Chapter 175 Is there really financial fraud?
In recent years, with the entry of Internet capital, a large amount of new hot money has poured into the film and television industry, and the competition for IP among major platforms and film and television companies has intensified.
After all, compared with original scripts, IP adaptations that have been tested by the market and have their own popularity are more in line with the needs of capital.
I have to admit that Boss Jia is still very forward-looking. In the era when no one paid attention to copyright, he spent money to buy a lot of IPs, which have now become the moat of Leshi.com.
The same is true for several other video platforms. As long as the novel IP with a little popularity, it can be sold at a good price, ranging from 700,000 to 800,000 yuan, and as much as 2 to 3 million yuan.
Just like the eighteen-line directors and screenwriters who lived a life of idleness in the coal boss era, the past few years of Internet capital entering the market can be regarded as the happiest time for content creators.
Meng Bai sometimes wonders, if he waits for another two years, why would he still be so miserable to submit a script, he can just write a novel directly. After
the video platform buys the copyright, it naturally has to play its value.
In the past, the film and television market only had TV series, and there was still worry about backlogs. Now it's good, just do web dramas directly, anyway, the cost of their own products is low, and it's not a loss if they can earn back the traffic.
Leshi.com is naturally the same. In the past two years, they have been shooting various self-made dramas, but the results are very average. If you really want to say that they can show off, they are still the projects in cooperation with Arclight Film and Television.
As a platform channel, it is really a bit embarrassing to rely on a film and television production company to lead.
And then again, it all depends on one company to provide high-quality content. Not to mention the problem of production, the more important thing is that the content is controlled by others.
This is indeed the case. Because of the excellent "historical results", Liu Jun's voice in the entertainment department of Leshi.com has increased day by day in the past two years.
At the same time, he also used this as an excuse to give Arclight Film and Television a great discount. From the budget scale, to the resource channels, to the financial settlement, Arclight is almost the priority.
Take the profit sharing as an example. Other cooperating companies basically have to pay in installments for half a year to a year before all the settlements are completed. Only Arclight Film and Television, at most three or four months, all the money has been paid.
Because of the relationship between Meng Bai and Gan Wei, and Boss Jia's favor for Arclight, they only complained a little internally.
And their achievements are here, so there is no point in complaining.
But starting this year, Gan Wei has been resting after giving birth, and Boss Jia has been staying abroad for a long time, so the issue of "over-reliance on a single partner for content production" was raised.
After many discussions at the board of directors of Leshi.com, it was decided to set up a copyright operation center outside the self-made drama department. On
the one hand, it is to let the IP that Leshi.com has previously hoarded play a role, and on the other hand, it is also hoped that this will reduce the impact of Arclight Film and Television and avoid "customers bullying the store" in the future.
As the boss of the company, Meng Bai also understands Leshi.com's approach. He himself has been in contact with other platforms and does not want to be tied to Leshi.com.
In business, everyone has different positions, all for their own interests.
The only one who is uncomfortable is Liu Jun. The "territory" that originally belonged to him was taken away for nothing, and no one would accept it.
Unfortunately, he is angry, but he is just a senior worker at Leshi.com. Since the board of directors has made the decision, they can only obey orders.
On the other end of the phone, Liu Jun sighed and said, "Although this is a bit unethical, I really hope that the shitty operation center can mess up a few more projects."
Meng Bai smiled when he heard this. This is why outsiders sometimes think that a company always makes some outrageous operations when facing problems. Because the interests of employees and companies are not always the same.
"Let them toss them around." Liu Jun sighed, and then asked, "By the way, what did you call me about?"
"Ah? Oh, I almost forgot because of your matter." Meng Bai said, "Actually, it's nothing. I just want to ask about the current round of financing of Leshi Pictures." As
soon as he finished speaking, he heard silence on the other end of the phone. Then, there was a sound of footsteps and a sound similar to that of a door being locked.
After a while, Liu Jun finally said in a low voice: "Is there no one else on your side?"
"No, I'm in my own car." Meng Bai was a little nervous because of his "little combo", "What's wrong? Why are you so serious?"
Liu Jun seemed to be a little entangled. He hesitated for a long time before finally saying: "Regarding this round of financing, I have heard some bad news recently."
"What do you mean?"
"I really can't say the specific situation. It's just rumored that the rapid financing since last year seems to be because the group has some problems with its financial situation."
Although he had similar speculations before, he still frowned subconsciously when he heard Liu Jun say this.
"Financial problems? It can't be financial fraud, right?"
"Haha, Brother Meng, for listed companies like us, the question is not whether there is fraud, but who has not committed fraud."
Liu Jun smiled and continued, "We are called executives, but in fact we are just workers with higher salaries. We cannot know the real situation. But it is true that the group has problems with its funds. Didn't you notice that half of the budget for this project was paid with advertising expenses?"
The total cost of "Forensic Qin Ming" is 40 million, of which Leshi.com is responsible for 20 million.
In the previous projects, half of the budget funds were directly transferred to the crew's account. But this time, Leshi.com only gave 10 million directly, and the other 10 million was the placement advertising fee for "LeTV Mobile Phone" and "LeTV TV".
The reason given by Leshi.com is that it has the foundation of the previous works, and "Forensic Qin Ming" is very popular. In addition, the story background is also a modern city, so it is very suitable for placement.
Meng Bai also noticed this at the time, but didn't think much about it. As a producer, as long as the funds are in place, it's fine. As for product placement, there are no urban dramas without product placement nowadays, and this can be regarded as a reflection of the commercial value of the "Green Ivy Series".
But from what Liu Jun said, it seems that Leshi.com has some problems with its capital chain, so it has to use other methods to supplement it.
"Most of what I hear now are speculations, so it's hard to say what the specific situation is. Regarding financing, I can only say that you'd better consider it carefully. Including the previous round of investment, nothing can be said before the money is in the bag."
As an executive of Leshi.com, Liu Jun is not convenient to say many things, so he can only give some obscure suggestions.
Meng Bai naturally understood what he meant, and said sincerely: "Thank you, Brother Liu, I understand. When the filming of this drama is finished and I return to Jingbei, I will make arrangements for you."
"Haha, we have been working together for such a long time, there is no need to thank each other." Liu Jun laughed and said: "And who knows, in two years, I may have to ask you for a living."
"That's no problem, we are just short of a general manager at Huguang." Meng Bai smiled and said: "Brother Liu, if you come, you can take office right away."
"There is no need for a general manager, as long as I can leave a meal for my old brother."
After chatting for a few more words, the two hung up the phone.
Putting down the phone, Meng Bai's smile faded, and he frowned and thought.
Now it seems that his suspicion of Leshi.com has not been wrong. And from Liu Jun's tone, it seems that they have a lot of problems.
After thinking about it, he took out his mobile phone and called Chen Jing, asking her if she had any classmates or friends who worked in similar auditing or investment industries and could inquire about the specific situation of Leshi.com.
"Is there something wrong with Leshi's financial situation?" Chen Jing said, "No wonder. I've been looking at their annual reports and financial statements recently, and I always feel that something is wrong. Obviously, the profit attributable to the parent company is growing, but the tax is negative..."
"Wait, can the tax be negative?" Meng Bai asked curiously.
Chen Jing gave her "novice" boss some popular science. In simple terms, when the company's tax was settled, it was found that the actual profit for the whole year was not high and there were other items that could be deducted, resulting in more tax paid in the end, so it became negative.
"It's equivalent to prepayment, and the extra part will be automatically offset when paying taxes in the second year." Chen Jing said, "This situation usually occurs in small companies or companies with poor operating conditions, but Leshi's annual financial report data is very good, so I have always been curious about how it is done."
Financial reports and operating conditions can be disguised, but the tax department will not joke with you about how much you pay.
So, the financial situation announced by Leshi does have problems, but the size of the problem is unknown.
Meng Bai thought to himself, it seems that I have to hurry up and get back the money I invested before.
I remember Qin Lan said last time that someone seemed to ask about the resale of shares, and I will ask in detail in the next two days.
If the price is about the same, it is better to get rid of it as soon as possible.
After thinking about the matter of Leshi.com, Meng Bai thought about the "copyright operation" mentioned by Liu Jun just now.
By the way, should Arclight Film and Television also consider buying some IP copyrights back?
Those big IPs are definitely out of the question. Even if they are not bought by others, they are all sky-high prices.
If you really want to buy, either see if you can find a leak by luck, or find some small projects with high cost performance, which can just make up for the defect that Arclight Film and Television's themes are too single.
However, I don’t know much about this aspect, so I have to find someone to understand the situation first, so as not to dive in and bite a mouthful of sand directly.
It just so happens that Zhu Zhenhua’s "The Best of Us" has also started filming at Blue Island recently. This brother has taken over many IP adaptations and is experienced. It would be nice to ask him about it.
By the way, I can also go and see Boss Li, no, I can go and see the investment project as an investor.
(End of this chapter)
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