Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

Chapter 114 Canxing's Hint: This is the Entertainment Industry

This summer, every Friday night belongs to "The Voice of China".

The second episode, which aired on the evening of July 20th, quickly broke the 2% viewership rating and showed no signs of stopping.

Zhuang Xinyan appeared in the second episode and sang the song "Afterwards".

This song didn't receive high praise from netizens, but it became a hit in the ringtone market.

Sennan Entertainment now has its own online service provider (SP). According to estimates, the song "Afterwards" is expected to generate over three million in revenue in its first calendar month.

"Ringtones are really profitable! Starting an SP (Service Provider) company is even more lucrative!"

Zheng Nan did a quick mental calculation.

For a song, a user downloads it once a month for five yuan. The operator takes a cut, the service provider (SP) takes a cut, and the copyright holder takes a cut. The profit margin in between is frighteningly large.

The top-rated hit songs have millions of downloads, resulting in astronomical revenue.

Zheng Nan couldn't even imagine how much money a long-established online service provider like Longteng Sunshine had made during the years when ringtones were all the rage!

They secured their position when the ringback tone service was just emerging, holding SP qualifications across the entire network and having channels covering all three major operators. During the peak years of ringback tones, their revenue was probably better than the financial reports of some listed companies.

If I had been reborn a few years earlier, why would I need to buy cryptocurrency? I could have just started an SP company. I wouldn't even need the entire internet; a local network would have sufficed.

Secure access to a province, hire a few tech guys to build a basic platform, acquire a batch of copyrights, or simply create some original content yourself.

Create content, and money will flow in like tap water.

This business model is simple and straightforward. It doesn't require sophisticated technology or complex business logic. It involves connecting with song copyright holders at the bottom and with telecom operators at the top, taking a cut in the middle.

Within a specific time window, this is practically a legal money-printing machine.

Making quick money in a few years is enough to live a carefree life.

It's a pity that ringback tones won't be a viable business for many more years, otherwise Zheng Nan would be keen to shift the company's focus to the music business.

"Keep it up, 'Afterwards'!" Zheng Nan hoped that the song would stay in the ringtone market for a long time, so that he would have more money to make movies.

"Boss, a lot of singers and companies want to commission songs from you," Aya called, saying that many people had been contacting her recently.

Making money in the music business is not very profitable now, and those who actively seek out songs are mostly small singers and small companies.

Zheng Nan asked which companies were eligible, then made an excuse to decline.

"Then Canxing contacted me and asked if Chen Li and Zhuang Xinyan's record contracts could be transferred to their affiliated Dream Sound Entertainment agency." Aya's tone was clearly angry.

"When they contacted me, they implied that if Chen Li and Zhuang Xinyan didn't transfer their record contracts to this company, their time on the show wouldn't go far!"

"I've spoken with some amateur contestants who signed with their company, and the terms of their contracts are extremely harsh. The contracts are for nine years, and for the first three years, contestants can only receive 20% of their earnings—purely exploitative terms!"

"They're just taking advantage of the fact that amateur contestants who want to get ahead will have to be exploited by them. This show has only just started, and they're already doing this kind of thing. Aren't they being incredibly greedy?!"

Aya originally quite liked the show "The Voice of China" because she thought their blind audition method was fair and gave people with average looks the opportunity to appear on TV and become famous.

But after communicating with Canxing privately, Aya realized that she had misjudged him.

Where in the entertainment industry can you find so many good people and good companies?

Her boss is the special one.

"You're not new to the entertainment industry. This industry has always been like this. There are plenty of people and companies like this. They won't let go of any profit they see. There's no need to get angry with them." Zheng Nan advised Aya not to get angry, because getting angry will only make her sick and no one can take her place.

In the entertainment industry, a place rife with fame and fortune, from the front of the stage to behind the scenes, from large corporations to small workshops, this profit-driven mentality is all too common.

While some shine on stage, others count their money until their hands cramp, and many more are relentlessly crushed by contracts and clauses in various corners of the world.

"Boss, you're so kind. You treat new employees well and even pay for their social insurance and housing fund. I'll be loyal to you for life!" This time, Aya wasn't just flattering her; she was genuinely praising her.

For aspiring newcomers to the entertainment industry, signing with Sennan Entertainment as their first company is incredibly lucky.

No need to face cannibalistic contract terms, no need to make a cruel choice between dreams and survival, no need to spend the most time learning and growing...

Age is being used as a cheap tool to make money.

Chen Li can complete her studies while steadily developing her acting career, and Zhuang Xinyan can systematically learn music knowledge instead of being forced to run those meaningless appearances.

Some might say that Zheng Nan's friendly behavior towards newcomers is silly.

From a purely business perspective, you're not running a charity. If you invest resources in training new talent, you should guarantee your returns with sufficiently long contracts and a sufficiently favorable profit-sharing ratio. This is the most basic business logic.

You sign short-term contracts with good conditions for newcomers, but what if they become popular and then jump ship? All the promotional resources and training costs you invested in the early stages will be wasted. When they've grown up and moved on to a bigger platform, you'll have nowhere to turn and regret it.

Zheng Nan's thinking was very simple, even bordering on a capriciousness that didn't quite fit the business logic of this era.

If my buddy has been reborn, and still has to live off these newbies, then he might as well not have been reborn and just go back to being a security guard.

The greatest meaning of starting over is being able to live the way you want, right? If you're reborn and still end up like those heartless bastards, then what's the point of being reborn?

"Stop bragging. No matter how much you brag, I won't give you a raise." Zheng Nan gestured for Aya to stop. She usually complained about him in private, but when they talked, she would express her loyalty.

"Hehe, boss, I rarely complain about you in private anymore."

A worker who doesn't complain about their boss isn't a qualified workhorse.

After hanging up Aya's call, Zheng Nan opened Sohu to check the data for the latest episode of "Hilarious Season 3".

"Hilarious Season 3" airs one episode every Friday at 8 PM, while the regular season of "The Voice of China" airs at 9:10 PM.

The two shows are scheduled at different times and are not the same type of program. One is a comedy short drama and the other is a music competition variety show. In theory, although there is some overlap in the audience, it should not lead to a direct conflict.

But "The Voice of China" is so popular now that the word "popular" can no longer describe it.

After the second episode's viewership rating broke 2, it dominated the headlines of entertainment sections of major media outlets, and its popularity on social media platforms continued to soar. As a result, the fame and commercial value of the judges also skyrocketed, and fan clubs for the contestants sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

"The Voice of China" is already showing signs of becoming a phenomenon-level variety show, and a phenomenon-level program of this scale will act like a huge gravitational field, drawing the attention of viewers from all other programs around it.

There are still concerns within Sohu, and they are already assessing the potential impact.

For platforms, the total time and attention of viewers are limited. If a show becomes a hit, it inevitably means that the viewership of other shows will be diverted.

If it really has an impact, then move the update time of "Hilarious Season 3" to another time, avoiding Friday nights, a time slot already dominated by "The Voice of China".

After all, "Hilarious Season 3" has a strong user base, so there's no need for it to go head-to-head with a phenomenal variety show.

Now that "Hilarious Season 3" has been updated to the fourth episode, Zheng Nan is reading through the comments section one by one.

The online reviews are similar to those of the second season, with the overall reputation remaining stable and longtime fans still supporting it. The quality of the jokes and the production standards of the new season are both on point, and the density of jokes and the control of pacing are even more mature than those of the second season.

The majority of feedback in the comments section was positive, with comments like "I'm dying of laughter," "Still hilarious," and "I love Yui Hatano the most" being the most common.

Fans have been missing Qiao Shan, the Emperor of Bathing, since they haven't seen him for a long time.

In the comments section of every episode, people ask: "Where's Qiao Shan?" "When will the Bathing Emperor appear?" "The laughs aren't complete without Qiao Shan!"

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