novellhall Chapter 150 High-Stakes Gamble
Chapter 150 High-Stakes Gamble
Chapter 150 High-Stakes Gamble
The meeting room was completely silent. These leaders were too shocked and surprised by the short drama in Tanglou, the concept of a science fiction-like AI comic.
However, Tang Lou presented a wealth of cutting-edge papers and scientific achievements as evidence.
This may seem like a fantasy now, but according to Tang Lou's deductions, these scenarios are very possible.
After all, Tanglou has already launched a Mist Theater, a 12-episode high-quality short drama series that has left traditional long dramas completely bewildered.
So, just as Tang Lou said, going a step further, true short dramas will definitely spark another revolution.
After the leaders had digested Tanglou's forward-looking strategic analysis, Tanglou continued his report.
Tang Lou has dropped a bombshell: "Free reading isn't about making money off GG; it's about accumulating IP. It's 2017 now, the short drama trend hasn't even arrived yet, and AI-generated video technology is still in computer labs across the ocean. But what about three years from now? Five years from now? When the technology matures and we need content, where will we find it? Will we buy it from Yuewen at exorbitant prices? Back then, the adaptation rights to 'Battle Through the Heavens' might cost a hundred million!"
Tang Lou's memories of his past life include two points in time:
2018: Douyin's daily active users exceeded 2 million, marking the full arrival of the short video era.
2022: AI painting tools such as StableDiffusion matured, and AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) exploded.
These things are neither too close nor too far.
"We need to collect all the seashells on the beach before the tide comes in," Tang Lou said with burning eyes. "Once the tide comes in, others will only be able to look at the seashells in our hands with envy."
Yu Yongfu took a deep breath and looked at Shen Yan: "What's your opinion?"
Shen Yan paused for a moment and said, "I vote in favor. But there are two conditions: First, Tang Lou must continue to serve as the vice president of KuMiao Video and continue to be responsible for the core business; second, Shuqi Novels' free model must achieve a DAU of over 10 million within six months and keep the annual loss below 500 million."
"I accept." Tang Lou said without the slightest hesitation.
Looking at the young talents before them, these bigwigs didn't quite agree or approve of them, especially regarding Tang Lou's confidently stated concepts of short dramas and AI comics, which they couldn't truly understand.
However, they still admired the pioneering spirit of the Tanglou residents.
As for Shuqi Novels, it was already barely surviving. Since Tang Lou was willing to try to change things, let him try the blue ocean of free novels.
The vote begins. Four votes in favor, three votes against.
The high-stakes gamble at Tanglou has begun.
With the support of Alibaba's Digital Media and Entertainment Group leadership team, Tang Lou's appointment was finalized.
Since Tang Lou continued to serve as vice president, Shen Yan also concurrently served as president of KuMiao Video.
Once Tang Lou suffers a crushing defeat in the free novel market, he'll be forced to become the CEO of Cool Cat.
At present, Tang Lou also serves as the vice president of Alibaba Literature, in charge of the Shuqi Novel APP. At the same time, Tang Lou continues to serve as the president of Kuyang Entertainment.
After Tang Lou made this appointment, not only those within KuMiao Video, but also all its competitors found it somewhat unbelievable and difficult to understand.
Why would a content creation genius like Tang Lou go to Alibaba Literature to take charge of Shuqi Novels? Wouldn't that be a waste of his talent and abilities?
However, despite their confusion, these leadership appointments were not something the employees considered.
After Tang Lou officially took office as the vice president of Alibaba Literature, the various variety shows on KuMiao Video also underwent tremendous changes.
The most direct result is the emergence of numerous product placements of Shuqi Novels in various top-rated variety shows, especially those shows favored by Tanglou.
The pilot episode for the third season of "Go Fighting!" has been released.
At the beginning of the show, the six MCs, including Huang Bo, Sun Honglei, and Huang Lei, received a task card: "Find the missing treasure novel."
The camera follows them into a huge library, where bookshelves are filled with all kinds of novels.
Huang Bo pulled out a book, the cover of which was clearly the logo of Shuqi Novels.
"What is this?" he asked curiously.
A voice-over says, "This is the Shuqi Novels app. Register now and read 100,000 books for free."
Sun Honglei stared exaggeratedly at the camera: "Free? Really? I'll have to check it out during breaks in filming tonight."
That evening, the hashtag #FreeBookReadingOnExtremeChallenge# trended in the top three on Weibo.
At the same time, the recording site of "Rock & Roast" was set up.
While resting backstage, Wang Jianguo was photographed reading Shuqi Novels on his phone.
During the interview, the host, Zhang Shaogang, asked him what he was looking at.
"A book called 'I Learned to Slay Gods in a Mental Hospital'," Wang Jianguo pushed up his glasses. "It's pretty addictive, and the best part is it's free. We writers of jokes have it tough, so every penny counts."
The post-production special effects displayed a huge caption on the screen: "Shuqi Novels, the relaxation companion for stand-up comedians."
"Roast Conference" is more direct.
While roasting the guests, Li Dan suddenly said, "I heard you've been writing a book on Shuqi Novels lately? And you're making 300,000 yuan a month? Shouldn't you change your outfit today? Stop wearing Uniqlo, at least wear Gucci!"
The guest looked completely bewildered: "I didn't write a book."
Li Dan: "Oh, I must have misremembered. But it's true that Shuqi Novels can really make authors earn 300,000 yuan a month. If you don't believe me, download the app and check it out; it's free anyway."
The room erupted in laughter.
For three consecutive weeks, all variety shows on Alibaba's platform, the opening screen of Youku, pop-ups in UC Browser, and other similar content were completely overshadowed by the negative comments from Shuqi Novels.
The transformation of Shuqi Novels, a subsidiary of Alibaba Literature, into a free novel platform has shaken the entire industry.
A summit for the online literature industry in Beijing.
In her speech, Wu Wenhui, CEO of China Literature Group, bluntly criticized, "Recently, some platforms have been promoting so-called free reading, which I believe is harmful to the content industry. Literary creation requires time, energy, and talent. If works cannot be directly monetized, how will authors survive? Through Google's revenue sharing? That will only lead to one result: authors will desperately produce low-quality, vulgar content and seek short-term thrills in pursuit of clicks."
The PowerPoint presentation behind him displayed a set of data:
China Literature Group has 7.3 million contracted authors and paid 15.2 billion yuan in royalties in 2016. Top authors earn over 10 million yuan annually. "We insist on a paid model because we respect the value of content," Wu Wenhui said firmly. "Free content only produces garbage."
The applause of the audience was thunderous.
During a media interview, a reporter asked him for his opinion on the free model of Shuqi Novels.
Wu Wenhui smiled and said, "Let's let things play out for a while. We'll look at the data again in six months."
That evening, an article titled "Tanglou's Waterloo: From Variety Show Genius to Online Literature Laughingstock" went viral on platforms like Hupu and Zhihu. The article stated: "Tanglou may have forgotten that online literature and variety shows are two different things. Variety shows can rely on celebrities, trending topics, and hype, but online literature needs solid content. The free model sounds appealing, but what's the reality? For every thousand words an author writes, the platform guarantees five yuan. What does this mean? An author has to write ten thousand words a day to earn fifty yuan! That's fifteen hundred a month! Is that enough to rent an apartment in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou?"
"If the platform wants to make money from GG, it must pursue the ultimate traffic. What kind of content gets high traffic? Pornography, violence, vulgarity, and mindless wish-fulfillment stories. If this continues, Shuqi Novels will become a garbage dump, full of literary waste."
The article concludes with a prediction: "If Shuqi Novels' daily active users (DAU) can break five million in six months, I'll eat my keyboard on live stream."
The number of likes has exceeded 100,000.