Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

Chapter 70 Tens of Millions in Record Revenue

December 10th, PolyGram President's Office.

Zheng Donghan held a report in his hand with a smile on his face. He handed the report to Zheng Hui across from him.

"Hui-zai, take a look at your report card for 'Floating Life'."

Zheng Hui took the report and his gaze fell on it.

The timeframe is ten days.

It was launched on December 1st and will be available from December 10th.

In Taiwan, total sales exceeded 300,000 copies.

In Hong Kong, total sales exceeded 100,000 copies.

In Southeast Asian regions such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, where distribution channels have just been established, more than 80,000 tickets have already been sold.

Looking at these numbers, Zheng Hui calculated in his mind that in ten days, the total sales had exceeded 480,000 O-type cards.

"The results are very good." Zheng Donghan took a cigar from the cigar box, cut it open, and lit it.

"This is just the beginning. The promotion has only just started, and record stores in many counties and cities in Taiwan are still waiting for the goods."

He exhaled a smoke ring and looked at Zheng Hui: "This album will definitely sell over a million copies."

"One million copies, Hui-zai, do you know what that means?"

Zheng Hui looked up at Zheng Donghan.

"This means that you can now compete with some of the hottest singers in the Hong Kong music scene right now."

Zheng Donghan's tone was filled with emotion: "Of course, compared to Richie Jen and Coco Lee this year, they might still be a little lacking. Those two have had an incredible impact across Asia this year."

"But the final sales won't be much different. You've already got your ticket to the million-dollar club."

Zheng Hui put down the report in his hand.

One million sheets—his mind began to race.

Of the total sales of one million copies, about 20% were cassette tapes, which had lower prices and royalties, so we can ignore them for now.

The remaining 800,000 are CDs.

According to his distribution contract with PolyGram, his royalty share is 18%.

The average price of a CD in Hong Kong and Taiwan is around HK$100, and the royalties are 18%, which is HK$18.

This is just the royalties.

He wrote all the lyrics and music for this album himself.

According to industry practice in Hong Kong, the royalty sharing for lyrics and music is roughly nine percent of the selling price of a song.

Eighteen yuan in royalties, plus nine yuan for lyrics and music royalties.

He can earn 27 Hong Kong dollars for selling a CD.

Eight hundred thousand CDs is 21.6 million.

Even after deducting some miscellaneous expenses, such as discounts for distribution channels and advertising costs.

Twenty million, net profit.

Zheng Hui's heart skipped a beat. He had always known he would make a lot of money, and he was mentally prepared for it.

But he didn't expect it to happen so quickly, and in so many numbers.

One record brought him 20 million in revenue.

This doesn't even include the subsequent revenue from his first album, "Stubborn".

That album sold four to five hundred thousand copies in Hong Kong and Taiwan, bringing in another ten million dollars.

No wonder everyone says that singers of this era are true superstars, walking money-printing machines.

It's no wonder that singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan look down on the mainland market.

He himself sold five million cassette tapes for his first album in mainland China, which sounds like an astonishing number.

But after deducting the cost, he only received about two yuan for each cassette tape.

Five million boxes, which is equivalent to ten million RMB in revenue.

He still has to honestly pay taxes to the country on this ten million.

After the two-year exemption and three-year reduction period for corporate income tax, value-added tax, and various surtaxes, if the annual profit is 10 million yuan, then after all the calculations, it would be good to get 6 or 7 million yuan in hand.

The distribution contract he signed with PolyGram was with the company he registered in Macau.

Macau's tax law stipulates that companies registered in Macau are exempt from taxation as long as their income does not originate from Macau.

These two or three million Hong Kong dollars are tax-free.

Pure profit.

Zheng Hui picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and only then did his somewhat wandering thoughts return to reality.

He looked at the man behind the desk, puffing out smoke.

He knew that his ability to earn this money was largely due to the quality of the songs themselves, Zheng Donghan's management, and PolyGram's distribution channels.

After calculating his income, Zheng Hui did not forget the important reason he had come today.

"Mr. Zheng, I came here today not only to hear about the album's sales, but also mainly to say goodbye."

Zheng Donghan raised an eyebrow: "Saying goodbye? Where to?"

"Back to Beijing," Zheng Hui said. "I mentioned it to you before, a program from CCTV has been selected for the Spring Festival Gala rehearsals. I need to go there to prepare."

Zheng Donghan nodded, indicating his understanding.

Although in his view, the Spring Festival Gala's influence is mainly in mainland China and does not directly help the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets.

But Zheng Hui rose to fame in mainland China first, so it's only right that he go back to consolidate his existing fanbase.

"Alright, then go and prepare." Zheng Donghan put down his cigar.

"The Spring Festival Gala stage is quite large, so perform well. This will be of immense benefit to your career development in mainland China."

He changed the subject, a capitalist smile returning to his face: "When you have free time, don't just sit around doing nothing, think about songs more often."

"You can't slow down this pace of releasing songs. Try to prepare another album for the company as soon as possible."

Zheng Hui was both amused and exasperated.

This copy of "Floating Life" has only been on the market for ten days, and the sales figures for the first month haven't even been tallied yet, but the owner is already thinking about the next one.

He's a capitalist after all; they wish they could treat him like a hen, laying a golden egg every day.

"I will, Mr. Zheng." Zheng Hui stood up. "Then I'll take my leave."

"Okay, I'll have someone send it to you."

Zheng Hui did not return directly to Beijing, but instead went back to Guangzhou first.

White Swan Audio-Visual Publishing House, President's Office.

When President Wang saw Zheng Hui, he warmly came out from behind his desk and shook his hand.

"Zheng Hui, you're a huge contributor to our publishing house!"

"President Wang, you're too kind."

The two sat down on the sofa, and President Wang asked his secretary to make tea.

"I was just looking for you. The payment from the distribution channels for your first album just arrived a couple of days ago."

President Wang picked up a document from the table and handed it to Zheng Hui.

"This is our publisher's own distribution channel, mainly Xinhua Bookstore and the education system. The first batch of payments came in for 500,000 boxes."

Zheng Hui took the document and glanced at it.

Five hundred thousand boxes, at the previously agreed price of three yuan and fifty cents per box.

The total amount is 1.75 million yuan.

President Wang looked at Zheng Hui and said with a smile, "I've already had the finance department transfer the money to your company's account. Check it; it should have arrived by now."

"Thank you, President Wang." Zheng Hui put down the document.

One million seven hundred and fifty thousand is a huge sum of money to anyone.

But for Zheng Hui, who had just finished calculating the 20 to 30 million yuan he would receive, this amount of money did indeed dampen his enthusiasm.

However, he managed to keep a good expression on his face and still managed to put on a happy smile.

"This is all thanks to President Wang and the publishing house's distribution channels; otherwise, we wouldn't have sold so many."

After discussing the revenue from the first album, President Wang brought up the second album.

"For your 'Floating Life' cassette tape, the production order of three million tapes that you signed before, the factory in Panyu has already produced more than two million tapes."

"I have already placed an order for one million boxes on behalf of the publishing house."

"Don't think I'm being greedy, this album is just too popular."

"This time, we didn't even have to actively promote it. As soon as your songs became popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the phone lines of record store owners and Xinhua Bookstore's purchasing department in mainland China were practically ringing off the hook."

"We first distributed hundreds of thousands of boxes to markets across the country, and they sold out instantly."

As long as they confirm the content is okay, unlike some random songs in Hong Kong, they basically buy as many as they can get, clearing everything out in one go.

"Not to mention those individual wholesalers. Didn't the owners of those four stalls who cooperated with you last time come to you for goods again the other day? They're all afraid of not being able to get the goods."

Zheng Hui nodded; this outcome was within his expectations.

The album "Floating Life" will have a greater impact in mainland China than in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

After all, there is a broader market and more suppressed emotions here.

After talking with President Wang, Zheng Hui returned to his temporary office in Guangzhou.

Chen Jianguo was engrossed in a pile of ledgers and receipts. When he saw Zheng Hui enter, he quickly stood up.

"Boss, you're back."

"Okay, have a seat." Zheng Hui pulled up a chair and sat down. "How's the accounting going?"

"That's about it." Chen Jianguo picked up an account book and handed it to Zheng Hui.

"During the time you went to Taiwan for promotion, Fatty Liu and the other three came to visit again."

"The same old rule applies: the order for two million boxes will be split among the four companies, with each receiving 500,000 boxes."

"The price is still three yuan a box, and the six million yuan in cash was settled at the factory that same day."

Chen Jianguo pointed to a number in the ledger: "I've already asked Master Qian to help with the accounting and deposit the money into the company account—"

The household registration is complete. The taxes have also been paid; this is the tax payment certificate.

57

Zheng Hui took the thin piece of paper, which was stamped with the tax bureau's official seal.

He felt much more at ease.

Chen Jianguo has been dealing with these numbers almost every day lately, and he has become noticeably thinner, but his eyes are getting brighter and brighter.

He found his own value.

After settling the company's accounts, Zheng Hui did not stay in Guangzhou for long.

He took Wang Dashan and Li Zongming with him and embarked on a journey to the capital.

This trip to the capital is a very important mission.

Not only will he participate in the Spring Festival Gala rehearsals, but Wahaha Group has also sent people to contact Li Zongming.

They plan to continue their contract with Zheng Hui, having him endorse another of Wahaha's flagship products.

Purified water.