Short-drama glossary
Working vocabulary of the short-drama industry: duanju, coin unlocks, IAA, traffic buying, AI-native production.
- Vertical drama / micro-drama (短剧, duanju)
- A serialized scripted show shot in vertical 9:16 format for phones, with episodes of roughly 1-3 minutes and series of 70-150 episodes, built around rapid plot twists and cliffhangers. [source]
- Episode unlock (coin model)
- The dominant monetization pattern: the first 10-20 episodes are free, then viewers spend virtual coins (bought with cash or earned via ads/check-ins) to unlock each subsequent episode. [source]
- IAP (in-app purchase)
- Revenue from direct user payments inside the app — coin packs, series unlocks, and passes. Sensor Tower's short-drama revenue figures measure IAP only, excluding ad revenue. [source]
- IAA (in-app advertising / ad-unlock)
- The free-to-watch model where viewers unlock the next episode by watching rewarded ads and the platform monetizes attention rather than payments — exemplified by ByteDance's Hongguo. [source]
- ReelShort model
- Shorthand for the export playbook proven by Crazy Maple Studio's ReelShort: locally shot English-language remakes of Chinese web-novel tropes, one-minute episodes, aggressive paid user acquisition, and coin-based unlocks. [source]
- AI dubbing / AI localization
- Using AI voice synthesis, subtitle translation, and face-swapping to convert a drama for foreign markets in days instead of full reshoots. [source]
- AI-native short drama
- A series generated end-to-end with video models such as Kuaishou's Kling or ByteDance's Seedance/Jimeng rather than filmed; in Q1 2026 over 95% of the ~128,000 new micro-dramas released in China were AI-made. [source]
- One-person studio
- A single creator (or tiny team) producing complete AI dramas by chaining script LLMs, image models, and video generators — viable because AI cut per-series cost to under RMB 20,000 and delivery time to 3-7 days. [source]
- Traffic buying / 投流 (user acquisition)
- Performance-ad spending that drives viewers to a specific series' paywall moment; short-drama publishers commonly spend around 80% of revenue on acquisition, making distribution the biggest cost line. [source]
- Going global / 出海 (chuhai)
- The export wave of Chinese short-drama platforms and content into overseas markets, which earned about USD 1.5 billion from January-August 2025, with the US contributing roughly half of global short-drama app revenue. [source]