RAAS ## Chapter 13: Piracy
## Chapter 13: Piracy
Ma Xujing coughed and began to speak, “Qing, I’ve already heard about you from Lao Jiang. At first, I was inclined to believe the rumors. However, after watching ‘Star of Music’ last night and hearing your song, I began to change my mind. Now, having met you in person and from the impression you’ve given me, I think the rumors might be untrue. As an artist, I don’t need to tell you this, but you should be aware: stay close to noble people, and keep your distance from the petty.”
Li Qing felt awkward and quickly said, “Maybe I was young and immature before, and unintentionally gave people the wrong impression…”
“In this world, good people get bullied. Qing hasn’t spent much time in society and doesn’t understand its dangers. He’s too kind, always getting slandered without fighting back. If it were me, I’d fight to the death. Only then would people be afraid to provoke me.” Bao Yunyun spoke boldly, her words filled with confidence, causing both Jiang Zhongnan and Ma Xujing to nod in agreement.
Watching Bao Yunyun speak so confidently, Li Qing couldn’t help but twitch his eyelids.
Ma Xujing took a sip of red wine before continuing, “Your song is quite good, both in lyrics and composition. The emotion in your performance was also well conveyed. But without market validation, while I believe it has potential, I can’t be certain. So, after last night’s show, I deliberately looked into it.”
Li Qing was puzzled.
Ma Xujing took out a document from his briefcase and read some data: “From 9 PM the night before last when your song was released until 6 AM yesterday, I checked some relevant data. It shows that your song ranked 43rd on the national radio song request chart, with a total of 11,436 requests.”
Li Qing didn’t understand its significance, but Jiang Zhongnan was already exclaiming in shock, “11,436 requests? In one night! Are you sure?”
Bao Yunyun was also surprised.
“I called you first thing in the morning after seeing this data, remember? I had the same reaction and couldn’t wait to call you,” Ma Xujing smiled.
Jiang Zhongnan thought for a moment, recalling Ma Xujing’s early morning call, but still found it hard to believe. After the call, he specifically listened to “Angel’s Wings” and thought it was too soft compared to the bewitching charm of rock music.
Ma Xujing said happily, “This data indicates that in 9 hours, more than 10,000 people nationwide requested your song. Without any promotion or charting, just from a talent show, this is your result. Qing, you have the potential to become popular again.”
Li Qing didn’t fully understand, but given the previous success of “Angel’s Wings” in his past life, this many requests seemed reasonable.
In fact, hearing this data sparked an idea in Li Qing’s mind.
If the national radio stations broadcasted my song without my permission, doesn’t that count as copyright infringement?
Do I get any money from it?
In his previous life, there wouldn’t have been any doubt about it, but in this world, Li Qing wasn’t fully aware of copyright protection.
Ma Xujing pulled out another document, “The first data was up to 6 AM. This document is a fax my assistant just sent, showing data up to 4 PM today.”
Jiang Zhongnan took the document, glanced at it, found Li Qing’s name, and read aloud, “National radio request chart, artist Li Qing, song ‘Angel’s Wings,’ 162,468 requests, ranking… ranking…”
Jiang Zhongnan looked up at Li Qing, eyes wide, and burst into laughter, “Ranked tenth… top ten… Qing, you’re amazing! I knew you had it in you. This is what they call ‘a single shock shaking the world’!”
Bao Yunyun also looked at the document, beaming with joy, “I never thought my brother had such talent!”
Li Qing felt pleased as well. Ranking in the top ten seemed impressive.
He thought for a moment and decided to voice his curiosity, “So, how much money can I get?”
Ma Xujing and Jiang Zhongnan exchanged surprised looks.
“Yeah, Qing’s song is in the national top ten. Shouldn’t he be making some money?” Bao Yunyun, being an underground singer with little knowledge of the mainstream entertainment industry, also had this question.
Jiang Zhongnan cleared his throat and explained, “Qing, maybe you don’t know, but this request chart is a bit of a formality… Let me put it this way: if people like your song and want to hear it, they call a radio station and request it at a price of 0.2 yuan per song.”
Li Qing’s face lit up, “So it’s a paid request?”
“Yes,” Ma Xujing nodded.
“Then how much do I get?” Li Qing asked.
“Uh, you don’t get any,” Ma Xujing replied.
Just as I thought!
Li Qing’s hopes collapsed instantly.
He finally understood.
This world, indeed, is 99% similar to his previous one…
“That’s just how the market works,” Jiang Zhongnan shrugged, helplessly. “In our country, things are different from abroad. Abroad, copyright protection is relatively good, and artists get a share from requests, records, tapes, and vinyl because that’s their livelihood.”
“But here, it’s a different story. Our country has a large population and a big wealth gap. While high-quality records, tapes, and vinyl can sell well initially, they quickly lose momentum due to piracy.”
“Pirated versions don’t have taxes, operating, or production costs, and their profits are beyond measure once they appear, disrupting the entire market.”
“And as for radio request shares, forget about it. They charge the audience but won’t share the money with you. Consider them pure dissemination tools. In fact, the higher your song ranks, the better your records, tapes, etc., will sell, and the more famous you’ll become. That’s a given.”
Li Qing thought for a moment and asked, “Then doesn’t the government do anything about rampant piracy?”
“How can they?” Jiang Zhongnan sneered, tapping the table. “You still don’t get it? These pirates, if they can make a 50% profit, they’ll risk everything. A 100% profit, they’ll break the law. A 300% profit, they’ll commit any crime.”
“And piracy, without taxes or costs, easily makes over 300% profit.”
Li Qing fell silent.
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