107: Chapter 107 Worse Than Pigs and Dogs

The song was ready, and the recording work had long been completed.

As more and more viewers watched "burning life," the number of listeners wanting to hear "the flower that blooms only for itself" on music platforms was rising steadily.

The demand was there; it was just a matter of which platform could secure the song first.

It was the platforms that were anxious, not Lin Chuyan.

Zheng Hai knew this, and Wu Yue knew it too.

Once the platforms got anxious, some things became easier to negotiate.

Tianxing was already in contact with them, and Wu Yue was following up throughout the process, occasionally picking out the main points to discuss with Lin Chuyan.

"The market for this sector is essentially left with only the two giants, Tencent Music and NetEase Cloud Music, so there's nothing wrong with negotiating with them."

"I originally thought I'd just release the song onto the platforms and be done with it, but who knew both platforms would have their own little schemes."

"NetEase Cloud Music just asked about the price for exclusive streaming rights. A simple upload wouldn't be a problem, which is fine. They promised to build hype for you, like keeping you on the trending chart for a week, but to put it bluntly, their main strategy is to get things for free without spending money."

"I have to say, Tencent is willing to spend money on copyrights. They came right out wanting to sign for exclusivity—not just for 'rebirth,' and not just for this ending theme song. They want all future songs you collaborate on with Lin Mo..."

Lin Chuyan was a bit dumbfounded hearing this: "What do you mean? They can do that? All of them? Are they serious? How would that cooperation work? I don't quite understand."

Wu Yue explained: "Yes, you heard right. It's exactly what it sounds like. Every time you release a song, they want it. They want all of your songs."

Lin Chuyan clicked his tongue twice: "How much are they paying?"

"Ten years of exclusive copyright, one million per song. You do the math yourself. To be honest, I can't judge this part for you because I don't know how many songs you'll be able to produce later, or your speed of releasing songs."

Lin Chuyan didn't even need to calculate to know this deal wasn't worth it...

Excluding "Similar to Love," which he gave to Ruan Xingyu, he currently had 12 other copyrighted songs registered.

The records were available on Aiyue.com; Tencent could see them with a quick glance.

One million per song, so 12 songs would be 12 million. It looked like a lot, but 10 years of exclusivity?

It wasn't streaming rights; it was the copyright.

They were really calculating!

Besides, he was definitely going to release another album this year.

Not to mention, as more and more of his songs were seen by people, his value would definitely continue to rise.

If the price were reasonable, that would be one thing, but with this offer, Lin Chuyan could only say there was some sincerity, but not much.

Of course, it was also possible they thought he was only worth this much.

He replied immediately: "Brother Yue, this price isn't right. It's too low."

"Hmm, what do you think yourself? What price would be appropriate?"

Hearing this, Lin Chuyan suddenly remembered Jay Chou from his past life. Didn't Tencent acquire the three-year exclusive copyright for all his songs for 570 million?

So, this was nowhere near that.

Stay calm, stay calm. Can't lose his head over a little bit of money.

He was someone with a System; he couldn't let the capitalists scam him.

Lin Chuyan shook his head: "I don't know. I just feel like, let's wait and see! I'm still young, and I have plenty of songs. I'm still on the rise, right? We can't just sell ourselves off so easily."

Wu Yue agreed: "With that said, I know how to handle this. Well, we'll deal with future matters in the future; let's get the current matter settled first."

Consequently, there was soon progress.

After being rejected, Tencent didn't get discouraged. They took a step back and asked for the exclusive copyright of the existing songs only.

Unfortunately, Lin Chuyan absolutely could not agree to this price. Both sides negotiated several rounds, but they couldn't reach an agreement on the amount.

Tencent's thinking was actually very simple. To put it bluntly, they didn't care. They had too many exclusive copyrights in their own music library. When a shop gets big, it bullies its customers. Would the Chinese Music Industry stop turning just because it lacked a Lin Chuyan?

Lin Chuyan wasn't a person without a temper either. Couldn't reach an agreement? If they couldn't reach an agreement, then they wouldn't talk.

On the other hand, NetEase Cloud Music, knowing that Tencent was negotiating for exclusivity, was scared into following up as well.

They had originally planned to use empty hands to catch the wolf, but unexpectedly, after inquiring, they found out Tencent actually wanted to make Lin Chuyan sell himself for ten years!

Are you kidding me!

NetEase Cloud Music CEO Zhu Cong bypassed his team to negotiate personally, calling Wu Yue himself overnight.

The two talked for a long time, and finally, there was a twist—NetEase Cloud Music actually succeeded in this cooperation—

Two years of exclusive streaming rights, including the "rebirth" EP + "the flower that blooms only for itself" + "ambush from ten sides," a total of 6 songs.

Lin Chuyan received 1.8 million.

It wasn't much, but since it was only for platform streaming rights and the copyright remained in his own hands, it was acceptable.

The team at NetEase Cloud Music was also very happy. It was rare for them to snatch food from Tencent's mouth, so what more could they ask for?

Besides, don't think they lost money. This was an investment. It was the same principle as Tencent holding so many exclusives; what they wanted was the users' usage habits.

It's reasonable that people would come for Lin Chuyan and listen to other songs along the way, right?

Not long after, Zhu Cong posted on Weibo:

"Are there any fans of Lin Chuyan here? Raise your hand."

He was the CEO and also a big V on Weibo. He was very active in his daily life and quite popular.

Plus, the official account didn't have many followers, so many things were simply released using his personal account.

Soon, the comments started piling up.

"What do you mean? Can we listen to 'the flower that blooms only for itself'???"

Reply: "It will be online at 8:00 tonight sharp. Please look forward to it."

"Raising my hand! Is Boss Zhu a fan too?"

Reply: "I am indeed a fan. I've listened to the 'rebirth' EP countless times, and my favorite is 'lonely season.'"

This wasn't just commercial flattery. Zhu Cong really liked Lin Chuyan's songs, which was why he personally intervened this time. Don't ask; if you do, it's because he was optimistic about Lin Chuyan's future. This was his intuition as a businessman.

After a while, some people started to feel something was off.

Zhu Cong's eyes lit up.

It's here, it's here, it finally arrived.

"That's not right. Why is there no movement from Tencent? That doesn't make sense. It shouldn't be like this."

Rubbing his hands, he replied: "NetEase Cloud Music is very optimistic about Lin Chuyan's future, so we signed for exclusivity. The content includes all 6 of Teacher Lin's singles."

"Boss Zhu is generous! Tell me quietly, how much did it cost?"

Reply: "Commercial secret. I can only say, it was very expensive, but Lin Chuyan is absolutely worth this price! As for why other companies couldn't afford this price, I don't know. Maybe they didn't think Teacher Lin was worth it, or maybe they were just a little tight on cash?"

Fake business war: Planning strategies in the command tent, winning victories from a thousand miles away.

Real business war: Going on Weibo to reply to netizens, trying hard to hold back malicious sarcasm against the competitors.

Besides, there's nothing wrong with replying like this, right? After all, he spent 1.8 million without blinking an eye; surely he's allowed to brag for a bit?

Awesome! Awesome! So awesome! He elevated himself and Lin Chuyan, and stepped on the competitor at the same time. Who could say this 1.8 million wasn't worth it?

Also, although no one knew the price, it was a price that could beat Tencent... Hehe, I just won't tell you; go guess for yourself!

"Boss Zhu has a good eye! I have to say, you two are quite a match."

Reply: "How so?"

"Pig Boss listening to Lin the Dog's songs, isn't that a perfect match? You two are truly worse than pigs and dogs."

Zhu Cong: "..."

Reply: "I thank you, two negatives make a positive, okay!"

Damn it, why did he get scolded?

It was clear that his fans were usually quite friendly...

But upon second thought, he quickly figured out the reason.

No! This must be Haters coming from Lin Chuyan's side!

This kid is toxic!