Our reporter Chen Xuening and Yuan Lu
Recently, terms such as "One building in Hengdian created over a thousand micro-short plays in half a year" and "The screenwriter of popular short plays earns more than 100,000 yuan a month" have frequently been on the hot search. Micro-short plays have once again attracted attention and even become "get rich instantly" myth".
A reporter’s investigation found that while traffic and revenue are growing exponentially, problems such as rough content and chaotic operations in micro-series cannot be ignored.
The vulgar content of some skits is used as a selling point
Compared with traditional dramas, the biggest feature of micro-short dramas is that they are short, some even only one or two minutes.
In these extremely condensed short plays, the plots are bloody, the lines are sharp, and the "cool points" are dense. Every frame grabs the audience's attention, stimulating everyone to keep "getting up" and unknowingly taking out their wallets.
Take the popular micro-short drama "I Was a Stepmother in the 1980s" as an example. According to public data, this micro-short drama, with each episode lasting about two minutes and a total of 82 episodes, has been viewed more than 400 million times on Douyin. , the recharge exceeded 20 million yuan on the first day of launch.
However, while traffic and revenue are soaring, micro-short dramas have also exposed many problems.
"Many dramas use 'borderline' content to attract people when they are promoted. It is really eye-catching. They are most afraid of seeing it when their children are browsing their mobile phones." Many parents are very worried.
The reporter searched on multiple platforms and found that in terms of content, some micro-short dramas are indeed vulgar, vulgar, and borderline. The plots often revolve around the revenge of a wealthy family, the spoiled wife of a domineering boss, and gang fights.
Especially in self-media promotions, these shots are often cut into "highlight" clips as "selling points", which makes many people feel uncomfortable.
The industry’s “instant wealth myth” is not small
"It can be filmed in one week, released in one month, and one film can achieve financial freedom." The "Myth of Getting Rich" in the micro-short drama has repeatedly been on the hot search, attracting an influx of capital and people from all walks of life.
Are mini-series really so profitable?
"Income and profit are two different things." The reporter communicated with many industry insiders and found that the external income figures of the micro-short drama industry are impressive, but the business model is not healthy. It mainly relies on purchasing traffic to increase exposure, which is what the industry calls "traffic investment". ” to attract viewers to pay for subscriptions.
According to industry insiders, the cost of project delivery to the platform often accounts for 80% or more of the income, and the average shooting cost has also increased from 100,000 yuan to 300,000 yuan last year to 300,000 yuan to 600,000 yuan this year. More.
“The sign that a mini-short drama is ‘exploding’ is that the recharge exceeds 10 million yuan, but it often also means that the investment is close to 10 million yuan.” The practitioner said that after excluding costs such as scripts and platform commissions, the short-form movies that really make money are The drama proportion is very small.
"As more people enter the game, bidding advertising has caused the price of streaming to soar. Some short dramas even advertise while filming, attracting users to recharge before rolling out streaming." A producer said that the cost of one film is 400,000 yuan. According to the 5% share ratio agreed in the industry, the recharge needs to reach 8 million yuan to be considered capital-guaranteed.
"Millions of dollars were lost in advertising fees. In fact, the audience retention rate is very low, but if you don't invest, no one will top up." In July last year, Gui Gui (pseudonym) resigned from a large online video platform and devoted himself to starting a micro-short drama business. , but found that for early short drama entrepreneurs, there was almost a "narrow escape".
"If you invest hundreds of thousands of yuan in traffic fees, you won't even get a splash." In such a market environment, the "myth of instant wealth" in the micro-short drama "Midas to Gold" is actually quite watery.
Recharge chaos abounds and refunds are difficult
Different from long videos, a large number of micro-short dramas adopt a paid subscription model, similar to novels and comics serialized online.
You have to pay to watch these kinds of episodes, and they're expensive.
The reporter saw in a platform's "Micro Drama Bar" mini program that most dramas can only be viewed for free for the first few episodes. Subsequently, they need to recharge virtual currency "view points" to unlock them. Each episode requires 150 points. Consumers can Recharge ranging from 9.9 yuan to 199 yuan to get highlights.
Taking a 93-episode drama as an example, the number of paid episodes is 78. After conversion, you need to recharge 99.9 yuan to watch them all.
What is worrying is that these micro-short drama platforms only rely on small programs to operate. Once they run away, it is very difficult for consumers to recover the recharge amount.
"When I was recharging, I said it was an annual card, but within a few months I couldn't find it." Citizen Xiao Wen's transfer records showed that he had recharged 365 yuan in a mini program. Later, the mini program could not be used, and he has not yet been able to find it. Can be refunded.
From the perspective of the industry, compared with the traditional film and television drama industry, micro-short dramas lack charging specifications and industry standards, as well as transparent pricing mechanisms and market supervision, causing this industry to experience the phenomenon of "bad money driving out good money". The supervision of new business formats still needs to be improved.
expert's point
Strengthen ideological conception
Promote high-quality development of the industry
During the National Two Sessions this year, micro-short dramas became the focus of many CPPCC members.
Tian Qinxin, director of the National Theater of China, believes that part of the micro-short play is rough in production and needs to be strengthened in ideological conception to truly make it enjoyable for the audience.
Wang Zhongyi, special advisor of the Asia-Pacific Communication Center of China International Publishing Group, also said that in the early stages of the development of micro-short dramas, opportunities should be seized to provide standardized guidance, promote high-quality development of the industry, and form good guidance for young people's values.
(Beijing Daily)