Reshaping the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry

"Anwa, the agency contract for Qiao Zhenyu that you told Zhang Jing about has been signed!" Mom Xu Wan handed a contract to He Yi'an.

"However, he is currently in a production crew for a show called 'Snowflake Goddess Dragon,' and filming is almost finished."

Of course he knew about "Snowflake Goddess Dragon". He didn't expect that Qiao Zhenyu was so lucky. Before signing with his company, he still got this role that made him a little famous.

He Yi'an took it, glanced at it twice, and put it aside: "How much is the penalty for breach of contract? How many years did you sign with us?"

"The penalty for breach of contract was only 200,000 yuan. After he learned that your film had been shortlisted for Venice, he signed a twelve-year contract with Langyuan, just like Yan Danchen, with a 40/60 split!"

"Oh? You're actually willing to sign for this long?"

Yan Danchen didn't want to go through so much trouble and signed a twelve-year contract, which already surprised He Yi'an. He didn't expect Qiao Zhenyu to be willing to sign such a long contract.

Yes!

He Yi'an immediately realized that he was used to looking at problems from the perspective of a newcomer. He knew that it would be the mainstream for celebrities to start their own companies in the future, but people nowadays didn't think that way.

The company can provide a certain minimum wage, which is a good option for many actors who are struggling to make ends meet.

Of course, He Yi'an's status as a director must also be a factor, as well as his willingness to offer a 40/60 split that is higher than the industry standard of 30/70.

Actually, he didn't care about the share.

Given how much money celebrities make these days, and considering they're not singers, even if you squeeze them a little more, it's really not much.

In this day and age, singers are the ones who really make money.

There's a joke that the guy who sang "Mice Love Rice" made a hundred million yuan from that song.

Many people think that this is because of ringback tones that they make so much money.

It can only be said that they did not understand the cause-and-effect relationship in detail.

Ringback tones do make money, but the money goes to the telecom operators; how could it possibly go to someone who sings?

This is also why He Yi'an never thought about making money from ringback tones.

These days, copyright awareness isn't that strong. If a telecom operator is willing to use your song, that's already a favor to you. You still want to make money?

Besides, there are record companies there.

Do you really think they're a charity?

At that time, many singers were just singers and didn't actually own the copyrights to their songs. Nowadays, only Jay Chou pays attention to this and has always kept the copyrights in his own hands.

The so-called "profit from ringback tones" actually comes from operators, SP service providers, and record companies. The real lion's share always goes to the operators, while record companies get very little, barely getting a scrap of soup.

Singers, needless to say.

Even with agreements that grant song copyrights or revenue sharing based on downloads, the actual amount received is very low.

Don't blame the record company for keeping the copyright. Unless you compose and write the lyrics yourself and sign an agreement in advance, the copyright of the song belongs to the company.

Many singers are popular for a short time and then disappear from the public eye. Besides the fact that their popularity comes and goes quickly, copyright issues also play a role.

After all, even someone of G.E.M.'s caliber needs to go to court, and they might even have their name stripped away...

Knowing this, He Yi'an wrote all the songs, which were all his copyrights. His company was responsible for the operation, and Yan Danchen only sang them.

So why would anyone say that person made a lot of money using "Mice Love Rice"?

This is entirely due to commercial performances and gigs.

Whether a singer becomes famous, or which song makes them famous, is entirely random. That's why many singers become famous with just one song and then frantically accept commercial performance offers.

To make money, you need to keep doing gigs and earning money before your popularity fades; that money is truly yours.

This is why He Yi'an said that singers in this era earn more money than actors.

What can actors do when they do gigs? They just make an appearance. Singers, at least, can still sing.

However, if Yan Danchen were to accept commercial performances, that would be fine now.

"Alright, let's get him straight to the set of 'Full House' after he finishes filming. We can't delay any longer..."

He Yi'an only paid a little attention to the TV series production team, leaving everything else to his mother, Zhang Jing, and Liu Guonan.

"By the way, Mom, after the movie is released, Yan Danchen will probably have some commercial performances at the end of the year. You can arrange for her to accept them then. We can't completely prevent her from earning money, but don't let her take too many!"

"Don't worry, I understand!"

"Also, have her prepare the previously recorded single 'Father's Prose Poem,' which will be released along with the movie," He Yi'an continued, making arrangements.

Mom nodded, then brought up the movie again: "Anwa, after your movie was nominated, several companies came to us wanting to distribute it, or co-distribute it. Some even wanted to buy shares at a premium, or even distribute it for free. What do you think we should do?"

"Premium pricing? Free?" He Yi'an hadn't expected someone to approach him so quickly, and with such a generous offer. "What kind?"

"Guangxian, Huayi, Bona~"

He Yi'an thought about it for a moment. Although China Film Group was involved in distribution, so there was no need to worry about the basic issues, he still needed to explore distribution opportunities with private companies.

Langyuan will definitely need to release its own films in the future; it just doesn't have the right opportunities or manpower right now.

After thinking for a moment, he said directly, "We're not considering Huayi and Bona for now. We can talk to Enlight Media. They have some expertise in offline promotion and variety show promotion. We can arrange for someone to learn from them."

"Light?" Xu Wan didn't understand why He Yi'an didn't choose the one that looked stronger, but instead chose the light.

He Yi'an offered no explanation for this.

"Alright, so how should we negotiate their terms?"

"You guys can handle this. Anyway, it's best if we don't spend any money and let them handle the publicity and distribution..." He Yi'an said with a smile.

Xu Wan looked at him with surprise: "Your idea is quite good, but... it seems that Guangmang is even more generous than you thought."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"They want to buy a portion of the investment shares at a premium; they're willing to cover the advertising costs!"

"Buying shares at a premium?" He Yi'an was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected Wang Changtian to be so ambitious now.

Wasn't he supposed to wait 12 years before fully entering the film industry?

However, considering Lao Wang's personality, after a little thought, He Yi'an made a decision:

"Since they are willing, let's give them a share, no more than 5%, and of course, the revenue will only come from the domestic market. We can be flexible about this part. When we talk to them, we can discuss it based on the box office tiers. If the results are good enough, we can make some concessions."

He Yi'an was willing to give up the domestic revenue because he didn't really care about that part, even though he had previously boasted that the box office would be 30 to 50 million.

But that's calculated globally, and there's also revenue from copyrights.

He actually has little confidence in the domestic box office.

However, his suggestion gave his mother some inspiration: "Okay, I'll talk to them about this."

"Hurry up, promotion takes time!"

After discussing company matters, Xu Wan also started helping to pack things up, and they finished quickly.

"Anwa, you really won't let us go with you?"

"No need, Mom. Uncle Han will be going later, and he's also arranged for someone from China Film Group to go with me." He paused, then continued, "Besides, Senior Sister Yu will be going too, so you can rest assured."

I just don't trust her!

Xu Wan's lips moved, and she almost said those words.

But considering that her son was already an adult, she still didn't say, "Then be careful, don't argue with people anymore, and don't get too close to certain people."

"I'm an adult now, not a child anymore," He Yi'an said, both amused and exasperated.

"You'll always be a child in my eyes." Xu Wan glared at him. "By the way, has the cast for your new movie been finalized?"

"It's settled, Gong Li and Zhang Yimou."

Xu Wan paused, her hand still: "What?!"

"Mom, it's a secret for now. I went to great lengths to get her here," He Yi'an said with a smile.

"Alright!" Xu Wan knew how explosive this news would be, and then she continued.

"I can help you with the company's affairs now, but if we continue like this, my abilities won't be up to par. I told you before that when I went to study, I met someone who seemed pretty good. You can check him out later."

Xu Wan has a clear understanding of her own abilities: "If it's suitable, let's hand over the company to the right people to manage."

"Alright, bring it to me when I get back!"

With his bag slung over his shoulder, He Yi'an waved and said, "Mom, I'm leaving!"

"be safe!"

"Okay," He Yi'an said, just as he opened the door, when he suddenly remembered something else. "Oh, right, Mom..."

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