C21 Qiu Qiu Music and the Literary Forum Were Shocked at the Same Time
Qin Mo offered a smile and replied, "Sure, let's discuss it."
Ding broached the subject, "Mr. Qin, we're interested in securing exclusive rights. We're aware that you've released music on various platforms, including Conboat and Cat Tooth, but 'Heartbroken Pacific Ocean' was only released on Qiu Qiu Music. Does this mean you're considering a partnership with us?"
With a grin, Qin Mo responded, "Mr. Ding, if the price is fair, I'm open to negotiation."
Money talks don't spoil friendships, but emotional talks could cost a fortune!
In any collaboration, safeguarding mutual interests is key. Qin Mo saw no need for evasive tactics.
Ding modestly suggested, "Please, just call me Ding. Mr. Qin, we have two proposals for you. The first is an outright purchase, offering you a lump sum of two million yuan based on market rates. The second is a revenue-sharing deal, with an upfront copyright fee of 500,000 yuan, plus a 30% share of ongoing sales. Which one appeals to you?"
Qin Mo recognized that Qiu Qiu Music's offer was fair.
The song was new, and his rise to internet fame had been recent.
Their willingness to pay such a substantial copyright fee was a gamble on his new song's potential to match the success of 'Dusk'.
Nodding, Qin Mo acknowledged, "Hmm, the offer is quite attractive."
Ding couldn't hide his excitement as he asked, "So, Mr. Qin, do we have a deal? Which option do you prefer?"
"I'll need to think it over," Qin Mo said.
He excused himself to the restroom to freshen up, rinsing his mouth and splashing water on his face.
Back on his phone, Ding pressed on, "Mr. Qin, personally, I'd recommend the revenue-sharing model. The initial copyright fee might be smaller, but the potential earnings from sales are substantial. Don't fixate on the immediate payoff. For instance, last month's top single on the Qiu Qiu Music Newcomer Chart grossed..."
Ding revealed an impressive figure.
A seven-figure sales total!
Even a third of that would translate to a hefty sum!
Returning to the living room with a smile, Qin Mo powered up his laptop.
He was well aware of the number of paying subscribers Qiu Qiu Music boasted!
Leveraging the support of Penguin, Qiu Qiu Music consistently held the top spot in market share nationwide!
Ding, noticing Qin Mo's silence, pressed on, "Mr. Qin, I'm sure you've fielded countless offers from other music platforms, but none can match the perks of Qiu Qiu Music. While a regular composer earns a twenty percent cut, you'd rake in thirty percent. Plus, we'll feature you in a major promotion every month. It's like picking up money off the street!"
Qin Mo was already perusing the backend of Qiu Qiu Music, reviewing the stats for his latest track.
Thanks to the buzz from his roadshow performances and the Conboat live stream battles, Qin Mo was miles ahead of the typical rookie singer!
With listens over 300,000 and nearly 230,000 downloads, the figures were staggering—over seventy percent in downloads alone!
The entire operations team at Qiu Qiu Music fell silent upon seeing these numbers.
Qin Mo wasn't even a mainstream artist—he was an internet sensation!
Without any formal promotion, his debut song on Qiu Qiu Music had exploded online!
Overnight, it amassed more than 200,000 downloads!
Manager Zhao of the operations department listened to Qin Mo's online tracks on repeat, utterly astounded and frozen in disbelief!
Qin Mo's music could easily outshine the leading artists in Rhelaweth's pop scene.
Hits like "Dusk" were the kind that could be enshrined in textbooks!
His talent for songwriting was nothing short of extraordinary!
The guy was a walking gold mine, a veritable code to riches!
That's why Manager Zhao resolved to offer a newcomer a whopping 2 million yuan buyout, tasking his subordinate Ding to handle the negotiations.
But Ding, with a soft heart, couldn't bring himself to hoodwink a newbie, so he tirelessly advocated for Qin Mo to go with the revenue-sharing model.
Given the song's potential, the 1.5 million yuan difference could be recouped in a mere month or two!
Qin Mo set his phone to speaker mode and lit up a cigarette.
After a pause, he spoke up.
"I'd like to bump the fixed copyright fee from 500,000 yuan to 1 million yuan. Thirty percent in royalties is fine by me. If that's agreeable, I'm ready to sign on the dotted line right now!"
"A million?"
Ding was about to take a sip of water when that figure hit him like a bolt from the blue, nearly causing his phone to tumble into the thermos cup before him.
He set his water aside and hurriedly responded, "Mr. Qin, a fixed copyright fee of half a million is already quite generous. You're still new to the scene, and the company can't compensate you at the rate of a top-tier singer..."
It was a diplomatic way of putting it: Qin Mo needed to come to terms with his standing—he just wasn't there yet.
Having been a worker himself, Qin Mo could empathize with Ding's predicament.
But the price was firm.
If it weren't for his current financial strain, Qin Mo wouldn't even consider selling 'Heartbroken Pacific Ocean' for a million!
Qin Mo pressed on, "Ding, I'm not here to corner you. A million plus a thirty percent royalty—that's my final offer. Have your leadership mull it over."
After exchanging a few niceties, Ding ended the call with a heavy heart.
Qin Mo didn't dwell on the conversation. He headed downstairs for a bowl of beef noodles.
What's meant to explode will explode, and what's coming will come—no rush.
Meanwhile, besides Qiu Qiu Music, two other companies were gearing up for a fierce battle over the copyright...
...
In the conference room of the Wuxia Literature Network's headquarters.
Qianye, the editor responsible for the Wuxia section, had just made his second appeal to the chief editor.
"Boss, I pulled an all-nighter and went through 'White Horse Howls at the West Wind' twice," Qianye began. "The novel's structure is refined, the plot is gripping, and the emotional depth of the characters' love and hatred is truly compelling. This doesn't read like a novice's work—it could be a pseudonym for one of the big names! And the book's data is impressive too. It was only released yesterday, and it's already amassed 132 collections. As for the completion rate..."
Qianye paused, the room's attention fixed on him.
With a shrug of resignation, he continued, "I checked with the Data Department—it's accurate. The completion rate is at 92%!"
"What?" Editor-in-Chief Xiaoyao Sanxian slammed his hand on the table, leaping to his feet. "Ninety-two percent? Are you certain?"
"Absolutely, I'm certain!" Qianye asserted with confidence.
He brought up the backend data page on his laptop for everyone to see.
Initially, there were only two hundred trial readers, a number determined by the backend.
Yet out of those two hundred, an astonishing 184 had read the entire book!
Such a statistic was staggering!
Furthermore, the 132 bookmarks might be because the book was completed upon release. Some readers finished it and simply forgot to bookmark it.
Had it been serialized, the bookmark count would likely be even higher!
Qianye put forth another idea: "Boss, I believe this author isn't just dabbling for fun. We could secure the copyright for this short story and commission more work from him. I propose offering a rate of two hundred yuan per thousand words, in line with a three-star author's pay scale."
Editor-in-Chief Xiaoyao wavered.
In recent years, the Wuxia genre on Conboat had been trending, churning out hits that generated significant profits for the company.
However, the genre's reliance on established tropes and a mature writing style made it hard for newcomers to break in, while veterans struggled to escape traditional formulas.
This led to a steady decline in Wuxia's market share.
With the rise of beginner-friendly Red Fruit novels, Wuxia's slice of the market shrank even more, and the pay-per-read rates dwindled with each passing year.
Now, it was less than a quarter of what it was two years ago.
Offering a new writer two hundred yuan per thousand words was a tough call!
