The Douyin Copyright Center has issued a notice announcing an adjustment to the revenue sharing coefficient for animated series, effective from April. The revenue share for a single animated series is calculated as: new valid watch time for the month multiplied by the unit price per minute, multiplied by the series type coefficient, and then multiplied by the copyright coefficient. This marks another move by the platform, which has been active recently, prompting predictions and discussions within the industry.

Earlier this afternoon, Huang Haonan, founder of the well-known domestic animated series company Soy Sauce Culture, predicted on his social media feed that major AI-driven animated series companies are about to face a wave of layoffs. Several industry professionals engaged in discussions under this post. One user, referred to as Principal An, commented questioning whether the prediction was coming too late. In a reply to Li Xiaojing, founder of Starlight Reflections, Huang Haonan stated that the红利 period for AI-generated animated series is completely over, and success now depends entirely on capability. A popular screenwriter, Guoda, responded by remarking that Huang was stating the hard truth. Another screenwriter, Ben Neng, rebutted this view. Possibly to avoid misunderstanding, Huang Haonan later provided further explanation on his social media feed.

Soy Sauce Culture was founded by Huang Haonan, who has a background in online literature. In 2025, the company experienced explosive growth driven by AI-generated animated series, transforming from a small short-drama studio into an industry leader with monthly revenues of 50 million yuan and annual revenues of 1 billion yuan within just six months. The core of its success lies in a low-cost, high-margin, industrialized mass-production AI model. According to Huang Haonan, Soy Sauce Culture's total revenue for 2025 was approximately 1 billion yuan, with a net profit of 200-300 million yuan, positioning it as one of the earliest companies to benefit from the animated series boom.