Huayu: From the Era of Ringtones to Becoming a Legend

As soon as Lu Jiuge stepped out of the film set, the system panel in her mind flickered slightly.

[Negative Faith Value: +50000. Source: Targeted industry suppression. Purity: S-level]

Looking at the rapidly increasing negative faith value, Lu Jiuge smiled bitterly:

"The cost of acquiring negative faith points is quite high!"

……

When Lu Jiuge returned to the company, Liu Sixi was already waiting in the office.

He was holding a printed document in his hand, looking uneasy, pacing back and forth in the office.

"Xiao Lu, you're finally back! Something terrible has happened!"

Seeing Lu Jiuge enter, Liu Sixi handed over the paper and explained in a trembling voice:

"I just received a fax. Twelve record companies, including Yawei, Xinghai, Tianyin, and Huacai, have issued a joint statement threatening to cut off all our promotional channels!"

Lu Jiuge took the paper from Liu Sixi's hand.

The title is in bold black font, and below it are densely packed the official seals of twelve companies.

He skipped the long, rambling introduction and went straight to the final, crucial paragraph:

"...in conjunction with local cultural market law enforcement teams, a three-month special rectification campaign will be launched..."

"...Key targets for crackdown: unlicensed dens engaged in the reproduction and sale of audio-visual products in counties and below..."

"...Upstream entities that provide pirated audio sources will be held legally responsible in accordance with Article 47 of the Copyright Law..."

Lu Jiuge's finger stopped on the words "Article 47".

He had dealt with copyright cases when he was managing artists in his previous life, and he knew about this law: serious cases could result in imprisonment for up to three years.

Seeing Lu Jiuge's stunned expression, Liu Sixi whispered beside her:

"They're not trying to scare people. I asked around this morning and found out that Tianyin's legal director went to the Cultural Law Enforcement Team for a coordination meeting yesterday."

"This is serious!"

Liu Sixi's throat tightened:

"Xiao Lu, they're trying to completely blacklist Qianxing Entertainment!"

Lu Jiuge placed the paper on the table and sneered:

"Great strategy! These are all the key areas listed here that are popular for promoting our songs!"

Liu Sixi nodded and asked further:

"Xiao Lu, this statement is designed to block all our publicity channels. What's our next move?"

"Teacher Liu!"

Lu Jiuge's voice was deep:

"Twelve record companies have blocked all the channels; I can't think of a good solution right now!"

Liu Sixi opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just nodded dejectedly.

Lu Jiuge continued her analysis:

"Most of those small workshops are family-run businesses, or machines bought with money pooled together by a few young people. One table, two CD burners, and the livelihood of the whole family!"

"In the past, when cracking down on piracy, we would target large-scale operations. For those who only produced a few hundred copies a day, we could just bribe them, impose a fine, and that would be the end of it."

"But now, twelve companies are jointly enforcing the law, and it's clearly stated in black and white that the focus will be on cracking down on areas below the county level. This is something that fines alone can't solve!"

"Do they dare to gamble?"

Liu Sixi asked, his voice still carrying a last glimmer of hope.

"I wouldn't dare."

Lu Jiuge answered very decisively:

"If it were me, I wouldn't dare either. Who's crazy enough to risk fines or even jail time for a song?"

Just as Lu Jiuge finished speaking, the office door was pushed open.

Zuo Wei was walking at the very front, his face ashen.

Chen Bin followed behind him, carrying a stack of documents.

Wang Guangjun and Ban Kaiwen came in last, both with red eyes, as if they had just had a fight.

"President Lu!"

Of the four, the one on the left was the first to speak:

"Just received a message!"

"The legal teams of twelve record companies started their operation this morning. They're specifically targeting those workshops that make pirated CDs, contacting them one by one."

"greet?"

Lu Jiuge looked at Zuo Wei with a puzzled expression.

"It's just empty talk!"

The left is a sneer:

"To be blunt, as long as those small workshops promise not to copy Qianxing Entertainment's songs, they won't be affected!"

Lu Jiuge's pupils contracted:

"Are you not even going to pretend anymore? So eager to lay your cards on the table!"

"right!"

The left side shows a nod:

"Tianyin's legal director declared that anyone who dares to copy Qianxing Entertainment's songs will be made an example of and punished!"

boom!

Lu Jiuge slammed her fist on the table. The water glass bounced and spilled water all over the table.

"You want to wipe them out completely! Do you really think I'm easy to bully!"

With things having developed to this point, even if Lu Jiuge desperately wanted negative faith points, she couldn't help but feel angry.

"And it gets even worse!"

Chen Bin hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking to report:

"The ringtone has also started moving."

"Twelve companies jointly sent a letter to the six major telecom operators, stating that 'to ensure the copyright compliance of platform content,' they recommended 'carefully handling disputed copyrighted content!'"

The left image shows a frown:

"Is this forcing operators to choose between two options?"

No one spoke in the office; the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Everyone knows that the joint ban by the six major telecom operators means that Qianxing Entertainment's last path to making money has been blocked.

After a long while, Lu Jiuge asked:

"Old Chen, is there any room for negotiation on this matter? Even if it costs money, we're willing to pay. The ringback tone business is the company's only source of revenue; we absolutely cannot lose it!"

Chen Bin shook his head with a wry smile:

"I've already inquired, and that's not possible. If the twelve record companies were really going to take this seriously, the six operators wouldn't be unaware of the pros and cons!"

"Furthermore, rumors have spread from the mobile network that they are discussing whether to remove several songs from Qianxing Entertainment's platform!"

"Take it off the shelves?"

Upon hearing Chen Bin's words, Ban Kaiwen exclaimed in surprise:

"In this way, Qianxing Entertainment truly only has one path left: bankruptcy!"

Wang Guangjun chimed in from the side:

"Ninth Brother, let's hurry and plead with the twelve record companies to reach an agreement; it's the only way out!"

Seeing Wang Guangjun and Ban Kaiwen's excited expressions, Lu Jiuge was somewhat disappointed and remained silent.

He smoked five or six cigarettes in a row, closed his eyes and thought for seven or eight minutes, then suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Wang Guangjun and Ban Kaiwen:

"What do you think they'll do to us if we beg for mercy now?"

Wang Guangjun was taken aback:

"Negotiate? Shall we hand over Li Huizhen's contract? Or..."

"impossible!"

Lu Jiuge interrupted him:

"They would make us kneel down, shove our faces into the mud, and then tell the whole circle: Look, this is what happens when you break the rules."

He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to everyone:

"Apologizing and begging for forgiveness is not in my nature, Lu Jiuge."

"But stubbornly fighting to the end and dragging everyone down with us is not my style."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces:

"Now, I'm giving you a choice."

"Stay and take a gamble with me. If you lose, you might really lose everything."

"Leave, and we can split the profits right now. The company has earned enough for you to start over!"

As soon as Lu Jiuge spoke, Chen Bin was the first to object:

"What? Xiao Lu, you're giving up so easily? Is this the same Lu Jiuge who led me out of this predicament? I don't agree to this plan!"

Liu Sixi chimed in:

"I disagree! Even if we're in dire straits, we have to fight to the death. We can't let ourselves be laughed at!"

Lu Jiuge did not answer, but looked at Zuo Wei instead.

The person on the left shrugged.

"I also disagree with dissolving the company. At worst, I'll go back to my old profession; that should be enough to support the company!"

"We can't let this venue, which we've worked so hard to build, just collapse like this!"