Huayu 1992, my entertainment era

Chapter 98: Cooperation reached, backstabbed

Zhou Ziheng looked at Nie Anda deeply.

Apart from anything else, in terms of sincerity, EMi is absolutely at its best.

Even though the terms in the contract were harsh, it was hard to feel dissatisfied just based on these advance actions by Nie Anda and EMi.

In comparison, ENYE Music's 2.7 million and Warner's 3 million are like paying beggars.

Zhou Ziheng didn't say anything more, but picked up the contract and looked at it carefully.

During this time, Nie Anda did not say anything. He just drank tea and waited quietly, seeming to be very confident in their contract.

After reading the contract, Zhou Ziheng was a little surprised.

He originally thought that since EMi offered such a high signing fee, the contract terms should be very harsh.

However, the reality is exactly the opposite.

The terms in the contract are relatively reasonable.

"This contract of yours is indeed very suitable for me. It is the best contract I have ever come across."

Zhou Ziheng looked at Nie Anda and said.

"Of course, we come here with sincerity, and we are eager to cooperate with you, Mr. Zhou.

In our opinion, you deserve this contract."

Nie Anda said with a smile.

Zhou Ziheng nodded, and then said: "I have no objection to the other terms in the contract, I only want to renegotiate the term.

Ten years is too long. I will accept five years at most.

If you agree, we can sign the contract today."

The terms of EMi's contract are really not harsh.

First of all, regarding the release of Zhou Ziheng's records, they did not adopt a buyout model, but a profit-sharing model, just like Pacific Rim.

And the share they gave to Zhou Ziheng was quite a lot, 50%, a full 50%.

This alone makes it far superior to other record companies.

Because so far, apart from Pacific, no record company has ever been willing to give Zhou Ziheng such a high share.

Of course, since the share is so high, other aspects are naturally a bit harsh.

First of all, let’s talk about the year. EMi signed all of Zhou Ziheng’s records for ten years.

These all records refer to those from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and even if there are English records in the future, they must be handed over to EMi for distribution.

Of course, since Zhou Ziheng's mainland record distribution rights are now in the hands of Pacific, the mainland distribution rights will begin after the cooperation with Pacific ends.

Zhou Ziheng could accept most of the terms, except for the ten-year clause.

It took too long, ten years, and it basically ended in December 2003.

Having been tied to EMi Records for such a long time, Zhou Ziheng didn't dare to take any risks.

Who knows if EMi will do anything to harm his interests in the future.

"Zhou, five years is too short. The minimum is seven years. This is the condition I personally negotiated for you."

Nie Anda pondered for a long time, then looked up and said.

Hearing this, Zhou Ziheng could feel his determination.

Know that this is their bottom line.

Zhou Ziheng lowered his head and pondered, tapping his fingers on the table, and looked up after a while.

"It can be seven years, but the last two years will be changed to singer options. I can't leave my future entirely in your hands."

The so-called singer option is actually similar to the player option in the signing terms of NBA stars.

This means that after five years, Zhou Ziheng has the right to decide whether to execute the contract for the next two years.

If other record companies cannot offer a better matching contract, or if EMi Records does not do anything to disgust Zhou Ziheng, the contract for the next two years will continue to be executed.

On the contrary, Zhou Ziheng has the right not to execute the contract for these two years.

This is actually Zhou Ziheng taking out an insurance policy for himself.

This is to prevent EMi from messing with him because the contract is too long.

With this insurance, EMi needs to keep Zhou Ziheng as the company's focus in order to continue to execute the contract for the next two years.

Resources also need to be provided to him first, otherwise Zhou Ziheng will jump out of the contract and not execute the next two years of the contract.

After hearing Zhou Ziheng's conditions, Nie Anda did not agree immediately, but called other EMi executives first.

A few minutes later, after hanging up the phone, he said, "We agree with your suggestion!"

He stood up with a warm smile on his face, "Welcome to join the EMi family. I believe that your joining will help EMi Records return to the ranks of top record companies in Asia!"

"I think so too. EMi has been silent for too long. It's time to let other record companies know that EMi is still among the top companies." Zhou Ziheng also said with a smile.

Nie Anda smiled and took out a camera, "Do you mind if we take a picture together?"

"Of course I don't mind!"

Zhou Ziheng probably understood what he meant.

EMi Records has been silent for too long. In the Chinese music scene in recent years, it has completely lived under the shadow of Warner and PolyGram.

Now that Zhou Ziheng has joined, they naturally need to promote it heavily to build momentum for EMi.

The photos taken by Nie Anda now are the testimony of Zhou Ziheng's joining.

clack clack...

Zhou Ziheng and Nie Anda shook hands and smiled at the camera, while Florence Hui took pictures with a camera.

After taking a picture from every angle, the two let go of each other's hands.

Nie Anda did not stay in Guangzhou for long. After signing the contract, he quickly rushed back to Hong Kong.

And the facts were just as Zhou Ziheng thought.

The next morning, news about his joining EMi was already spreading all over Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places.

[Zhou Ziheng joins hands with EMi Records and becomes the first mainland singer under EMi]

[EMi signs Zhou Ziheng with a whopping 15 million signing fee]

[Zhou Ziheng joins EMi, and he and Jacky Cheung serve different teams, and there is a lot of tension between the two sides]

【EMi welcomes their top star】

[Can Zhou Ziheng carry the banner of EMi? ]

……

After Zhou Ziheng joined EMi, he became rich again.

He received 15 million Hong Kong dollars in one go, which, after converted into RMB and deducting taxes, left him with more than 8 million RMB.

With such a large sum of money, the first thing Zhou Ziheng did was to register Ziheng Studio as a production company with a registration fee of 300,000 yuan.

Then he started recruiting a large number of people to set up the framework of the production company.

Of course, you can’t not buy a house!

At this time, the courtyard houses in Beijing are very cheap, and you can buy one for four or five hundred thousand yuan.

Zhou Ziheng directly spent 4.6 million to buy ten courtyard houses and waited for them to appreciate in value.

Then, Zhou Ziheng upgraded his car from a cheap car worth more than 70,000 yuan to the presidential luxury car Cadillac Deluxe, which cost 1.4 million yuan.

Zhou Ziheng is a young man who also loves cars, especially luxury cars.

If you have money but don't improve your living standards, then what's the point of making money? You might as well go home and farm.

Of course, Zhou Ziheng didn't go too far. He spent money lavishly when it was time to spend it, and worked when it was time to work.

He also continued filming the follow-up MV for the album "Fairy Tale".

While Zhou Ziheng was buying houses and cars, the news that he signed with EMi caused a certain sensation in the circle. For mainland singers, Zhou Ziheng became the envy of everyone.

The signing fee alone is 15 million!
Fifteen million in 1993, that's how much commercial performances one would have to do to earn that amount.

Currently, the performer with the highest performance fee in mainland China is Zhou Ziheng, who earns 100,000 yuan per show.

He only makes 100,000, not to mention others. Even singers like Li Chunbo whose songs are popular in mainland China only make 20,000 or 30,000.

While everyone was still busy working for tens of thousands of dollars for commercial performances, Zhou Ziheng's signing fee alone was 15 million Hong Kong dollars. Although it was in Hong Kong dollars, it was enough to make everyone envy him.

This incident also caused quite a stir in major mainland media.

To be honest, this is the first time a singer has made such a big move.

The media are all smart people and they know that the signing fee is often linked to popularity in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places.

Zhou Ziheng's signing fee is so high, almost second only to the Four Heavenly Kings. It is enough to show that Zhou Ziheng has obviously gained a place in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

As a result, major media began to praise Zhou Ziheng.

【Mainland's No. 1 Singer】

[Zhou Ziheng's popularity in Hong Kong and Taiwan is not inferior to the Four Heavenly Kings]

[On par with the Four Heavenly Kings, mainland singers gain fame in Hong Kong and Taiwan]

Compared with the mainland, the situation in Hong Kong and Taiwan is quite different regarding Zhou Ziheng signing with EMi with such a high signing fee.

Many media and singers think EMi is a fool.

As we all know, Zhou Ziheng has only released one album in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Although this album sold well, in everyone's opinion, Zhou Ziheng is just a pure newcomer.

Some even believe that his success was entirely due to luck.

For a person who only has one successful experience, EMi actually spent such a huge price to sign him. It was a complete gamble.

Jacky Cheung directly said in the interview: "Some people are actually like a shooting star, bright and beautiful when they pass by, but only for a moment."

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a satire on Zhou Ziheng.

The president of PolyGram Asia also said in an interview with Oriental Daily: "EMi's decline is not without reason. They are like gamblers who lose a lot of money at the gambling table and are unwilling to miss any opportunity they think can turn the tables.

But such gamblers often end up in a miserable situation.”

There is no doubt that Zhou Ziheng became the one that was envied by others, and at the same time, he became the one that everyone was waiting for to pass by like a shooting star.

Zhou Ziheng certainly doesn't care about the ridicule from PolyGram and Jacky Cheung.

He has always had a bad relationship with PolyGram, so it's normal for people to mock him.

What made Zhou Ziheng a little angry was the entertainment and music aspect.

Maybe it was because they didn’t get Zhou Ziheng’s record distribution rights, so the entertainment industry was very dissatisfied with him.

This is what Zhang Guozhong said when asked by reporters what he thought of Zhou Ziheng's new album.

“Generally, his new album was submitted to our company, and our company’s top management unanimously agreed that it had average potential. Many of the top management felt that it was not suitable for release and advised me not to release this album.

But as you know, his previous album "Sad Pacific" was released by us. Although we didn't make much money, the cooperation was still pleasant after all. So I went against everyone's opinion and sent someone to negotiate the distribution rights of this new album.

Unfortunately, Hengzai seemed to have a big appetite and he was not satisfied with the conditions we offered.

I am actually very happy that Hengzai was able to sign with EMi. At least, he won’t have to raise money for the signing fee in the next few years.”

Anyone who can read can see the ulterior motive in Zhang Guozhong's words.

In fact, Zhou Ziheng didn't expect that Zhang Guozhong was such a person.

He had come into contact with the other party when he first went to the entertainment industry.

He was so gentle and passionate.

Zhou Ziheng almost treated him as his caring older brother.

Sure enough, people in the entertainment industry are like this. When you can help me make money, you are my dad. If you can’t, then you are undoubtedly an idiot.

Zhou Ziheng was angry not because he was deceived by Zhang Guozhong's appearance.

What made him angry was that the other party took advantage of him just because he didn't get the record distribution rights, completely ignoring how much profit his previous record brought to them.

After being backstabbed by Zhang Guozhong, Zhou Ziheng did not immediately run to Hong Kong to confront him.

Instead, he called Chen Jiaying immediately and negotiated to terminate the agency contract between the two parties.

In fact, this matter has nothing to do with Chen Jiaying.

She has been busy dealing with Danny Chan's affairs recently.

After Danny Chan passed away, she, as his agent and friend, had to help him deal with many things, including the copyright statistics of various songs and the distribution of property, all of which required her presence.

Therefore, she has no time to take care of other things recently.

But even though it had nothing to do with her, Zhou Ziheng still terminated the contract with her.

Chen Jiaying is a person of entertainment industry and even holds shares.

Zhang Guozhong's backstabbing really made Zhou Ziheng no longer want to be associated with the entertainment industry, so even though Chen Jiaying was actually a good person, he chose to terminate his contract with him without hesitation.

Fortunately, the original agency contract did not have any harsh termination clauses, and both parties had the right to terminate the contract directly.

Otherwise, today’s matter might be difficult to handle.

Although Chen Jiaying did not want Zhou Ziheng to terminate the contract with her, she understood that there was a gap between the two parties and it would be awkward for them to be together again, so she finally agreed to terminate the contract.

After terminating his contract with Chen Jiaying, Zhou Ziheng's MV shooting also entered the final stage.

In Hong Kong and Taiwan, the MTV of "Fairy Tale" also began to be officially broadcast on major TV stations.

Zhou Ziheng handed over the promotion of "Fairy Tale" in Hong Kong and Taiwan to EMi.

The division of labor between him and EMi is clear.

Zhou Ziheng is responsible for production, and EMi is responsible for promotion and marketing.

Although EMi has declined in recent years.

But this decline refers to the company's performance and the singers under the company.

In terms of publicity and promotion, EMi is actually quite good, and is on par with PolyGram.

Under EMi's arrangement, "Fairy Tale" was first broadcast on TVB's MTV channel.

This channel is similar to the Oriental Horizon Golden Melody Chart in mainland China, and usually broadcasts interviews with celebrity artists or singers.

Then we play some song MTVs regularly.

These songs are basically co-produced by several major record companies in Hong Kong.

In fact, the cooperation between Hong Kong TVB and several major record companies is mutual.

It's not that the record company is forcing TVB to play it.

On the contrary, TVB actually has to pay some money to major record companies for song copyrights every year.

Unlike the copyright laws in the mainland, which stipulate that television media can use all songs released in the mainland for free.

In Hong Kong, TV stations actually have to pay copyright fees when playing songs.

TVB pays a very considerable copyright fee to several major record companies every year.

This pattern continued until the 2000s.

In 2009, the four major record companies broke away from IFPI and joined forces to establish HKRIA (Hong Kong Audiovisual Alliance). In order to make up for the losses from declining record sales, they had to focus on royalties and announced that they would adopt a new and internationally compatible royalty calculation method. As a result, the fees that TVB had to pay each year soared to more than 1000 million yuan.

TVB, which was at its peak at the time, certainly could not accept this price and decisively rejected it.

As a result, the four major record companies no longer allowed their singers to participate in TVB programs. TVB simply retaliated by banning broadcasts and singing, and set up its own music company to promote its artists, resulting in a complete falling out between the two sides.

Of course, this is something for the future.

At present, Hong Kong's major record companies and TVB are in a sweet period, and they will strongly support the broadcasting of songs or MTVs from major record companies.

This is a win-win situation. The record companies will gain exposure for their singers, and TVB can use stars and songs to increase the watchability of the TV and increase the ratings. Once the ratings are high, the various advertising fees will naturally be high.

(End of this chapter)