raknovel Chapter 29 Party B has the power to set prices
Chapter 29 Party B has the power to set prices
The first draft of the script was completed quickly.
Bai Ke has a unique characteristic: once he gets into a state of mind, he never gets tired.
He only took two days to produce the first episode of "Infernal Affairs." Although the final product was rough, the comedic structure was already established.
Ren Pingsheng spent an entire night revising the film, cutting the original twenty-odd jokes in half.
Bai Ke almost jumped up after reading the revised draft. "Ping Sheng, why did you cut my joke? That joke about the HR person getting caught peeking at resumes was hilarious!"
"It's funny, but cramming so many jokes into a ten-minute segment is too much for the audience to handle."
"How could you not catch it?"
"Go back to the rhythm of 'Unknown'. Each episode never uses more than six jokes. The rest of the time is spent building up the emotions. There needs to be a breath between the jokes."
Ren Pingsheng pushed the script back, saying, "I didn't say the jokes you found funny were bad, but if you put them together, they'll clash. Before the audience can even process the previous joke, the next one will hit them in the face, and they won't remember the last one."
Bai Ke opened his mouth, then closed it again.
"Think again, what's the most memorable thing about the movie 'Infernal Affairs'?"
"Rooftop".
"Yes, it's just one rooftop scene. All the other build-up is to push your emotions to the rooftop for an explosion. It's the same principle with our parodies. You have to make the audience eagerly await the most explosive punchline, instead of firing all the bullets right from the start."
Bai Ke went back and spent another night arguing.
The version submitted the next day received only two comments from Ren Pingsheng.
The progress of "The Message" and "Kung Fu" is about the same. Xiao Ai is responsible for finding classic scenes from the original film that can be parodied, while Bai Ke writes workplace-themed adapted lines based on the scenes. The two are working together more and more smoothly.
After another five days of polishing, all three episodes were finalized.
Ren Pingsheng was in no hurry to start filming. The script was just a production material, and the safest way was to wait until someone placed an order before starting production.
He sat in his office and looked at the data sheet again.
These two sets of numbers are the King and Queen in his hand, but how to play them is very particular.
Traditional production companies today don't value online channels. After a film's theatrical run, they simply find a website to sell the copyright, and sometimes they even wait until the DVDs have been sold for a while before going online. Pricing power is basically handed over to the platforms.
What Ren Pingsheng needed to do was to lock down the internet channels before filming even began.
He wants the platform to provide money and resources in exchange for his exclusive first broadcast rights.
This was almost unheard of in 2009. Before the copyright war, video websites treated their self-produced content with utter condescension.
You can share it if you want. Giving you a share of the profits is already a favor. Do you really want the platform to pay for it?
But Ren Pingsheng doesn't care about industry conventions; what he cares about is that Kuolu and Youku will go public in the US one after the other next year.
What Wall Street values most in internet companies are their user and content barriers. Whoever has more exclusive content and more users can add more to their prospectus.
The platform's executives may not have thought this through yet, but Ren Pingsheng has already thought it through for them.
First stop, China Steel International Building, awful.
The person who received him was of a very high rank and came prepared. The stack of information about the accounts of "Wanwan", "Diaosi" and "Shengpingshi" in his hand showed that he had done his homework in advance.
Ren Pingsheng placed the organized documents and the three-episode script outline on the table, and finished explaining the positioning and business logic of "Report to the Boss" in ten minutes.
After listening, the other party spoke urgently but with restraint, "Mr. Ren, to be honest, we've studied the content, operational methods, and data of 'Wanwan' and 'Diaosi,' and they are indeed impressive. And your account, the completion rate and interaction data for the 'Power and Sex Game' series are top-notch."
Ren Pingsheng nodded without replying, waiting for him to continue.
"Our idea is that if we can reach an exclusive cooperation with you, Youku is willing to provide a homepage banner position and site-wide sidebar recommendations to ensure maximum exposure for your work."
"Site-wide redirect to recommended content?"
"Yes, this is our sincerity."
"We appreciate your offer. How much is the buyout fee?"
The other party hesitated for a moment, then gave a number.
A single episode costs 6, the same price as "Lurking".
However, Ren Pingsheng remained outwardly calm, knowing that short-form anthologies and long-form dramas should not be confused.
The entire first season of "Report to the Boss" (all ten episodes) only cost 600,000, which is less than a fraction of what others make.
"The price offered by Tudou this morning was higher than yours."
The other person's expression changed slightly. "You're also talking to Tudou?"
"I'm talking to everyone," Ren Pingsheng said, taking a sip of water. "I only have one drama, but there are so many platforms. Your competitors aren't just Tudou."
"And you should know what the two dramas I produced for Sohu brought to the two game companies. What does that tell you?"
The other party was waiting for him to continue.
"This shows that my content has inherent commercial potential. Buying my shows will not only bring in users, but I can also bring in GG clients, giving you a free monetization model. If you want to go public in the future, you can calculate how much this is worth."
Ren Pingsheng pulled out a cooperation proposal from his bag and pushed it over, saying, "I want the exclusive first broadcast rights buyout fee, plus a share of the revenue from distribution across the entire network."
The other party opened the proposal, their gaze lingering on the line about the profit-sharing ratio, and their brow furrowed slightly.
This model was unheard of in 2009. At that time, online video content was either uploaded by users and shared among them, or the platform purchased the copyright and bought it outright. Nobody talked about the two models together.
"Mr. Ren, this doesn't quite fit our procurement process."
"Then let's change the process."
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
"I'll go back and report, and I'll get back to you within three days."
When Ren Pingsheng left, the other party's expression was much more solemn than when he arrived.
He knew that every word he said would be reported verbatim.
He lit a cigarette by the roadside after leaving the building.
It was expected that they wouldn't give in directly; Youku is the industry leader and wouldn't easily bow down to a startup team.
But that's not important. What's important is that he planted a thorn in the other person's heart, and so did his competitor.
These people, even if they don't want to buy something themselves, immediately get restless once they hear that their competitors are vying for it.
The second stop was Zhengtong Creative Center, which was quite cool.
Cooloo reacted more positively than Youku. Having just been acquired by the former richest man, they were open to any content that could help them expand.
The marketing director who received Ren Pingsheng immediately expressed interest, but set a condition—exclusive broadcasting for three years, during which time it could not be distributed on any other platform.
The buyout price obtained after three years of exclusivity was indeed significantly higher than that of Youku.
But Ren Pingsheng could not agree to that.
Three years is too long. The lifespan of a web series is short. Once the window of popularity has passed, it's pointless to distribute it to other platforms.
This is like putting all your eggs in one basket with CoolShow. If their recommendations are bad, or if something else goes wrong, the show will be ruined.
"Exclusivity is negotiable, but it will be for a maximum of one year."
"A year is too short, Mr. Ren. We need enough time for operations and promotion."
"Content that can't be promoted in a year won't be promoted in three years."
The other party smiled, clearly indicating that they had no intention of backing down on this issue.
Ren Pingsheng didn't press the matter further, left a copy of the plan, and departed.
The third stop, Leishi.
LeShi offered a package price of 25,000 yuan per episode. They are one of the earliest video companies in China to acquire copyrights and have accumulated a large number of legitimate film and television copyrights.
But that's also why they're the least in a hurry. Their own film library is overflowing, so a ten-episode short drama won't make a ripple in their eyes.
Ren Pingsheng left Le Shi in less than twenty minutes.
After visiting all three places, it was already completely dark.
Back at the studio, Bai Ke and his colleagues were still working overtime.
"Brother Pingsheng, how did the talk go?" Bai Ke rubbed his eyes.
"The game is still going on."
Ren Pingsheng turned on his computer and began composing an email.
The first letter was sent to 56, and the second letter was sent to Tudou.
These two companies are not located in Yanjing, so we couldn't meet in person. The email included a script synopsis, team information, and a cooperation plan, which was simple and clear.
The third email was sent to the content acquisition department of Sohu Video.
Yes, Sohu also posted, but it wasn't for collaboration purposes.
A printout of this email will appear on Alex's desk by noon tomorrow at the latest.
Given that former boss's personality, his expression must have been quite interesting to see Ren Pingsheng approaching him with a new project to discuss cooperation less than half a month after leaving the company.
Some things, the more you think about them, the more it itches, and the more anxious you become.
The more rushed you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes.