Are you trying to force me to become a star?

Chapter 8 The Transformation of the Music Industry

The next day at noon, in a private room of a restaurant near Dongxi.

Six people were sitting around the table: Xu Jinyan, Yu Han, Pang Lei, Kong Chun, Shen Nan who joined halfway through, and Nan Feng.

It was originally just a gathering of the four of them in their dormitory, but then they received a message from Nanfeng: Teacher Shen Nan really likes his music and wants to invite him to dinner, asking if it's convenient for him.

Xu Jinyan was taken aback when he received the news. The competition wasn't over yet, and he, a contestant, was having dinner with the referee. Was that appropriate?

Nanfeng replied directly, "It's a small matter. I'm practically your senior, so I can be a judge too, can't I?"

Thinking about it, it made a lot of sense, so I told them that their dorm was having a get-together, and it had just started, and they could come over if they didn't mind.

"it is good"

After putting away her phone, Xu Jinyan told her roommates. They were all stunned. So, you know one judge, and another judge wants to get to know you too?

Aren't you being a little too blatant?

Before long, Nanfeng and Shen Nan arrived at the private room. The four of them stood up to greet each other, took their seats, and a few more dishes were added. They ate and chatted casually.

Shen Nan is a very easy-going person, without any airs, and can chat with anyone. Pang Lei is a lively person, while Yu Han is more composed, so the meal went very smoothly.

Midway through, Shen Nan asked, "Jinyan, are you ready for the final performance? Which song are you going to sing?"

Xu Jinyan considered the meaning behind Shen Nan's words and said, "I think I have more time this year, so I'd like to try writing another one myself."

As expected, Shen Nan smiled and nodded, saying, "Then I'll be waiting to see."

The competition did only require original works in the semi-finals, but we gave you a week in between. Why didn't you take the initiative?

At this moment, Kong Chun suddenly said, "Still trying to create something original? Then Jin Yan, you'd better watch out."

Nanfeng asked curiously, "Be careful of what?"

Kong Chun excitedly said, "Hey, Teacher Nan, Teacher Shen, you didn't know, did you? Jin Yan's initial song for the semi-finals wasn't this one." Seeing that the two of them were intrigued, he then recounted the whole story in detail, speaking with great enthusiasm. The plot was so exciting! Finally, he said, "That's it? Jin Yan still won beautifully."

Both of them looked at Xu Jinyan with some surprise. Shen Nan asked, "So you wrote 'Anhe Bridge' in just three days?"

Xu Jinyan smiled shyly and said, "I was lucky; inspiration just happened to strike."

"Impressive. I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll write in a week."

Xu Jinyan maintained a humble smile. To be honest, he could write the song "Anhe Bridge" in a matter of minutes, not even a week, not even three days... Fortunately, he managed to restrain himself from slapping himself in the face, thus avoiding becoming like Di.

Then, Shen Nan shared her thoughts on what Kong Chun had just said, "I didn't expect there to be such a backstory. I know Wang Yizhen; I didn't realize she was so cunning."

"This kind of copyright infringement used to be very common, but I haven't heard of it for more than ten years now. It's given me a good chance to reminisce."

Pang Lei asked with interest, "Professor Shen, was it particularly chaotic more than ten years ago?"

Shen Nan took a sip of wine, as if reminiscing about the past, and slowly began to tell a story: "You should have learned in history class that a global earthquake in the last century not only unearthed advanced technological relics, but also sparked a devastating world war."

The group nodded.

"Later, the whole world was liberated, and all countries were developing while adhering to the concept of peace. In contrast, people in Europe and America pursued more personal satisfaction, while the traditional Chinese mindset was to put the collective before the individual, to endure hardship before enjoying happiness. Only when the country is strong can individual happiness be guaranteed."

"Therefore, our ancestors devoted more energy to developing science and technology and improving productivity, which is why we are now the world's strongest country."

"However, the same problem has created a lack of regulation in the cultural and entertainment industry. Before the new century, fans were fanatical and irrational, and capital was unreasonable. For example, music copyright, which I just mentioned, we didn't have this at first. Later, when we had it, it couldn't withstand scrutiny at all. Everything was for profit."

Several friends were stunned and said, "Well, that's actually pretty good now. At least the rights of music creators can be protected."

Shen Nan sighed, "All I can say is that every industry will eventually go from disorder to order. The music industry has undergone the most thorough reform. The largest music platform today, 'Zhiyin,' is the product of the integration of several music platforms. Its internal shareholding structure is very complex, but it is subject to extremely strict official supervision. All data is very detailed, open, transparent, and subject to public scrutiny."

Why the music industry?

"First of all, the music industry chain is much simpler than that of film and television. The division of labor among music practitioners is clear, and it involves fewer offline industries. Now only some elderly people still listen to records. Why? Because the sound quality of digital music has swept everything, so the record industry is now very weak."

"Another example is the medley of songs at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympics. Zhai Tianlin, the most popular singer in my country at the time, sang an original song called 'Stop Delusions' in front of seven billion viewers around the world. He called it a call for everyone to break free from the delusions and obsessions of thought. As a result, he was accused of plagiarizing a California folk song."

"The incident caused a huge uproar. The relevant departments investigated and found that this person had committed multiple acts of plagiarism. His doctoral degree in California was also a marketing ploy. His original song and that California folk song had about 40% overlap in melody. The revelation of this truth became the fuse for the transformation of the music industry. It is known as the 'Zhiwang Incident' and people also call that year 'Tianlin Year One'."

"Cough cough..." Xu Jinyan choked on the food, took the napkin handed to her by Nanfeng, wiped her mouth while thinking about what Shen Nan had just said.

The world lines converge inexplicably, and those old friends always seem to appear in parallel worlds in strange forms.

At this point, Shen Nan continued, "After more than a decade of development, 'Zhiyin' has become the most authoritative music platform. Any new song can be listened to for free three times. After that, if you want to listen to it again, you need to spend two yuan to purchase it. This is a sign of respect for the creators. Moreover, the platform only takes 20% of the revenue from downloads and playbacks. The remaining portion is shared among the singer, lyricist, composer, arranger, and the artist's company."

"Like Jin Yan's song, since you haven't signed with any company yet, the remaining 80% is yours."

Upon hearing this, the group remained silent for a moment before Pang Lei directly asked, "Teacher Shen, how much money do you think this song can make?"

Shen Nan said with a smile, "You can calculate it yourselves. Just look at the data for this song on the Zhiyin app."

Before the semi-finals, the finalists had to sign a contract stipulating that their songs for the semi-finals and finals would be automatically licensed to the Zhiyin platform. This was mainly to streamline the process and verify the singers, and it had no impact on them.

The group took out their phones and opened Zhiyin, an app linked to ID card numbers, meaning each person had only one account.

They searched for "Anhe Bridge" and found that the song had been downloaded 53343 times and played an astonishing 20 times.

Kong Chun opened the calculator and did a few operations, then said, "Jinyan, you've earned 85348.8 yuan just from downloads in half a day."

The group of friends stared at Xu Jinyan, speechless for a moment. Although taxes hadn't been paid, the revenue from the broadcast hadn't been calculated yet. Shen Nan and Nan Feng also looked over with smiles.

Xu Jinyan gritted her teeth and said, "I'll treat you to another meal tonight."

"Hahahaha," they all laughed. They were all rich. Pang Lei and Kong Chun were second-generation rich kids, and even Yu Han had earned a lot of money from filming movies and TV shows in the past two years.

They were simply stunned by the speed at which they were making money.

It was too fast. Only now did they realize that Xu Jinyan was truly different.