Press
8 Questions for Yao Wentan;
Bio: Yao Wentan
What have you been busy with lately?
Busy with Douban Time, and being “BFF” with my daughter.
Compared to other paid content platforms, Douban Time appears to have been a little “slow”. What are the strengths of Douban Time?
Haha. Paid content has only just begun. We have a long way to go. Wait and see. Soft fire makes sweet malt. Douban Time is willing to accompany users to quietly grow into themselves.
Douban Time was also the first to provide content services to 150 million Doubon users. Douban is 12 years old, and its users have always loved reading, film and music. They also like creative writing as well as giving ratings and commentaries. They have a great sense of participation and cultural purchasing power. I feel that a platform reflects the makeup of its users. Frankly, Douban users are the strength of Douban Time.
Five days after Douban Time went online, sales exceeded a million, and in seven days, paid subscribers exceeded 10,000. Was this in line with your expectations? Was there a lot of pressure?
Better than expected. I like standing in the shoes of users, and do something new with the team. I would say excitement outstrips pressure.
Is there a significant overlap between the target group of Douban Time and Youku Tudou’s Vistopia series?
There is a small overlap. The users are all literature and art lovers. However, Douban Time does not just have video content, it also has content for audio and special columns, and encompasses poetry, literature, film, music, art, architecture, design, psychology and other topics.
Why did you choose poetry as the first program for Douban Time? Will this topic continue over the longer term?
Haha, we wanted it to start poetically. Poetry will continue. There are many poetry lovers, especially among young people. Most of the subscribers to Wake Up (《醒来》), the poetry lessons of Bei Dao and friends, are around 27 years old.
After poetry, you launched “Bai Xianyong Interprets the Dream of the Red Chamber” (“白先勇细说红楼梦”). What other new subject matters can we expect this year? How do you decide on the subject matter?
Yang Zhao Explains Records of the Grand Historian is next. At the end of April, Douban launched the “content partner” mechanism. The first content partner for the special column is Associate Professor Chang Jiang of Tsinghua University. The Cult Movie Chronicles (《邪典电影本纪》) edited by him has just gone online, and user feedback has been very positive. Next, an audio program in which Yao Qian will talk about music composition will go online in May. In addition, film interpretation, art history, psychology classes and other content will also be rolled out this year. These are all topics in which Douban users are interested.
Is there cooperation between Douban Time and the publishing sector? Will videos be produced in the future?
Yes, Douban has been working very closely with publishers. Wake Up, the poetry lessons of Bei Dao and friends, is a partnership with Moveable Type; and Bai Xianyong Interprets the Dream of the Red Chamber and Yang Zhao Explains the Records of the Grand Historian are partnerships with Imaginist. We are in the process of cooperating with a number of publishers. Douban Time will have videos; programs are already in the development stage.
Is “paid audio” a “niche” product? What is your view on the outlook of the paid audio market?
Not at all. There are plenty of situations that are suitable for listening. Paid audio is the trend and the market is enormous. My daughter is 10 years old. Yesterday, she paid for the online music she liked. That’s the lifestyle of her generation.
Translation: Cheang Yee
