Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 32 Generating Electricity for Love

Gu Yongqiang's hands were very dry, and his grip strength was moderate.

Ren Pingsheng stared at him for two seconds, then let go of his hand and sat down again.

"But a pleasant collaboration depends on both parties being happy." Ren Pingsheng didn't let the atmosphere linger on formalities. "Koo, what are your thoughts on the proposal?"

Gu Yongqiang sat back in the main seat and gestured to the vice president next to him to open the document.

"We've discussed the plan. The general direction of buyout plus revenue sharing is acceptable, but there are two areas that need adjustment."

"First, we hope to extend the exclusive premiere period to six months, instead of the three months you mentioned."

Ren Pingsheng didn't express his opinion, waiting for him to finish speaking.

"Secondly, regarding the revenue sharing ratio for patching, your 50/50 is too high. We can only offer a maximum of 30/70."

The platform takes 70% and the creator takes 30%.

"Which three, which seven?" Ren Pingsheng asked knowingly.

Gu Yongqiang laughed, "Of course, we'll have seven, and you three."

"Koo," Ren Pingsheng leaned back in his chair, "let's try a different algorithm."

He took out his phone, opened the calculator, and turned the screen to the other side.

"The user growth brought by 'Wanwan' to 'Tianlong' was 7%. Based on 'Tianlong's' monthly revenue at the time, how much was that 7% worth?"

He pressed a few numbers and pushed the button.

Gu Yongqiang glanced at the string of zeros but didn't say anything.

"The game 'Diaosi' boosted the daily active users of JX3 by four times. It's no exaggeration to say that it was its savior. These figures are not just my boasts; you guys must have studied them carefully internally."

"Now I'm with the same team, using the same methodology to film 'Report to the Boss,' the only difference is that the subject matter has changed from games to video creation closely related to you. You're offering me 30%? Why don't I just find a game company and get full payment for a custom production instead of arguing with you here?"

The vice president tried to interject, but Gu Yongqiang raised his hand to stop him.

"you mean?"

"An exclusive premiere period of six months is possible, but the revenue sharing must be 50/50."

The vice president finally couldn't sit still any longer and slammed his pen on the table with a "bang".

"That's impossible," he said, realizing his lapse in composure, and sat down again. "Mr. Ren, you may not be familiar with the cost structure of video platforms. Our daily expenses for bandwidth and servers are astronomical. We simply cannot offer YouTube's 55% revenue share."

"If you can't afford 55%, you give 10%? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

Ren Pingsheng spoke calmly and slowly, but every word he said was cutting: "I don't know who keeps shouting that they want to make China's YouTube, but the money they give to creators can't even cover their electricity bills, forcing them to generate electricity out of love."

"You can't have your cake and eat it too. There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Ren Pingsheng was certainly aware of the blood and tears that had plagued domestic video websites.

China Telecom in the south, China Netcom in the north.

The entire industry is reluctantly working for these two operators, which is why Youku Tudou suffers huge losses year after year.

But what does this have to do with me?

I'm only here to make money, not to do charity.

The air in the conference room froze instantly.

The joy that had just arisen from exploring a brand-new monetization model was completely shattered by this reality.

Gu Yongqiang sat in the main seat, his brows furrowed, and remained silent.

He was weighing the gains and losses.

"President Gu," Ren Pingsheng ignored the vice president and stared directly at Gu Yongqiang, "I understand your difficulties. Bandwidth costs are a common problem in the industry, not just for Youku, but you seem to be getting stuck on this one point."

"Just because I'm sitting here today demanding a 50/50 split doesn't mean you have to offer everyone a 50/50 split tomorrow."

Ren Pingsheng leaned forward, crossed his hands and pressed them on the table, instantly turning the tables and taking control of the situation.

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible; you have to consider the bigger picture."

"Is the lawsuit against you by Sohu still ongoing? The copyright war is about to reach its climax. Next year... the year after... the copyright fees for traditional film and television dramas will skyrocket from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, or even millions per episode. Are you prepared to keep taking investors' money and fight to the death with others?"

Gu Yongqiang's pupils contracted slightly.

"What if," Ren Pingsheng tapped the table, his voice low and seductive, "that you could explore a completely new path through this collaboration on 'Report to the Boss'?"

"A closed-loop ecosystem that achieves high conversion and high profits can be achieved by relying entirely on high-quality self-produced dramas and precise customized content, without having to pay exorbitant prices to acquire copyrights from outside sources."

"Once this path is successfully established, you'll have gained a significant advantage in the upcoming copyright war. When you then negotiate with traditional copyright holders, your bargaining power will be completely different."

"More importantly," Ren Pingsheng looked directly into Gu Yongqiang's eyes, "this is the story of how you generate revenue to present to investors."

The meeting room was silent for about ten seconds.

Gu Yongqiang leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on an uncertain point on the ceiling.

The other executives looked at each other, none of them speaking first.

"What you've said," Gu Yongqiang finally looked away, "is all long-term stuff. The current profit-sharing ratio has to be settled."

This is exactly what Ren Pingsheng was waiting for.

He needs to be ruthless, so this 50/50 split can be loose, but not so loose that the other party feels he is easy to bully.

"It can be divided into steps."

"What do you mean?"

"If the initial broadcast viewership is less than 20 million, it's 30/70, you get 70% and I get 30%; if it exceeds 20 million, it's 50/50; if it exceeds 30 million, it's 60/40, I get 60% and you get 40%."

Just as the vice president was about to open his mouth, Gu Yongqiang raised his hand, and he closed his mouth again.

"You mean, the better the data, the more you get?"

"Yes, if the data is good, it means my content has brought you users and Google revenue, so it's only fair that I take a larger share. If the data is bad, you can only pay me 30/70, and I won't lose out."

Gu Yongqiang looked down at the plan, his finger pausing at the words "tiered division".

"Thirty million... Based on the figures for your previous two dramas, that's not impossible."

"Then let's both be happy," Ren Pingsheng said, shrugging. "You're happy because the returns from 30 million views far exceed the share you pay me, and I'm happy because I got the money I was owed. It's a win-win situation."

Gu Yongqiang did not answer immediately.

Ren Pingsheng didn't urge him. He had said everything he needed to say, and saying another word would be a sign of weakness.

"This proposal," Gu Yongqiang closed the document and looked at Ren Pingsheng, "is to change the exclusive premiere to six months, with the price remaining at 2 per episode?"

"constant."

"The specific terms of the tiered profit sharing need to be reviewed by the legal department."

"No problem, I'll wait for your contract."

Gu Yongqiang looked at him for a few seconds, smiled and shook his head, turned around and said a few words to the vice president, and personally escorted Ren Pingsheng downstairs.

The moment he left the building, Ren Pingsheng took out his phone and sent a message to Dapeng.

"The platform deal is finalized; we're ready to cast the actors."

Da Peng replied in just half a minute.

"Who should we choose?"

"you."

"Nonsense, I was asking about other characters."

Ren Pingsheng put his phone back in his pocket and didn't reply. Some things are faster to say in person than to type.