Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 370 Joint Statement on Salary Restrictions in the Entertainment Industry

July is a hot summer month for movies.

The realistic film "Dying to Survive," which was released on the 5th, kicked off the summer movie season with a first-week gross of 12.38 billion yuan, followed closely by other films.

Just as major production and distribution companies were racking their brains, hoping to make a fortune during this two-month-long period.

Datang Pictures, which missed the summer movie season this year, is holding an internal meeting with other companies to discuss the pricing of film salaries in the entertainment industry.

Inside the meeting room, the air conditioner hummed loudly, and the sounds of discussion rose and fell. A water glass on the table bore a water-stained handprint.

The handprint belonged to Chen Fei, CEO of Lemon Pictures, who was attending the meeting.

Compared to the other attendees, she was quite young, and Lemon Pictures was also a young company, so her nervousness was understandable.

However, there will always be those who are young but not nervous, and even capable of taking charge of the overall situation.

Chen Fei glanced at Chen Xiu, who was speaking eloquently in the main seat, and thought to herself: This is too young!
Sitting next to her was Cao Huayi, CEO of New Classics Media, who shared a similar idea.

One could even boldly guess that other attendees, such as Hou Hongliang, CEO of Daylight Entertainment, Fu Bingxing, president of Huace Media, and representatives from Ciwen Media and Yaoke Media, were probably secretly grumbling to themselves.

However, despite their thoughts, they didn't gather here today to discuss Chen Xiu's age.

Especially after hearing the line: "...Based on previous discussions, I suggest that the maximum pre-tax salary for a single actor in a film should not exceed 5000 million yuan, and the salary for a single episode of a TV series or web series should not exceed 100 million yuan. Does anyone have any other thoughts?"

Everyone cleared their minds of all distractions and turned to look at Chen Xiu, only to find that Chen Xiu was also looking at them.

The meeting room fell silent.

The representatives of the six film and television companies invited to the meeting looked at each other, and finally turned their attention to the representatives of Aiqiyou, the three companies with which they had a cooperative relationship and which had also invited them to the meeting.

Upon receiving the inquiry, Fan Luyuan, the representative of Youku and also the head of Ali Pictures, coughed twice.

"Mr. Chen, the highest pre-tax salary for a movie is no more than 50 million. Isn't that a bit too low? Brother Cheng and Jet Lee's salaries were already over 100 million many years ago, and they're probably only going to be higher now."

"This is just a rough price; it's not fixed."

Chen Xiu glanced at Fan Luyuan and thought to herself: Ali Pictures, backed by Taopiaopiao, has launched the Lighthouse platform for film promotion and distribution. The marketing plan designed for "Dying to Survive" has been very effective. They must be planning to make a big splash in the future.

Fan Luyuan pondered for a while, then said, "You mean, this pricing only applies to domestic artists and celebrities, while international superstars like Big Brother Cheng and Jet Li should still be priced according to market rates?"

"Don't misunderstand, that's not what I meant."

Chen Xiu denied it once and then began to clarify.

"Whether it's a domestic or foreign star, the salary we set is to make the entire film market healthier, and it's also determined according to the star's commercial value."

"Take Wu Jing for example. After the release of 'Wolf Warrior 2' last year, he asked for a salary of 5000 million yuan. I would like to ask, are there any stars in China with higher commercial value than Wu Jing?"

"..."*N
When the trump card was played, everyone was speechless.

The 58 billion yuan box office success of "Wolf Warrior 2" is an insurmountable mountain for other stars.

Looking at the silent crowd, Chen Xiu continued, "The reason I initiated this discussion on salary restrictions is that I hope the film and television industry can become more standardized."

"In the past two years, a large amount of hot money poured in, causing the salaries of celebrities to skyrocket. But everyone knows the actual output. It's no longer meaningful to discuss how many trending topics, ratings, and on-demand views were bought."

"Advertisers have become smarter; no one will pay for data anymore. Everyone is looking at actual conversion rates. Hot money is dwindling, but celebrity salaries remain high. How long can you all hold out?"

There was another moment of silence, because they knew that what Chen Xiu said was true.

So far this year, the so-called "traffic-driving" dramas "Sweet Combat" and "Martial Universe" have all flopped in ratings.

If even top-tier celebrities like Lu Han and Yang Yang can't attract fans, then others are even less likely to succeed.

Then, major TV stations suffered losses in attracting advertisers, and advertisers tightened their belts, as the trick of inflating data was no longer working.

On the other hand, the fees that celebrities ask for are still rising, and these high-output film and television production companies are indeed feeling the pressure of costs.

If two or three big-budget dramas flop, the company may face a broken cash flow, while the stars can still collect their salaries and leave.

This situation definitely needs to be changed...

"Um, I'd like to say a few words."

When Gong Yu, the CEO of Kiwifruit, suddenly spoke, everyone's attention was drawn to him.

He smacked his lips with a heavy expression and said, "I believe everyone is aware of what happened at the end of May. According to the information I received, the higher-ups have long been dissatisfied with the exorbitant salaries of celebrities."

"The fact that this incident has caused such a stir, and that Huayi couldn't suppress it, already proves a lot. If we had taken the initiative to rectify the situation earlier, there might still be some room for maneuver; otherwise... you all understand what I mean, right?"

"Understood, understood."
Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, including Fan Luyuan, who had just used his elder brother Cheng as an example.

Some things, if you don't weigh them, they're nothing; but once you do, they're incredibly heavy. Kiwi, backed by Baidu and rooted in Beijing, definitely has better access to information about the film and television industry than others.

As everyone remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts, Sun Zhonghuai, the penguin representative who had been silent until now, was about to speak and continue the conversation.

But before he could open his mouth, he glanced at Chen Xiu out of the corner of his eye and closed it again, changing what he was going to say.

"How about you all listen to me for a moment?"

Sun Zhonghuai smiled and looked around before fixing his gaze on Chen Xiu.

"Just now, Mr. Chen used Wu Jing's salary as an example of movie salaries. I actually have a ready-made example of TV series salaries here."

"..."

Chen Xiu's heart skipped a beat; she had already guessed what Sun Zhonghuai wanted to say from his meaningful gaze.

Sun Zhonghuai chuckled and said, "Since his debut, President Chen has only acted in TV dramas. Although the output is not large, the quality is very high!"

"The drama 'Qin King's Battle Song,' which premiered last year, not only achieved an average viewership rating of 2% per episode in China, but also performed very well overseas, especially on NHK, where the highest single-episode viewership rating reached 15%!"

"With such achievements, Mr. Chen's salary for 'Qin Wang Po Zhen Qu' was only 50 yuan per episode, and for producing the sequel 'Xuanwu Gate Incident' this year, he only received 80 yuan per episode. I want to ask: among domestic TV drama stars, who dares to say that their commercial value is higher than Mr. Chen's?"

"..."*N
Seeing Sun Zhonghuai's self-righteous demeanor, the silence on everyone's faces looked extremely strange.

In this matter, if we only consider the salary, Chen Xiu is definitely a role model, unmatched by anyone in the entire industry.

However, Chen Xiu is not just a celebrity. Did he really pay attention to the meager salary he received?

Chen Xiu indeed curled her lip: "From my personal point of view, I don't mind being used as an example."

"In that case, let's go back and issue a joint statement on salary caps!"

Sun Zhonghuai suggested building railways while the momentum was strong, a suggestion that was echoed by others.

"Wait a mininute!"

Gong Yu's sudden interruption drew everyone's attention to him again. He continued, "If we issue a joint statement on salary caps, celebrities will inevitably react. I suggest that everyone here should focus on promoting some low-budget TV dramas, at least this year."

"Even if we're going to make a blockbuster, we shouldn't hire top-tier or A-list celebrities. We need to make our stance clear and not let the salary cap statement become just empty talk."

"Agreed!" *N
After the proposal was approved by everyone, the meeting came to an end.

That afternoon, Datang Pictures, together with three major video platforms—iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku—and six film and television companies—Daylight Entertainment, Huace Media, Ciwen Media, Lemon Pictures, Yaoke Media, and New Classics Media—issued a joint statement on Weibo and Douyin: the highest salary for a single actor…
This statement quickly grabbed headlines in the entertainment sections of major platforms, and then spread rapidly beyond their immediate circle, making it known to celebrities and fans alike.

Despite not publicly commenting on this clearly unfavorable statement, the celebrities undoubtedly hurled insults at it privately.

Even some minor celebrities who had just gained some popularity were lamenting the loss of their financial future and secretly cursing behind the scenes.

Xu Kai from the "Arsenal Military Academy" crew is a perfect example.

"Brother Zheng, do you think Chen Xiu is being nosy? He doesn't make a living from acting fees, yet he jumps out to talk about limiting celebrities' salaries. Isn't he brain-dead..."

"Freeze said!"

The brat interrupted Xu Kai's complaint with a sharp voice, as if afraid that someone would hear her.

However, what are you afraid of?

Just as Yu Zheng put his arm around Xu Kai's shoulder, preparing to teach him the rules of the circle, a deep voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Xu Kai, who did you just call brain-dead?"

Yu Zheng and Xu Kai turned around and saw Tian Xinwei standing there in military uniform, with a slicked-back hairstyle, unusually calm almond-shaped eyes, and a forced smile.

Looking at this sweet girl who had been ignoring him since joining the crew, Xu Kai quickly denied it, saying, "I didn't say anything, you misheard."

"Oh, I must have misheard. It's not that someone is acting like a coward, daring to say it but not daring to admit it."

"you……"

"It's nothing, I was just saying it offhand, don't take it to heart. Um, we have a fight scene later, the director asked me to come and tell you, so get ready."

After saying that, Tian Xinwei turned and left, not wanting to stay with the two men behind her who lacked yang energy any longer.

Watching Tian Xinwei leave, and remembering her rebellious remarks, Xu Kai quickly turned to Yu Zheng beside him for help: "Brother Zheng, what should I do?"

"What do you mean, what to do? It's just filming. She's not going to really hit you. Even if she did, how much strength could a little girl have? I'm the executive producer of the film. Do you think I can't protect you?"

Yu Zheng displayed his "manly spirit" to Xu Kai, and then put his hand on Xu Kai's shoulder...

(End of this chapter)