Chapter 47: My Song Belongs to My Partner
Can-Can?
[What do you think?]
Seeing this message, Lin Tian quickly replied.
Whether he sold or not, it wouldn’t hurt to talk a bit.
While waiting for the response, he went online and searched for this company.
[Unive Music Copyright Company]
[Founded in 2001, located in Qingzhou City. A professional institution dedicated to providing comprehensive copyright protection and management services to music creators globally.]
After browsing the company introduction, Lin Tian also checked their name on Bilibili and Douyin to see their online reviews.
After some consideration:
A well-known local music copyright company with quite a history.
But as always, reputation doesn’t necessarily correlate with company size in the entertainment industry.
Small companies aren’t necessarily shady, and big companies can be shadier still.
But regardless, Lin Tian was happy to learn more.
After all, it was just selling one song’s rights, not signing with a label. It wouldn’t restrict people, and even if he lost out, it’d only be one song.
In fact, it’s not uncommon for original songs by anonymous creators on Douyin to catch on and get approached by copyright companies.
A moment later, [Unive Official] replied:
[We’re very interested in your song “Can-Can” by Teacher Moonlight. If possible, we’d like to buy the copyright.]
[Another quick question, is the copyright still held by you, Teacher?]
Lin Tian replied:
[Yes.]
[Could we meet up to discuss this further? Your IP address seems to be from Qingzhou City.]
Meeting up?
Lin Tian looked at his phone and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
[Sure, why not?]
After considering it, Lin Tian decided to go ahead and chat.
Even if he didn’t sell, expanding his network as with Old Uncle Zhong Weian could come in handy someday.
In the meantime, he settled up his previous task.
His video had already garnered 400k likes, far exceeding the required 100k likes, meaning he’d completed it.
But when he opened his system tab, he saw:
[Emotion Value (Happy): 44595/100000]
Not enough?
Fair enough. One performance video, no matter how great the tune, limited the joy people could feel.
Maybe a saucy dance would net more emotion points.
After all, making two heads excited is better than one.
It seems these doubling cards aren’t easily gotten.
Then again, [Unive Official] messaged back, willing to follow Lin Tian’s schedule.
They set a time and place.
The next day, during school lunch, Lin Tian headed to a nearby café near Qingzhou No. 7 High School.
He arrived quickly and ordered an iced Americano; sitting, he observed the surroundings.
This café was pretty business-oriented. During the lunch break, most were either working or resting.
As a high schooler in uniform, Lin Tian felt rather out of place.
“Excuse me, are you Teacher Moonlight?”
Lin Tian turned around to a professional suit-wearing woman clutching a bag.
“Yes,” he responded.
“So, you are a high school student,” she said astonished, “I thought you were just a fake Douyin persona.”
“Please have a seat.”
No formalities—Lin Tian motioned for her to sit.
She seemed slightly awkward.
Thinking such a handsome youth could feel so menacing was odd.
Introductions made:
“Hello, Teacher Moonlight. I’m Feng Miao, Unive’s rights manager.”
“With this piece, ‘Can-Can’, we want to discuss. Before that, you might want to check our past deals on music platforms.”
Feng Miao knew first-timers like Lin Tian likely worried about legal loopholes and company fraud.
The best approach was straightforward facts:
Last month, we got a track for 150k, made by a popular creator, “Orange Orange,” which got 169 million views on Douyin.
And in January, we bought another for 300k, which you should know is very popular on Douyin.
“I haven’t heard it,” said Lin Tian.
“…”
Feng Miao didn’t know Lin Tian had only recently started watching videos on Douyin.
“In any case, we hope you trust us. Our experience in copyrights, despite your track not hitting 200k views, genuinely appreciates it. That’s why we’re offering this.”
After talking nonsense, Feng Miao finally got to the point:
“If you agree to sell, we’d release an album, and offer a share of the proceeds. We can discuss the split ratio.”
Hearing about the album and profit split, Lin Tian was somewhat surprised.
Seems they were more sincere than expected.
Sipping his coffee, he fell silent.
Honestly, Lin Tian couldn’t deny being tempted.
Living alone and understanding the importance of money, financial concerns weighed heavily.
Public schools let students like him focus on schooling.
University, however, presented a mountain of exorbitant tuition.
More expenses awaited beyond just fees.
If he really got 500k, he’d be set for university without issue!
Maybe it’d help Gan Yan Yu too.
Creating the song was free; anything he earned was a win.
The problem was maintaining respect for the song.
In other words, don’t undersell it.
Was 500k a lowball?
Carefully calculating, Lin Tian suggested,
“Fifty thousand?”
“Add thirty…that’s hardly—”
“Think about it then,”
“.”
Feng Miao stared at Lin Tian’s video, weighing pros and cons.
Finally, struggling, she gritted her teeth and stood.
“Though I can’t decide—”
She extended her hand,
“But I promise, I’ll get it approved! And I’ll make sure you get a fair percentage for the album!”
“Mmm, I’ll consider it seriously once you’ve arranged it.”
Throughout, Lin Tian left room.
Negotiating was better than outright refusal.
Handshake complete, Lin Tian politely agreed.
Unbeknownst, Feng Miao took this as proof of willingness.
Delighted, she said:
“Teacher Moonlight, look forward to good news. I’ll send you cash upfront for now, balance will come once finalized!”
Wary of losing Lin Tian to a better offer, she proposed immediate payment.
When she handed over her card, Lin Tian felt a surreal sensation.
High school kid, single tune, 500k.
Should solve high school and college woes?
Not to mention the album profits—money’s allure.
“Teacher Moonlight, who plays cello with you in your videos?”
Feng Miao smiled while packing her bag, still excited despite the lack of commitment.
“She’s at home, not here with me.”
“Hahaha~ I actually think, Teacher’s piece can shine with any partner. It’s versatile,” Feng Miao chuckled happily.
You are?
At this Lin Tian furrowed his brow.
Only someone who truly understands music could say something like that?
Looking anew at the suit-clad lady:
Suddenly felt all the chat earlier was silly.
Why did he bother meeting to begin with?
Just wanted to network, not truly sell.
If he did, he wouldn’t do it without speaking to Gan Yan Yu.
Feng Miao’s sincerity was too appealing, he figured he’d negotiate a bit.
Now though,
Lin Tian grew serious, feeling negotiation pointless anymore.
Questioning the final caveat:
“Can my partner still play after selling?”
“Absolutely. Just not publicly,” said Feng Miao cheerily, “We’ll only buy usage privately, not for public performance—”
“You needn’t ask. I won’t sell.”
Leaving the card on the table, Lin Tian pushed it back.
Album, royalties, deal—suddenly irrelevant.
Indeed, buying selling copyrights often leads to trouble.
“My piece? Only my partner can perform it.”
With that, Lin Tian walked away from the café.
(The End)
