How Li Ziqi, China’s hottest online celebrity, fell out with her agent and burned tech giant ByteDance in the process
- Li Ziqi was seen as a Chinese soft power ambassador on YouTube with over 16 million subscribers, a feat that got her into the Guinness World Records
- The reasons for the break-up are unclear, although profit sharing and Li’s reluctance to over-monetise her online presence could be factors
In the widely watched case involving one of the country’s top online stars, who is seen as a Chinese soft power ambassador on YouTube with over 16 million subscribers, the relationship between capital, culture and commerce in China’s rapidly changing internet has come under the spotlight as people debate to what extent money should control influence in the online world.
Earlier this year ByteDance, which also runs popular Chinese short video app Douyin, decided to back Hangzhou Weinian Brand Management Co, a firm based in the capital of eastern Zhejiang province, the epicentre of China’s online influencer community.
Operating like a Hollywood talent agency, Weinian’s biggest asset was Li, whose picturesque videos of rural Chinese life won her tens of millions of fans in China. For the overseas audience, Li broke her own Guinness World Record set last year for the “most subscribers for a Chinese-language channel on YouTube”.
Weinian was founded by Liu Tongming, aka Liu Daxiong, according to corporate registry information available on Tianyancha. Liu, who is in his early 30s, is considered an expert in cultivating online celebrities and turning them into money-making machines in China’s booming online ad market and on its live streaming e-commerce platforms.
With Liu at the helm and a big social media star like Li, Weinian was sought after by private equity investors in its latest round of fundraising over the summer.