C21 The Qiu Qiu Music and the Wasteland Literature Were Shocked at the Same Time!

Qin Mo smiled and said, "Sure, we can talk."

Ding said, "Mr. Qin, we're interested in signing an exclusive rights deal. We've noticed you've released songs on several platforms like Conboat and Cat Tooth, but 'Heartbroken Pacific' is only on Autumn Music. Can I take that as a sign you're interested in working with us?"

Qin Mo chuckled, "Mr. Ding, as long as the price is right, everything's negotiable."

Discussing money doesn't ruin relationships; it's talking about feelings that can cost you! When it comes to partnerships, ensuring mutual benefits is key, and Qin Mo wasn't one to beat around the bush.

Ding humbly replied, "You can just call me Ding, Mr. Qin. We have two proposals. The first is a buyout, offering you a market rate of $200,000. The second option is a revenue share: a fixed $50,000 licensing fee with a 30% cut of future sales. What do you think?"

Qin Mo knew that Autumn Music's offer was quite fair. After all, this was a new song, and he was just starting to gain popularity online. Offering such a high licensing fee was a gamble on their part, betting his new song would be as big a hit as "Twilight."

Qin Mo nodded, "Yeah, the price is good."

Ding asked excitedly, "So, Mr. Qin, are you agreeing? Which option do you prefer?"

"I'll think about it."

Qin Mo stood up, headed to the restroom, rinsed his mouth, and splashed some water on his face.

On the phone, Ding said, "Mr. Qin, I personally recommend you choose the revenue-sharing model. While the upfront fee might be smaller, the potential sales share is substantial. Don't just focus on immediate gains. Last month's top single on our Newcomer Chart had sales of..."

Ding mentioned a figure.

A seven-figure sales number!

Even with a 30% share, that means tens or even hundreds of thousands in earnings!

Qin Mo smiled as he walked into the living room and opened his laptop. He was well aware of how many paying users Autumn Music had. With the backing of a major tech giant, Autumn Music had always been the market leader nationwide!

Seeing Qin Mo remain silent, Ding continued to persuade, "Mr. Qin, I'm sure you've received calls from many music platforms, but none can match the benefits we offer at Autumn Music. Regular creators get a 20% share, but you're getting 30%. Plus, we offer a major promotional push every month. It's practically a money-making machine!"

Qin Mo logged into the Autumn Music dashboard to check the stats for his new song. Thanks to the buzz from his live performances and Conboat livestream battles, Qin Mo's starting point was much higher than that of an average newcomer!

Over 300,000 listens and nearly 230,000 downloads.

A download rate exceeding 70% is indeed impressive!

When the operations team at Autumn Music saw these numbers, they were all stunned into silence. Qin Mo wasn't even a professional singer yet—just an online sensation!

He didn't do any promotion, and this was the first song he released on Autumn Music! Overnight, it had over 200,000 downloads! Manager Zhao from the operations department listened to all the songs Qin Mo had posted online. He was utterly shocked, completely stunned! Any of Qin Mo's songs could easily outshine the current top-tier pop singers. A classic like "Twilight" could even be considered textbook material! His creativity is astounding! This guy is a natural draw, practically a goldmine! That's why Manager Zhao made the bold decision to offer a newcomer a buyout price of $200,000, sending Ding from his team to negotiate. But Ding, being kind-hearted, didn't want to take advantage of a newcomer, so he kept persuading Qin Mo to accept a revenue-sharing model. Given the song's potential, the $150,000 difference could probably be earned back in just a month or two!

Qin Mo put the phone on speaker and lit a cigarette. He spoke slowly. "I want to change the fixed copyright fee from $50,000 to $100,000, with a 30% revenue share. If you find that acceptable, I'll sign immediately!"

"$100,000?" Ding was about to take a sip of water, but the number startled him so much that his phone nearly fell into his thermos. He set the water aside and quickly said, "Mr. Qin, a $50,000 fixed copyright fee is already quite high for a revenue-sharing model. You're still new, and the company can't offer you the rates of a top-tier artist..."

"Let's be honest, Qin Mo, you need to face reality—you’re not quite there yet!"

Qin Mo used to be just another worker, so he understood Ding's challenges. But there was no room to negotiate on the price!

If Qin Mo wasn't strapped for cash right now, he wouldn't even consider selling "Sad Pacific" for a million dollars!

Qin Mo continued, "Ding, I'm not trying to make things hard for you. A million plus 30% of the profits is my bottom line. Let your boss think it over!"

Ding exchanged a few polite words before hanging up, clearly not in high spirits.

Qin Mo didn't dwell on it and headed downstairs for some beef noodles. Things will happen when they're meant to, no need to rush!

Meanwhile, besides Autumn Music, two other companies were gearing up for the battle over the rights...

...

In the conference room at Journey Literature Network headquarters, Qianye, the editor responsible for the martial arts section, was making his second request to the chief editor.

Qianye said, "Boss, I pulled an all-nighter yesterday and read 'White Horse Whistles in the West Wind' twice. The novel's structure is intricate, the plot is tight, and the characters' emotions are incredibly moving. This isn't the work of a newbie—it might even be a big name using a pseudonym! The book's stats are impressive too. It was just released yesterday, and it's already got 132 saves, with a completion rate..."

Qianye paused, and all his colleagues turned to look at him.

He shrugged and said helplessly, "I checked with the Data Department—it's legit. The completion rate is 92%!"

"What?" The editor-in-chief, known for his laid-back style, slammed the table and stood up. "92%? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Qianye replied confidently.

He pulled up the data page on his laptop for everyone to see. Initially, there were only two hundred trial readers, a number determined by the backend system. But out of those 200 people, 184 read the entire book! Those are some staggering numbers!

Moreover, the 132 bookmarks likely resulted from the book being released in its entirety. Some readers finished it and forgot to bookmark it. If it were serialized, the number of bookmarks would probably be even higher.

Qianye proposed again, "Boss, I don't think this author is just playing around. We should secure the rights to this short story and commission more work from them. I suggest we offer a rate of $200 per thousand words, like we do for our three-star authors!"

The editor-in-chief hesitated. A few years ago, the adventure genre was booming, bringing significant profits to the company. However, due to its formulaic nature and mature writing style, it was hard for newcomers to break in, and veterans struggled to break free from traditional patterns. This led to a decline in market share for the genre.

When a new wave of easy-to-read novels emerged, the market share for adventure stories dropped even further, and the subscription rates dwindled year by year. Now, they're less than a quarter of what they were a few years ago. Offering $200 per thousand words to a newcomer is a tough call!

​