Two hundred thousand?
Tell me more.
Seeing the message, Lin Tian quickly replied.
Whether he sold it or not, there was no harm in talking first.
While waiting for a response, Lin Tian searched for the company online.
Unive Music Copyright Company.
Established in 2001 and located in Qingzhou City, it was a professional organization dedicated to providing comprehensive copyright protection and management services for music creators worldwide.
Its core services included copyright registration, licensing management, copyright litigation support, and marketing. The company possessed an extensive copyright library covering numerous musical styles and had established strategic partnerships with several well-known music platforms and performance organizations.
After reading the company profile, Lin Tian searched for the company on Bilibili and Douyin to check its online reviews.
He ultimately came to a conclusion—
It was a fairly well-known, long-established local music copyright company.
But whenever music companies were involved, reliability definitely had little to do with a company's size.
Small companies were not necessarily shady, while large companies could sometimes be even shadier. That was the entertainment industry.
Still, Lin Tian was willing to learn more.
After all, this was not signing with a company to debut. He was only selling the copyright to a work. It would not restrict him, and at worst, he would only lose one piece.
In fact, it was not uncommon for copyright companies to approach ordinary people whose original songs had gone viral on Douyin.
After a while, Unive Official replied:
We are very interested in Teacher Moonlight's piece, "Can-Can." If possible, we would like to purchase its copyright.
One more question: is the copyright to the piece in your hands?
Lin Tian replied:
It is.
Could we meet and discuss it in detail? I can see from your IP address that you're in Qingzhou City.
Meet?
Lin Tian looked at his phone and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
That worked.
After weighing it up, Lin Tian decided to go talk with them.
Even if he did not sell, he could expand his network like Uncle Zhong Wei'an from SYC before. Maybe it would come in handy someday.
In the meantime, Lin Tian did not forget to settle his previous task.
The video he had posted had already reached four hundred thousand likes, far exceeding the task requirement of one hundred thousand. It should have been completed.
But when Lin Tian opened the system panel, he saw:
Emotion Value (Joy): 44595/100000
Still not enough?
That made sense. It was only a performance video. No matter how good the piece was or how much people liked it, the joy they could feel was still limited.
Maybe doing a Suggestive Dance would earn even more emotion value than this.
After all, if he wanted both the audience and their little brothers to be happy, getting one head excited was definitely not as useful as getting two heads excited.
It seemed this Profit Doubling Card would not be so easy to obtain.
Soon afterward, Unive Official replied again, saying they were willing to work around Lin Tian's schedule.
The two eventually agreed on a time and place.
At noon the next day, Lin Tian used his school's lunch break to head to the agreed location.
A café near Qingzhou Seventh High School.
Lin Tian got out of class early and arrived first.
He ordered an iced Americano, sat down, and observed his surroundings.
The café had a very businesslike atmosphere. The people there during lunch break were mostly office workers, either working or resting.
A high school student in uniform like Lin Tian looked completely out of place there.
"Excuse me, are you Teacher Moonlight?"
Lin Tian turned around. A woman in business attire, carrying a shoulder bag, stood before him.
"That's me."
"So you really are a high school student."
The woman looked slightly surprised and said with a smile, "I thought it was just a Douyin persona."
"Please sit."
Lin Tian did not bother with excessive pleasantries and merely gestured with his hand.
The woman's expression became slightly awkward.
How could such a beautiful young man give off such a chilling feeling?
After sitting down, the woman introduced herself.
"Hello, Teacher Moonlight. My name is Feng Miao, and I'm a copyright manager at Unive."
"This time, I mainly wanted to discuss your piece, 'Can-Can.' Before that, you can take a look at some of our previous copyright partnerships. Quite a few music creators on Douyin have worked with us before."
Feng Miao knew that for a new creator like Lin Tian, who was encountering copyright cooperation for the first time, the biggest concern was whether the company would exploit legal loopholes or commit fraud.
Therefore, the best approach was to talk less about professional matters.
She used the simplest, easiest-to-understand terms, citing facts and examples.
"For example, last month, we purchased the song 'Melody Under the Stars' for one hundred and fifty thousand. Its creator was the million-follower blogger Cheng Cheng C, and the song received 1.69 million views on Douyin."
"There was also 'Echoes of the City,' which sold for three hundred thousand at the start of the year. You should have heard that song—it was very popular on Douyin."
"I haven't." Lin Tian said.
"..."
Feng Miao did not know that Lin Tian had only recently started watching videos on Douyin.
"Anyway, I hope Teacher Moonlight can trust us. We have extensive experience operating copyrights. In fact, judging by the total views across the internet and the number of followers on your account, your Can-Can does not meet the standard for two hundred thousand. But from our perspective, we truly like it, which is why we are willing to offer this amount."
After talking nonsense for so long, Feng Miao finally got straight to the point.
"If you are willing to sell the copyright, we will also release an album for your piece. Once the album is released, we will provide you with a share of the proceeds as well. The percentage can be discussed further."
"..."
Hearing "release an album" and "share of the proceeds," Lin Tian was somewhat surprised.
It seemed they were even more sincere than he had imagined?
He sipped from his coffee straw and fell silent.
To be honest, it was impossible for Lin Tian not to be tempted.
As a high school student who had lived alone for years, no one knew better than Lin Tian how important money was.
While pursuing his dreams, he also had to consider a very real problem:
For now, public high school still allowed a poor student like him to study in peace.
But once he went to university, the expensive tuition fees would become an insurmountable mountain.
Not to mention that university expenses were far more than just tuition.
If he really got two hundred thousand, then as long as he did not spend recklessly, it would be enough to last until graduation!
Maybe he could even support Gan Yan Yu a little.
In fact, composing music cost Lin Tian nothing.
No matter how much he sold it for, it would be pure profit.
But the issue was that Lin Tian had always held a sense of reverence for these pieces he had brought over.
In other words, he could not sell them cheaply.
Would two hundred thousand count as selling it cheaply?
Lin Tian thought it over seriously.
Then he tentatively named a price.
"Five hundred?"
"Another three hundred thousand? That's a bit..."
"Then think about it first."
"..."
Feng Miao looked at Lin Tian's video on her phone, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
In the end, after a struggle played across her face,
she gritted her teeth.
"Although I don't have the authority to make that decision."
Feng Miao slowly rose from her seat and extended her hand.
"But I can agree to it right now. Afterward, I'll fight for it with the general manager. I'll definitely help you negotiate that price!"
"And for the album revenue share afterward, I'll also do my best to get you a percentage you'll be satisfied with!"
"Mm. Once you've negotiated it, I'll consider it seriously."
From beginning to end, Lin Tian did not make a definitive promise.
When dealing with copyright companies, bargaining was always more worthwhile than rejecting them outright.
Though he said that, Lin Tian still stood up and politely shook Feng Miao's hand.
However, Feng Miao had already taken it as proof that Lin Tian was willing to cooperate.
She said happily:
"Teacher Moonlight, wait for my good news. Also, I can transfer you some cash right now, and once we finalize things, we'll pay you the remaining balance!"
Seemingly worried that another company might buy Lin Tian's piece at a higher price, Feng Miao immediately offered to pay a deposit in advance.
When Feng Miao placed her bank card in Lin Tian's hand,
Lin Tian genuinely felt a little dazed.
If he really signed like this,
a high school student, one piece, five hundred thousand.
That should completely solve his living expenses through high school and university, right?
Not to mention the major chunk of income from album shares. That was probably the allure of money.
"By the way, Teacher Moonlight, where is the partner who played the cello with you in your video?"
Feng Miao packed up her bag and asked with a smile.
Although Lin Tian had not explicitly agreed yet, she still seemed cheerful, as if victory was already assured.
"She's at home. She didn't come with me."
"Hahaha~ Actually, I think with a piece like yours, Teacher Moonlight, the partner doesn't really matter. No matter who plays it, it'll become popular." Feng Miao laughed happily.
Who did she think she was?
Lin Tian's brows suddenly furrowed upon hearing those words.
Was that something a person who truly understood music could say?
He looked again at the woman in business attire before him.
At that moment, he suddenly felt that everything they had discussed just now had become laughable.
Why had he specifically taken the time to come meet this person?
Yes, he had only come out to learn more and expand his network.
He had not truly intended to sell the copyright.
If he really wanted to sell it, there was no way he would not discuss it with Gan Yan Yu first.
It was only because Feng Miao had seemed so sincere that Lin Tian had planned to bargain with her a little.
Now,
Lin Tian's expression darkened, and he felt there was no longer any need even to bargain.
He asked one final question:
"After I sell you the copyright, can my partner still perform this piece?"
"Of course, as long as it isn't in public." Feng Miao said with a smile. "We purchase it outright. Otherwise, we wouldn't offer you revenue sharing. You can perform it privately, but definitely not in public."
"You don't need to ask anymore. I'm not selling it."
Lin Tian placed the bank card on the table and handed it back.
The album, the revenue share, and the copyright fee all seemed to lose their meaning at that moment.
Sure enough, selling copyrights came with far too many traps.
"My piece can only be performed by my partner."
With that, Lin Tian turned and left the café.
Before you continue