"How could I be the one who failed in the palace fight?"
In 2019, Yang Tianzhen withdrew from the operation and management of Yixin Entertainment's main brokerage business. At that time, there were many rumors, such as "downfall" due to the failure of the palace fight. Was "exiled" to the Internet celebrity live broadcast business and so on. When talking about this matter, Yang Tianzhen couldn't laugh or cry.
Ten years after starting his own business, Yang Tianzhen pays more attention to "self". She said that she also experienced "a lot of inner struggles" regarding her decision to withdraw from the company's main business, but she firmly "stands for herself." She lamented, "I really love myself too much." Therefore, she would rather give up being an excellent entrepreneur and become a happy person. On the eve of
withdrawing from the management of the company, Yang Tianzhen gave herself a two-month vacation. After that, she told her partners that she would no longer engage in artist management business. This decision, "no one understands, from the inside out."
And her other decision is to make a personal IP. Shooting short videos, making podcasts, creating a plus-size women's clothing brand, live streaming, writing and publishing books...it's a joy to cross boundaries. Frequently appearing in front of the screen, no wonder she said, "Before me, no agent was so high-profile..."
When entrepreneurs are now making personal IPs, Yang Tianzhen has already been ahead of the curve for three or four years. Today, although her title is still "Chairman of Yixin Entertainment", she has completely shed her identity as an agent and pushed herself to the forefront to become an "Internet celebrity" or "artist". She incubated the company's new business segment, Yi Zhi Hua, and built Yi Xin Entertainment into a benchmark for traditional brokerage companies to transform into the internet celebrity economy.
Perhaps, five years ago, she was "taking retreat to advance" and promoted the transformation of this brokerage company. For this reason, Yang Tianzhen must be crisp and clear-cut, so she considers herself to be "never in conflict, and just do whatever she wants."
As a boss, when talking about young people’s workplace confusion, Yang Tianzhen said, “I am particularly opposed to the idea of treating the company as one’s own.” She believes that it is better to be loyal to the company than to be loyal to yourself.
html One afternoon in July, we "met" Yang Tianzhen at the headquarters of Yixin Entertainment. During the conversation, she told everything she knew. It seemed that she was confessing everything without reservation. She intensively output a lot of opinions, with constant golden sentences, such as -
Artist agency is essentially a value-added service;
Marketing is not something out of nothing, marketing is to take advantage of trends and find the greatest possibility based on a stable positioning;
I Never chase hot spots. If you chase hot spots, you will actually fall behind;
There must be a little girl in my heart, and she is also a happy and healthy little girl;
Today you asked me what suggestions I have for making a personal IP? My advice is: don't do it.
The following is an excerpt of an interview with Yang Tianzhen, a video program "The Manipulator Behind the Scenes" launched by "Weiyu Chunqiu" and Tencent News. There are more "golden sentences" in it -
-personal-How to get on the path of an agent
"Behind the Scenes" Trader》: What kind of family environment were you born in?
Yang Tianzhen: My mother is a teacher, and she is also my overtime English teacher in junior high school. Then my father counts as an employee of a state-owned enterprise, so our family is a very ordinary family.
But I grew up in an environment where freedom was fully allowed. My mother’s education philosophy for me since I was a child is to let me decide everything by myself, and don’t blame her if I make a mistake.Therefore, she was very conscious at a very young age, fully analyzing everything from what I would wear the next day to which school I would go to, and finally letting me make my own decision. I have believed that my decisions are important since I was a child, and I grew up in an environment where I took myself very seriously.
"The Operator Behind the Scenes": You should have been a leader when you were a student, right?
Yang Tianzhen: When I was a student, I was the kind of academic tyrant and student leader. Basically, I became the biggest official that a student could be, from class president, student union president to Nanchang Federation of Students president. Basically, a student I have experienced the highest so-called rank that I can get.
"The Manipulator Behind the Scenes": You said before that you are a "son and daughter of the world." Have you ever done anything that the people of the world do?
Yang Tianzhen: I think I am a relatively loyal person. I often make decisions that I should not do rationally. In the end, I made many decisions based on rational decision-making and some of the most basic trust in people. . Of course, there are definitely right and wrong decisions in this decision, some are rewarding, and some are causing great losses to myself, but I feel that it does not affect me to continue to make this decision, so I think that in my heart, I should care about people. The sense of trust between them is full of belief.
"The Operator Behind the Scenes": You went to Communication University of China and entered the entertainment industry after graduation. What was the opportunity at that time to enter this industry so smoothly?
Yang Tianzhen: My dream since I was a child was to be a lawyer and go to law school... That seemed to be the life script I set, but by some mistake, I studied art and majored in directing. But after arriving at Communication University, I felt that this environment seemed more suitable for me. Because the students around me are more romantic, my daily study task is to watch movies. When my high school classmates were immersed in solving problems in the library every day, I would watch 4-7 movies every day. Compared to them, I am living in heaven.
Although I am very satisfied with my college life, when I analyzed my strengths and weaknesses, I found that I did not have the potential to be an outstanding director. To be a good director, one must have very strong creative ability. I think I'm average in this regard.
So, after I realized that I couldn’t actually be a good director, I wanted to be an excellent producer, because I felt that a producer needs to not only understand director creation, but also have the ability to sponsor and plan. But I didn’t know how to be a producer. My understanding at the time was that producers need to know a lot of people, and agents can know a lot of people, so I thought about how to be an agent first.
In fact, when I graduated, I had multiple job offers, including world-class advertising companies, including some stable jobs where I could get a household registration, including some pretty good positions in TV stations, including some production companies, and I was already a pretty high-level position. , but I rejected them all. I started as a small publicity intern in a brokerage company.
"The Manipulator Behind the Scenes": is actually planning your life in an orderly manner, right?
Yang Tianzhen: I should say that I have done some preliminary practice, because I started working in my junior year of college, and by the time I graduated from college, I had probably done seven or eight different jobs.Maybe I am not so clear about what I want to do, but at least I have ruled out what I don’t want to do. For example, I have very firmly ruled out that I will never work in a TV station - because I am from the Broadcasting School, and most of my classmates go to TV stations - but I think television work is really boring, so I know very clearly what I don't do, and I think that's a good thing.
At that time, I didn’t say that I would definitely be an agent in the future, or that I would become an excellent agent, but I knew for sure that I would definitely not be a TV station anymore, and I knew exactly what I wanted to choose and what I wanted. This kind of life - I don’t want the same, day-in, day-out, low-cost-effective job.
"The Manipulator Behind the Scenes" : From the outside world, you look like a big woman with a lot of aura, but what are you like in private, and how do you evaluate yourself?
Yang Tianzhen: There must be a little girl inside me. She is also a happy and healthy little girl. She exists all the time and can be seen and taken care of.
Many people are very strong on the outside, but there is a person with very weak energy inside, and they desperately want to hide the person with weak energy on the inside, just to let everyone see his appearance. I think that's a very fake energy. I feel that my rationality, my energy and my maturity are quite sufficient. I like myself very much, so I don’t mind exposing the little girl inside. That is also a part of me that I like.
- Industry - Agents are essentially value-added services
"Behind the Scenes Operator": One of your most famous labels is that of an artist agent. So what kind of methodology do you have as a behind-the-scenes promoter?
Yang Tianzhen: I think artist management is essentially a value-added service. So it contains two points, the first point is called service, and the second point is called value-added. Many brokerage companies may provide services to help artists with contract signing, business negotiations, etc.
But to become an excellent agency, the most important thing is to add value. Whether it is the artist's own image or the resources he possesses, they are all his past stock, so how to increase it?
Therefore, it is necessary to reposition him, amplify his advantages, and cover up his weaknesses as much as possible. Only in this way can the artist's labels and abilities be found and continuously cultivated. Basically, this is the process.
"The Operator Behind the Scenes": In fact, artists are also a "product", but unlike the Internet or physical products, they have emotions. So how to avoid the particularly emotional side? What are the means and methods?
Yang Tianzhen: As an agent, first of all, you must be emotionally stable. It is best to have your own sufficiently stable value system. You know what is important and what can be discarded, because as an artist, as a client, he is in When doing a lot of work, I am more emotional and make judgments based on my own perception. However, I think the value of a broker is here, that is, you have to make rational, data-based and even cruel decisions.
If you can't fluctuate your own emotions just because the artist has emotions, then I think you are a very bad manager. But you can’t be without empathy. If you can’t sense the reason for his emotions and be on the same wavelength with him, he won’t be able to accept all your plans and suggestions for him. Therefore, in fact, the background of an agent must be rational, but at the same time, his way of expression and his tentacles must be emotional.
"The Operator Behind the Scenes": What do you think is the most important thing in leading an artist?
Yang Tianzhen: You have to be more professional than the artist.
"The Manipulator Behind the Scenes": Does it take into account both sensibility and rationality as you just said?
Yang Tianzhen: No, (professional) is a cognitive ability and has nothing to do with sensibility or rationality. Whether emotional or rational, it is an operating system, but cognitive ability is your amount of information. You ask me what is most important? I think the input of information is very important. Some people have this ability, but their minds are empty and they cannot make any correct decisions. Therefore, as an agent, he must have professional knowledge in this industry, or professional knowledge of the content he wants to operate. If he does not have it, he can really only rely on luck.
When you enter the artist management industry, you must have a certain cognitive foundation. Whether you choose to accumulate in the process is different for everyone. Some people may accumulate their drinking capacity, while others may accumulate their information. , in fact, both are OK. I think in any industry, just like journalists, there are some who carefully make outlines, some who rely entirely on on-the-spot performance, and some who do nothing at all, right? So I think for every profession, there is not only one way to succeed. If your personality traits and abilities are strong enough, then you can create your own methodology. The same goes for being an agent.
Before me, no agent had such a high-profile role as an agent, but I think it’s okay. I’ve done what I should do. As long as my abilities are long enough, I can be successful. Room for free play.
-Marketing-I never chase hot topics
"The Operator Behind the Scenes": Many people think that you are a marketing master. What are the secrets of more efficient communication when doing marketing?
Yang Tianzhen: In fact, I think the essence of marketing is very consistent in all walks of life. When I was taking an MBA marketing class at Peking University, our teacher proposed a triangle theory, which is actually the triangular relationship between your audience, your product, and your media. For example, if you want to be an artist today, on what channels will his fan base see him? This is a triangle relationship, and all operations in the middle are called marketing.
I think marketing is not something out of thin air. Marketing is about taking advantage of the situation. It is about finding the greatest possibility based on a stable positioning. Who will like it? If you find the right path, find the right method, and connect the two ends together, there will be flow between these three points. This marketing theory was definitely not invented by me. It has been around for a long time. It’s just a matter of whether you know how to apply it in your industry.
"The Manipulator Behind the Scenes": Everyone can actually learn theoretical knowledge, and some people actually chase hot spots...
Yang Tianzhen: I don't follow hot spots myself. I never chase hot spots! Whether I’m making short video content or being an artist, I don’t chase hot topics. I think you are actually lagging behind when chasing hot spots. The traffic you get when chasing hot spots is not yours. It belongs to hot spots. You are just helping hot spots to increase traffic. What is truly valuable and memorable must be when you create a unique content point, so I don’t chase hot spots.
"The Manipulator Behind the Scenes": Can understand it this way, not to actively pursue hot spots, but to create hot spots?
Yang Tianzhen: I don’t do it with the purpose of creating hot spots. My methods are very simple. It’s just what I have. I maximize this matter. At the right time, it may become It may not become a hot spot. This matter is not decided by you. However, after you know this methodology, every time you do it, there will always be a so-called hot spot.
"The Operator Behind the Scenes": Your content on the self-media platform is a bit mixed, including workplace analysis, daily life, and new book recommendations, etc. Have you given yourself a clearer positioning?
Yang Tianzhen: I don’t think it is necessary, because “being a 号” or “being a human being” are two different approaches. If you are making an account, you should always use the same way, talk about the same content, or even the same template. But when you are a human being today, human life is diverse. Therefore, what I do is Yang Tianzhen, whether it is my lifestyle, my travels, my shopping consumption, or my reading experience, it is all me. So these are two different ideas for being a person and making an account, which are more flesh-and-blood, richer, more diverse, and more real.
"The Operator Behind the Scenes": In fact, you are making your own personal IP. Now many entrepreneurs are also making personal IP. Do you have any experience or suggestions in this regard?
Yang Tianzhen: Many entrepreneur friends have approached me since many years ago because they want to have personal IP addresses and want to cooperate with me. I advise them not to do so unless there are special reasons or personal IP addresses can be given to them. Your business can drive traffic, because when a personal IP is directly linked to the business, it means that you personally cannot have any problems, otherwise the entire business will be ruined.
I think this seems to be a shortcut, but it is actually very dangerous. But many people may want the traffic bonus after their personal IP becomes popular, and many people like to be followed. For example, I once had an entrepreneur friend who asked me, how can I become famous by dating a female celebrity? I was very shocked by this question, because he didn't ask me how to chase a girl, he asked me how to become famous by falling in love with someone. I said you mean you don't have to fall in love, but you have to be famous. He's right. That's what's going on in his head. I said, what's that worth to you? He said the value is that after I fall in love with a certain female star, it will be easier for me to pursue other girls later - this is what he wants.
is a personal IP. Everyone’s demands are different. Some people may really want to serve the enterprise. They feel that after their products in this category have personal IP addresses, it will be easier for everyone to understand what the products are. Some people do it for vanity or personal satisfaction - I think there is no right or wrong here, it is everyone's choice.
So, you asked me today what suggestions I have for making a personal IP? My advice is – don’t do it.
-Entrepreneurship- is against the idea of treating your property as a company
"The Operator Behind the Scenes": You have been starting a business for more than 10 years. Did you have any special struggles in the process, or what kind of life stuck did you face during the entrepreneurial process?
Yang Tianzhen: In 2019, when I decided not to engage in brokerage business, that stuck point was very important to me.I understand who I am. Should I force myself to make sacrifices and contributions for the greater development of the company, or should I firmly give up satisfying myself and contribute to my personal growth. I firmly chose myself. From that moment on, I knew that I would never be a good entrepreneur. I gave up on being a good entrepreneur, but I will definitely become a happy person. So it was clear to me at that time that I loved myself so much, and I didn’t feel like there was anything wrong with that.
At that time, I gave myself a two-month long vacation. Two months later, I firmly talked to my partner team that I would no longer do brokerage business. No one understands this decision, from the inside out. At that time, there were many rumors from the outside that I had failed in court battles in our company. I felt that these rumors were completely inconsistent with my personality - how could I be a person who failed in court battles? But in fact, it’s because people don’t understand you. Why would you quit a business that is already doing well? Because most people do not understand the relationship between themselves and social responsibilities, or social identities.
Many people will put social identity more important than themselves. Just like many people's WeChat names, they will write the company's name first, and the suffix is their own name. Every time I see these people, I feel a little sad. I think, why does he regard his social status as so important? Everyone is on their own, but many people don't seem to care about this matter, otherwise they are very insensitive.
I am a person who always has to figure out who I am, so after going through a lot of inner struggles, I firmly stood up for myself. From then on, I felt light.
"The Manipulator Behind the Scenes": Just mentioned that writing books is also an area of interest for you. You also recently published a new book "Go to Encounter". What was the opportunity to write it?
Yang Tianzhen: In 2022, I took a very long vacation for myself. For four months, I traveled alone and visited more than 20 countries and regions. During my travels, I observed how people in different areas of the world lived, and then I thought about how I would spend the rest of my life. And in the process, I discovered that my cognition has a huge impact. Variety.
The first article of my new book is called "Unconditional Love". I originally thought that there would be no unconditional love in this world. Everyone gives with conditions, and the interaction of taking and receiving love is a must. It pays off. But during my travels, because of the encounters with some people and things, I discovered that there really is "unconditional love" in this world. I found that our stubborn views on some things, or some firm views, may be false concepts, so I opened my heart to accept and tolerate all the possibilities of this world.
One thing I am afraid of is "unique and fixed". Sometimes, I will read the comments on short video platforms or podcasts, and many people will have sharp objections to some of my expressions. I am not afraid of objections. What I am afraid of is that behind their objections is an absolute understanding of a certain kind of knowledge. Sex is black and white. He cannot see the diversity of people, the multiple possibilities of things, and the growth and changes of people. He will always stay at one point. I think this is a huge blind spot in cognition.
I’m not saying that I have much ambition to change this, or that I can help people improve. I just feel that I saw the diversity of events, and the impact changed me. I want to use this diversity through myself. Show it, some people can hit it, and some people can't. If they hit it, they may gain something. This is just a wish that comes from my heart.I'm afraid of people who have particularly stubborn ideas - they will regard things that are inconsistent with their understanding as mistakes, and they will easily become unhappy.
"The Manipulator Behind the Scenes": A popular word now is called "relaxation". How do you think this can be achieved?
Yang Tianzhen: My status is - if I am anxious about a certain problem because I have not solved it, I will solve it. If it is beyond my ability and cannot be solved, I will give up. There is no point in being anxious. So I will judge whether it is something that I can handle. If I can handle it, I will do it quickly. If I don’t delay, if I am sure that I can’t handle it, then I will leave it at that and wait for fate.
Anxiety does not play any role in this process and needs to be faced rationally. After rationality becomes a habit, it becomes an attitude towards things, and in fact, it becomes a person's values. So when you travel with me, you will be very happy. I just enjoy every moment.
"The Operator Behind the Scenes" : In many people's impressions, you are a person with high emotional intelligence. Nowadays, many young people will laugh at themselves and think that they have insufficient emotional intelligence. What suggestions do you have?
Yang Tianzhen: Many people have misunderstandings about emotional intelligence, which they interpret as the ability to please others. I think this is exactly a sign of lack of emotional intelligence. True emotional intelligence must be a win-win situation - satisfying yourself can also help others. No matter how you speak or do things, achieving this effect is called high emotional intelligence. So the premise is to find a way to make yourself happy first. Sometimes in order to accomplish something, you have to keep aggrieved, compromise, and please. In the end, it will be painful. Even if the thing is accomplished, you still have no sense of satisfaction.
The first step to high emotional intelligence is to let yourself have energy and become a confident and energetic person. In the process of dealing with people, as long as you are yourself, everything will be solved easily. Think about it, the people we like and accept in our lives must be the kind of happy and energetic people who do everything easily, so you will naturally like them, but some people are bitter and hateful. Deep, if you frown every day, you definitely don’t want to deal with him.
"The Manipulator Behind the Scenes" : You have been in business for 10 years. What unique management methods do you have?
Yang Tianzhen: As a boss, I am particularly opposed to the idea of treating the company as a family. Every year during our company's annual meeting, I can't stand the saying "we are a big family". I feel that this is not a big family, this is a company. Everyone comes here to work, and the purpose of work is to - —The first is to support oneself, and the second is to grow.
Therefore, I think when everyone goes to a company, it is best to set a goal. For example, I am here to make money. The company can make me money and survive, or I am here to get resources. If you have experience, get it here, then I can leave - if you have a better choice, you can leave. If there is no better choice, when you have the ability to negotiate with the company, you can go. negotiation. I very much welcome my colleagues to come to me with various requests. As long as I think they can do it and they match, I will satisfy them.
I also appreciate those who ask for it. In fact, when he gets better requirements, it means greater responsibility and dedication. Therefore, for young people, "loyalty" is actually not that important. Instead of being loyal to a company, it is better to be loyal to yourself.
Interview | Written by Kevin | Xiaoxi Planning | Entertainment Spring and Autumn Editorial Department The pictures for this article are provided by the interviewees