Behind the scenery of "over 100 million in 8 days", the problem of short drama sharing has become increasingly prominent, disputes have continued, and many popular participating companies have complained about injustice.
"We worked hard to shoot two short dramas with a total recharge of nearly 30 million yuan, and we were originally expected to share millions of yuan, but in the end we only received 210,000 yuan, and one of them didn't even score at all." Liu Kun, founder and CEO of Wuhan Ershi Sanlou Culture, revealed to Jiupai financial reporters that his company's "first case of short drama splitting" against Liuma Culture will be held in Shenzhen on August 13.
The scene of the skit start-up. Source: Courtesy of the interviewee
The root cause of frequent disputes lies in the opacity of short drama revenue data, which is often unilaterally controlled by the platform. Liu Kun said, "In the first two years, some small platforms were not standardized, and most of the popular production companies were trapped, but as a downstream producer, they dared not speak out. This time, we will not compromise. ”
In this regard, Mao Mengling, an entertainment lawyer at Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, told Jiupai Finance, "The frequent disputes over the division of short dramas stem from multiple factors such as the opacity of the industry sharing, the low amount of the actual share, and the rampant piracy; It may be that the skit hit the street, or the other party concealed the income. ”
01
Skit recharge near
30 million, only 210,000
In June 2023, Wuhan Ershi Sanlou Culture Media Co., Ltd. signed a contract with Shenzhen Liuma Culture to produce a short drama called "One Child and Two Treasures President Daddy is Super Fierce", and agreed that each share ratio is 50%. After the short drama was launched and broadcast on the Kuaima platform under Liuma, the recharge and distribution amount was nearly 20 million yuan, and Kuaima is also regarded as a fast-growing short drama "dark horse".
Liu Kun and his team, who received the celebration cake, looked forward to the fact that in addition to the shooting cost of 250,000 yuan and the cost of 17 million yuan, Liuma made a profit of at least 200-3 million yuan; The company's share should be more than one million yuan.
The short drama recharge broke 10 million celebration cake. Source: Courtesy of the interviewee
However, after only receiving a share of 210,000 yuan, "Kuaima has been in arrears of follow-up payments, the former person in charge has apologized to us, and then the CEO was replaced, and repeated negotiations have been fruitless, we really feel that the deception is too much, and we can't bear it." Liu Kun said.
So in November 2023, Ershi Sanlou Culture publicly issued a notice letter, saying that it would sue Kuaima for the issue of sharing, which attracted attention inside and outside the industry.
Liu Kun lamented that filming short dramas is too hard, the team work intensity is high, and all-nighters, wind and sun are common, "The key is that they have finally achieved results, and they have made a lot of money in a drama, not only giving us less, but also giving less to the script company." The people who work hard behind them are so prevaricating, and no one is comfortable in their hearts. Liu Kun said that after the statement was issued, Kuaima had proposed to divide it into tens of thousands for mediation, but he did not accept it.
Not only that, Liu Kun revealed that the second short drama he cooperated with Liuma also recharged more than 5 million yuan within 24 hours, but he directly had no share and asked for it to no avail. After deciding to stop delivering the follow-up short plays, the third floor of Ershi was sued by Liuma and applied for preservation, each of which was frozen 700,000 yuan, and the operation of funds was under certain pressure.
In response to this matter, the reporter called Shenzhen Kuaima Pictures many times, but could not get through. Tianyan check shows that the relevant enterprises have been included in the list of abnormal operations by the local market supervision bureau because they cannot be contacted through the registered residence or business premises.
02
The skit is divided into
"Can only gamble on conscience"?
This kind of dispute is not an isolated case, Jiupai Finance found that just searching for "short drama" on the judgment document network, there are 207 relevant judgments, and its high-frequency keywords include contracts, shares, authorizations, etc.
According to industry insiders, behind the dazzling recharge amount of short dramas, 90% of them are investment costs, and the final profit of "over 100 million yuan in 8 days" is only a few million yuan, and most of the rest of the short dramas are losing money. Moreover, some platforms also have to deduct costs such as platform maintenance and channel fees before sharing.
Liu Kun said bluntly: "Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you give a little less, because not every drama makes money, and it is not easy for everyone in the industry, but you can't get too little." ”
In addition to filming companies and script companies, behind the "monthly income of short drama screenwriters in the tens of thousands", it is more difficult to protect the sharing rights and interests of individuals in the industry. It is reported that ordinary screenwriters can usually only get 1-20,000 yuan of guaranteed manuscript fees after writing a short play, and only mature screenwriters can agree to share it in the contract.
On social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, some short drama screenwriters publicly denounced the producer's breach of contract, and even "one book and more shots", that is, using the first draft and the revised draft to shoot several short dramas respectively, and after the online broadcast became popular, they refused to sign it.
A short drama screenwriter told reporters, "The revenue of short dramas is not as transparent as the box office of movies, and there is no mature online text platform. ”
Even the screenwriters on duty within the platform can't see the recharge data in the background. The above-mentioned screenwriter said that sometimes the drama written has not yet been launched, and the screenwriter has been fired or resigned, and he cannot get a share.
In response to the issue of the platform's "data monopoly", lawyer Mao Mengling believes that "the platform has the obligation to ensure the authenticity of the settlement statement, and if it is considered to be in breach of contract, the producer and others can apply to the court to obtain the background records of the short drama platform and inquire about the real recharge and streaming." ”
03
The division of short plays is to be regulated
Previously, in order to avoid being deducted and delaying the sharing, most short drama contracts have stipulated the platform's liability for breach of contract and constrained costs and expenses. Liu Kun said that his company's contract with Six Horse Culture also stipulates that the other party will be required to compensate 5/1000 of the liquidated damages for each day of delay in settlement.
Nowadays, short drama companies such as the second and third floors have changed the cooperation sharing model, and directly share according to the total delivery flow, and no longer deduct and calculate various costs.
With the mature development of the industry, the mode of short drama division also needs to be continuously standardized. Liu Kun said, "We basically cooperate with the old batch of companies relatively stable. Now that a good content team and production team are not short of work, they are naturally familiar with the road when they do more, and they know how much money they can make at a glance, so many platforms dare not mess around like they did at the beginning, and the industry's suppression and punishment of piracy are becoming more and more perfect. ”
Moreover, industry insiders pointed out that the amount of short drama release and recovery is real-time, and generally a large amount of money will not be put on the first day, once the recovery is not optimistic, the investment will be stopped, and the ROI (input-output ratio) may become a hit when it reaches 1.1. Therefore, the short drama can stop the loss in time, and it will not be like a movie.
In addition to user recharge, the revenue of short dramas is also constantly diversifying. Liu Kun said, "At present, short dramas can be unlocked by watching ads, as well as brand advertising placement, media rewards for content, etc., and the price of a short drama is being reduced from hundreds of yuan to 9.9 yuan." In the future, free short dramas will become a major trend, and the profit model and ecology of the entire industry will become healthier. ”
Source: Jiupai Finance, the original title "Absorb 30 million gold, only get 210,000?" The skit is divided into disputes"
Reporter: Xia Wenqi
Edit: Yifan
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