was called the "Year One of Online Short Dramas" for a reason.

This was the year the Administration added an "Online Short Drama Module," allowing short dramas to be registered, reviewed, and listed for sale just like regular TV series and films. It wasn’t until the 2021 White Paper was released that the paid model for short dramas was systematically promoted.

Before this, these kinds of videos couldn’t be listed for sale. It was against the Administration’s regulations. If you tried to do it privately and the Administration came after you, you’d end up in jail. (So, to all the wise guys out there, don’t flame me for knowing about short dramas but not getting into them sooner. That would be like talking about e-commerce before bike-sharing even existed, and it’s just as absurd as people throwing the hundred-billion valuation of Three Sheep in my face. Just protecting myself here!)

’The question now is, in a little over a year, this short-drama pie is going to be served. How should I get a piece of it?’

Being a creator and building a platform are two completely different approaches, and the share of the pie you can claim is also vastly different.

’If I just stick to being a creator, with Lin Leqing and Li Muchen, and then sign an absolute powerhouse like Zhang Ao’ai, I could definitely become a top-tier short-drama creator.’

’But I’ve transmigrated. I’ve laid the groundwork ahead of time, back in ’18. It makes no sense to settle for being just a creator instead of taking a huge bite of the pie.’

After all, before his transmigration, even traditional entertainment companies and big names like Master Xing had entered the short-drama scene. There were even variety shows created specifically for casting short-drama actors. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

That just goes to show how huge the pie was.

In the years after ’18, a short-drama platform represented the online video industry’s only real chance to make a massive leap forward. It was an opportunity second only to the "Python and Sparrow Swallowing Dragon" one.

’It’s just that the Python and Sparrow Swallowing Dragon opportunity requires a massive amount of capital, and the success rate isn’t very high.’

But this chance to leap forward with a short-drama platform? The success rate was extremely high.

Take the rise of short-drama platforms like Maiya and Jiuzhou, for example. In just two short years, driven by good returns from overseas markets, their market value reached tens of billions of USD. They left giants like China Literature, a certain ’Qie’ platform, a certain ’Yi’ platform, and Penguin’s short-drama division in the dust, all because they seized the opportunity to get the first slice of the pie.

Keep in mind, China Literature’s market cap was only 27.7 billion HKD, and the ’Qie’ platform’s was just 1 billion USD.

The immense opportunity was plain to see.

’So, if I start preparing now... it would be a huge waste not to take a shot at this opportunity.’

Chen Jincheng immediately grabbed a pen and paper again, starting to write as he thought.

’For a short-drama platform to succeed, it needs three things: funding, traffic, and content.’

’Building a short-drama platform requires funding. I believe that if Second-Life Star continues to develop normally, with over a year left, I can still find a way to secure enough capital.’

’As for content, once the "Year One of Online Short Dramas" arrives, I’ll shoot a few viral short dramas for Lin Leqing, Li Muchen, and Zhang Ao’ai. I’ll be the first to plant the flag in the short-drama space. If I set up a good system of creative and financial support, I can definitely attract many creators to my platform.’

’The most important factor, however, is traffic. Without traffic, even with great content, no one will see it, and you can’t generate any profit.’

’The Maiya short-drama platform, it seems, had grown out of a Company MCN. It relied on several thousand influencers to siphon traffic from Tiao Yin.’

’That’s a path worth trying, and it’s perfectly suited for me to take.’

’If I start laying the groundwork now, I can do even better than the Maiya short-drama platform.’

’Because when short dramas exploded in popularity, Tiao Yin imposed restrictions, and Maiya’s subsequent momentum was curbed.’

’Therefore, I can’t raise Tiao Yin’s suspicions before then.’

With that in mind, he immediately dialed Sister Hong’s number and asked her to come to his office.

’If the short-drama platform succeeds, I can actually take a shot at that Python and Sparrow Swallowing Dragon opportunity. If I can successfully swallow that platform, the profits will be absolutely unimaginable. It might even be possible to become one of the giants of the short video industry.’

A few moments later, Sister Hong arrived at the office. "Boss, what’s so urgent?"

Chen Jincheng gave his instructions directly, "Sister Hong, set up a dedicated website for the company. Publicly, we’ll call it the official website of Second Generation Star Media. When it’s ready, you can promote it in our artists’ fan groups, especially the ones for tipping fans. You can also promote the videos our artists make, just say the site has behind-the-scenes footage from all the viral hits."

"And remember, put a mini-program on the website that can be added to their home screen. Fans can just click the mini-program to log in and view the content inside."

’Framing it as a media company’s official website shouldn’t attract Tiao Yin’s attention. After all, they won’t be thinking about short dramas yet. Besides, many websites are already running ads on Tiao Yin. As long as it doesn’t threaten Tiao Yin’s core user base, they’re pretty relaxed about this sort of thing.’

’A year is also enough time to attract a lot of traffic. And most of them will be tipping fans, who have considerable spending power.’

’Once the Administration adds the online short-drama section, I’ll immediately spend big on ads on Tiao Yin, siphoning off its traffic on a massive scale. Before my short dramas go viral and Tiao Yin realizes what’s happening and imposes restrictions, the amount of traffic I can pull will definitely surpass what platforms like Maiya and Jiuzhou managed in my past life.’

’The only thing is, Tiao Yin will probably impose restrictions earlier this time around. Platforms like Maiya and Jiuzhou probably won’t even get a chance to emerge. Even if they do, without the opportunity to siphon traffic from Tiao Yin, they certainly won’t be able to grow to the same scale they did in my previous life.’

Hearing his request, Sister Hong looked completely baffled. "Boss, our Second-Life Star’s MCN business has no need for a website like this. We already have an official MCN account on Tiao Yin. Besides, to run a site like that, just for maintenance staff, editing behind-the-scenes footage, operations, and management, we’d need to hire at least 10 more employees. That’s an extra hundred thousand-plus a month in expenses."