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

Chapter 910 The Only Contract in History (Thanks to sfqk for being the Alliance Leader)
25, a number whose meaning is easily discernible—especially after the I Ching itself has stated it.

Shakira realized almost immediately that the man in front of her was using his own age as the album title.

"A commemoration..."

Shakira, her gaze unconsciously drifting to the man's ear, sighed deeply: "Still a summary?"

Given these extraordinary experiences and gains, writing a commemorative album to summarize their experiences is a perfectly normal thing for creators with such a strong creative drive. Shakira not only didn't find it puzzling, but she understood it perfectly.

If she were a practitioner of the I Ching, she would most likely do the same.

"That's right..."

Zhou Yi took a sip of coffee and turned to look out the window. The California sun was warm, and from his vantage point, the cityscape of the upscale shopping district was clearly visible.

Of course, this also includes the reporters below carrying their long lenses and microphones.

"These people have a really good nose."

Shakira smiled wryly, making no mention of her own status: "The troubles of a legend, aren't they?"

Zhou Yi put down his cup and chuckled, "Tomorrow you'll see my scandal as a mistress on the news headlines."

The woman burst into laughter.

Shakira is engaged.

In 2000, she fell in love with the son of the then-President of Argentina, and the two got engaged in early 01. However, the conflict between them over interests and reputation arose immediately due to the riots in Argentina at the end of 01.

The reason why Shakira and Zhou Yi, who had also just entered the US market, hit it off and created a scandal was because their so-called engagement was already dead in name only.

However, despite the engagement being nominal, the son of the former Argentine president has never canceled it. It's unclear whether he intends to use Shakira's status as a superstar in Latin America to create a positive image for himself or what his motives are.

Shakira has had her fair share of scandals over the years, but the son of the former Argentine president simply ignored them. It wasn't until after the 2010 World Cup, when she confirmed her relationship with Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué, that she publicly announced in January 2011 that she had broken off her engagement, and then immediately went public with her relationship with Piqué.

“You need to learn to enjoy chance encounters, baby.” Shakira gestured toward the envelope on the table.

?

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

Rekindling Their Romance! Spike and Shakira's Sweet Date!

Spike's clutches have finally reached for married women!

"Outrageous Behavior! Spike Was Prepared!"

The Real Spike: Don't idolize any celebrity, because they're often scum!

Rumors Confirmed! Spike Shakira Finally Photographed After Many Years!

The Spike effect is evident: Shakira's Los Angeles concert ticket prices are soaring on the secondary market!

Suspected to be a publicity stunt to promote a Los Angeles concert...

"Is Shakira planning to invite Spike to be a guest at her concert?!"

"Then I'm going to go grab some tickets!"

"Isn't Spike filming a new Coca-Cola commercial? There's also a brand new World Cup ad jingle."

"Never mind, I missed Avril Lavigne's concert last time and didn't get to see Spike as a guest, I absolutely can't miss it this time!"

"Fuck! As a Spike fan, I actually have to buy tickets to other artists' concerts just to see him sing?! Is that fair?!"

"..."

Zhou Yi's inaction regarding the concert schedule has once again enraged fans in North America.

There's no such thing as being a singer like that in this world.

What about Warner?!

Where's Edgar Jr.?!

What the hell are you all good for?!
Suddenly, YouTube was flooded with videos of fans yelling about the stress, and unexpectedly, the outbursts of Zhou Yi's fans sparked a new trend on YouTube: criticizing Zhou Yi.

Not only did it garner a considerable number of views, but it even attracted some celebrities who are close to the I Ching to make videos criticizing it, which further fueled the discussion.

But I currently have no time to attend to these matters related to the Book of Changes.

After accepting Shakira's invitation, he devoted himself entirely to negotiations with Warner Bros.

As one of the earliest American entertainment giants to enter the Chinese film market, Warner Bros. Cinemas' revenue growth in China is dazzling and can be described as booming. Its cinemas have been the highest-grossing cinemas in China for two consecutive years.

According to statistics released by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the total box office revenue of more than 2000 cinemas nationwide in 2005 was 25 billion yuan, while Warner Bros.' cinema chains alone had a total box office revenue of over 100 million yuan in 2005.

This is a proportion that would make anyone eager to try their hand at it, so it's no wonder the higher-ups called for a halt.

Although the policy changes have made Warner Bros., who are used to having the upper hand, no longer want to play the game, they still hold the hope of returning to the Chinese market. Therefore, the parties involved in the purchase have been in a tug-of-war.

Even if they have to sell, they should sell to someone who can act as a go-between to prepare for a possible return to the Chinese market.

"According to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), without controlling interest in these assets, their revenues cannot be included in the company's financial statements. Therefore, Warner Bros.' board of directors will definitely demand controlling stakes in the cinemas they invest in in China; this is their bottom line. But unfortunately, your policies do not allow it..."

Edgar Jr., dressed in a suit and tie, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and pointed out Warner Bros.' current predicament incisively.

Warner Bros. urgently needs to recover its losses. However, at this critical juncture, the Chinese market, which usually provides market confidence, can no longer be included in its financial statements due to policy changes, which is a major blow.

"Warner Bros. has two plans: first, they are still trying to maneuver in the Chinese market; second, they are pinning their hopes on the Superman super IP, intending to boost market confidence with a globally blockbuster Superman movie. They have been preparing for this project for a long time..."

Inside the meeting room, Edgar, who was doing his best in public relations negotiations for Zhou Yi, circled all of Warner's weaknesses, and Zhou Yi's expression turned somewhat strange as he listened.

Superman IP?

Isn't that Warner Bros.' monstrous flop, "Superman Returns"?
The actual filming cost alone reached $350 million, with a total of over 1500 special effects shots, making it the most in Warner Bros. film history. And that doesn't even include the subsequent massive publicity campaign. In the end, Warner Bros. shelved the IP again.

"Warner Bros. executives are very optimistic about this project, and it's tentatively scheduled for release in June. If this project is successful, they might not consider you, Spike, because you can't offer them the price they want..."

"What if the 'Superman Returns' project fails?" Zhou Yi asked, twirling his pen.

"Then you can buy Warner Cinemas (China) shares at market price, because they need cash flow to improve their financial statements, and then you can complete the restructuring in the Chinese cinema market yourself."

According to Zhou Yi's recollection, Warner Bros. managed to hold on until the end of 06.

So the reason they held on until the end of the year was because the super IP movie "Superman Returns," which was released in the middle of the year, flopped badly, causing market confidence to decline further. That's why they sold all their shares to recoup losses and improve their financial statements.
"That's fine then, I'll bet that 'Superman Returns' will fail."

?

Edgar Jr. frowned, hesitated for a moment, then reorganized his thoughts and said, "Spike, Warner Bros. executives are taking 'Superman Returns' very seriously and have given a lot of suggestions for revisions. The project has been polished for at least several years and is basically the most anticipated super IP of the year..."

In short, as the chairman of the Bloomberg investment consortium, he is very optimistic about this film. Not only him, but the entire industry is optimistic; otherwise, Warner Bros. wouldn't have invested so much money.

Zhou Yi smiled slightly: "Although I don't know much about the movie 'Superman Returns,' I do know that Warner Bros. executives often have their left and right brains fighting each other."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Your reasoning... is really quite blunt.

Edgar Jr. was speechless.

Out of friendship, he didn't want to suffer too much loss from Zhouyi (the Book of Changes), because it's a completely different field, brother.

The potential of the Chinese cinema market is not yet on his radar. Warner is just trying to find a new growth point because of its continuous losses. Didn't you see that even CJ Group in South Korea decisively chose to withdraw after policy changes?

To put it bluntly, everyone thinks it's worth it—but not really.

The Book of Changes remained unmoved.

Just kidding, how could he not know what Warner Bros.' DC movies are like?

After the flop of "Superman Returns", Warner Bros. placed its hopes on Nolan, who had already proven himself, and gave him the reins—and then the second installment of Nolan's Batman trilogy, "The Dark Knight", was once again a critical and commercial success.

As a result, Warner Bros. executives, seeing that Nolan was acting up again, started trying to interfere with the filming of a third Nolan movie, which thoroughly angered Nolan.

After the release of the third installment, "The Dark Knight Rises," which became a global sensation and received rave reviews, Nolan left Warner Bros. due to internal conflicts and infighting.

Zack Snyder, originally recommended by Nolan, restarted filming "Man of Steel," which was a small-scale success, bringing the Superman character back to life on screen.

Unfortunately, Warner Bros. executives acted up again, stubbornly interfering in their affairs. Envious of Marvel's success, they insisted that Zack Snyder make a film where Superman fights Batman, and that the Justice League's Big Three team up—

The result was, naturally, failure.

James Wan's *Aquaman* was a huge success, but then Warner Bros. executives interfered with *Aquaman 2*, infuriating Wan so much that he almost quit filming halfway through. To make matters worse, the female lead was embroiled in a domestic violence scandal, making the reshoots even more difficult.

The result was, naturally, failure.

DC Films is fortunate to have such short-sighted executives.

Of course, the more eager they are for quick success and instant benefits, the better for Zhou Yi—the day "Superman Returns" flops will be the day he completes the acquisition of Warner China cinema shares.

After the acquisition meeting ended, Zhou Yi stood up and patted Edgar on the arm: "Thanks, Ed, we wouldn't have been able to close the deal without your help."

"I've only arranged the time and content for your next meeting at the negotiating table. You'd better be able to predict that their 'Superman Returns' will fail, so that you can provide them with the cash flow they need. Otherwise, you'll probably just be going through the motions."

"Do your best to obey fate."

Zhou Yi didn't care at all. When he returned to his Beverly Hills mansion, he sent an email to Cheng Hao, telling her to make preliminary preparations, including drafting the articles of association for the subsequent cooperation with Wanda Cinemas.

Having achieved his sole purpose for coming to the United States, Zhou Yi quietly appeared on the Coca-Cola set on February 26th—to film the new commercial and to shoot music video footage for the new commercial's theme song, "Try Everything."

Three days prior, Qian Jiang had submitted the demo of the Coca-Cola commercial jingle for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to Coca-Cola's top management. The catchy, addictive melody and inspirational lyrics greatly pleased them, while also subtly probing the possibility of Zhou Yi upgrading the contract to a lifetime one.

When Zhou Yi renewed his contract, it was for three years at a cost of 100 million US dollars, which is more than 30 million US dollars per year.

Of course, this is the basic fee.

Coca-Cola maintained its $20 million bonus variable – meaning that if Zhou Yi continues to meet the brand's conditions during the contract period, he will receive $120 million over the next three years, averaging $40 million per year.

This is arguably the most expensive contract in the history of the global beverage industry to date. However, Coca-Cola's demands are correspondingly stringent. Failure to meet these demands will result in a reduction of the contract amount.

If the requirements are not met, Coca-Cola can downgrade the contract amount according to the contract terms, and the contract will be automatically extended for one year.

"If you want to convert to a lifetime contract, Coca-Cola agrees to do so after this contract expires, meaning it will automatically convert to a lifetime contract at the end of 08. As for the annual amount in the contract, you know it certainly won't be that high, but the advantage is the long term and stability..."

A lifetime contract, as the name suggests, means you receive the contract for life.

Unless one party breaches the contract.

However, breach of contract usually requires corresponding compensation, unless there is a "force majeure clause" explicitly stipulated in the contract.

For example, if Coca-Cola insults China someday in the future, Zhouyi can use this clause to terminate the lifetime cooperation without having to pay a single penny.

"Didn't you tell them I wanted to take a break after 08?" Zhou Yi asked curiously.

He certainly couldn't hide the fact that he wanted to take a break from the brands he endorsed; otherwise, if they realized they'd been tricked and sued him, he'd be in for a lot of trouble.

He has always been a straightforward person, and he clearly stated his decision to retire from the music scene after 08 to all the brands that wanted to renew or upgrade their contracts.

"I told them, but Coca-Cola executives said they could talk to you if you were willing. Starting in 09, the amount would be between $600 million and $800 million per year, betting on your continued influence."

After all, Zhou Yi only said that he would retire from the music scene after 08, but he didn't say that he would completely leave the entertainment industry.

This still means that Zhou Yi may still participate in commercial activities, give interviews, attend other people's concerts, and have media exposure in the future. Given Zhou Yi's past achievements, Coca-Cola wouldn't feel it's a loss to offer him a lifetime contract.

What if one day I get the urge and release another single, right...?

Now that things have come to this, it's impossible for Coca-Cola not to understand how the I Ching is shaping its personal brand.

"Of course, the main reason is that Coca-Cola is a fast-moving consumer good, and the vast domestic population market is an inexhaustible gold mine for them."

A bottle of Coke costs just a few dollars; the price is right there. The question is, are you willing to drink it?

"Okay, I have no objection."

Considering this is the first time Coca-Cola has offered a lifetime contract, what else could Zhou Yi say? He couldn't very well offer to convert it into shares like Anta did, as the Coca-Cola board of directors would not agree to such a thing.

Brazilian football superstar Ronaldo currently earns only six million US dollars a year as a Coca-Cola endorsement, which is already a top salary, but it's just the starting fee for his lifetime contract.

"Okay, then I estimate that you can officially sign the contract after you finish attending Shakira's concert. Coca-Cola will probably announce it first."

Coca-Cola takes Zhou Yi, its only trump card that can outmaneuver Pepsi, very seriously.

On March 6, 2006, after completing all renewal procedures, Coca-Cola officially announced on its website that it had reached a lifetime contract with Zhou Yi.

"We are honored to partner with Spike..."

Coca-Cola, as a global fast-moving consumer goods giant, has never previously offered a lifetime contract to any superstar.

Or rather, the cola industry has never signed a lifetime endorsement deal; even when Pepsi signed Michael Jackson at his peak, it wasn't a lifetime contract.

Only Zhou Yi achieved a breakthrough in the history of the Coca-Cola industry, winning the first lifetime endorsement contract in the industry's history by virtue of its strong appeal, legendary reputation, political correctness, and the vast Chinese market behind it!

In an instant, this previously unleashed news shocked the global entertainment industry!
(End of this chapter)