The opening of China Entertainment Group gave Jay Chou a head-on confrontation

Chapter 754: The King of the Ringtone Era

Even after Zhou Yi actually returned to Warner and signed the contract, Fatty Fan still felt dizzy.

That long string of zeros almost made her brain crash.

She had always known that Zhou Yi was rich, but she had never thought that he was this rich. No wonder she didn't see any luxury cars in Zhou Yi's collection, it turned out that he had already set his eyes on more advanced toys.

In contrast, she felt that the big BMW she had just bought and was about to drive home was a bit boring.

"Can I see your plane?"

"Then you have some more to wait."

Zhou Yi was also looking forward to his private jet, mainly because he had never played with it in his previous life. It was a true toy for the rich.

"How long do we have to wait? You have already signed and paid the money. It's not like we are just starting to negotiate now." Fat Fan was a little itchy.

"The earliest it will be is the end of January or the beginning of February. If you haven't gone home for the New Year yet, you can come up and sit for a while."

"sure."

Fat Fan nodded rapidly, his mind instantly flying to the private plane he had never seen before.

She has even thought about how she will brag about it to her friends in the circle after she takes a private jet and sees this kind of palace in the sky. Those damn superficial friends will be so envious!

Especially Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei who used to like to pretend in front of her.

You have to know that in 2004, no one in the mainland entertainment industry had ever ridden on a private jet.

This is an era where an endorsement contract worth a few million RMB is enough for big names to fight for, but that little money is not even enough to cover the expenses of Zhou Yi's private jet if it is parked for a month.

It is no exaggeration to describe private jets as cutting meat with a blunt knife. This is why many celebrities and even entrepreneurs later sold them.

It's a waste of money to just leave it there and it's painful to look at it - just rent it out. Whether you are willing to let strangers come in and out of your private jet is another matter. The main thing is that the rental fee is unlikely to fully cover the income and expenses.

Anyway, Zhou Yi couldn't accept renting out the plane. He only had this one, not many, and what he bought was not a second-hand junky one. If it was a second-hand plane, strangers could come and go as they pleased as long as they paid, and Zhou Yi didn't care.

He only cares about his new phone.

You can say that he has the wrong mindset or that he is extravagant and wasteful, but he has so much money to burn that it doesn't matter.

The future of the Internet's upstarts has little to offer but lots of money.

And he is now synonymous with the new Internet investment elite. Every year, Internet entrepreneurs who come to him with PPTs and want to seek investment from him almost break down the door of Guiyi.

Now, apart from medium and large investments and investments based on personal connections, which require Zhou Yi to personally review and inquire about, he has delegated the authority for "small" investments to Cheng Hao, just to cultivate her investment sense.

Apart from Zhou Yi himself, perhaps Cheng Hao is the only one who knows the current extent of the assets behind Zhou Yi.

What Zhou Yi is going to do next still needs huge cash flow support. Whether it is buying land to build a building or cooperating to set up a cinema chain, it will take real money to invest for a long time before results can be seen.

At this stage, Zhou Yi's personal fame is a golden business card.

Sohu's Lao Zhang has obviously figured out the essence of Zhou Yi's way of building a personal brand. Since Sohu entered the fast lane, he has begun to appear frequently in various programs and interviews, and his exposure is on par with that of first-line stars.

"Does this news need to be kept secret?"

"Secrecy? There is no such thing. It cannot be concealed."

Zhou Yi clicked his tongue and shook his head: "You want to go out and show off, right? Then go ahead and show off."

Private jets in this era involve a lot of procedures, and with so many people involved in the middle, how could it be possible to keep it secret?

Besides, he made his money cleanly, so there was no need to be afraid of anything. He was the most self-made man in the entire mainland rich circle, bar none.

A small opening does not count as an opening!

"How is that possible? I'm not that kind of person."

Fan Xiaopang, whose thoughts were exposed, immediately denied it, but the way she quietly took the Nokia out of her jeans pocket made it seem that she was not very honest.

That is to say, there is no WeChat or QQ space now, otherwise Zhou Yi estimated that with Fan Xiaopang's excitement, he would have posted a circle of friends or a statement to announce it to the world.

"Chen Kun really didn't catch up with the timing. If his album had been released a year or two earlier, he wouldn't have made as much money as you, but at least he could have made as much money as Pan Weibo."

Fan Xiaopang, whose wallet has already been fully replenished thanks to "The Couple Sitting at the Alley Corner", has a deeper understanding of Zhou Yi's wealthy behavior, and feels sad that another male star in the circle is born at the wrong time to embark on the triple-threat route of film, television and music.

As the first mainland artist signed by Sony Records, Sony attached great importance to Chen Kun and spent huge sums of money to help him create his first album "Infiltration", which was polished for two years before it was released.

The effect is also impressive. The title song of the album, "Half Moon", has been sung quite widely across the country.

Unfortunately, this was 2004.

It was released on November 11th. Although Sony promoted it very loudly and, thanks to Chen Kun's fame, the album was released simultaneously on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and in Hong Kong and Macao - but three days later, the actual sales of the album were only a little over 15 copies.

This is totally unworthy of Chen Kun's reputation.

But the title song of his album, "Half Moon", is very popular in the market and ranked in the top 20 of the mainland music charts.

This is a very contradictory situation.

In addition, this type of song has not entered the ringtone market, and Sony still uses the traditional record model to release it.

The result is that Chen Kun will no longer have to worry about having nothing to perform when attending evening parties or commercial performances. He can just go on stage and sing "Half Moon" and that's it.

"The poor sales of his albums are also due to the fact that he met Zhou Chuanxiong, who was promoted by Universal. The market is so cruel now."

Zhou Yi, who was driving straight to Huayi with Fatty Fan, shook his head: "Universal Music has given Zhou Chuanxiong the title of the Godfather of Love Songs and brought in a bunch of people to support him. It's impossible for Chen Kun to grab his market share."

In October 2004, Zhou Chuanxiong officially announced that he had joined Universal Music. Universal Music, which lacked a top star, attached great importance to the arrival of this man and, based on his own characteristics, set its sights on the mainland market.

The heat of the past album "Twilight" is still there. On November 11, Zhou Chuanxiong released his first album "Man·Ocean" after joining Universal Music. The title song "Man·Ocean" swept the entire market as soon as it was released.

This man, who once shared the pirated market with "Twilight" and "I Will of Changes", finally became famous in China under his real name after so many twists and turns.

Chen Kun happened to run into his schedule, so it would be strange if the sales didn't suffer a huge loss.

The line "The most infatuated man is like the ocean, love is strong in the storm, and it remains calm even in the bitterness" directly dominated the charts of major KTVs and became a popular song passed down by word of mouth by many people.

Universal Music, which has been lacking a top star since the end of the last century, finally felt that its true love had arrived. In order to promote Zhou Chuanxiong, it even gave him the promotional slogan "The Godfather of Love Songs".

Many people in later generations refer to Zhou Chuanxiong as the Godfather of Love Songs. The reason for this is precisely because of this, and Universal Music has made an indelible contribution to this.

Especially his "Twilight" back then was in a fierce battle with Zhou Yi's "Jiangnan" in the pirated market. This time, the new album has achieved such a great success, and everyone in Universal is crazy with joy.

"Will it affect your sales?"

Fan Xiaopang, who has indeed often heard the song "Ocean of Men" on the street recently, asked curiously.

The market is declining, and Zhouyi's basic base will rarely be shaken, but the passers-by that can really boost sales will still be affected to some extent, right?

"Him? Not really. 'Ocean of Men' is not yet threatening me, unless he can come back to life and produce a song 'Dusk'." Zhou Yi chuckled and didn't take him too seriously.

In fact, Zhou Yi thinks that Zhou Chuanxiong's title of the Godfather of Love Songs is actually quite unworthy. It's just that Universal Studios is so desperate to be the number one that they directly gave him this high hat.

At the end of the last century, Zhou Chuanxiong was almost forced to quit the music industry in Taiwan because of the market because his style was too rigid.

You will find that most of his songs are of the same style. After listening to them for a long time, you will naturally get tired of them and they will become unpopular over time.

This is also vividly reflected in the mainland market.

Later, when the popularity of the film quickly faded in the mainland, Zhou Chuanxiong had not yet fallen ill. "So can he be your rival? In terms of sales?"

Fan Xiaopang was quite curious. You know, in previous years, Zhou Yi always encountered strong competitors, but so far this year, even the most promising Jay Chou has no hope.

"No."

Zhou Yi made a decisive judgment.

"Then won't you be able to escape from the sea of ​​suffering this year?" Fat Fan's eyes lit up, and he then joked.

This has almost become a meme among Zhou Yi's fans, and after it was spread on the Internet, it was recognized by many netizens and began to make a lot of jokes -

Since his debut, Zhou Yi's Chinese albums have always met singers who suddenly became popular. This is very confusing, as if the gods sent them down to set off (or stop) Zhou Yi.

It's already November this year, and it's December soon. There's only more than a month left until 11. It's impossible for a singer to emerge and make a big breakthrough in such a short time, right?
"Well..."

Zhou Yi smiled slightly: "It's hard to say."

Who was the mainland singer whose album sold the best in 2004?
The answer is Pang Long, the king of the ringtone era.

In December 2004, Pang Long, whose previous album was a complete flop, released his new album "Two Butterflies", thus starting his journey to becoming the most profitable king in the history of ringtones.

The album "Two Butterflies" is the album with the highest actual sales by mainland singers in 2004, and the title song of the same name "Two Butterflies" is an insurmountable monument in the history of ringtones - the sales of 2.5 million yuan are far beyond that of "Mouse Loves Rice".

The most valuable thing is that Pang Long has a certain ability to continuously output. Unlike other ringtone singers, who only rely on one song for their entire lives.

There is no need to say much about "Two Butterflies". Those who understand will know how explosive it is.

In Pang Long's later songs, "You are my rose", the line "You are my rose, you are my flower; you are my love, the one I will love forever in my life, rose~" has become the memory of many people in KTV;
"My Home in the Northeast" is also well-known to all people. How many people can hum the line "My home is in the Northeast, on the Songhua River~"?
"Brother, give me a hug" is a song that many people will order when they get together. The phrase "Brother, give me a hug, tell me what's in your heart, tell me all the grievances and vicissitudes of life over the years" has consumed countless bottles of beer among friends.

Below these songs, the next level include songs like "Cheers Brothers" and "School Beauty".

This output is far superior compared to those ringtone singers who only have one song.

Of course, this may also be because he is a graduate of a serious professional school and is a singer who insists on releasing records no matter how popular his ringtones are.

Fan Xiaopang didn't know that there would be such a king of ringtones in December, and he just thought that Zhou Yi was being modest in private. After spending a long time with him, Fan Xiaopang also knew that Zhou Yi was not as narcissistic and arrogant as he showed in front of the media.

Unless he really disdains someone from the bottom of his heart, he will be arrogant even in private.

"So when are you going to release your new album?"

"December 12, the last day of 31."

If I remember correctly, the album "The Sun and the Moon in My Heart", which established Wang Lihong's position in the Chinese music scene, should have been released on this day, but now Zhou Yi no longer needs to worry about these trivial things.

His and Wang Lihong's fan base belong to the same age group, so it is Sony that should consider adjusting the release date.

"You're releasing this album later and later. If it doesn't work out, just take a break."

"Why are you so distressed today?"

"How could that be? I've always felt sorry for you~"

"..."

I have to say that Fan Xiaopang, whose eyebrows and eyes have gradually become more open as he grows older, is truly worthy of the idiom "eyes as charming as silk". His face no longer has the baby fat of the past, and he looks even more charming.

In other words, the sign of Huayi Company could already be seen, otherwise Zhou Yi would have pinned this demon in the car and executed him on the spot.

Fan Xiaopang, who is becoming more and more courageous, obviously also knows this -

As he stretched out his hand to fiddle with the Zhouyi gear lever, his eyes became more and more playful.

She even snapped her fingers.

When Huayi's Wang and Wang Xiao and their sister Li Bingbing went out to greet Zhou Yi in person, what they saw was Zhou Yi cursing as he got out of the car and Fan Xiaopang's sweet smile.

"Zhou Yi, Bing Bin, welcome, welcome."

"You're welcome, Mr. Wang."

After shaking hands and greeting each other, Zhou Yi met Li Bingbing's gaze again and smiled at her politely.

Li Bingbing was somewhat choked.

The last time she failed in her strategy of playing hard to get, she reviewed her own experience and gained some experience.

This man really never takes the initiative.

I give in, damn it.

"I heard that Mr. Wang is also planning to enter the record industry and has acquired Warring States Music."

"Movies are an audio-visual art form. Audio and video are inseparable. It is better to walk on two legs than on one."

The king always brushed it off with a smile, and Zhou Yi also smiled and changed the subject without asking any more questions.

Speaking of Warring States music, many people may not have heard of it, but their Yuquan band is well-known to everyone. Songs like "The Most Beautiful" and "Cold to the End" have pushed their fame to the peak in the mainland.

On October 2004, 10, Huayi Brothers officially announced the acquisition of Warring States Music and took over all its resources to form Huayi Brothers Music Co., Ltd.

In Zhou Yi's impression, this company was once quite successful.

What made this new company Huayi take off was Pang Long's "Two Butterflies" -

Huayi Brothers Music Co., Ltd. is the mainland distributor of Pang Long’s new album "Two Butterflies".

In the future, its artists will also include Chen Chusheng, He Jie, Shang Wenjie and other Super Boy and Super Girl contestants who have terminated their contracts. Yao Beina also belongs to this company, as well as He Manting who sang "Su Yan" with Xu Shangao, the popular Milk Coffee group on the Internet, and so on.

As the group was chatting, a man wearing glasses appeared in Zhou Yi's sight at the corner of the corridor, following behind Zhou Yaping, an older generation music producer from the mainland.

Zhou Yaping is an older generation mainland music producer - he is very experienced. He was responsible for the early albums of Liu Huan, Cui Jian, Mao Amin and others, and has a wide network of contacts.

Of course, Zhou Yi's attention was on the man with glasses behind Zhou Yaping——

Pang Long, the king of the ringtone era.

His facial features don't change much when he is young or old. He looks mature even though he is young. But as he gets older, he seems to be frozen in time and doesn't change much.

"Zhou Yi, right? I often hear Cui Jian and Liu Huan mention you."

Zhou Yaping smiled and took the initiative to extend his hand to say hello, and did not forget to promote his own artists: "Let me introduce you, this is Pang Long, a singer from my company, he has a very unique voice."

Pang Long, who was born in 1971 and is ten years older than Zhou Yi, immediately stood up and said, "Hello, Brother Yi, my name is Pang Long."

"I can tell that his voice is indeed unique and suitable for the singer industry. Brother Yaping, you have found a good seedling."

Zhou Yi gladly accepted the title without any discomfort.

He might have felt weird before, but not now.

Wang Feng, who was also born in 1971 in Warneri, calls him brother every day when they meet, and he has long been desensitized to it.

"Thank you for your good words, haha."

Zhou Yaping was in a good mood after receiving Zhou Yi's affirmation: "By the way, what are you doing?"

(End of this chapter)