Chapter 55 This is a trick

Chapter 55 This is a trick

Chapter 55 This cool operation
A record company is not a charity, so the first thing to consider is of course how to make money.

Mass production requires costs, publicity and distribution require costs, MV production requires costs, and retailers in the sales process also need to make money.

Fan Wumian is not very famous yet, so sales are hard to guarantee.

His first CD album could only be priced at around HK$25, and the record company's gross profit was not much, estimated to be around 30%.

Based on the buyout price of HK$35 and a profit of approximately HK$7, the record company would have to sell copies before it could start to make a profit.

From this perspective, Zuo Ziyan's cousin does have some face, as she can get Boss Zhao to come to the company to "work overtime" even on Sundays.

There was no other person in the entire company. It was obvious that he had come here specially to discuss business with Fan Wumian.

Zhao Mingrong, the owner of this record company, seems to be optimistic about the potential of this album.

Otherwise, how could he have shouted out a price of 35 in one breath after listening to only the two singles that were recorded first, "Under the Mount Fuji" and "Evening Breeze Blowing in My Heart".

Considering Fan Wumian's status as a pure newcomer, this offer seems quite good.

Unlike Zuo Ziyan who was quite satisfied.

At this moment.

The abacus in Fan Wumian's mind was jingling loudly.

After listening to the conditions offered by boss Zhao Mingrong.

The mere buyout fee of 35 was completely ignored by him.

In his eyes, even if he found a bar and continued to sing for a few years, it would be better than selling the copyrights of 10 hit songs at this price.

As for the proposal of selling through an agent and paying HK$3 for each album, he felt that he could not accept it either.

Because Boss Zhao intends to share the profits based on the profit instead of the album sales price, and he can only get about 40% of the gross profit.

Even if Jay Chou sold more than 100 copies of "Ye Huimei" album in Hong Kong and Taiwan like he did last year, he could only get about million Hong Kong dollars in the end, and he would have to deduct costs, personal taxes, etc.

Although Fan Wumian believes that the quality of his album is impeccable, he does not have the super high popularity that Jay Chou has today.

It is hard to say whether it can sell a total of 5 copies in Hong Kong and Taiwan when it goes on sale. Perhaps in the end it will only be a mere hype.

Although if you wait patiently for fame, you will have the opportunity to make money by holding formal concerts, accepting endorsements, participating in shows, etc., but those are too far away after all, and distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.

When some singers first debut, they will choose to "focus on fame" or "focus on profit".

He is more greedy and wants both.

then.

Fan Wumian asked a very crucial question and said to Boss Zhao:

"I heard Mr. Zhao only mentioned the dividends from Hong Kong and Taiwan, so what about the mainland market? Why is it not included? Does your company not do mainland business?"

After hearing this, Zhao Mingrong immediately realized that Fan Wumian didn't know anything about it, and explained with a smile:
"The mainland market is not easy to operate. Only some multinational music giants are trying, and they have not yet completely opened up sales channels."

"For a record company of our size, it is too troublesome to open up the mainland market. In the end, it is easy to lose more than the gain. So we can only directly authorize some mainland companies to act as agents at low prices, but we can't make much money at all."

"Jay Chou, who is very popular recently, is amazing. The CD album "Qilixiang" released this year is priced at around 30 RMB. It has only been more than a month, and it is said that hundreds of thousands of copies have been sold in the mainland. But the manpower, material resources, publicity fees, and litigation fees invested must have cost millions. You are still a newcomer and cannot compare with him. Only famous singers can make money in the mainland."

"."

When he heard about litigation fees, Fan Wumian immediately understood.

He had personally experienced this era in his previous life, and many of the albums carefully collected by his fans might have been produced in some small workshop.

Especially after computers and MP3s became popular, fewer people were willing to pay for physical albums.

Skipping this topic, Fan Wumian took the opportunity to ask, "So how much can a singer like Jay Chou earn in a year?"

"I happened to hear someone mention that I made more than 3000 million Hong Kong dollars last year, two-thirds of which were endorsement fees, and the rest was from album sales and concert tours."

After Boss Zhao Mingrong finished speaking, he explained to Zuo Ziyan who was listening attentively:

"Jay has become a big name. It seems that no one in the Chinese music scene earns more than him. He is at the top of the mountain."

As a fan of Jay Chou, Zuo Ziyan's eyes almost sparkled after listening to the song. She smiled and said, "I also like to listen to his songs. I have collected two autographed albums!"

Fan Wumian glanced at her and suddenly felt it was necessary to continue grabbing a few more of Jay Chou's representative works, the kind that were so popular that they were almost bald.

Having been in business for so many years, Zhao Mingrong saw that Fan Wumian was a little hesitant and said with a smile:
"Since you were recommended by Lin Yuan, there's no need for me to cheat you. You probably won't find such good conditions as mine in any company you go to."

"I heard Linyuan mention this before. I don't know why King Records dared to offer you 100 million, but that's not a year's salary. At least it includes the five-year contract fee, which averages out to only 20 per year. You need to work hard to make money in order to avoid breach of contract."

"We can't help it. This is not the 80s or 90s. The market situation in Hong Kong is like this. Genuine albums sell for 10 or 15 yuan, while pirated CD albums only sell for or yuan. Hundreds of millions of copies are sold every year. The streets are full of pirated goods, making life difficult for everyone."

"I have to go fishing with my friends later. If you are hesitant, go back and think about it, or go ask somewhere else and give me an answer later."

He always talks about his cousin.

Zuo Ziyan began to wonder whether Boss Zhao had a crush on her cousin Wei Linyuan.

Fan Wumian was shocked by the horrific sales figures of the copycat album.

Then, he recalled his colleague who used to sing in the bar with him, the one whose parents built a house in his hometown by producing pirated discs.

In an instant.

A very bold idea naturally popped up in his mind.
——Since the sales of copycat albums are so high and the profits are very good, why do you have to find a regular record company to cooperate with?
If we bypass the traditional sales route and go directly to the production and sales channels of copycat albums, perhaps both the profits and publicity efforts will be higher than the current steady and cautious approach.

Fan Wumian himself was stunned by this idea.

I just couldn't stop this idea from spreading wildly in my mind. After all, it could satisfy both the needs of "becoming famous" and "making money" at the same time.

It may be profitable, but if you choose to do this, the negative impact cannot be underestimated.

He was worried that if he crossed the line, he would be condemned by people in the industry and lose the possibility of making a name for himself in the music industry in the future.

Therefore, he began to consider whether he would have a chance to conceal his crime if he found a shell company and asked an agent to help him get in the spotlight while he played the role of the "victim" of infringement.

Then I thought about my own songs and my own copyright. How can this be called counterfeiting and piracy?
Even if it is investigated, it is legal and compliant. It is clearly an affordable and conscientious album that conforms to market trends!

Of course.

In order to avoid attracting the wrath of other record companies, it is best to transfer the copyright of the physical album to a mainland company on the surface, and then secretly use a shell company to handle it on their behalf.

He directly skipped the terminal retail stage.

I thought about singing, producing and wholesale by myself, and mainly making money from the upstream of the industrial chain.

While reaping the benefits, not only will one have the opportunity to build a name for oneself in the mainland, but the copyright will still be in one's own hands.

Continue thinking along this line of thought.

A complete set of highly feasible plans soon appeared in Fan Wumian's mind.

For example, the distribution rights of physical albums in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were handed over to Mingrong Records Company.

The distribution rights of physical albums in the mainland were "sold" to a shell company registered by himself.

Not only does it save both parties, but it also gives you the chance to make some quick money, which seems very tempting...

(End of this chapter)