Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 471 Anime Section
February 24th is the Lantern Festival.

Ablaze with lights, a full moon heralds good fortune.

Early in the morning, in her dormitory at Beijing Film Academy, Yang Zi was carefully doing her makeup in front of the mirror.

Roommate He Miao glanced at Yang Zi, who was wearing makeup, through her glasses, and asked curiously, "Zi-mei, are you going out?"

Yang Zi didn't even look up, and replied softly, "Yeah, I'm going to the company in a bit. My agent is looking for me, and I have some things to take care of."

Xia Qing listened from the side, her face full of envy as she guessed, "They must be giving you roles. Tengda Culture has launched so many productions recently, you're bound to get some good ones."

He Miao sighed with a worried look on her face: "I've submitted my resume to so many production teams, how come I haven't even received a response? This is too awful."

Xia Qing shrugged and helplessly agreed: "Me too. It seems I still have to sign with a management company. Trying to make it in the entertainment industry on my own is probably a dead end."

This year marks the second semester of the junior year for the 2010 cohort of students at the Beijing Film Academy. With fewer classes available, students are gradually leaving campus to submit their resumes to film and television companies and production crews, officially stepping into the entertainment industry.

But once they actually got involved, they realized that good roles aren't so easy to come by. The cruelty of the entertainment industry is gradually unfolding before them.

Yang Zi listened to her roommates' words and just smiled faintly.

She didn't mention it in the dorm, but Tengda Culture had already chosen her as the female lead in the movie "My Old Classmate." She wouldn't reveal a single word until everything was finalized.

Her experience of being robbed of a role in "Home with Kids" in her early years made her realize the backstabbing and scheming in the entertainment industry. She learned that it's better to keep a low profile than to risk unnecessary trouble if you can't have a role in your hands.

Just then, the phone on the table suddenly vibrated.

Yang Zi looked up and saw a WeChat message from Zhang Yishan: "Yang, it's the Lantern Festival today. I'll treat you to lunch."

A strange look crossed her face as she tapped her fingers on the screen: "No, I have to go to the company today. You should spend more time with Bai Xue."

"Bai Xue went to the film set to shoot a movie; she's not at school."

Zhang Yishan replied instantly, "If you're going to the company, I'll drive you. By the way, could you take me to visit Tengda Culture? So I can experience the atmosphere of an industry giant."

Yang Zi shook her head almost imperceptibly, refusing again: "No need to trouble you, He Peng will take me there."

The reply came almost immediately: "Yang, that's not very helpful. He Peng isn't even at school, how can he take you? If you find me annoying, just say so, there's no need to make excuses."

When Zhang Yishan directly exposed her, Yang Zi was speechless for a moment and had no choice but to compromise: "I didn't find you annoying, I just didn't want to trouble you. Let me make it clear from the beginning, I'm going to the company on business, I don't have time to entertain you."

"We're like family, there's no need to be so formal. Don't say anything more, I'll wait for you at the school gate."

Yang Zi frowned slightly.

Actually, she had been intentionally avoiding Zhang Yishan all this time, since getting too close would inevitably make He Peng and Bai Xue overthink things. But her overly deliberate rejection just now backfired.

Zhang Yishan debuted as a child star and has acted in many TV series over the years. Living in Beiping (Beijing), he bought a Passat for convenient transportation.

Inside the car, Zhang Yishan gripped the steering wheel firmly and chatted with Yang Zi, who was sitting in the passenger seat: "Yang, when is your movie 'My Old Classmate' going to start filming?"

"Next week." Yang Zi rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the pedestrians passing by outside the window, and said softly, "The movie is going to be filmed in New York. Today I went to the company to hand over my passport to my agent. The entire crew needs to go to the embassy to apply for P3 actor visas."

Zhang Yishan joked with a smile, "They're going to film on location in the US? Looks like the crew is making quite a splash; the box office is sure to be a huge hit."

Yang Zi turned her head and asked with concern, "Don't just talk about me, what about you? Do you have any acting roles after the New Year?"

"With my name, why would I worry about not getting roles?" Zhang Yishan raised his eyebrows, his tone smug. "I've taken on a lighthearted war comedy called 'Big Soldier, Little Soldier,' and I'll be joining the cast next month."

Although the smile was still on her face, the light in her eyes had dimmed somewhat.

In fact, over the years, he has never been able to shake off the child star label of "Liu Xing". His transformation has been difficult, the market does not have a good impression of him, and good resources are not available to him.

As the two chatted, the car arrived at the Zhongao Building. Zhang Yishan parked the car and followed Yang Zi up the elevator to Tengda Culture.

Today is the Lantern Festival, and it's also the weekend. There aren't many people in the company, only a few staff members on duty.

Yang Zi was introducing the company to Zhang Yishan when she bumped into Ge Maoliang, the agent and artist director.

He quickly stepped forward to greet him: "President Ge!"

"Yang Zi is here." Ge Maoliang responded, his gaze falling on the man beside him, who looked somewhat familiar.

Zhang Yishan spoke up confidently and naturally: "Hello, Mr. Ge, I am Zhang Yishan."

Upon hearing the name, Ge Maoliang immediately recognized him as Liu Xing from the sitcom "Home with Kids"!

Yang Zi quickly explained, "President Ge, Yishan is an old friend of mine. I brought him to visit the company."

Ge Maoliang nodded gently, "I'm off today, sorry for the poor hospitality. Yishan, please have a seat for a while. Yang Zi and I have some things to discuss, we'll be done soon."

“You’re busy!” Zhang Yishan replied.

After exchanging a few polite words, Ge Maoliang led Yang Zi into the office.

"Is your passport ready?"

Yang Zi quickly took out her passport from her bag and handed it over.

Ge Maoliang took the passport and placed it together with the passports of the other crew members before slowly speaking:
"President Liu has always been against forcing growth, so the company didn't arrange for you to join the crew before, because we wanted you to focus on your studies and hone your acting skills."

"I understand Mr. Liu's good intentions."

Ge Maoliang nodded slightly: "The other artists in the company are already top-tier and their careers are stable, so I don't need to worry about them much. In the next two or three years, one of my main tasks is to help you become a top-tier artist."

"I'll need your guidance in the future," Yang Zi said sincerely.

“You debuted as a child star and have a high level of national recognition. As long as you can star in one or two hit dramas, your career will take off quickly.” Ge Maoliang paused, then gave a special reminder, “You must put your heart into acting in the drama ‘My Old Classmate’.”

Although director Guo Fan wasn't very famous before, he's incredibly talented, and President Liu particularly admires him. Besides, Director Guo has already signed a long-term contract with the company, you know what I mean?

Yang Zi's expression turned serious, and she instantly understood that the last director to sign a long-term contract with Tengda Culture was none other than the "billion-dollar director" Ma Xin.

It seems Guo Fan has received significant support from the company and is destined for great success. Maintaining a good relationship with such a director would undoubtedly be a huge boost to his career. He immediately and solemnly replied, "I understand! Don't worry, I will definitely follow Director Guo's instructions carefully on set."

Ge Maoliang nodded in satisfaction. He enjoyed dealing with artists who were insightful and knew how to conduct themselves appropriately. Such a young person with such a mindset was sure to have a long and successful career in the industry.

"What's your relationship with the chairman's wife like?"

Yang Zi was taken aback by his words and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

After a moment's hesitation, he replied truthfully, "I have a pretty good relationship with my senior sister. We participated in 'Divas Hit the Road' together before, and we've kept in touch ever since."

“No wonder.” Ge Maoliang nodded in realization, then picked up a document from his desk and handed it over. “This is the script for the TV series ‘War Star City’.”

This is a serious war drama, with a total investment of 6500 million yuan. It's primarily invested and produced by Madam's Studio, with Tengda Culture and Shandong Film & Television Group as co-investors. Madam personally selected you for the lead role; congratulations!

Yang Zi's eyes lit up instantly, and a surge of joy welled up in her heart. The female lead in a serious drama—this was truly a top-tier resource.

“War Star City is still in preparation. Once you finish filming 'My Old Classmate,' filming will start soon, and you can seamlessly join the crew,” Ge Maoliang added.

"Thank you, Mr. Ge!" Yang Zi couldn't hide her excitement.

Ge Maoliang shook his head: "This is not my achievement. Since you have this relationship with Madam, maintain it well. In the entertainment industry, having a powerful backer is more useful than anything else."

"Mm!" Yang Zi nodded in response, already planning how to thank Liu Shishi. She was truly surprised that the other woman had specifically thought of her.

"The main reason I called you here today is to talk about these things," Ge Maoliang continued. "You're not a big enough star yet, so you can't get any fashion resources for now, but I'll keep an eye out for suitable brand endorsements for you. Your friend is still waiting outside, so I won't keep you any longer."

"Thank you, Mr. Ge." Yang Zi thanked him repeatedly, got up and was about to leave when a thought suddenly flashed through her mind, she stopped in her tracks, and a hint of hesitation appeared on her face.

Seeing her standing there with a changing expression, Ge Maoliang asked, "Is there anything else?"

After hesitating for a moment, Yang Zi finally spoke up: "President Ge, do you think... is it possible for my friend Zhang Yishan to sign with Tengda Culture or Alpha Entertainment?"

"Forget about Tengda Culture, the company won't sign any new talent." Ge Maoliang rejected the idea outright, then after a moment's thought, admitted, "The chances of General Manager Yang signing him are slim too."

Yang Zi looked regretful, but couldn't help but try to defend her friend: "President Ge, Yishan's acting skills are actually quite good, and he's also quite popular."

Ge Maoliang objectively analyzed: "The mainstream aesthetic in the current film and television market tends to favor the handsome and dashing type. Zhang Yishan's lean and wiry appearance with a bit of a roguish air doesn't quite match the traditional male lead of idol dramas."

Given his qualifications, he'll likely only be able to get minor roles or villainous characters; mainstream, high-quality opportunities will be very limited.

"That's true..." Yang Zi sighed softly. Her friend might not say it on the surface, but how could she not see the predicament she was facing?

"He's definitely limited by the idol drama trend, but with his unique charm, he might be able to try genres like police dramas and suspense dramas, and maybe he can carve out a path for himself. As for whether Alpha Group is willing to sign him, I can't help you with that."

Yang Zi silently noted down her agent's advice, and inwardly sighed that Ge Maoliang was indeed a professional. Based on just one meeting, he accurately identified Zhang Yishan's position.

On the morning of the 25th, sunlight streamed through the glass windows into the conference room on the seventh floor of the Tengda Technology Building.

The middle and senior management of Toutiao Video gathered here for an important conference.

President Zhou Juan sat in the main seat of the conference room, with Vice Presidents Ye Yuan and Chen Mingyu sitting on her left and right sides respectively.

Holding a document, he cleared his throat and announced loudly: "...After careful consideration, it has been decided to appoint Comrade Zhao Jingsheng as Vice President of Toutiao Video Network, responsible for the development of the animation industry."

After the appointment was read out, enthusiastic applause rang out in the conference room.

A middle-aged man sitting next to Ye Yuan on the left stood up in response. It was Zhao Jingsheng. He was beaming and smiling as he nodded to everyone present.

Zhou Juan's gaze fell on the new vice president, and she earnestly instructed him:
"Mr. Zhao, I hope that you can leverage your extensive experience in animation production accumulated at Tiangong Special Effects to help Toutiao Video launch its animation section and live up to the chairman's expectations."

Zhao Jingsheng immediately stated, "Please rest assured, President Zhou and all colleagues, I will do my utmost to live up to your expectations."

Zhou Juan nodded slightly, then her gaze swept over all the attendees, and her tone became serious:

"Comrades, the current situation in the entire long-form video industry is very severe. 2013 is a crucial year for Toutiao Video!"
Since 2011, the price of film and television copyrights has skyrocketed, with the copyrights of popular dramas increasing by more than a thousand times, which has directly led to a continuous rise in content costs.

LeEco, Youku, iQiyi, and other peers are all currently operating at a loss.

In 2012, although Toutiao Video achieved profitability, it's important to understand that this profitability was fueled by the sports section providing financial support to the platform.

Furthermore, the enormous costs of sports broadcasting rights, such as those for the NBA, were borne by the group during the company's restructuring. If sports broadcasting rights costs are included, Toutiao Video would also be operating at a loss.

Upon hearing this, everyone present became serious. Starting this year, Toutiao Video has become an independently operated subsidiary, and it will clearly not be as easy as in previous years.

After sounding the alarm for management, Zhou Juan continued, "Since the second half of last year, the company has taken a series of measures to reduce costs and increase efficiency."

The short-term goals are to replace copyright purchases with self-produced content, optimize broadband through technology, and strictly control operating costs.

The medium-term goal is to further optimize membership segmentation and value-added services, while leveraging the group's big data recommendation algorithms to precisely target advertisements and improve advertising effectiveness.

The long-term goal is to build an ecosystem, transforming Toutiao Video from a simple 'content player' into an 'IP operation platform.'

At this point, Zhou Juan paused, then changed the subject: "But achieving these goals will be fraught with difficulties. Our competitors will not stand idly by and watch us grow stronger."

The three major platforms, Youku, LeTV, and iQiyi, have strategically chosen to "burn money for market share," prioritizing scale over profitability. This will severely hinder the reform process of Toutiao Video.

Everyone present wore expressions of helplessness.

As the industry leader, Toutiao Video boasts a robust copyright library and has been actively promoting a paid membership model since the year before last. Although the initial scale of paid memberships was small, it ultimately marked a crucial step forward.

Unfortunately, their competitors are dragging them down. In order to grab users, they still use a free strategy. Youku, the second largest in the industry, still has a paid membership rate of less than 5%.

Zhou Juan took a deep breath and said firmly, "The company's development cannot stagnate, and user growth cannot slow down."

To effectively avoid the fiercely competitive film and television sector, the company has decided to develop an animation division, which will be the main focus of General Manager Zhao's future work.

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Zhao Jingsheng: "President Zhao, why don't you say a few words and tell everyone about your future work plans, and also raise any needs you may have."

(This is great, thank you everyone for your support! Thanks(ω))
(End of this chapter)