The imnse intensity of study compressed his daily sleep ti to less than six hours.
During the few days he returned to Austin, he handled two major matters.
The first was that Mark Johnson’s reply ssage arrived.
The contents of the ssage invigorated him! The producer of "Life Below Zero" developed a strong interest in him and proposed to personally fly to Austin to discuss cooperation matters after Christmas.
The second matter was that Lin Yu’an and the Bilibili operations team finalized the ti for an online eting to discuss signing a contract to join the platform.
A few days later, it was ti for the online video conference.
The eting connected, and on the other end of the screen was a man who looked to be in his thirties, wearing black-rimd glasses and exuding a sharp and capable deanor, with the ID "Old Mao."
Old Mao’s opening remarks were enthusiastic and direct: "Mr. Lin, hello! I’m Old Mao, Bilibili’s content creator operations manager."
"First of all, congratulations on winning ’Alone in the Wilderness.’ Your performance on the show was phenonal!"
"Thank you," Lin Yu’an responded calmly.
Old Mao shifted gears and went straight to the point: "The primary purpose of our eting today is to talk about the details of your cooperation with us."
"To be frank, you are currently very popular in the country, and countless MCN organizations and platforms want to sign you."
"Though we at Bilibili are very sincere, we also want to know, Mr. Lin, what your plans are for the future? Are you planning to strike while the iron is hot and go the viral internet celebrity route, or do you have longer-term ambitions?"
This question was ant to probe Lin Yu’an’s "ambition" and "vision."
Instead of answering directly, Lin Yu’an asked in return, "Mr. Old Mao, before discussing my plans, I want to know what Bilibili can offer ?"
"Especially as I am overseas and plan to have most of my future content fild long-term in Alaska, what targeted support can the platform provide?"
A brilliant counter! A glint of admiration flashed in Old Mao’s eyes; he wasn’t afraid of demands, just lack of ideas!
"Excellent question!" Old Mao leaned forward, becoming more serious.
"For your unique situation, we can offer three core supports."
"First, traffic support at a million-level, ensuring your content reaches all potential audiences accurately."
"Second, a professional post-production and operations team to eliminate your worries."
"Third, and most importantly, strong legal and PR support to handle potential future copyright disputes and public opinion risks."
Old Mao paused for a mont to give Lin Yu’an ti to think, then continued, "Rember you ntioned over the phone that you’ll be participating in ’Life Below Zero’?"
"Our platform also holds exclusive rights, which ans we can conduct deep collaborations and might even plan a project called ’Ho in Alaska.’
"Using your exclusive content from the official show as a supplent and extension on Bilibili, this would be an unprecedented collaboration model on Bilibili!"
"Therefore, Mr. Lin, we are willing to offer you a top-level ’Phoenix Plan’ support agreent!"
Old Mao shared a draft of the proposed agreent via screen sharing.
"Firstly, about the signing fee: considering the exclusivity and vast market potential of your content, once you agree to sign an exclusive content cooperation agreent with our platform, Bilibili will pay you a signup fee of one million RMB in a lump sum."
Lin Yu’an quietly looked at the numbers on the screen without speaking, gesturing for Old Mao to continue.
"Secondly, concerning the operations team you’re most concerned about."
"In the first year of the agreent, we will assign you a three-person professional operations team—including content planning and editor, fan operations, and full-platform account business integration."
"All their salaries and operational costs will be fully covered by us at Bilibili. You won’t have to pay any fees for this team in the first year."
"After a year, if our cooperation is pleasant, the cost of the team will then be settled as an ’operations managent fee’ from your total video production revenue. The specific fees can be negotiated then."
Old Mao’s tone beca more focused: "Then, our most core revenue-sharing model."
"All of your basic creation incentives on Bilibili, such as the ’Charging Program,’ the ’Bounty Program,’ and the creative incentives brought by video plays themselves—this part is 100% belongs to you personally, and the platform will not partake in the sharing."
"Whereas all comrcial partnerships sourced by the platform or operations team, including brand promotions, video pre-roll ads, customized business deals, and live-streaming sales, we will adopt the industry’s most favorable 70-30 split model for S level creators."
He elaborated: "Specifically, for any comrcial cooperation’s total inco, after deducting necessary taxes and channel costs, you will receive 70% of the net inco personally, with the remaining 30% serving as platform service and operations managent fees—this is the highest share ratio we can offer."
After explaining these highly enticing conditions, Old Mao looked at Lin Yu’an confidently, waiting for his response.
Lin Yu’an listened quietly, gently tapping his fingers on the table as if processing this information.
A mont later, he raised his head, his gaze calm yet sharp, posing the most crucial question.
"It sounds very generous, but in this agreent, I see Bilibili investing a significant amount of funds and resources in ."
"The fundantal principle of business collaboration is equal exchange. I want to know, in return, what do I have to give up? For example, my account ownership, the final copyright of the content, and my future creative freedom—how are these defined in the contract?"
"After all, I don’t want to find that my painstakingly recorded life becos a commodity that needs approval to be released, or that these accounts and videos ultimately beco soone else’s assets."
This question struck directly at the core and most sensitive concern for all creators when partnering with platforms.
Old Mao imdiately understood Lin Yu’an’s concerns. His expression turned more earnest and genuine, recognizing this was the final hurdle to winning the other party’s trust.
"Mr. Lin, rest assured. What you brought up is precisely where our ’Phoenix Plan’ differs most from other typical MCN contracts."
He quickly pulled up the section on rights ownership in the agreent draft and explained it to Lin Yu’an, line by line.
"Firstly, regarding account ownership. The contract will explicitly state in the clearest legal terms that all accounts you establish on Bilibili or any other platform under your personal na or brand have 100% permanent ownership by you personally."
"Secondly, on copyright. All original material from the videos you create during the cooperation period also belongs 100% to you personally."
"Bilibili and the operations team will only hold exclusive authorized usage rights to edit, process, publish, and promote these materials during the agreent period. This ans, without your consent, we have no right to use your materials for any other purposes beyond what the agreent specifies."
"Very good."
Lin Yu’an continued, "Now, regarding creative freedom. I have one more requirent. I hope my content can maintain absolute independence."
"The operations team can provide suggestions and post-production support, but what the video ultimately expresses and the style it adopts must be decided by . I do not accept any forced comrcial insertions that clash with my principles. I can cooperate with brands for customized content, but the brands must respect my creative style."
"Absolutely no problem!" Old Mao agreed without hesitation.
Lin Yu’an went on, "As for the rest, I will comply with all Bilibili platform rules and, without affecting my personal life and creation, actively cooperate with so of the comrcial promotions and events organized by the official platform to achieve mutual benefits."
"Fantastic! Mr. Lin, then let’s have a pleasant collaboration!"
They preliminarily agreed on the cooperation intention with Bilibili and set the joining ti for late November, during the airing of the finale episode of "Alone in the Wilderness."
At that ti, he will surprisingly appear in the comnts section as an Easter egg, marking his "official announcent" mont as a content creator.
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