Huayu 2005: Chat groups are full of real celebrities

Jiang Bei nodded, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather:

"It might be more than that."

He glanced around and continued to deliver the finishing blow:

"These lists are incomplete in themselves."

Data from many smaller channels simply doesn't make it into mainstream statistics; it's considered "hidden traffic."

"In other words, the data you see is actually quite conservative, and the actual figures may be even more exaggerated."

The living room fell silent for a second.

Zhu Yiwen's brows furrowed even more deeply, enough to trap a fly.

But this time, he didn't interrupt, because he knew that what Jiang Bei said might be true.

Jiangbei continues to output, like a relentless science popularization machine:

"There's one more thing—besides download numbers, streaming numbers are also crucial."

He glanced at the two of them and explained:

"This thing is essentially just exposure."

The number of listens corresponding to a million downloads is usually ten to fifteen times that.

In other words, if a song has one million downloads, it likely means that over ten million people have listened to it.

The moment the words left his mouth, the air seemed to freeze for a beat, as if someone had pressed a pause button.

Liu Yifei frowned slightly, not out of doubt, but because she was doing mental calculations quickly, like a human calculator.

Tens of millions of views.

She knew this word too well, so well that she knew exactly what it meant—

That's the result of piling up resources, channels, and budgets layer by layer.

Many top-tier singers' albums fail to reach this threshold.

She remained silent for a full two seconds before speaking, her voice tinged with uncertainty:

"Even ringtones, even songs released online... still need promotion, right?"

Her tone wasn't harsh, but her questions were sharp, like a small knife:

We have nothing now.

The team, channels, operations—everything is empty. There's no manpower, no money.

How can you guarantee that our song will get enough exposure?

Jiangbei did not answer immediately this time.

He didn't even continue with the logic; he simply nodded slightly, as if acknowledging the weight of the question.

Then, he turned around and opened his browser.

Enter the URL: 12530.

The moment the page popped up, the three of them leaned forward almost simultaneously, like three curious cats.

The website on the screen was still very crude, clearly a platform that had just been launched, with an interface so rudimentary it looked like something from the last century.

The sections are blank, the structure is loose, and the overall quality is far inferior to major websites like Tencent and Sohu.

At the top of the homepage, two words stand out: Public Beta.

Liu Yifei glanced at it and subconsciously asked:

"Your new website? The interface is a bit ugly."

Jiang Bei coughed lightly, slightly embarrassed, his face flushing red.

"No. This is the official ringback tone platform from China Mobile."

He spoke calmly, but his next sentence brought a sudden, heavy weight to the scene, like a bomb being dropped:

"The ancestor of all SP operators, the client of the entire ringback tone ecosystem."

Zhu Yiwen frowned, not understanding what he meant:

"What does this have to do with the marketing and promotion we were just talking about? With this crappy website?"

Jiang Bei glanced at him, and without beating around the bush, threw out a bombshell:

"What if I told you I could get Yifei the endorsement deal for this website?"

The air visibly paused for a moment the moment the words were spoken.

It wasn't quiet; it was the suddenness of the information that caused a brief mental block, like a computer crashing.

If this is true, then the nature of the matter changes completely.

All three of them knew exactly what an endorsement meant.

Exposure weight, recommendation slots, official endorsements, and even platform-level resource allocation.

If you actually reach that position, it's not about "releasing songs," it's about being "proactively pushed by the system," and you can win without even trying.

Liu Yifei didn't speak; she was seriously doing calculations, her fingers tapping unconsciously on her knees.

The revenue share for a single download may seem small, only around two dollars, but the problem is—

In the current record industry, this can already be considered an "upstream revenue structure".

After production, distribution, channels, and promotion, the actual amount that the singer receives from each layer of production, distribution, channels, and promotion is far less than one might imagine.

In other words, a single ringtone download can, in some cases, be equivalent to a real revenue share from an album.

And this is just a song.

If we zoom out to the entire album—

If ten songs are simultaneously added to the ringtone system, as long as they aren't "flops," even if each song accumulates over a million downloads...

That doesn't correspond to "the revenue from ten songs," but rather—

The equivalent revenue structure of tens of millions of record sales.

The room fell silent for a moment.

This logic is exaggerated, so exaggerated that it's almost unreal, like listening to a science fiction story.

Jiang Bei looked up and added softly, his tone as flat as if he were saying that one plus one equals two:

"So this path is not about selling songs, but about selling traffic structure."

The air paused slightly.

The next second, Zhu Yiwen frowned and spoke directly, his tone clearly changing from analysis to a professional instinctive counterattack: "Wait a minute."

He leaned forward, his eyes sharp:

"What did you just say? You can get an official endorsement from China Mobile?"

Don't be ridiculous, that's mobile!

A state-owned enterprise! It's the only one that can choose the artists; no artist can choose it.

"Even top celebrities aren't necessarily qualified, so what makes you think you are?"

He smiled, but it was clearly disbelieving, tinged with a hint of sarcasm:

"Moreover, for something of this caliber, the requirements for the bidding process, compliance review, background checks, and public opinion risk control are almost outrageous! Even stricter than selecting a concubine!"

He looked towards Jiangbei, his face clearly saying, "Are you kidding me?"

"You're someone who lives in a rented room, just graduated a year ago, and has practically nothing to his name. How can you possibly get this kind of resource?"

Are you the illegitimate son of the CEO of China Mobile?

Jiang Bei didn't rush to explain. He simply looked up at the two of them as if he had suddenly remembered something and asked a seemingly unrelated question:

Do you guys still remember that skinny, short, squinty-eyed, messy-haired blond kid?

"That one that looks like it was just pulled out of an internet cafe."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Liu Yifei, without a second thought, blurted out a surprising remark:

"You mean that monkey that sleeps naked on the sofa?"

Jiang Bei froze for a moment, as if struck by lightning.

"...Sleeping naked?"

Three black lines instantly appeared on his forehead, and he felt that his social death had deepened even further.

These guys really don't give him any dignity at all!

He coughed lightly, forcibly steer the conversation back on track, and pretended nothing had happened:

"That's pretty much it. Guo Jian."

Then he added, his tone somewhat helpless, with a hint of pleading:

"Just to clarify, my home isn't a zoo, thank you. There are no monkeys, and I don't sleep naked."

Zhu Yiwen's brows were still furrowed; clearly, he had no interest in hearing these gossip tales.

"And then? What happened to Guo Jian? Can he help you get things sorted out with China Mobile?"

Jiang Bei ignored his questioning tone and instead casually added a sentence as if tossing down a message:

"This website is operated by Bashu Mobile."

He paused, then added another cut, like a dagger:

"Guo Jian's father is a high-ranking official over there."

The tone was very soft when this sentence was uttered, but the amount of information it conveyed was anything but light, like a depth charge.

For the first time, Zhu Yiwen did not immediately refute.

It wasn't that he believed it, it was his professional intuition that told him—

This relationship chain has gone beyond the scope of "just bragging" and sounds like it might actually be true.

He subconsciously glanced again at the simple 12530 page on the screen, and for the first time, his gaze changed from "questioning" to "re-evaluating".

Liu Yifei was still somewhat uneasy. She frowned slightly, as if processing the information she had just received:

"Just based on this... you can land an endorsement of this caliber?"

She asked slowly, not as a rebuttal, but more as a confirmation, with a hint of cautious expectation.

Despite her young age, she has seen a lot in the entertainment industry.

The more "related" a situation seems, the more likely it is to collapse at the last step.

She's suffered this kind of loss far too many times.

Jiang Bei leaned back on the sofa, his expression remaining calm and composed.

He smiled, revealing a set of white teeth: "Of course not enough."

"But if you add your current popularity, the buzz surrounding you, and that... national memory that's hard to replicate—"

He paused, as if searching for a more precise expression, and finally simply abandoned any attempt at elaboration, going straight for the main point:

"To put it bluntly, you are the embodiment of traffic, a walking spotlight."

Liu Yifei: "..."

She wanted to retort, but then hesitated, because of this sentence—

It was so straightforward, yet so damn reasonable, that she couldn't refute it.

Liu Yifei opened her mouth, but seemed somewhat unsure of herself:

"But now I..."

She stopped halfway through her sentence, worried that the overwhelming smears and rumors would affect the negotiations and become a stain on her reputation.

Jiang Bei, however, seemed oblivious to her emotional shift and continued speaking in a flat tone:

"Didn't I say before that black and red are still red?"

His tone was so calm, as if he were simply saying that the weather was nice today:

"As long as it's not a matter of solid evidence, and it's not about murder or arson, the popularity itself is a resource."

What endorsement companies want is never a saint.

It's about exposure, traffic, and buzz.

At this point, Jiang Bei glanced at the two men, knowing that they had been convinced by his theory and that the time was right.

He even confidently extended his hand and smiled:

"Now... can we talk about the details of the collaboration?"

"Can we sign the contract now?"

At this moment, his posture was relaxed, yet so relaxed that it exuded a sense of pressure, like a hunter who had already hauled in his net, only one final pull remaining.

Liu Yifei unconsciously pushed the cooperation agreement in her hand forward, it was just a few centimeters away from Jiang Bei's hand.

Just when Jiangbei thought he had succeeded—

She suddenly pulled her hand back, as if she had been electrocuted:

"Let's finalize the endorsement deal first!"

"Take endorsements in exchange for collaborations!"

You can't get something for nothing!

Jiang Bei was instantly dumbfounded, his smile froze, and a million吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to criticize or ridicule) comments flooded his mind:

"You filthy vixen! How dare you lack martial ethics!"