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

Chapter 819 We may go bankrupt, but we will never go bad
In the first ten years of the Internet, if we had to pick a winner in the domestic online video sector, it would undoubtedly be Youku, founded by Gu Yongqiang.

Although even in the era of mobile Internet, it is difficult to find a stable way to replicate hot products to maintain profitability in this field.

But it is undeniable that the prospect that Youku painted for all practitioners at the beginning was indeed very attractive. In addition, because the founder Gu Yongqiang was the former president of Sohu, he had no shortage of connections and investments.

It was only officially established in 06, but it quickly wiped out Tudou's first-mover advantage.

In the years that followed, Youku and Tudou went from being evenly matched at first to gradually gaining the upper hand.

After Wang Wei, the founder of Tudou.com, was stabbed in the back, he seized the opportunity and exercised his subjective initiative. Finally, he successfully acquired this former rival and directly kicked out all the core senior executives represented by Wang Wei, the original founder of Tudou.com.

After dealing with his family affairs, Wang Wei, who was disheartened, completely lost the ability to fight back in the video field. In the end, he chose to start a new animation business, determined to become China's Pixar Animation Studio, and founded Light Chaser Animation Company.

It is the company that produced animated films such as "Little Door Gods", "White Snake: Origin", "New Gods: Yang Jian", and "30,000 Miles from Chang'an".

Although there were both criticisms and praises, at least there was hope that it would reach the top in the field of animation film, which is rarely touched by practitioners in the traditional Chinese film and television industry.

Then, a dumpling suddenly appeared and taught people how to behave.

The movie "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes into the World" directly shattered Boss Wang's Pixar animation dream and made him realize that he was really a loser.

However, a few years later, Boss Wang regained his glory - because he found that it was not because he was too inexperienced, but because the dumpling mechanism was too superb.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, if Zhou Yi really wants to work in this field for a long time, investing in Tudou may be a better choice for him now - after all, Boss Wang has a risk of explosion that he can exploit.

By then, given the close relationship between him and Tencent, it would be easy for him to act as a middleman and merge Tudou with the newly established Tencent Video, and he could also maximize his profits.

But think about it and forget it.

At this point, how much he earns really depends on fate - compared to Tudou, the vast network of contacts behind Youku is more suitable for the subsequent growth of Guiyi under his command.

Guiyi and the various companies under Guiyi are his real core assets in the future. Warner Records is just a tool for him to maintain his reputation around the world in the future.

Just like Lei Zi’s real core is actually Shunwei, but when ordinary people mention him, they only think of Xiaomi.

"It's not a good idea for you to go back tomorrow. Phoenix TV has a talk show waiting for you."

Zhou Yi has already figured out what he will do when he returns tomorrow. Qian Jiang flipped open his notebook and explained, "It's an interview program hosted by Ke Lan, one of Phoenix TV's most popular actresses, Ke Lan Interview."

"?"

Zhou Yi raised his eyebrows when he heard the name: "Isn't it "Music Unlimited"? "

Now it was Qian Jiang's turn to be surprised: "Do you know her show?"

That's very well known. The famous public intellectual, Zhong Xiaoai, is a legitimate third-generation descendant.

At the age of 19, he got resources and rose to prominence in Hong Kong. At a young age, he became one of the leading actresses of Phoenix TV. This was the biggest boost for Li Yapeng's rapid success.

And then I was dumped.

No one knew whether it was for revenge or because her mentality was unbalanced, but since then Ke Lan has been on the path of being a mistress and has been criticized by others.

Because her real name is Abb-style, no one will openly criticize her no matter how she mixes in the circle. After all, a name in this format means that she has been abandoned by her family.

"I heard that she left Hong Kong and returned to the mainland?" Zhou Yi was a little confused.

If I remember correctly, shouldn't this young lady who has never suffered and has been fooled by white leftists in Europe and the United States into becoming brain-dead should have returned to the mainland to develop her career and make movies?
"Because I want to promote your QQ music platform, I helped you get an interview with Phoenix TV. She heard about it and volunteered to take it.

"I have to say that even though she submitted her resignation, Phoenix TV still wanted to keep her, so they didn't refuse."

As the host of a music program, Ke Lan is still very interested in Zhouyi.

A common problem among literary girls of that era was that they had a huge filter for musical talent.

Li Yapeng was the one who made Ke Lan crazy when he was in his own band. Her current boyfriend after their breakup is also a musician, Li Quan, nicknamed the Piano Prince.

Not to mention that Ke Lan’s own program often broadcasts foreign music.

Zhou Yi has been dominating various foreign charts. When she was reporting on the show like announcing the names of dishes, she was a little confused about what kind of world she was living in.

How come there are such great Chinese musicians in this world?

She had a very thick filter for foreign countries, but Zhou Yi shattered her perception.

"nonsense."

Zhou Yi sneered: "If I were a senior executive of Phoenix TV, I would definitely not want her to leave."

In the early 1990s, Ke Lan could earn over 300,000 Hong Kong dollars a month as a part-time model in Hong Kong. Which part-time model could earn that much?

You have to know that she was only eighteen or nineteen years old that year.

I became a model because I had a falling out with my family, and my only modeling experience was the little bit of emergency training I received after signing with an agency.

As a result, the high salary she received in Hong Kong made her confused.

Being a model means getting paid a lot of money. If I wanted to be a host, I would first join Channel V and then Phoenix TV. There was no pressure at all.

What picture?

It's the family behind her.

Although her parents divorced early and she was abandoned by her family at birth, her name and surname were not changed.

..........................................

Tuesday, April 2005, 3.

While the rumors about Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi's twin stars are getting more and more popular, a piece of heavy news that came out of nowhere was brought to the table -

"It is revealed that Zhouyi will join hands with Tencent to jointly create a new Internet music platform!"

"Trying to replicate the Apple Music Store? Zhou Yi's ambition!"

"After the ringback tone model, is Zhou Yi exploring the new future of Chinese music again? "

"..."

Rumors like mushrooms after rain surrounded all the people who came to pay attention to the Gemini Awards scandal in an instant, and the people in the industry were so confused.

What is this Internet music platform?
Dude, so you worked at Baidu because you also wanted to work in this industry?
Are you dissatisfied with Baidu blocking your way?

While the industry was still in doubt about Zhou Yi's behavior, on the 30th, Warner and Tencent officially announced that they had reached an agreement on the licensing of copyrighted music, and would exclusively license the copyrighted songs in their own copyright library to the newly established QQ Music.

At the same time, QQ Music, a joint venture between Tencent and Guiyi, also officially established its identity and started operations, and issued an announcement to the public, stating that it will strive to lead the Chinese music scene to a brighter future by operating genuine music.

"Listen, listen, what a great tone, leading the Chinese music scene to a more glorious future."

"It's a joke. A music platform with a market share of 0 said it wants to lead the Chinese music scene."

"Is Zhou Yi so angry at Baidu that he is going to suffer the consequences?"

"Why can't it be that Zhou Yi is disgusted with Baidu for blocking his way?" "Nonsense, Baidu is engaged in piracy, and Zhou Yi's aggressive promotion of legitimate music is obviously to set things right."

"I have to pay for listening to a song? Don't I know how to download it by BT?"

"That bastard ED is so damned!"

"..."

In the Emperor Bar, the ridicule posts that appeared because of this news started the dispute. But this time, even many friends in the Zhouyi Bar could not speak too loudly——

Because many of them also download music via BT and listen to music via MP3.

I don't have the confidence to scold people.

But before people in the industry could come to their senses, on the 31st, another record giant officially announced that it had reached an exclusive licensing cooperation with QQ Music - EMI Records.

Yao Qian even flew to the mainland to attend the official announcement ceremony in person.

"Have Tencent and Zhouyi gone crazy? Warner and EMI, two giants, have negotiated for exclusive rights. Aren't they afraid of losing a lot of money?"

"Why does it have to be exclusive? If I want to listen to songs by Elva Hsiao or Zhou Yi, don't I have to download QQ Music?"

"It's obvious that they plan to increase their market share in a short period of time by relying on Zhouyi's appeal. If they don't go exclusive, Baidu Music will have too much of an advantage. With a market share of over 50%, QQ Music can't beat it. Everyone has it, so there's no need to switch sides."

"Then having Warner as an exclusive is enough. After all, this is Zhou Yi's own company. What is EMI trying to do? Is Yao Qian crazy? Sony Universal didn't even sign an exclusive contract."

"Ask Xiao Yaxuan and investigate whether Zhou Yi used a backdoor."

"..."

Do not ask!

Asking is a kind of wisdom!
With EMI's sales declining, Yao Qian, who had finally made a fortune with Xiao Yaxuan's English EP, naturally had the confidence to suppress the opposition's senior leaders and make the decision -

"This has nothing to do with Elva. It is a choice made by the collective will of the company."

After the official announcement, the usually low-key Yao Qian also accepted a rare interview and talked about related topics: "I respect and admire Zhou Yi's choice for the development of the Chinese music scene, so Jianhui and I also want to talk about the youthful enthusiasm of an old man.

"We can all see the decline of physical records. Only Zhouyi has found a new way out for the music industry with the ringback tone model. Now that the ringback tone model is on the right track, Zhouyi has come up with the QQ Music project..."

As we all know, ringtones are incomplete.

There is only a short time for the climax of the chorus, which is completely nonsense to the listeners.

This thing is purely a fashion item, used to keep up with the trend.

But now, with the QQ music platform, this is a major benefit for music listeners.

Tencent spent a lot of money to buy a batch of Internet music copyrights of ringtones from China Mobile, and put them on the QQ Music platform for people to listen to for free. In addition, there are also many song copyrights of small and medium-sized record companies in the mainland.

The only difference is that some of this part is bought outright, while others are bought for sharing.

In short, it is used to enrich the music library, and more than 90% of it can be listened to for free.

As for Warner and EMI's licensed music libraries, many of the singers' past songs are not all VIP, but selective VIP.

The real killer of QQ Music is the songs released by super popular singers, led by Zhou Yi.

Green diamond, making a grand appearance!
You can buy singles just like the Apple Music Store. After the purchase is completed, your QQ account will light up with the noble genuine music logo and green diamond icon, so that even if your green diamond expires and you don't renew it, you can still listen to the purchased singles;

You can also just activate Green Diamond. During the Green Diamond period, you can listen to all VIP songs on the platform for free. If you do not renew it after it expires, you will no longer be able to listen to VIP songs.

Of course, even Zhou Yi’s songs are not all VIP.

All in all, it's pure money burning.

This project is not only a bottomless cash pit that is visibly visible to the naked eye, but also requires Zhou Yi to continue to maintain a very high level of commercial creative ability in the short term.

Yes, commercial creativity, not creative creativity.

After all, he was the top star in the early days of the platform.

As long as you get through the early stages, build your reputation and lay a solid foundation, the follow-up operations will be easy.

"At the same time, the QQ Music platform also accepts original songs produced and uploaded by users. Those with excellent quality will receive support from the original musician program and have the opportunity to sign a contract with Warner Records or EMI Records..."

Anhui Medical University.

Xu Song, a freshman, pushed up his glasses and listened to his roommate's words. The light from the computer screen reflected on his lenses.

"Song, haven't you been teaching yourself music production recently? You're so good at writing articles, so writing lyrics shouldn't be a problem. Why don't you give it a try? I remember you were a member of Zhou Yi's fan club, right? One that's been around for a while."

"Let's talk about it later. I'm just beginning to explore..."

After dealing with his roommates, Xu Song waited until they left and then logged into his QQ account named VAE.

In the groups named "Zhou Yi National Fan Club", "Zhou Yi National Fan Chinese Website", and "Zhou Yi Anhui Fan Club", the news was already spreading wildly. An account marked as "Big V" even sent him five private messages in a row.

"I know a guy who has a very good career and likes Zhou Yi's songs. He plans to form a non-commercial music group called Random Feeling for everyone to play together. Do you want to join?"

Da V is a good friend that Xu Song met on Zhouyi National Fans Chinese Network when he was self-studying music online after entering college. His real name is Li Yijie. Because their English names both start with V and Xu Song is younger, the two became Da V and Xiao V.

"Sure, I just want to play too (laughing)."

Xu Song, who is a freshman in college, has a big difference in his online and offline QQ.

Online, he dares to use his decent computer skills to open other people's boxes and will chase people and curse them, but offline, everyone who sees him has to be polite.

"Okay, we'll tinker with it later, and maybe we can submit it to QQ Music. Zhou Yi has invested a lot of money, and we don't know if anyone will be selected." The big V began to fantasize.

Xu Song typed quickly: "Who knows, but Zhou Yi is indeed rich. I just don't know how long he can last. Capitalists are all profit-seeking."

"True, but this is great news for music lovers like us. At least we have a new channel to play."

“Go for it…”

Xu Song didn't take it too seriously.

He is currently at the beginner stage and is still imitating the music patterns of Zhou Yi, Jay Chou, Wang Lihong and others to help himself learn music production and understanding. Singing is all for fun.

Otherwise I wouldn’t have gone to Anhui Medical University.

"Our model is aimed at cultivating new forces for the Chinese music scene."

In Hong Kong, because QQ Music also opened platform registration to Hong Kong, Zhou Yi was also besieged by the Hong Kong media. After hearing the reporters' doubts, he couldn't help but smile and said, "So, at least while I can still speak, this project will always exist.

“We may go out of business, but we will never go bad.”

(End of this chapter)