New music industry observation original article, unauthorized reproduction is prohibited
author | Yishi
After 4 years of silence, Hummingbird Music suddenly posted a Weibo with a simple content and copyright statement.
Weibo is accompanied by three pictures. One is a text statement stating that the song is copyrighted. The other two pictures are related copyright lists, including works released by Deng Ziqi during her contract with Hummingbird Music.
The contract between Hummingbird Music and Deng Ziqi has expired, but they suddenly posted such a Weibo in 2024, which coincided with the beginning of Deng Ziqi’s global tour. The story behind it is intriguing.
Deng Ziqi’s Dilemma
On January 16, the word hummingbird suddenly entered the top ten hot searches on Weibo, and everyone realized that something was wrong with Deng Ziqi.
The matter is very simple. Hummingbird Music posted a copyright statement on Weibo, which was deleted at one point and then reissued. The statement lists a list of more than 100 songs. The lyrics, music, recording and performer rights of the works released during Deng Ziqi's contract with Hummingbird Music are 100% owned by Hummingbird Music.
These include Deng Ziqi's most popular songs, "Bubble", "Countdown", "Light Years Away" and "No matter how far we are together", etc.
's statement triggered heated discussions among netizens. The topic #丁子奇has been registered as a trademark by former employer Hummingbird Music# reached the top spot on Weibo.
Why did Hummingbird Music suddenly post such a Weibo? We don't know the intention, but according to this Weibo, what we know is that the copyright of Deng Ziqi's old songs belongs to Hummingbird. If she wants to continue singing "Bubble" and other old songs, she needs to obtain the authorization of Hummingbird.
In Deng Ziqi’s earlier concert, Deng Ziqi sang all the songs mentioned above. I don’t know if she was authorized by Hummingbird.
Why did Deng Ziqi’s own songs need to be authorized by Hummingbird? From the copyright statement of Hummingbird Music, we preliminarily judge that in the contract signed by Deng Ziqi and Hummingbird, the copyright may have been permanently transferred to Hummingbird Music. Therefore, although the artist contract between the two parties has expired, Hummingbird Music still owns Deng Ziqi’s songs. copyright.
Some fans hope that Deng Ziqi will re-record old albums like Taylor Swift. However, as the copyright ownership of lyrics, music and recordings is not clear at present, it is impossible for Deng Ziqi to re-record old albums. The only way is to clear it up through legal channels. All rights reserved.
The two parties are still fighting a lawsuit. Deng Ziqi still has the possibility of claiming back the copyright, but this lawsuit is not easy to fight. No one knows how long
will last.
Bole is dead
The story of Deng Ziqi is not uncommon in the music industry. There was Prince before him, followed by Taylor Swift and Wu Qingfeng.
In the song "(...Hypnosis Master)", Wu Qingfeng tells a story about "Bole is dead", which vividly summarizes the business logic of the traditional record industry.
The traditional recording industry plays "risk investment", investing in potential stocks, and then pursuing profit maximization. The risk is very high, and the success rate is usually one in ten. If you invest in ten groups of artists, you can form a group, and if you release ten records, one of them will be a hit. In addition, many artists sign contracts at a young age and their future is uncertain, and record companies do take great risks. Therefore, record contracts are usually very stringent, long-term, and have high copyright requirements.
This is a difficult problem with different opinions. Without record companies taking risks, it is difficult for artists to succeed. Moreover, compared with the real money spent by record companies, the efforts and creative effects of artists are difficult to quantify. .
Therefore, in the traditional recording industry model, there is often an unequal relationship between artists and companies. Some people from record companies even believe that if an artist is a top performer, he was trained by Bole. Just like Wu Qingfeng sang in the song, "He turns stone into gold, and he waves his hand into wind."
Compared to Taylor Swift and Wu Qingfeng, Deng Ziqi’s case is more extreme. Taylor Swift took the lyrics and music into her own hands from the beginning and only authorized third-party agents; Wu Qingfeng’s lyrics and music were signed by Lin Weizhe It is also an authorized agent and can be automatically renewed for one year under certain conditions.The
record company invests in recording the album, so it owns the recording copyright. This is an industry norm. Buying out lyrics and music is unreasonable from the perspective of copyright law. However, in the traditional record industry model, creators do not have many choices. Moreover, compared with mature European and American markets, the copyright system in the Chinese music scene has long been irregular, and it used to be common to buy out lyrics and music contracts.
With the development of the Internet, the division of labor chain in the traditional recording industry has been changed, and the power structure between artists and companies has also changed. The various conflicts we have seen in recent years are all the result of such a development trend - there are With their works and fans, artists have the capital to challenge the company, and they no longer need to be silent like in the past.
In the words of legendary producer Jimmy Iovine, companies now need artists more, not artists need companies more.
In short, Bole is dead.
The Unable to Trapped Deng Ziqi
The era when Deng Ziqi grew up was the era when female singer-songwriters were rising, and she believed in creation changing destiny. This is not the case for Chen Qizhen, Dai Penni, Tanya Chua and Xu Jiaying.
The advantage of singer-songwriters is that once they gain a foothold in their careers, they have strong vitality. Controversies or setbacks will not defeat them, but will make them stronger.
Taylor Swift is undoubtedly the best example. The re-recording of the album not only united her and her fans, but also helped her create new career growth points and brought her unimaginable benefits. The foundation of all this is Taylor Swift's strong creative power, which she continues to prove with re-recordings.
In the same way, if handled properly, Deng Ziqi can also turn copyright disputes into his own advantage.
There is no doubt about Deng Ziqi's creative power. After Hummingbird Music issued the copyright statement, the outside world lamented that she might no longer be able to sing her own "Bubble". At the same time, they were actually endorsing Deng Ziqi's creative power. "It turns out that so many songs were written by Deng Ziqi himself."
What the outside world sees is a creator's dilemma, but what fans see is their idol's counterattack. The result of the counterattack does not need to wait for the judge to seal the coffin. The conclusion is that justice is already in the hearts of fans. Therefore, the relationship between fans and Deng Ziqi will be closer. Even if Deng Ziqi no longer sings old songs such as "Bubble" in the future, it will not affect her concerts.
Will fans not go to Deng Ziqi's concert just because she no longer sings "Bubble"? No, on the contrary, if she really can't sing "Bubble" for some reason, fans will support her even more firmly, even if she has to call Deng Shiying back.
Unlike ordinary singers who can only rely on a few hit songs to maintain their careers, singer-songwriters have stronger vitality, especially creators like Deng Ziqi who already have a huge fan base. As long as she continues to create, she does not have to worry about her career. . Of course, the premise is that Deng Ziqi can always maintain his creative standards.
So, a singer like Deng Ziqi cannot be trapped. The only one who can trap her is herself.
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