#jiyamjain-blog

[peekbackstage]

Given the kind of focus and prep that perhaps goes in these events, what in your view are the odds that two completely unrelated but two of the highest profile artists would end at an important event in color coordinated outfits from the same brand. Especially if brand is not super famous like prada or gucci etc?

Disclaimer: The following is based on my experience working in the music industry. 

In general, it is entirely possible for brands that are not well-known fashion houses to pay a very, very significant amount of money for the opportunity to have their clothing worn on the red carpet by a celebrity. 

I would not be surprised if a brand strategically decided to target the combined power and reach of two very high profile artists by reaching out to each of the artist’s respective stylists with a very large sum of money. It would make for a very compelling marketing campaign and the hype around it and the amount of media impressions generated would pay off the money the brand pays the artists. 

So, the odds are pretty high, actually. 

[accio-victuuri]

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Happy New Year everyone! Welcoming 2023 with a grateful heart and appreciation for everyone who accompanied me in 2022. Whether that’s chatting with me, new followers, liking/reblogging my post or lurking— this is for you. Thank you for giving your time in visiting this blog and reacting to what I share. I know I post a lot but it’s boxiao’s fault cause they do so much stuff lol. This year was so busy but I had fun being more creative (gifs/edits) and making long cpn posts. I thought I should be getting tired of it by now, well no. I’m just as passionate ( if not more ) about XZ/WYB as individuals and a pair. I hope it continues to this new year and that everything will go smoothly. I wish everyone a meaningful new year’s day and have time to reflect on your experiences in the past 🤍

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Special mention to the ones I talked to on here!

@rainbowsky @jesiyathatsit @ohnoyizhan @danvers--carol @starsxinxthexbluexsky @p-h03n1-x @potteresque-ire @ohmygod-zu-you-suck @nocturnalgrimoire @gwarp @marazul-loveislove @yibocheeks @cendiar @chokolateaddictz @pharrezychica @yizhan4ever @pentopaperposts @wwx-lwj-ai-ni @la-belle-laide @dayla1950 @zzhangebodi @candicewright @gusu-hotel @mbjw @cs-nane @forayintoc-ent @samya95 @latitudeoctopus @yizhan1823 @porcupine-girl @mylittleponygrrl @faery-snow @yixiani @kizunayuemichaelis @forever-in-that-summer @01823 @jiyamjain-blog @significanceofmoths @buwang2018 @am-ar-a85 @cranberrymix @cendiar @emrinalexander @gwaevalarin @buwang2018

some of you may not be tagged cause your setting does not allow it but 🤍 i hope to get to interact with more people this 2023! 😊

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So many things to look forward to in the new year fandom wise. Bobo’s movies and GG’s dramas — new endorsements, magazine covers, appearances and live performances. Wishing for their projects to broadcast smoothly and be enjoyed by lots of people. Next year will hopefully be the same for this blog too, continuing with updates, edits and candies.Thank you all and let’s have an awesome 2023! 🎉

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[rainbowsky]

Hi rainbow sky! I have a fun ask for you. Recently you mentioned that Xz and WYB are superstitious. I missed that detail. I'm massively superstitious too, but I find it neat in other people. How do we know about their superstitions? I missed this tidbit and it seems very cute of them.

It's actually GG who is superstitious, and DD is thought to be taking on some of those superstitions himself, although according to some of the 🔴 🟢 rumors he sometimes teases GG about it and/or uses GG's superstition to his advantage (in the latest rumor he used GG's superstition to get him to eat).

Real-world examples

GG's superstition is well known based on his interviews, behavior, social media posts, and the Untamed BTS. Here are a few examples that come to mind, but there are many more.

In the 9 Minutes of Bickering on a Boat BTS clip, GG holds himself back from calling DD "Hard as a dead duck's beak" (an expression for people who are stubborn) because he is superstitious and won't say anything involving death or injury around DD because he participates in so many dangerous activities.

On his birthday a couple years back he posted a photo of a bowl of longevity noodles on his social media. There's a Chinese superstition that eating longevity noodles on your birthday will bring you long life and good health.

He wore the red bracelet his mother gave him on his wrist throughout the 22*7 scandal. Red string bracelets are believed to bring good luck and good fortune to those who wear them.

He has been known to use the Chinese god of wealth for his phone screen wallpaper, I think for years now.

Examples from fake rumors

There are a lot of fake rumors talking about GG’s superstition. Here are a few that come to mind. Keep in mind these are from fake rumors, so should be taken with a grain of salt.

DD was leaving the set one day during filming, and GG said some words over him before he left. DD asked what it was and GG said it was a blessing to keep him safe. After that DD would seek him out to get his blessing before leaving.

GG bought DD a ton of red items to wear this year, including red underwear, red insoles and other things that can be ‘hidden’. (It’s supposedly lucky to wear red during your Chinese zodiac year, and DD is an ox).

GG wouldn’t let DD buy him a pair of shoes because of a famous song about someone who bought a pair of shoes for their partner and they ended up breaking up. DD thought it was outrageous and hilarious, but GG was serious. In the end GG made DD let him pay 1 RMB for the pair of shoes so that he could feel he’d bought them rather than been gifted them.

GG getting upset because he had stepped on a manhole cover, which is supposedly bad luck.

I’m sure others can add to this list. There have been a lot of examples both real and fake, over the years.

EDIT: Adding more as people comment with others:

@jiyamjain-blog had a couple:

Based on a rumor - Supposedly the reason we haven’t seen the lion head necklace again is because it did its job protecting DD from the motorcycle crash and will no longer be effective.

From the Untamed BTS - When GG accidentally scratched DD’s face with his flute during filming, DD used GG’s guilt to manipulate him into agreeing to eat 3 bowls of noodles. When DD said he profited from the deal, GG scolded him harshly, saying it’s bad luck to say you profited from getting injured.

Edit: more examples will be added here as they happen.

He made wishes with coins in a fountain during his trip to Europe in 2023.

[peekbackstage]

Tagging @yeetlinglaozus @candicewright @jesiyathatsit @jiyamjain-blog @ohnoyizhan

i was tagged by @here-perishing, thank you sm!!! 💖

Clean version HERE

i tag: @sos-ukes @against-the-cosmos @huans @shards-of-divinity @theuntamedagenda @14th-century-homosexual-spirit

if you want!!! 💖

[peekbackstage]

What are your views about some brands banning turtles from fanmeetings. Doesn’t it also defeat the argument that ggdd allow bjyx to continue for commercial reasons?

I have written pretty extensively before in terms of how artists are often evaluated by talent buyers - which use pretty similar criteria as brands when it comes to artist valuation. 

When it comes to marketing, there are a few key performance indicators (KPIs) that pretty much all brands care about in some way globally. These KPIs largely shape the brand’s marketing campaigns, and also allow brands to set clear, measurable goals and milestones. 

When a brand chooses to partner with a celebrity, they must consider a few KPIs:

Reach - The celebrity’s total market reach, which includes social media metrics and media impressions. This allows the brand to approximate the market capitalization an artist may have.

Engagement - How much overall engagement (both online and offline) that a celebrity can generate. On social media, this would include likes, sharing posts, talking about/posting about a celebrity, producing fan works, watching videos, etc. Offline, this would include watching TV shows the artist is on, attending events, buying products to support the artist (music, merchandise, film, etc.)

Sales Growth - Normally, this would be called “conversions,” but I’m just going to make it easy to understand and call this “sales growth.” This would be the amount of product sales a celebrity generates.

Social Media Growth - A celebrity’s involvement with a brand can give all their social media channels a significant boost from the celebrity’s fans following the brand’s social media platforms. This is a measurable KPI that brands track.

Sentiment - What is the market sentiment of a celebrity? This is essentially a celebrity’s reputation score, which more or less can be approximated through a combination of media coverage and social media mentions.

Rankings - There are a number of research companies that regularly put out rankings for celebrities that include the celebrity’s popularity, star power index, social media power, brand power, etc. The combined average of all of these rankings can help a celebrity determine how much overall power an artist may have. Rankings that focus specifically on a celebrity’s brand power or selling power would be more heavily weighted if the primary focus of a brand campaign is to generate more sales.

There are other KPIs such as cost of customer acquisition, customer retention/loyalty, average lifetime spend per customer, etc. that would be important to a brand, but the aforementioned KPIs above are among the most important factors when brands consider working with celebrities.

However, KPIs alone are not enough for a brand to determine whether or not a celebrity would make a good brand ambassador. In addition to all the aforementioned KPIs, a brand must also consider the following:

Image - The celebrity’s overall image. Is this celebrity a bit of a “bad boy” or are they boy-next-door?

Compatibility - How well the celebrity represents/matches with the brand’s values and identity. (This is also known as “image congruity.”)

Credibility - How much credibility the public might place in the celebrity representing the brand. A celebrity who clearly would know nothing about a certain product might not be the best person to represent a brand or their interests.

Affect transfer - Describes the process by which a celebrity’s fan base might transfer their feeling about a celebrity to the brand. If fans have a positive relationship with the celebrity, then this relationship will transfer. If there is negativity, however, that may also unfortunately transfer.

Controversy - Whether or not there is any controversy associated with the celebrity.

I actually went ahead and conducted research to ensure that my comments are actually accurate for the Chinese market. The primary source materials that inform the rest of this post are “Assessing Celebrity Endorsement Effects in China: A Consumer-Celebrity Relational Approach,” (Hung, Tse, Chan 2011) and “Insiders’ Views: The Current Practice of Using Celebrities in Marketing Communications in Greater China” (Leung, Cheng, Tse 2018). 

According to Hung et al, there are three types of relationships fans have with celebrities. Since no one is here for a super academic report, I’ll just summarize these relationships as: 1.) regular fans (“entertainment motivated”); 2.) super fans (“intense attachment”); and 3.) sasaeng (“pathological”). 

Due to the fact that the type of relationship a fan has with the celebrity has a direct correlation with the relationship that the consumer has with the brand, brands must carefully consider each type of relationship when they choose to work with a celebrity. 

Even if a celebrity has incredible KPIs, if the celebrity has a segment of fans that the brand perceives to be “unfavorable” to their marketing goals or their brand image, then the brand may wish to prioritize one market segment over another. 

In the case of a brand banning a CP from fan meetings, it is possible that a brand may take the following into consideration: 

It is a known fact that solos and CP fans do not get along. 

It is a known fact that XZ solos and WYB solos do not get along.

It is a known fact that not only do these three groups not get along, they have full-blown fan wars which can often spiral out of control online. 

CP fans account for 5% of the artist’s overall fanbase. Therefore, it is a fact that the remaining 95% are solo fans. 

Because the brand can’t predict what will happen at a fan meeting, they have no way of knowing whether or not any sort of controversial issue may arise from having an artist’s solo fans, who are known to be “at war” with the artist’s CP fans in the same room. As a result, they may perceive that CP fans are a risk factor they simply do not want to engage, which may be why a brand might dissuade CP fans from attending a fan meeting. 

Moreover, a brand might not want to associate with CP fans because they may feel that CP fans are not representative of the kind of consumer they want to target. Specifically, they may believe that CP fans represent values that are not in line with the brand’s values. (In other words, the brand is homophobic and they do not want anyone who supports a same-sex CP to talk about their brand, as that would associate the brand with a same-sex CP.) 

Additionally, the brand may be wary of CP fans due to the fact that solos are known to be anti-CP in both camps, and antis are known to have pathologically obsessive, destructive tendencies. Trying to distance themselves from CP may essentially be a way for the brand to distance themselves from antis. 

Most importantly, a brand may find the very idea of a CP to be controversial, or they may perceive the other celebrity in the CP to be “controversial.” According to Leung et al, “a controversial celebrity might bring extra media publicity, yet consumers might ultimately focus their attention on the celebrity instead of the brand being promoted.” Anson Shum, who once ran marketing and communications for Bluebell Group in Greater China, also states in the article, “If I invited [a controversial celebrity] to come to the event … [their] presence might attract many paparazzi, but would the attention be diverted to the brand or focused only on [them]? That’s why I rarely invite controversial celebrities.” 

We might also recall that in China, fans and brands alike may consider CP fans to support an artist only because of the CP - and not for their solo endeavors. As such, a brand may believe that CP fans do not have the same consumer value when it comes to customer retention as solo fans may have, especially if the brand wants to have a long-lasting relationship with an artist, such as Wang Leehom and Wahaha Mineral Water, which lasted twenty years. 

If the brand’s primary goal for the fan meet is to develop customer retention, which would essentially increase the lifetime value of a customer, then they may (falsely) believe that catering at all to CP fans would not be good for their brand’s goals - especially if there is limited space at the fan meet. They would therefore instead want to maximize all seats for their true target audience, which are not CP fans, but solo fans. 

Obviously, I think that a brand choosing to deter CP fans from a fan meeting is stupid as hell, because that deterrence would result in a negative association with the brand, and they more or less shot themselves in the foot. For all that brand knew, the CP fans they excluded from the event could have been whales (i.e. big spenders) who could have given a massive boost to their bottom line. Alienating an entire market segment is literally one of the dumbest things any brand could ever do.

However, at the same time, if the brand is opting to alienate that group on account of their homophobic values, then the brand really doesn’t deserve the consumer’s money to begin with. 

In any case, I hope this helped to answer your question. 

Works Cited

Hung, Kineta; Chan, Kimmy; and Tse, Caleb. (2011). “Assessing Celebrity Endorsement Effects in China: A Consumer-Celebrity Relational Approach.” Journal of Advertising Research. 51. 608. 10.2501/JAR-51-4-608-623.

Leung, Vivienne; Cheng, Kimmy; and Tse Tommy. (2018) “Insiders’ Views: The Current Practice of Using Celebrities in Marketing Communications in Greater China.” Intercultural Communication Studies XXVII: 1  96-113. 

[peekbackstage]

Did you ever work for artists in long distance relationship. From everything i hear about the music/tv/film industry, not only in asia but also hollywood amd europe, one thing that is abundantly clear is that partying, drugs, drings and sex are too easily available. Lots of times the groupues, crazy fans and just the atmosphere where everyone wants to curry favors also means that sex especially is often thrown at the star/artist even if they themselves are not looking for it. I feel like sometimes the people from these industries have a different level of tacit understanding when it comes to things like fidelity and faithfulness. Like it is expected they would be dipping their toes when touring or shooting, as long as it is not public knowledge. I apologize for the gross generalization but i am just stating what it feels like to an outsider looking in. Have you ever experienced very popular stars being able to stay faithful and loyal in a long distance relationship??

Yes, I have worked for/with artists who were in long distance relationships. 

Generally speaking, when artists go on tour, that automatically makes their relationship “long distance,” at least for the duration of the tour. If the tour is a few weeks long, then the period isn’t too bad. But, sometimes artists tour for up to a year around the world - and can go without seeing their s/o or their family for months at a time. 

It is true that in every part of the industry, partying is abundant. I have never been on a tour where there wasn’t a rider filled with different kinds of alcohol and where we didn’t party hard. (Not me though, I’m a lightweight and someone had to babysit everyone else...) 

It is also true that sex is also a big part of that. While I haven’t had to deal with groupies in my own work experience, I did have to deal with a gaggle of models and escorts that were requested by artists who otherwise had “perfect” images. But, it must be noted that the artists who requested models/escorts were all single and were not in committed, long distance relationships.

The vast majority of artists who I worked with who were in a relationship generally were loyal to their s/o. They often would Facetime with their s/o wherever they were in the world to keep them updated. But these artists also had children with their s/os so they usually were checking in on children. 

There are only two specific artists I can think of who were in long distance relationships who weren’t loyal. 

One of them actually slept with one of my staff members! (I was actually really beyond furious about that fact - it was so unprofessional and beyond inappropriate. To this day, I can’t actually believe she crossed that line.) The other artist tried pretty aggressively to hit on me and I *really* wasn’t having it. I informed him I wanted to keep things strictly professional. When I expressed no interest, he then proceeded to turn his attentions to my friend, who was my guest - and she surprisingly wasn’t into it either, despite secretly being said artist’s fan.

(This same artist told me about how he used to have groupies follow him around and expressed that from time to time, he did sleep with them. That was really more info than I cared to know, but I guess he was insistent on telling me. Ugh. Honestly, I can’t say much about that particular person’s character. Thinking back, it really is pretty unappealing.) 

In any case, your mileage may vary. While I have seen artists stay quite loyal to their s/os, I have also experienced extremely disloyal artists who flagrantly cheated. To make matters worse it was an open secret, as it wasn’t even like he tried to hide it from everyone in the room, which was mostly his staff and other celebrities and industry insiders. Which means he probably did it all the damn time.

Anyway, I think it largely depends on the artist.

I’ll just say this in closing: if we were in an alternate universe where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were China’s biggest idols, if they were in a secret relationship with one another, I firmly believe that there would be no way either of them would ever cheat on the other, no matter how far apart they were.

[peekbackstage]

What is the process for an artist recording a song for an OST? What type of time committment are we talking?

Disclaimer: The following post is informed by my experience working in the music industry.

In general, there isn’t a “universal time commitment” for making music. It honestly varies depending on artist, producer, and songwriter. 

Usually with pop songs, often it starts out with a producer or a writer who composes a beat. If a label’s A&R rep likes a beat, they’ll sometimes purchase the beat outright, or ask the composer to continue working on the song and bring on a producer to oversee the project. If the owner of the beat is actually a producer, they’ll ask the producer to take over the entire project, which may involve bringing in additional writers, engineers, etc. 

Another way a project might kick off is actually with a producer directly pitching an artist’s A&R team. They might then have a meeting with the artist (if the artist is involved in the songwriting) or with the A&R rep. If the A&R rep decides the producer is a good fit for the artist, they then proceed with scheduling. Usually, the producer will then invoice the company, which pays 50% upfront and 50% upon completion. From pitch to the first writing session is usually a period of at least 3 days or so. 

Sometimes, there are actually quite a number of people involved in the project. If they aren’t all in the same location, they pass around a Protools file back and forth, adding new tracks to the same file. If they are in the same location, it tends to be a lot easier as they can just work on new ideas directly, usually in a number of hours-long writing sessions. 

A good producer can sometimes knock out a song within hours - but then it takes more time to have the artist come in to lay down vocal tracks. Any studio musicians that they need to hire for live instruments would also be another day or two of recording. 

Now, it must be noted that unless the artist is actually part of the entire writing process from start to finish, they generally don’t have to go through all of the above. Instead, they can just come in for a few hours to lay down vocals and that’s really all they need to do - so realistically, about a day of work per song.

But, if the artist is part of the entire process because they’re actually part of the songwriting team, then it can take days, or even weeks to complete a project from ideation to release, especially if there are significant revisions during that period of time.

After a rough recording and rough mix is done, they have to do the final mix and master the entire work. Mixing/mastery can take up to an entire month. (I have actually been on projects where they were actually mixing and revising all the way up to the actual deadline for release day. ) 

TLDR; An artist may only need a few hours in a recording booth, or they might need days to write a song. It largely depends on how involved the artist wants to be.

[accio-victuuri]

( special thanks to XZS for the footage I used for this GIF. lol. )

2021 has ended and I think this is the best time to say thank you to everyone I spent time with in this space. It’s been such a fun/ stressful / creative year and thanks for being here, whether you actively participate or just lurk. I have learned a lot not only in fandom things but stuff about myself while interacting with you all. This tumblr is my happy place. It’s such a joy to be part of a welcoming and fun group of people. Anyone who loves Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo + knows how to respect other people have always been welcomed here. but of course, I have a soft spot for my fellow turtles. Like most of us, I don’t know what 2022 will bring. I just hope it will getter better for all of us. There are so many things to be excited about this 2022 fandom wise : New endorsement materials, Beijing Olympics promos, OOL, The Longest Promise, Being A Hero, Formed Police Unit, Anonymous, Possible variety show guesting, Anta Documentary, Songs, Live performances, Magazine covers. The list goes on. I’m looking forward to sharing this space with you all this 2022! 🎉

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　

and Hello to my moots and people who I interact with on here, either DMs or via replies. some of you i can’t tag! and sorry if I missed others. those who reblog/like frequently, i see your names and i wanna say thank you too!

@rainbowsky @jesiyathatsit @candicewright @tracer85s @danvers--carol @starsxinxthexbluexsky @p-h03n1-x @theji @buwang2018 @ohnoyizhan @ohmygod-zu-you-suck @muchbetterjulia @la-belle-laide @pentopaperposts @wwx-lwj-ai-ni @cs-nane @jiyamjain-blog @keeperofbooks @potteresque-ire @significanceofmoths @nocturnalgrimoire @manhasetardis @gwarp @blunala @dayla1950 @marazul-loveislove @xz1005fanblog @a-xian3 @2646377463

I’m still not comfortable in bringing back my Ask Box, but one day, maybe, I’ll open it again. Feel free to DM me or just reply on specific posts if you have a question.

Again, Happy New Year! Let’s Go! 🎉🎉

[accio-victuuri]

What do you think is the reason international dancers of such high caliber accept sdc if they know a chinese will win? I mean if we can see it then they def know it going in. Why set yourself up for failure then???

Hello @jiyamjain-blog there are a couple things in play here for them and not just the usual win or lose. Also, losing on a show like that does not immediately equate to failure.

1. Work is Work. No matter where that is. No matter the circumstances. Keep in mind the time they were contacted and preparations for this show was made was in the middle of the pandemic ramping up. Even if there was a vaccine— it’s not a guarantee. I know you’ve heard them talk about it, but they were surprised that there is an opportunity for them to participate in an international dance show. They will get to see other dancers that they are a fan of. Where in the world ( at that time ) will they find a job that will pay them to dance? Meet friends? Have fun? sounds like a good deal to me.

2. For exposure. Whether they make it big in China or just get their name out there to the world is enough to join in. They got to join events ( like Henry taking Rochka to his solo show ) , star in Ads, hold dance classes and even pose for Vogue— so that’s not something they could have achieved in their home country. ( Ibuki for example, on her ig she said being featured in a magazine like vogue is a dream come true )

3. Some of them heard good things about the show and decided to go. ex: french dancers joining in because of Bouboo. Or Zin who watched the last season so when he was invited, he accepted.

4. They genuinely just want to DANCE. that was obvious enough for me watching it. They are all super competitive but that is not their #1 motivator. Imagine if all of them had the mentality of “oh if i don’t have a chance to win i just won’t join” then they wouldn’t get so far in their career would they?

[accio-victuuri]

Is it wishful thinking or does DD seem a lot happier and settled this year, especially the last couple of months. It was also noted in the bday post for him (wonder who wrote so poeticly) that he wass a happy person, and i am seeing more of that on DDu amd SDC this year. Even in couple of his livestreaams he was plaayful and smiley. I love to see him so loose amd relaxed.

Hello @jiyamjain-blog ! It’s because of this lovely person 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Yeah. Web seems more Chill. I mean, even last year, and it just got better. He is definitely happier and more relaxed. 🙏🏼

[accio-victuuri]

I just got kicked out of a HYX/Immortality fandom group on twitter because I am a bjyx! Apparently I was dangerous for their fandom! I am just ticked at how people use love as an excuse to be exclusive amd rude and hurtful.

Hello @jiyamjain-blog ! Awww. I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. That’s just a sign you should not join that group if they are gonna be like that. In the long run, it’s much better that you’re out of there.

There is really no competition between these BL drama CPs. Well at least to me. It’s just so dumb trying to pit them against each other. There is really no need to. If we want more content like this, we should stop attacking each other. New fans get turned off with toxic fandoms and we can’t have that.

[accio-victuuri]

I always knew XZ was powerful but the last few days have also been pretty eye opening. Like it is insane the kind of love he gets showered with. I have never seen a field of flowers gifted to a celebrity for his opening night on stage. Like anywhere in the world!!!!

It is a bit scary the kind of power this man wields over his fans!!! It makes me happy because all the naysayers are getting to eat crow and all the advertisers are chomping at the bits to get a piece of him! But it also makes me worry because elevating someone to such heights means that one single misstep from him would cause a lot of hurt. Its like he cant be human anymore because he surpasses expectations everyday and becomes more godlike to his fans!!

Hello @jiyamjain-blog ! he really is loved! 🤍

There is still fear too of course but i’m personally in a different mindset now when it comes to him. If something happens, we are more prepared. we are more careful on what we say/do. more conscious of our actions. we all learned this lesson the hard way. I also don’t see him as godlike or anything like that + his fans should know that this is not the case. 2*7 proved that. He is not untouchable. Whoever thinks like this should take a step back and think again. We just have to do our best to support him and hope that things go smoothly. 🙏🏼

[accio-victuuri]

Don’t you just love how GGDD are redefining the term ‘Powee Couple’! Like I can’t even understand how it is possible for these teo to continue to top everything they try their hand at. They are both just unbelievable! I love it when they win at life!!

Hello @jiyamjain-blog ! �� Yep! Power couple! I just hope everything goes smoothly, and if it doesn’t, I know they are both strong enough. and we are here to support them. 😎

[peekbackstage]

Q&A: Royalties

@jiyamjain-blog: “I would love to know if this anon knows how it works with these digital sales. I heard somewhere that artist actually pockets only 1% of the total sales after everyone takes their cut. It sounds horrible and hope it is not true!!!”

When it comes to the question of how royalties are split, largely the question is who the stakeholders are with the splits and what the artist’s contract looks like.

 The United States and Europe actually has a ton of protections for artists - especially as far as royalties go and limits on what managements can take. The kind of “slave” contracts that many idol companies in Asia are known for (and that the Backstreet Boys were once forced into) are not really a thing in the States. 

However, it’s a different matter in Asia altogether - artists do not have the same rights. Many of them are actually hired as salaried “employees” of the label and treated as such. Their royalties can often be almost nonexistent as a result. 

In general, artists get a percentage (or “points,” as we like to call it) based on a few factors. Bear with me, cuz this is gonna be kinda long. 

ROYALTIES 101

1. Publishing - If the artist actually participated in the composition or production of the track, then they are entitled to publishing points on the track. Unfortunately, with Asia, the points can be quite low for the artist because they often only perform the track - they don’t compose or produce.  

2. Master - Then there’s the question of the rights owner - who owns the actual song. (The master rights.) This is usually the label and the publisher in Asia, as well as anyone who has publishing rights. Anytime anyone wants the right to use the track, they have to pay master rights. 

3. Performance - Performance royalties are more or less the “performance” of the work anywhere in public such as at clubs, restaurants, on live TV (as a cover), radio, etc.  Performance royalties are generally collected by PROs (performance rights organizations). 

4.  Mechanical - The actual physical or digital sale/reproduction of whatever the work is. 

5. Streaming - Think Spotify or Pandora. Notoriously terrible with royalties because of how little they actually pay artists. 

6. Sync - Anytime music is played in a visual medium, this is called music synchronization. There are usually licensing fees that are negotiated for the right to use that music. 

Here’s a good breakdown of royalties if you want to learn more.

I haven’t actually done any business with the Chinese music industry since 2015. I last was there to meet with Sony China and quite a few other major labels and publishers to discuss international licensing of catalogs. One of the big questions back then was how on earth we would handle performance royalties because in 2015, China’s PRO system was a hot mess. I actually have no idea if it’s improved at all, but back then, Chinese artists generally were not getting paid all of their royalties for performance. And they sure as heck were not getting paid properly for sync either.  

Digital sales in China in particular should have a combination of publishing royalties and master royalties paid out to whoever has points on the track. In the United States, artists get paid both mechanical royalties and performance royalties when a digital sale is made.  

Now, here’s the real kicker: Asia is notorious for not giving a shit about artist rights. In fact, many idol factories and labels are known for “slave” contracts that are extremely unfair to the artist. Artists not only don’t really have control over their music, but many of them are actually hired as “employees” and paid a flat salary by the company. 

Idol bands in particular tend to have that type of arrangement. And unless that idol band is with a really progressive label/management company, there is a very high likelihood that the artist actually isn’t getting royalties at all - not only because everyone wants a piece of the action, but also because even after the royalties are paid out, the artist is then also responsible to pay their management the management fee, which is paid out of the artist’s gross sales. 

In the United States and Europe, there are protections for artists that limit management commissions to 10% on average. But there are no such protections anywhere in Asia. Let’s consider the Korean music industry for example: labels such as YG and Big Hit actually do give their artists rather significant royalties - and with YG in particular, artists also have control over their careers. However, labels such as SM and JYP, however, are known for rather unfair contracts, which are also pretty common in Japan and China as well. 

I have no idea what kind of contracts XZ and WYB have with their companies. If they have fair contracts, then it’s safe to assume they are being paid royalties. If they don’t have fair contracts... well... I’m not sure what can really be said.

As an aside, you can pull up the metadata of any song to see who the rights owners are. If the artist isn’t listed on it, then that’s a big red flag. 

So, pretty much, TLDR: yes, it’s possible the artist is only receiving 1%. It’s also possible the artist is receiving much more. It really depends on how the points are split based on way too many factors that no amount of speculation will get right.

[rainbowsky]

Tagged by @peekbackstage

Post 4 songs you’ve had on repeat lately! 

Well, I could just end this list at one song, because truth be told I’ve just been listening to Wild Child on repeat for several days now. GG’s voice is so beautiful, strong and sweet, and so damn comforting. He makes it seem like everything’s going to be OK. There is nothing else I can listen to right now. Nothing. I’ve tried branching out for the sanity of my partner, but nothing else does it for me. Fuck I love GG so much. God I love that man.

Xiao Zhan - Wild Child

But I will add a few more for completion’s sake:

Wang Yibo - Rules of My World

DD’s new song, I love it. So much power, and I love the sentiment of it. His NYE performance blew me away. Despite the fact that all I can listen to is Wild Child, when I’m puttering around the house and there’s no music playing, this is the song I’m always singing (LOL or badly approximating anyway).

I know I’ve always been really subtle and nuanced in how I talk about DD, but hopefully some of the more astute readers have been able to parse out some of my feelings for the princeling.

Rüfüs Du Sol - Innerbloom

I know I’m being boring af when I put this song here, because it’s been in almost every music post I’ve made, but there’s a reason. I love this song so much. It pretty much epitomizes an element of music that I love most. I’m all about anthemic yearning and bittersweet, upbeat grief and catharsis.

Amyl and the Sniffers - I’m Not A Loser

I’m going to mention them here because FUCK COVID. I was so excited for this show and the tour was canceled just as the first lockdowns happened in my region. Watching this video makes me nostalgic for distant times when we could all cram together in a hot, sweaty group and enjoy getting our eardrums ripped out by the performers we love. God, I miss live shows.

SOPHIE

I’m also going to mention SOPHIE, because she recently died and it was a fucking tragedy. It’s such a massive loss on multiple levels. She was not only a groundbreaking, brilliant producer who worked with pioneering artists and producers along with many big names in the industry, she was also a LGBTQ icon and someone who rebelled against the boundaries of conformity on every front. She was a personal hero of mine.

For anyone who’s curious to learn more about her, there are so many good articles out right now. Just google her and you’ll find great write-ups from the BBC, NYT and all the other major newspapers and magazines.

I’ll link to her video for It’s OK To Cry rather than embed it because it has some nudity and Tumblr will likely remove it if I embed.

Tagging:

@keeperofbooks​, @bearwithoutpaws​, @joshua-beeking​, @jiyamjain-blog​ and @latitudeoctopus​

[peekbackstage]

Missing asks?

Something really weird happened overnight. Over 10 asks that were sitting in my inbox, which I was planning to answer, suddenly disappeared - including one ask from a mutual! 

Some of these were multi-part asks, and some were a little more controversial, so I was waiting to find a time to properly answer them.

I do have screen shots of some of the ones that disappeared (as I was saving them for my records) but these are the topics of some of the asks that are no longer in my ask box:

Sex and the entertainment industry

Question of whether BJYX is allowed to continue on for economic reasons

Anon who is not optimistic about XZ’s career due to lack of new endorsements

Request to rate XZ’s singing and stage presence from industry perspective

Brands banning turtles from fan meets (@jiyamjain-blog)

I am so confused where all of these asks disappeared to. There are actually additional asks that disappeared with the ones above as well, that I didn’t save as screen shots, so they are just gone completely. (This can’t be because I blocked that one Anon, because all of the asks are written differently/do not have the same massive grammatical issues as that other Anon; plus one of the asks is literally from a mutual so what the heck, Tumblr?)

Anyway, if you sent me an ask some time ago, but it hasn’t been answered, it could be that your ask disappeared - so you may have to resubmit. Sorry about this, guys. I have no idea how this happened? I’m so confused?