"Auntie Cai, Auntie Cai, wait!"
"What's the matter?"
Jiang Hua walked up to her, rubbed his nose, and grinned sheepishly. "Auntie Cai, a platform wants me to release my album with them. They're offering 1 million yuan."
"Cough cough."
Director Cai was startled. Was the entertainment industry really this lucrative? 1 million for releasing an album?
Jiang Hua quickly patted Director Cai's back.
"I'm just asking if this income is reasonable."
Director Cai gave him a side-eye. "Don't you still owe 1 million in breach of contract fees? Recording songs in your free time is allowed in principle, but don't you dare accept any commercial performances or endorsements."
"I know, I know. I absolutely won't do my own things during work hours."
With the leader's approval, Jiang Hua could now negotiate. 1 million for an exclusive deal was impossible.
Jiang Hua called back. The other side answered immediately.
"Mr. Jiang, do you agree?"
Jiang Hua thought for a moment and said, "1 million for an exclusive deal, does that mean all my future albums have to be released on your platform?"
The other side pondered for a long time. 1 million for one album was a gamble.
If Jiang Hua were an established star, this price wouldn't be expensive at all.
But Jiang Hua was essentially a newcomer now. He was taking a big risk.
"For the first album, we'll offer 1 million. How about we set up a tiered plan? If the first album's sales and new member total amount exceeds 10 million, we'll offer 1 million for the next album too. If it exceeds 30 million, we'll offer 1.5 million for the second album's exclusive rights, and so on, with 20 million as a tier. Of course, if it doesn't meet expectations, we'll lower the exclusive signing fee for future albums."
This was a fair price. The other party was really only making cost.
Don't forget, Jiang Hua would also get a share of the album sales.
NetEase Cloud was really pushed to the brink. Now many singers had signed exclusive deals with QQ Music.
The era of buying traffic with money was over, and singer resources were all snatched up.
This was a risky move.
Jiang Hua asked quietly, "Is that before or after tax?"
If it was before tax, he'd have to pay 45% personal income tax. It didn't seem like a good deal.
The other side gritted their teeth and said, "After tax. But you'll pay taxes on album sales yourself. We'll help withhold it."
"OK, it's a deal. Get the contract ready as soon as possible. By the way, I took a side profile photo for this album. Please process it with a blue background. I'll call it the Blue Album. Oh, and I'm from the Zhejiang Little Hundred Flowers Yue Opera Troupe, erhu player."
Erhu player? Are you joking with me?
Even digital albums have covers. Why was Jiang Hua so insistent on the Blue Album? Because it was his youth.
"Alright, no problem. I'll send you the electronic version of the contract shortly."
Jiang Hua did some mental calculations. QQ Music had more users, but how much could one album sell? The platform would take at least half.
How many albums would need to be sold to make 1 million? And they were offering full platform promotion.
No matter how down and out NetEase Cloud was, full platform promotion would still cost a lot.
The contract signing went smoothly. The other side was also betting on Jiang Hua becoming popular.
....
At the NetEase Cloud office.
As soon as Jiang Hua's electronic contract was signed, he sent over the photo and the album.
This guy was lazy, only registering on QQ Music.
He didn't even have an account on NetEase Cloud.
Zhang Jian hurriedly opened the audio to check the quality of this album, to see if his 1 million was worth it.
He first found "Jiangnan" and played it. He was stunned.
A gust of wind blew past, as if he was really in the misty rain of Jiangnan.
A hit, an absolute hit. It was so damn good. The 1 million was well spent.
This might be his most worthwhile investment ever, bar none.
NetEase Cloud might start reclaiming lost ground from QQ Music's pressure, perhaps starting with this album.
Thinking of this, he immediately called a meeting of executives.
"Promote this album with all our might. I don't care if you have any recommendation slots left, recommend this album immediately. Sales start at 12 AM."
"Manager Zhang, this is a huge gamble. I don't agree."
Zhang didn't get angry. He silently opened Jiang Hua's audio.
After listening to just two songs, everyone understood. This was definitely a godly album. Even if it was released in the fiercely competitive 90s,
Its quality would definitely be enough to compete.
"Alright, I'll arrange it immediately."
"By the way, Manager Zhang, Jiang Hua doesn't have an account yet. How should we compile his information? Does he have any requirements?"
Zhang didn't want to say it, mainly because erhu player didn't quite match with a pop album.
But compared to the album, this wasn't a big deal.
"His workplace is Zhejiang Little Hundred Flowers Yue Opera Troupe, position is erhu player. Just write it like that."
This confused the executives. Erhu player? This album used a lot of piano and synthesizer.
The erhu wasn't even used much.
But since it was a proper public institution, they shouldn't be too picky.
NetEase Cloud moved quickly. By 6 PM, a blue promotional poster was up on the website.
Then they promoted it on their own platform.
On Douyin, they also started investing in traffic. Originally they only planned to promote on their own platform.
But after everyone listened to a few songs, they decided to invest in traffic.
If this album couldn't become a hit, they might as well all resign.
At this moment, Jiang Hua was sitting quietly in his dorm room, writing.
His livestream was also open on the side. His novel had exceeded 200,000 words, and Xihongshi had arranged video advertisements.
It suddenly made the novel popular, with over 2 million readers. It was contributing over 20,000 yuan in manuscript fees to Jiang Hua daily.
This was with a low word count. He felt life was peaceful now.
Every day he went to a job he liked, and after work he could do some side jobs.
It couldn't be more comfortable. Making money was just a side effect.
In the livestream, 50,000 people rushed in. This wasn't even a talent show livestream.
[Changfeng: Damn, what kind of person have I become a fan of? Big bro, can you not be so hardworking? You're so excellent, it puts a lot of pressure on us fans.]
[Qiqi: Exactly, compared to big bro, I feel I'm nothing. I can only help my family collect rent.]
[Peach: What's going on? What's going on? I haven't been online for a few days, has the world changed? Big bro is even releasing an album now. Everyone, let's go! Download NetEase Cloud, get ready for the 12 AM release.]
The entire livestream was harmonious. The occasional haters were quickly suppressed.
Wang Kai also quietly opened Jiang Hua's livestream. Since "Jiangnan" was exposed last time, the company had chosen another good song for him.
He felt uneasy. Hearing that Jiang Hua's album would be released on NetEase Cloud, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Jiang Hua writing, he sneered disdainfully.
What are you pretending? You're just a college graduate, pretending to be cultured.
He closed the livestream, downloaded NetEase Cloud, ready to check the album quality later.
Being confident was one thing, but knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle.
That night, who knows how many people were waiting for 12 AM to arrive.
...