Chapter 58: Profits from Go Princess Go

In 2014, the revenue-sharing rules for video streaming platforms were still in the exploratory phase, lacking any unified standard.

The basic revenue-sharing rate hovered between 0.02 and 0.04 RMB per valid view.

Jiang Ye had negotiated a rate of 0.03 RMB per view with Tencent Video, largely thanks to the support of Zhang Ming, the head of the procurement department.

At the time, the total view count of *Go Princess Go* upon concluding its premiere on LeTV reached 2.4 billion, and Jiang Ye estimated that his *The Consort's Promotion* would achieve roughly similar numbers.

However, platforms calculated revenue based on valid views, meaning a single episode needed to be watched for at least five minutes.

According to industry norms, valid views generally accounted for about 55%.

That amounted to 2.4 billion × 55% = 1.32 billion views.

With the platform paying a basic share of 0.03 RMB per valid view, the total prize pool came out to 1.32 billion × 0.03 = 39.6 million RMB.

His 30% cut would be exactly 39.6 million × 30% = 11.88 million RMB.

Not only that, but he was also entitled to a share of the advertising insert revenue.

As the drama became a massive hit, the number of insert ads placed before and after the episodes grew from the initial 2 to 23, ranging from snacks and mobile games to skincare products, with the longest lasting 30 seconds and the shortest 5 seconds.

According to the inside information Zhang Ming shared, a 15-second pre-roll ad was quoted at around 600,000 RMB per spot. Multiplying that by 23 ads, the total revenue would be around 10 million RMB.

After the platform deducted 10% for operating costs, leaving roughly 9 million RMB, his share would come to about 2.7 million RMB.

In other words, by the end of the drama's premiere run, his total cut would be around 14.5 million RMB.

However, corporate income tax still needed to be deducted from this amount, and if Jiang Ye wanted to transfer the funds to his personal account to spend, he would also have to pay dividend individual income tax...

And this wasn't even the full picture—it was just the premiere dividend!

A premiere of 2.4 billion views was merely the beginning. Given the long-tail effect of web dramas, there would be at least another 5 billion views over the next three years.

Of course, that revenue-sharing cycle would be quite long...

In truth, when he initially negotiated the contract with Tencent, he had to swallow a fair amount of helplessness, considering he was just a newcomer with no prior track record.

Securing a revenue-sharing agreement instead of a one-time buyout was already a remarkable achievement.

Once he gained fame next time, he could naturally fight for a 50-50 split, or even higher!

The entertainment industry was entirely driven by the performance of one's works!

The only regret was that this money wouldn't be accessible until three months after the premiere concluded, and that was considered fast.

Some slower platforms had a settlement cycle of up to six months!

This three-month buffer period would happen to give him just enough time to build the company's framework.

And conveniently assemble the team for his next production...

Aside from Bailu the assistant, the company currently had five college students—a ragtag bunch of minor infantrymen, essentially a makeshift crew.

A film and television company needed its own production department, editorial team, artist management, and post-production crew...

Actually, his uncle would be quite suitable for the production department, but that old geezer had turned down his invitation last time...

And even scolded him soundly!

What was the difference between working at Enlight Media and Jiangying Media?

Wasn't work just work no matter where you did it?

That old fogey...

After washing up and tidying himself, Jiang Ye headed over to the company first.

Pushing open the office's glass door, he was greeted by the scent of ink from the new printer and the vibrant energy of youth.

The five college students were frantically battling away at their computers, their keyboards clacking away in a rapid rat-a-tat. At a glance, it actually looked quite impressive.

With his hands in his pockets, Jiang Ye strolled leisurely over to Zhang Li's back. The young woman was racking her brains over a QQ group chat, completely unaware of his approach.

"Is the fan club blowing up again?" he asked abruptly.

"Ah!" Zhang Li jumped in fright, nearly springing out of her chair. Turning around to see her boss, her face flushed crimson instantly. "B-Boss Jiang! Someone in the group is arguing over whether the second male lead's screen time should be increased or reduced. I tried to mediate a little, and now they're accusing me of playing favorites..."

Jiang Ye casually plucked an uneaten sandwich from her desk, took a bite, and mumbled vaguely, "Such a big deal."

He tapped his keyboard with his fingertips, bringing up the group management interface: "Set words like 'arguing' and 'fan wars' to be automatically filtered, and pin a set of group rules to the top. Discussing the plot is fine, but personal attacks result in a three-day ban. Simple and direct."

Swallowing the last bite of his sandwich, Jiang Ye leaned in close, lowering his voice: "Out of all these people, I have the highest hopes for you."

He raised a hand and patted Zhang Li's shoulder with moderate firmness. "Keep it up."

Zhang Li jerked her head up, her eyes widening into perfect circles, her cheeks burning bright red.

"Boss Jiang! I-I'll definitely do a good job! I guarantee I'll manage the fan club impeccably!"

Her voice trembled slightly, yet it was infused with an earnest determination to give it her all. "Don't you worry, I'll cram group management tutorials tonight and hand you a proposal tomorrow!"

Not far away, Bailu, who was organizing documents and eavesdropping on the side, rolled her eyes.

Jiang Ye strolled over to Li Xiaocao next. The young woman was facing her Weibo interface as if facing a formidable enemy, her fingers hovering over the keyboard, too terrified to press down.

"What are you writing that's got you so tangled up?" Jiang Ye leaned in to look.

Li Xiaocao stammered, "I-It's just the promotional copy for the drama's new episodes..."

"Don't be nervous," Jiang Ye casually swiped a peppermint candy from her desk. "That running gag you came up with last time about the male lead turning into a female lead was quite interesting. Didn't the comment section get pretty lively?"

Li Xiaocao felt like crying: "That was an accident, Boss Jiang..."

"An accident? That was free internet traffic." Jiang Ye blinked. "Next time, you could try misspelling *Princess* as *Prince-fly* and see if the fans notice."

"Xiaocao, I see you've got what it takes to be a director. Work hard, and this position will be yours. Imagine managing a dozen people under you—how majestic would that be?"

??????

Li Xiaocao's face flushed all the way to the root of her neck, and the computer mouse in her hand almost slipped to the floor.

"I-I..." Her tongue tied itself into knots. It took her a good while to catch her breath. "Boss Jiang! I-I'll definitely write well! I'll finish all the promotional copy for next week by tomorrow! I guarantee it'll be even more explosive than that last gag!"

"Right, keep it up!"

After finishing his routine of strolling around to offer words of encouragement and returning to his private office, Bailu followed closely behind with a stack of documents and slammed the door shut.

The young woman wore a stern expression, clearly still holding a grudge over yesterday.

"Boss, stop wandering around the office for no reason, you're distracting us from our work!"

Jiang Ye: "???"

She cast a sideways glance at Jiang Ye, her lips pouting with aggrieved resentment: "And another thing, yesterday when I was stuck in the dorm gnawing on instant noodles and staring at data streams, were you out living it up..."

"Being your little assistant is so pitiful..."

"Also, Boss, stop always drawing big blueprints for them to dream about. We young people don't buy into that routine anymore..."

Jiang Ye abruptly interrupted her: "Starting next month, your salary goes up to eight thousand."

Bailu's complaints stopped dead in their tracks.

She blinked, blinked again, and the corners of her mouth began to curl upward uncontrollably. "R-Really?"

"Of course," Jiang Ye leaned back into his chair and added leisurely, "Xiaobai, once the company's revenue share arrives, the boss will buy you a car!"

"At the absolute worst, it'll have a panoramic sunroof. From now on, you'll be the one driving whenever we go out—talk about prestige."

"When you go to film sets in the future, the boss will even assign you a van and an assistant..."

Bailu's eyes instantly lit up. "Boss, just wait right here! I'm going to brew you a cup of hand-drip coffee right now. The beans at that newly opened shop downstairs are said to make you more handsome when you drink them!"

Jiang Ye was quite satisfied with the young woman's attitude. Giving her a raise was only right; after all, the funds currently keeping the company running still relied on the monthly copyright royalties from *Cool*.

This girl had made a contribution to the company!

Besides, whenever he went out for business meetings, he couldn't very well drive himself.

That would be too disgraceful...