Kuan smiled.

"We thought about it, and we realized that you probably aren't that responsible for the songs, but the ones you picked out are really good."

"Copyright confirmation is the most troublesome part."

"According to our statistics on the forum alone, there were already 300 last week."

Old Chen, standing next to him, had his thermos cup suspended in mid-air.

Jiang Yilei's fingers twisted together under the table, but she kept her tone steady: "President Yan is quite well-informed."

Yan Kuan didn't answer, but the woman next to him spoke up.

"A good reputation is hard to come by, but it also means you must be struggling right now, right?"

Jiang Yilei did not respond.

Yan Kuan pulled another document out of his briefcase and pushed it towards him.

"Therefore, we have prepared a different plan."

Jiang Yilei opened it and quickly glanced at it. Old Chen leaned over and frowned.

"Tencent provides review support," Yan Kuan continued to explain.

"We can send someone over, or you can send the demo to us."

"Especially regarding copyright confirmation, you can also inquire about our company's legal department."

"For songs that pass the review, Tencent has priority in selecting songs, and the revenue sharing ratio can be appropriately increased."

"It sounds like they're helping out," Old Chen suddenly said, his voice low but clear.

"But the right to select songs first means that all the good songs on our platform have to go through your hands first."

Yan Kuan looked at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "And this is...?"

"The consultant used to work at SP," Old Chen said calmly.

Yan Kuan nodded and didn't ask any further questions, only saying, "We're not a record company; we just want to cooperate for mutual benefit."

"You're short-handed right now, so we'll help share the burden and make things easier for everyone."

"As for the right to choose songs, we can discuss the proportion, for example, we can only take 30%."

Jiang Yilei was silent for a few seconds before speaking, "President Yan, please help us express our gratitude."

"But if we open up the door to priority song selection, what will other platforms think?"

The woman spoke again: "Ms. Jiang, we understand your concerns."

"But you need to think this through. Right now, you're the only platform doing this, which is why people are willing to come."

"But if you keep struggling to handle it, and creators wait too long, won't they switch to other platforms...?"

The sentence was left unsaid, but the meaning was clear.

Jiang Yilei took a deep breath and closed the document: "President Yan, we accept this proposal."

"But our boss is away on a business trip, so we have to wait for him to come back to decide."

Yan Kuan nodded and stood up: "Okay, then we'll wait for your news. Here's my business card, feel free to contact me anytime."

Jiang Yilei stood there, motionless for a long time.

Old Chen walked over and patted her on the shoulder: "Young Ms. Jiang, you handled it very well just now."

Jiang Yilei turned around, his eyes a little red: "It seems like we really can't handle this."

Old Chen was silent for two seconds, then nodded: "Let's continue."

Jiang Yilei lowered his head and didn't say anything more.

In the car, Yan Kuan loosened his tie and gave an order to the young man next to him.

"Send out the message that we have made our first contact with the Xianming Music platform and that our intentions are clear."

The young man thought for a moment and said, "I understand."

Yan Kuan smiled, rolled down the car window, and glanced at the three-story building.

"The students do have some cunning, but not much."

The car drove away.

Old Chen thought for a moment, took out his phone, and edited a short message:

"Mr. Wang, Penguin has been here; they've found our weakness. How much longer will it take on your end?"

An unnamed hotel in Shenzhen.

"Qiuqiu Music contacted Xianming Original Music Platform yesterday and reached a preliminary cooperation agreement."

Wang Song then looked at Lao Chen's information.

"We need to speed things up. How much longer?"

The young man in the plaid shirt pushed up his glasses. "Don't rush, don't rush. You're asking for too much. At least three days."