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

2006 9 Month 5 Day.

At the press conference for the release of "Still Fantasy", there were spotlights and a barrage of cameras.

"We at Warner Music wish the album 'Still Fantasy' great success."

"We at Rock Records..."

"We at Universal Music..."

The entire Chinese music scene is focused on this.

The Thousand Degrees Building at the same time.

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

This song has no title; the lyrics are copyrighted by the creator, and the music was released online.

2006 9 Month 15 Day.

Entertainment news headlines.

Jay Chou's "Still Fantasy" debuted at number one on the G-Music chart in its first week! Sales are soaring!

This seems to have convinced record labels once again.

Their reliance on star power and omnichannel marketing remains effective.

"This is the success of legitimate products, and the success of distribution channels."

Gao Xiaosong's gaze swept over the people present.

What does the Music Copyright Society of China (MCSC) do? It replicates this success in every song.

"Jay Chou's ability to sell his music isn't just because he's talented; it's also due to the power of distribution channels."

He stood up and pointed to the leaderboard on the screen.

"Right now, KTVs, radio stations, and TV stations across the country are playing Jay Chou's songs."

"This is the original, this is the license, this is the money."

"But where is the money? It's in the hands of the KTV owners, the people who make money off our songs but don't share any of it with us."

The meeting room became even quieter.

Gao Xiaosong returned to his seat, picked up the license he had obtained from Alfa Records, and pushed it to the center of the table.

"The KTV fee can't be delayed any longer."

"Jay Chou's album is the best reason to uphold the copyright."

"We want to take advantage of this momentum to tell everyone that you should pay for the original version of a song."

"Whoever doesn't pay, can forget about playing Jay Chou's songs."

The notice was sent out that afternoon.

The wording was strong, and the signature was still that of the preparatory group.

But this time, they felt they had a winning hand.

That day, at the headquarters of a leading SP company.

On the table lay a newly signed contract, bearing Alfa's official seal.

"We've got it." General Manager Zheng pushed the contract to the center of the table, his face beaming with barely suppressed joy.

The people below finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Someone whispered, "Mr. Zheng, isn't this price... a bit too high?"

Old Zheng glanced at him but didn't say anything.

The vice president in charge of negotiations chimed in, "Brilliant?"

"SP is either dead or scattered; we're already incredibly lucky to have taken it."

The CEO, sitting in the main seat, smiled broadly, "With these songs in hand, we can hold on for at least another two years."

"Pass the word: promote the Jay Chou ringtone campaign across the board, with no budget limit."

Meanwhile, at the Immortal's Pavilion.

Jiang Yilei looked at the mountain of submissions piled on the table, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

"How many servings are there today?"

Li Ran didn't even look up: "Three hundred and twenty."

How many people have stolen other people's songs and tried to get us to register the copyright?

Li Ran sighed: "There are at least twenty of them."

What's even more suffocating is that, on the other hand, the NESTS platform has only been online for a week.

Backed by Tencent's resources, it offers 72-hour review and a featured spot on QQ Music.

They directly snatched away a large number of impatient creators from Xianming.

On the forum, someone posted a screenshot of the release of the NESTS app: "It only took three days, so fast."

Some people were also calling out to the immortals: "Don't rush them, they only have a dozen or so people, they really can't handle it all."

Jiang Yilei looked at the two posts without saying anything.

All she knew was that if things continued like this, Xianming herself would drown.

"Any news from the boss?"

Ma Xiaojun shook his head. He also wanted to listen to his boss, but unfortunately, his boss wasn't there.

2006 9 Month 21 Day.

In a second-tier city, KTV owner Lao Zhang crumpled up the notice from the China Audio-Video Copyright Association and threw it into the trash can.

"Again?" he said to the visitor.

"I made it very clear last time that I'm willing to pay for Jay Chou's songs."

"But who should I pay? Your preparatory team, which hasn't even officially registered yet?"

The other party was speechless.

Old Zhang closed the door and returned to the empty hall.

It's Friday night, prime time, and the booking rate is less than 40%.

He didn't know if this had anything to do with the China Audio-Visual Copyright Association.

But he knew he couldn't possibly hand over another sum of money to someone he didn't know the recipient of.

Coincidentally, a piracy den was also found in a basement.

The boxes of CDs were printed crookedly, and Jay Chou's face was even a little distorted, but nobody cared about that.

The young man hesitated for a moment: "Brother Li, the checks seem to be going quite strictly lately..."

Old Li finally looked up and glanced at him: "Strict? Where is it strict?"

He weighed the disc in his hand. "The cost is 80 cents, it sells for 8 dollars, and the original sells for 35 dollars."

He threw the disc back into the box.

"If someone buys the original, someone will buy ours. If someone buys ours, someone will keep printing."

"Alright, get back to work. If I don't earn it, someone else will."

Meanwhile, at the Immortal's Pavilion.

Wu Yue pressed Enter one last time.

A clean and simple page pops up on the screen, with four navigation bars at the top.

Storytelling, music charts, funny stories with pictures and text, and copyright registration announcements.

"Okay," he said.

Wang Song stood behind him, looking at the page.

The platform is now online.

There was no press conference, no press release, and hardly anyone even knew about it.

Just ten minutes later, a new post appeared on the forum.

2006 10 Month 10 Day.

Entertainment news is dominating headlines again.

"Still Fantasy" album sales in mainland China have surpassed 200 million copies, breaking the sales record for Chinese-language albums in the past five years!

The press release was filled with praise, calling him "the savior of the Chinese music scene," "the return of the king," and "a sales phenomenon."

You only know when you're behind closed doors.

"With sales of 200 million units, the net profit was less than one-third of what was expected."

"Explain to me, where did all the money go?"

The CFO kept his head down.

"Piracy is still rampant; SPs are insisting that the ringtone download count is only eight million."

"The Music Copyright Society of China (MCSC) still hasn't collected any money from the KTVs."

"A solution! I need a solution!" The person in charge slammed his fist on the table.

Looking at the room full of silent executives, he could only sigh in the end.

"The physical record industry won't last more than a few years."

Even Jay Chou couldn't stop this train that's slowing down.

The day.

The Immortal's Pavilion.

Wu Yue pressed Enter again, and the buyer's platform officially went live.

2006 10 Month 15 Day.

Jay Chou will hold a celebration party in Beijing for "Still Fantasy" to celebrate sales of over 300 million copies across Asia.

The spotlight will shine on him again, and the entire Chinese music scene will cheer for him.

That was the last and greatest glory of the traditional record industry.

In 2006, Fantasy Still showed everyone what the last highlight of the Chinese music scene was like.

There is a corner.

They are also silently telling everyone that even if you don't enter that circle, there is still a way to make a living.

On Tianya Music Forum, a user named "Beijing Drifter Songwriter" had their post featured on the homepage.

"Thanks to Xianming, this is the first time in my life I've earned money by writing songs."

"RT, I uploaded a song to Xianming last month. I didn't have high hopes, I just wanted to give it a try."

"I received a text message today that 630 yuan has been deposited into my bank account."

"Not much, it's only enough for half a month's rent in Yanjing."

"But I'm just so happy, even though I was ready to give up on this line of work."

1L: "Xianming is really paying?? I thought Tencent's announcement of the collaboration was fake."

LZ: "My songs can be found on Tencent and Baidu, my name is amazing."

2L: "Me too. Although it was only 87 yuan, they helped me register the copyright, so I should pay them back."

3L: "87 is still money, much better than a record company. Xianming really did it."

4L: "Where are those people who were cursing Xianming before? Can someone tag them? I want to curse them back."

5L: "I've taken a screenshot, let's go."

The post was featured on the homepage, attracting the attention of countless netizens.

Some expressed their gratitude, some asked for help, and some inquired.

At three in the morning, a creator who had just received payment sat in his rented room.

His name is Adong. He works in Shenzhen and writes songs in his spare time.

This was the first time he had earned money by writing songs, 327 yuan.

He read the text messages on his phone over and over again, then opened the pirated audio source he found in his browser.

I'll see you off, a thousand miles away.

The song began.

He hummed along for a couple of lines, then suddenly stopped.

He thought that Jay Chou was far away from him.

Millions of copies sold, tours across Asia, and stages under the spotlight.

But at this moment, the songs in his headphones and the songs he wrote himself were in the same language.

Perhaps one day, his songs will be heard by others.

Maybe not.

But at least tonight, he knows that someone has listened to what he wrote, someone likes it, and someone is willing to pay for it.

Jiang Yilei sat at the front desk, with a stack of thank-you letters he had received that day in front of him.

She read through the letters one by one, and when she saw one of them, she froze.

The letter read:

"Thank you for letting me earn my first money."

"I bought Jay Chou's new album as a reward for my belief in entering the industry."

Holding the letter, she suddenly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

This path is not easy; the internet market is still small, and there isn't much of a slice of the pie to be had.

Countless challenges await them in the future.

At least, it works.