Chapter 180 What I Have to Do

Others do not know the power of computers and the Internet. Even those who are already in contact with or even use computers and the Internet in large quantities at home and abroad, it is estimated that the development potential of this new thing in the future is as good as it is. estimated, but Li Qian is well aware of this.

Well, knowing that under the impact of the Internet that will develop in the future, the record industry will soon be in a slump, and before that, the golden development period of the record industry is only eight to ten years left, and it is necessary to spend thousands of dollars Are you struggling to form your own record distribution network?

In Li Qian's view, it would be great if it could be built. Even if you make a few extra sums before the tide of Internet piracy arrives, you will definitely gain a lot. But the problem is, how easy is it to distribute the Internet? Built it?

Production, production, and distribution are like an eternal triangle with all three legs and are naturally stable.

But why are there so many record companies in China that have the ability to independently distribute, and there are only about ten of them? And there are only four or five companies with independent production capacity?

Production is okay. For the time being, most domestic record companies do not have their own production lines, and in fact, professional-level CD production lines and tape production lines are not within the reach of small and medium-sized record companies, so even though they have their own production systems , for the long-term development of a record company, it must be extremely important, but after all, even if it is handed over to other companies for OEM, the actual cost of production is not too high.

Especially for CDs, it is said that in order to promote the technology and standards of CDs, the production lines of Sony and other domestic companies that have CD recording capabilities are all operating at a breakeven, and the cost of production is not even much higher than that of tapes.

Therefore, for the vast majority of small and medium-sized record companies, what is most likely to be controlled by others, and also the biggest ceiling for small and medium-sized record companies to grow, is the publicity and distribution capabilities.

The importance of distribution ability for a company engaged in the production of cultural and artistic products cannot be overemphasized. It can even be said that the distribution ability is the lifeline.

In that time and space, the top director and producer Spielberg, the top film producer and animation film producer Katzenberg, and the top musician and producer David Geffen, these three people Once co-founded the DreamWorks Film Company, with the strength and connections of the three founders, it can be said that, whether it is a live-action movie or an animated movie, they have been able to make the film quality top-notch without relying on anyone. And in fact, during the years of DreamWorks existence, the company's production was indeed known for its high quality.

However, such a company, which dreamed of becoming the seventh largest film producer in Hollywood, finally existed for less than ten years, and fell under the siege of the six major Hollywood production companies.

The quality of the movies they produced is generally high, and even the box office is generally good, but they just went out of business.

Because from beginning to end, they failed to establish their own distribution channels.

The distribution channel is controlled by others, so no matter how good the box office of the film is, the real profit will still fall into the hands of the distribution company, and once the box office fails, they will face losses. If things go on like this, how can it go on?

This is true for the film industry, and it is equally true for the recording industry.

Why are Sony, Huage, and Cinda recognized as the three giants in the record industry? That's not just because they have the most popular singers, but to a greater extent, they have a strong distribution ability to sell a mediocre record to make money.

An album may only sell 300,000 copies in a medium-sized record company that also has independent distribution capabilities, but if the same album is released by Sony, it may sell 500,000 copies, or even more. many.

It is precisely because of this that when Xie Mingyuan met Liao Liao several times when he learned that Liao Liao's contract was about to expire, he mentioned more than once that if he handed over an album like "The Sound of the Waves" to Sony, Sony would guarantee I have sold 10 million copies for you! But at Changsheng Records, they can sell you eight million copies at most. Can it exceed 10 million copies? Maybe, maybe not, it depends on luck! ——This is the power of distribution.

Moreover, for Changsheng Records, they can sell Liao Liao's album over 8 million copies, which is actually not something to be proud of, because a singer has reached the level of Liao Liao, in fact, even if you are not capable of publishing, there will be many Distributors will take the initiative to come to your door to ask for goods. As long as you have a certain channel foundation, you can even expand your own distribution channels with the help of Liao Liao's albums.

Then again, Li Qian's studio will sign Liao Liao as the first signed singer in the future, so can the studio take advantage of Liao Liao's superstar status to do their own publishing?

Do not make jokes!

Spielberg's appeal and influence on movies is much greater than Liao Liao's influence on records, and from the perspective of the Big Three of DreamWorks, they would not want to form their own distribution network? But what about the end result? ——After only ten years of establishment, DreamWorks died of publishing.

Therefore, when it comes to setting up his own distribution network, Li Qian still tends to be conservative.

And most importantly, he knew very well that he was really not good at this. In the final analysis, he can be a qualified musician, a qualified singer, a qualified actor, and maybe a qualified director in the future, but he knows that he is not a qualified businessman.

So in his vision, although people will take away a small profit, let’s earn the money that can be earned in a steady manner. The key is to do a good job in the career you like. , is the most important.

But at this time, after hearing her words, Wang Jinglu couldn't help but interjected and asked: "Release...is sales, right? It's to make an album and send it to one video store after another?"

Li Qian nodded with a smile, "That's right. At first glance, it's very simple, right? But it's such a simple matter. Once it involves the whole country, even every province and every city will definitely have There are big distributors, and distribution does not need to run from one store to another at all, but this is still a difficult task.”

After a pause, he said again: "Actually, the truth is the same. Records and albums are also a commodity. All commodities face the same problem, and sales are difficult!"

Liao Liao nodded when he heard the words, and seemed to be very emotional: "You may have heard of it. In fact, Lao Chen doesn't know much about music. He founded Changsheng Records, and all the way to the present, basically It has been developing and growing, and the reason is that he sold this at that time, so he has a clear understanding of the rules of this industry."

"With him, although the company of Changsheng Records is not big, it has its own distribution channels from the beginning. Therefore, even if the sales volume is a little lower, it may be an album that loses money in companies without distribution channels, but in Changsheng Records , just like you can make a profit just by selling albums. Like my two albums, Lao Chen can’t make a lot of money. In fact, I always think that this is why Lao Chen obviously doesn’t understand music, and Changsheng Records makes music. The standard has always been limited, but the company's business is thriving and the most important reason."

"Well." Li Qian nodded, and smiled helplessly: "This is the problem. Only musicians can't make music well. On the contrary, pure businessmen are better at making popular music. Come."

After a pause, he continued: "In other words, good music may not necessarily make money, and bad music may not make money. When it comes to making money, businessmen are definitely better at it than musicians." ah!"

At this point, the topic seemed to be in a deadlock, and the atmosphere suddenly became a little dull.

In fact, it is not difficult to imagine that even according to what Liao Liao said, after three years, we will strive to make the studio a place where others wave checks to compete for distribution rights, but the chat you just had has penetrated into the entire pop music industry. , and after pointing out the importance of distribution, even a layman like Wang Jinglu has already understood that no matter how good the music in the studio is, it still has a feeling of "making wedding clothes for others". In the end, distribution rights, after all, still have to be handed over to others.

Thinking of it this way, it immediately makes people feel a little discouraged.

But unfortunately, everyone has no good way to solve this problem.

But at this time, Qi Jie, who had been silent from the beginning to the end, suddenly said: "It may indeed be difficult to establish a distribution network, but I think you can try to do it yourself, right?"

Everyone was taken aback when they heard the words, and turned to look at her.

Seeing this, Qi Jie was stunned for a moment, quickly waved her hands, and said, "What I mean is, look, I can't make music. You, Li Qian, and Liao Liao are both good at making music, but I can't make music. Management, what about administration? Is it just responsible for managing several secretaries and cleaning every day?"

"I feel embarrassed if I get so much money so easily like this. Like now, I am acting as Li Qian's agent. In fact, I feel that I have done nothing from the beginning to the end. But when Liao Liao's picture The settlement of "The Sound of the Waves" is almost the same, and I estimate that I have hundreds of thousands of credits! This is only half a year!"

"So... I just heard you talking, since you all think it's too troublesome to do distribution, I don't think so, I have done sales, and I know what sales are, then... So... let me try it?"

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help looking at her in surprise.

Li Qian smiled, knowing that Qi Jie might be impulsive and wanted to share the worries and problems for himself and Liao Liao, but at this time, of course, it is not good to directly discourage her enthusiasm, so he smiled and encouraged: "If you really want It’s not too troublesome, then wait until the shelf in the studio is set up, and you have time, just try it out.”

Qi Jie nodded earnestly upon hearing this.

... ... ...

After chatting, it was already noon without knowing it. Liao Liao wanted to treat guests. After all, it was the first time she and Wang Jinglu met, so they drove two cars and went out to find a restaurant to have a big meal. After the meal, Li Qian drove with him Wang Jinglu left, found a large supermarket near the neighborhood where she rented a house, went in and scoured the necessities for school.

You know, the day after tomorrow is September 1st, and he and Wang Jinglu will officially start their college life.

Maybe he will be very busy in the future, but at least for the next two days, it must belong to the two-person world of him and Wang Jinglu, because after entering school, many things will inevitably be involuntary.

... ... ...

After dinner, while still driving home, Qi Jie called the vice president of Huage Records who was in charge of contacting her to discuss cooperation, and relayed what Li Qian had said.

As soon as she hung up the phone, Liao Liao couldn't help asking: "Before dinner, you said you were going to do something about publishing the network, are you serious?"

Qi Jie nodded, "Ah! Of course it's serious!"

Liao Liao stared at her for a moment, and persuaded: "You also saw that even Li Qian couldn't do anything about it, he promised you to let you try, probably just because he didn't want to kill your enthusiasm, This matter can't be done casually, I advise you, forget it, it's really not that easy!"

Qi Jie just smiled when she heard the words, raised her hand to brush a lock of hair, and said plainly: "I just want to try and see if I can do something that will help you and him."

After a pause, she ignored Liao Liao's astonished gaze, and calmly said, "You and he are both busy making music, and these jobs belong to businessmen, so of course you don't bother to lower your body to do them, so let me try it." Right! Just as you said, three years. In three years, you will completely spread the reputation of the studio in the music field. A distribution and sales network comes!"

She spoke calmly and smiled calmly, but Liao Liao stared blankly at her for a moment, but only sighed helplessly.

"Well then, do whatever you want, when you encounter real difficulties, don't cry to me!"

And what answered her was still Qi Jie's calm smile.

After a while, she said in a voice that was so small that it was close to a whisper: "It's your job to make good music, and it's my job to take care of everything else for you except the music." thing."

***

This is an addition to the lord "Sumentara"!

Then, um, I haven't asked for a ticket for a long time. It's the end of the month, so let's ask for a monthly ticket! Next, I will adjust my status and try to write as much as possible.