Chapter 28 The Final Round of Competition
Fang Zhuo didn't directly respond to this harsh condition, but instead asked the middle-aged man:
"You haven't introduced yourself yet, have you? What is your position at Xiaoxiong Live?"
The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then said, "I am the Vice Minister of Commerce."
There was no one responding to the conversation on the interface for a moment. The two young liaisons on the other end were stunned for a moment, and then they huddled together and whispered to each other.
They spoke in hushed tones while searching for something on another personal computer nearby.
The middle-aged man glanced at the contents of the personal terminal, and his expression instantly became awkward and unpleasant.
Fang Zhuo knew what they were investigating.
In order to combat unfair competition, the Star Federation Entertainment Industry Alliance introduced revenue sharing regulations for live streaming platforms as early as three years ago.
Depending on the specific live streaming sector, the detailed rules may vary slightly, but the platform's commission rate is never allowed to exceed 65%, otherwise, the industry alliance will impose a hefty fine.
During the breaks between Tong Qinglu and the others filming their short dramas, Fang Zhuo spent three days reading through all the official regulations of the entertainment industry.
He couldn't understand why the people opposite him needed to check something that should be common sense.
Fang Zhuo tapped his knuckles casually on the table:
“You’re unprofessional. Call your direct supervisor over. I’m not talking to you.”
The middle-aged man's face flushed red and then turned pale. He tried to speak several times but held back, finally exhaling through his nose and leaving the negotiation area.
Although the profit-sharing ratio was indeed outrageous, Fang Zhuo didn't really care.
The scale of Little Bear is not as large as the live broadcast that comes with the StarNet main interface. The new revenue from this channel is expected to be only a few million.
Even if 30% of the tipping amount on this single platform is taken away, for Juyu, it would only be a loss of several hundred thousand to two million yuan at most.
As for him personally, this impact is negligible.
90% of the direct revenue from live streaming goes to the streamer, and the remaining 8% is used as bonuses for employees. He never makes money from the revenue sharing from live streaming, but from the tenfold rebate given to him by the system.
The system calculates rebates based on ten times the amount of user donations. This base amount is neither taxed nor shared with the platform, and the amount the platform takes has no impact on the final rebate amount.
In other words, if a user tips him ten yuan, he will receive a one hundred yuan rebate from the system, plus four yuan and fifty cents after taxes, which he will split 50/50 with the platform.
While Xiaoxiong Live appears to have increased commissions by 30%, in reality, it only affects 2% of the revenue from a single channel.
Fang Zhuo didn't care about the company losing a million or two in revenue, but he didn't want to discuss cooperation with such an unprofessional person.
Realizing that their leader had misspoke, the two young liaisons on the screen completely changed their previously indifferent attitude and kept bowing their heads and apologizing.
Fang Zhuo waited for less than three minutes before a door opened across the street.
The two young men also stood up in alarm, looking helplessly towards the door.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Fang. The business team didn't relay the message from Juyu to their superiors that they had sent an email for negotiation. It was an internal problem within our company."
"I apologize for keeping you waiting. I am Dou Zhang, the current deputy general manager of Xiaoxiong Live. You can just call me Xiao Dou."
Dou Zhang strode to sit in front of the camera, his eyes slightly darkened, and rattled off a series of quotes with practiced ease:
"Our current revenue sharing ratio for joint live streaming collaborations on game-related content is 50%. For non-exclusive content, we need to increase the revenue sharing by 5 percentage points on top of that. The total revenue for the homepage and splash screen recommendation slots for 12 hours is 520,000."
"We have exemption rules for high-quality entertainment live streams. Generally, we will increase the revenue share by 3% and also charge a one-time channel fee."
"Our new staff members at the Ministry of Commerce are not very familiar with industry alliance regulations. To express our apologies, we will still agree on a 50% revenue sharing ratio with your company for this cooperation. You only need to pay the advertising fee."
Dou Zhang's heart was bleeding; he felt like he was about to break.
The email from the Ministry of Commerce, which rejected the offer without authorization, included Giant Entertainment's first three rounds of quotes, with Giant Entertainment paying over a million yuan in channel fees alone per day.
In the past, the channel fee for other live streaming rooms was only around 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, so Juyu's initial offer was a bit beyond his comprehension.
In addition to the separate channel fees, Xiaoxiong can also get a share of the gifts brought by the huge traffic of the group broadcast competition. If they had reached a cooperation agreement from the beginning, Xiaoxiong would have earned far more than just these.
But it's too late to say anything now; he has to personally clean up the mess left by these dim-witted subordinates who can't even seize an opportunity despite being offered money.
Even if you can only earn money for one day, the key is to serve the God of Wealth obediently.
No one is better at serving their partners on their knees than him.
After Dou Zhang finished speaking, he personally and quickly modified the contract on his personal computer and sent it to Fang Zhuo's email address within two minutes.
He smiled throughout, presenting the most friendly smile to the major benefactor.
This price is much more reasonable. Fang Zhuo glanced at the specific terms and conditions: "Do you have any other forms of advertising?"
"Yes, yes, of course. We also have swipe ads on vertical screen apps and joint push notifications from the three official Xingwang accounts. We can also help you contact top influencers signed with four or five platforms to insert ads in their live streams."
"But the price is a bit high; this part adds up to more than 400,000."
Fang Zhuo: "Let's add them all to the contract."
This vice president was very efficient; the new contract quickly appeared in his inbox again, and he casually struck up a conversation with the other party:
"That deputy minister is already in his forties or fifties, how come he only just joined your company?"
Dou Zhang gave a wry smile.
He touched his nose, casually revealing:
"I apologize for the embarrassing situation. Last night, one of our company's minor shareholders sold his shares, so some employees from that shareholder's faction were just demoted from core management to the business department today."
"Before coming to Xiaoxiong, Vice Minister Chen worked at Xinghan for several years. The staff who handled the Giant Entertainment business deal this time were also his trusted subordinates."
"I guess he might have some personal issues with you, or he was just demoted and had his pay cut, so it's understandable that he's a bit emotional."
"But don't worry, our platform will definitely dismiss any staff member who violates industry rules and regulations."
After signing the contract, Fang Zhuo slightly raised his head.
Connecting the dots between Dou Zhang's words and their implied meaning, it's easy to deduce that Ruan Zihan previously held shares in Xiaoxiong Live.
Moreover, this shareholding ratio should not be too high, just enough for a few people to get into the actual management team.
The people who were brought in were all incompetent; after working at the live-streaming company for so many years, they hadn't even mastered the basic rules and regulations. So, as soon as Xinghan withdrew its investment, they were all kicked out of the core team.
This also indirectly confirms that Ruan Zihan doesn't have much cash on hand; the fact that he spent over ten million on gifts has forced him to sell stocks at a loss.
Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case.
The entertainment industry is an absolute pillar industry in the Star Federation. A top actor and agency owner like Ruan Zihan earning seven or eight hundred million a year is considered low.
Even those who value investment will at least keep some cash on hand for emergencies and daily expenses.
High-purity hallucinogens are a fixed expense, but even if you get so many hallucinogens from taking them, it would only cost a few million a month at most.
Fang Zhuo guessed that a considerable portion of the other party's income might be used to suppress other artists in the original book, or that Ruan Zihan might have some other high-expense hobbies.
In any case, this was good news for him, and he began to slowly devise a plan for how to tailor a trap for Ruan Zihan.
They had just signed the contract when the screen started shaking violently.
Dou Zhang solemnly picked up the mobile terminal used for filming, pointed it at dozens of employees from the Ministry of Commerce, and then the dozens of people bowed deeply to the camera.
Perhaps sensing that he might lose even his position as Vice Minister of Commerce, Vice Minister Chen's lips trembled, his face was ashen, and he apologized while pleading with Fang Zhuo on the screen.
He talked about his elderly parents and his newborn child, and broke down emotionally in front of everyone.
Dou Zhang chimed in, "President Fang, please rest assured, our company has a non-compete agreement. If you are fired for a work mistake, you are not allowed to work for an entertainment company for three and a half years."
The two young men, who had been in a good mood, changed their expressions upon hearing this. They racked their brains and used every compliment they could think of to praise Fang Zhuo, making Giant Entertainment sound like the best thing ever.
Dou Zhang couldn't stand their behavior.
He quickly called the HR to discuss the termination contracts for these individuals, then picked up where the other two left off and continued to flatter them obsequiously.
This opportunity to impress the God of Wealth requires his personal presence.
"Mr. Fang, I have sent all my personal contact information to your email. Please feel free to contact me as soon as possible if your company has any cooperation needs in the future."
"I have set up a message notification for you, and I will be online 24 hours a day to respond to any of your needs."
"If you are not satisfied with the advertising performance of the signed influencers, you can also contact me. I will have the operations team put the group broadcast ads on the main page right now and give you an extra two hours of time."
Fang Zhu gave a perfunctory reply and then closed the negotiation interface.
Two hours before the final round of the group broadcast competition began, the opening screen promotions of eight major live streaming platforms all featured the same live stream room. Even the first pop-up ad on the Xingwang main interface was Juyu Group Broadcast. This unprecedented spectacle by Xingyu immediately made it to the top of the trending searches.
Most of the inner field tickets were given away to the media, the fan clubs of various streamers, and the big spenders who ranked in the live broadcast room, while the outer field tickets were all non-tradable and registered with real names by scanning pupils, so they were extremely difficult to obtain.
The one or two tickets that occasionally slipped through the cracks were auctioned off for astronomical prices on the largest secondhand platform in the Star Federation.
[This Juyu offline group broadcast requires strict real-name registration. Don't trust any scalpers. A certified media pass from a top-tier media outlet allows entry for two people. I only have one spot available. Bidding starts at 30,000 RMB, with increments of 5,000 RMB. Think carefully before you act. Only those with substantial financial resources should participate.]
[1L: So jealous! Waiting to see which rich guy or girl will get the spot!]
[2L: Kill kill kill kill kill kill, equally jealous of everyone who can go to the scene, I'm getting jealous!]
[3L: My boss has spent over six million RMB on Momo these past few days, and yesterday Juyu Entertainment officially sent him a ticket via private message. I can only say that people with the means to sit in the inner circle are already incredibly successful and enviable QAQ]
[4L: Are there any brothers or sisters who can't go to the show and want to transfer their inner circle tickets? I'm willing to hold up my equipment and record the whole thing for you guys, haha, I'm super dedicated and very responsive]
[5L: Let me go first, my butt is still brand new, and my external hemorrhoids are still shaped like a rabbit's tail, so cute!]
Looking at the ticket lying quietly in his personal terminal, Ruan Zihan hesitated about whether to go to the event.
He originally intended to transfer the tickets directly to his assistant, but after seeing these comments online, he inexplicably felt that not going would be a loss.
This dilemma was finally resolved by a few messages from Yu Yu:
[Mr. Ruan, Giant Entertainment called us all over separately, saying that if we can make it into the top nine, they'll give us a minor role in a short drama. I'll definitely be on set to film it clearly for you. Please help me out, Mr. Ruan.]
[Zhou Zongyun and General Manager Fang have been getting very close these past few days. It seems General Manager Fang even sent him a lot of photos. Please don't be fooled by him.]
[Mr. Ruan, my personal computer and terminal will soon be disabled again. Please take care of yourself.]
This is a truly caring subordinate who also knows how to care about his health.
Compared to Zhou Zongyun's flawed rhetoric, Yu Yu's words were sincere and genuine.
Ruan Zihan put on sunglasses, a mask, and a hat, and wore a long-sleeved denim jacket, covering himself completely to ensure that not an inch of his skin was exposed before carefully leaving the house.
Juyu Group's advertisements have covered almost every corner of the city center. Even public cloud platforms are plastered with large advertisements from the streamers, and a special hotline for viewers has been opened.
As people exited the Yunlie exit, two rows of dozens of staff members bowed slightly in welcome, and they also handed out various support items to the audience heading to the venue.
"Sir, may I ask which broadcaster you are? You can get official materials here."
Ruan Zihan lowered his voice: "Yu Yu."
A whole bag of Yu Yu merchandise was handed to him, containing not only practical items such as hats, water bottles, and canvas bags printed with cartoon characters, but also various small cards, fans, and banners.
The closer he got to the venue, the more silent he became. The official investment from Giant Entertainment far exceeded his expectations, and he couldn't imagine how much all these preparations had cost.
When he sat down in the first row of the inner area, he noticed that each person's seat had a huge support bag on it.
Ruan Zihan opened the support bag, which contained not only the usual light sticks, but also a film camera, a wide-format instant camera, and a large pile of photographic paper. At the bottom of the bag, there was even a classic silk scarf from a luxury brand and a thank-you card with his ID on it.
The security situation is much more orderly than during Chi Yingying's previous tours, and the security guards everywhere you look have huge muscles.
These people clearly come from a professional security company, rather than being temporary middle-aged or elderly security guards.
There were many staff members distributing various iced drinks and snacks in the corridor; you could get a big bag of food just by waving your hand.
Ruan Zihan's complexion grew increasingly worse.
Those rivals who tried to oppose him before could usually squander a few million at first, but then gradually disappeared. He couldn't understand where the guy surnamed Fang got so much money.
Juyu Entertainment lost money on their last short drama, and the cost of renting the Federal Center venue alone was a huge expense...
He ate the oden handed to him by a staff member while furrowing his brow and organizing his package. Just as he shoved the support bag at his feet, the entire venue suddenly went dark.
Unlike the previous theme of being covered in crushed ice, this time the entire venue felt like entering a dense forest.
It seemed as if schools of fish were swimming beneath everyone's feet, and then the flowing water slowly turned into overgrown weeds.
A sliver of light flashed through the gaps overhead, and he even felt as if he could smell the earth.
Immediately afterwards, the entire stage began to ripple like ocean waves. When the waves of greenery reached their highest point, Fang Zhuo appeared in the middle of the grass with a microphone in his hand.
"Hello everyone, our rules tonight are a bit special. The top twelve ranking matches will use a vote-based elimination system."
"This ranking list will inherit the sum of the total activity value from the first two rounds, meaning that the voting amount of all viewers in the previous rounds will be reflected in the final round."
"After the first round of talent show, we will have a two-minute vote-getting session starting from the last place on the real-time ranking list."
"If the last-place candidate's campaign score does not exceed that of the second-to-last candidate after the last candidate's campaign ends, they will be considered immediately eliminated."
"For each person eliminated, the next person must gather 50,000 activity points within two minutes to solicit votes, and so on. When two people are eliminated, they must gather 100,000 activity points. Streamers who fail to gather enough activity points in this round will also be eliminated on the spot."
As soon as he put down the microphone, cheers erupted from the thousand-seat stadium, and the live chat was so busy that the content was completely obscured.
[What does this mean? I don't quite understand this competition format. Does it mean that each time, the last-place finisher comes up to solicit votes, and if they don't surpass the previous place or get enough votes within two minutes, they're eliminated?]
[I can't breathe! Juyu, why do you always come up with such exciting mechanisms?]
[Wait, wouldn't that mean there would be two teams constantly fighting each other? I can't imagine how heartbroken I'd be when my favorite streamer goes on stage to campaign for votes.]
I'm a little envious of the girls who managed to snag tickets; I heard they can also get official merchandise and gifts at the event.
[The souvenirs from the general admission tickets alone are worth more than half the price of the ticket. Fang Ge Ni is truly unfathomable...]
[Meimei received a skincare product gift set; from today onwards, I'll be Fang Ge's dog, waaaaaah!]
All Jing fans absolutely must vote Jing into the top three right from the start, so that things won't be too dangerous under this competition format!!
We can't repeat the mistake of almost getting our tower stolen by the Peach family last time. We casual fans shouldn't reserve tickets from the start, but of course, big brothers and sisters can do whatever they want.
[Our Tao made such a beautiful comeback~]
[Why is even Xiaoxiong Live broadcasting this? I switched in to take a look, and Xiaoxiong platform's spending power is surprisingly strong. What's going on? Are all you gamers this rich?]
[Could it be said that hardcore gamers are the group most easily driven to distraction by competitive rules...?]
[Wow, the talent show is starting! Who's in twelfth place right now? Is it Yu Yu? I remember he always gets stuck in the middle.]
Whether it was because his addiction had kicked in again or not, Ruan Zihan felt that the pressure on his eyeballs was abnormally high.
He stared intently at the stage, his gaze fixed on the huge real-time ranking screen behind all the anchors.
After a whole night of reflection, he finally realized that the blind voting mechanism was what made it easy for the votes in the top few positions to be inflated. Now that the rankings have been changed to be published in real time, the advancement threshold will probably be lowered.
He sold another stock overnight last night, this time with more than ten million yuan. He's sure he can get Yu Yu into the top six today.
He was just one step away, just one step away.
After the talent show segment ended, all the lights came on.
With the combined activity points from the first two rounds, Yu Yu unsurprisingly ranked twelfth. He was nervously gripping the microphone, beginning his campaign for votes—
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