Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1058 If I had known this before, why did I do it in the first place?
When the Internet music boom emerged and the entire industry was in turmoil, the record copyrights held by Warner and other record companies were regarded as waste paper. Only the Himalaya Music platform insisted on abiding by the copyright rules. If the American record industry doesn't say thank you, is that polite? !

Therefore, even though many people in the American record industry have doubts, Feiyan Technology, this guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, looks too great and righteous, even to the point of being evil.

Moreover, the rise of the Napster website and the release of the Feiyan MP3 player were too coincidental, as if they were carefully designed by someone.

But no matter how much they doubt, record companies, singers and other record industry practitioners have no choice but to go against their conscience and praise Feiyan Technology for its spirit of contract without finding any evidence!
The expression on Michael Fuchs' face was not much better than if he had swallowed a fly.

I still remember that when Himalaya Radio announced its entry into the music record industry and launched the Himalaya Internet Music Platform, he mocked Himalaya Radio for overestimating its capabilities.

He even threatened that anyone, including Tom, Dick and Harry, wanted to make a living in the record industry!

But who knows, now Himalaya Radio has not made a living from the record industry. Currently, the Himalaya music platform can only earn less than one thousand US dollars a day from paid music, and the server costs are more expensive than the income.

This was when Feiyan MP3 was selling like hot cakes and many users, who may not have known about websites like Napster, could only go to the Himalaya Music platform and pay to download music.

This is by no means a success for the Himalaya music platform. At least compared with the Napster website, which was extremely popular and had more than five million users, it was simply bleak.

It is true that the Himalaya music platform is doing poorly, and it is giants like Warner Records that are now in trouble.

The Napster website alone could wipe out 10% of the revenue of giants such as Warner Records this year, ending the golden age of the American record industry.

The previous ten years or so can be said to be the golden age of the American record industry, with the emergence of a number of world-class superstars such as Michael Jackson and Madonna, and record sales continuing to set new historical highs.

But now, the emergence of Internet music is obviously aimed at digging up the roots of traditional music. When Internet music really develops, let me ask, will there still be a place for traditional records?

In the future, the user scale of websites like Napster will certainly grow larger and larger, and their impact on traditional record companies will naturally also grow larger and larger.

Now, Michael Fuchs also has a vague sense of regret. If he had known earlier that Feiyan Technology had follow-up plans, he would have been able to form a closed industrial chain between MP3 and Internet music.

What would have happened if record giants such as Warner supported the Himalaya music platform and used Himalaya's paid music to fight against music platforms such as Napster?
Now, it seems that it doesn’t make much sense for Warner Records to hand over the copyright of Internet music to Himalaya Music Platform.

It's too late to regret now, the beast Napster has already been released.

"We can't let Himalaya Music Platform fall into the same trap as Napster, a website that infringes on record copyrights. We must preserve the last paid music platform on the Internet in America!"

Roger Ames said, "The trend of Internet music has already emerged. It is unknown when the lawsuit between Warner Records and Napster will end, and the outcome is unknown.

But even if Napster is defeated, new Internet music companies will emerge. The record industry must support a paid music company to replace the infringing record websites to meet the needs of Internet music users! "

Roger Ames said incisively that at this time, the war between Warner and other record giants and Napster was no longer just about record copyrights.

As an industry insider, he could see clearly that Internet music and traditional music were two completely different music models competing against each other, even if a lawsuit was filed and Napster was shut down.

But as long as there is an Internet music market and Internet users, there will always be demand in this market. After all, where there is demand, there will be a market!

If record giants such as Warner cannot satisfy this market, other companies will take their place.

Choose the lesser of two evils. As a traditional record person, Roger Ames certainly doesn't like Internet music.

Roger Ames also had some resistance to the Internet music market, but he knew very well that personal likes and dislikes could not solve the problem at all.

"You mean to ask Warner Records to ask Himalaya Music to hand over the copyright of Warner Records to Himalaya Music?"

Michael Fuchs laughed angrily, feeling that Roger Ames was just daydreaming and was aiding the enemy.

The world's largest record company is asked to beg for help from an Internet music company. Moreover, Fuchs has publicly mocked Himalaya Music. This is like slapping himself in the face. Michael Fuchs really can't let go of this face.

"Shut down Napster!"

Michael Fuchs pointed at Roger Ames and the legal manager of Warner Records and said, "I don't care what method I use, I have only one request, and that is to make the Napster website disappear from this world completely and to send Sean Fanning to federal prison!" Napster has become a major concern for the record industry. If it cannot be solved and once it affects the performance of Warner Records, Michael Fuchs, who already has a tense position in the Warner Group, is in danger of being caught by his opponents and being kicked out.

Roger Ames felt helpless as he watched Michael Fuchs slam the door and leave.

Michael Fuchs couldn't save face, or rather, he had not really realized the current situation of Warner Records.

As for Napster, it is only treating the symptoms and not the root cause. The longer it is delayed, the more advantageous it will be for Feiyan Technology. Once the record group is forced into a desperate situation, it is hard to say whether it can still obtain the Himalaya Music platform and the copyright cooperation conditions of 30% and 70% offered before will be cancelled!

But now Michael Fuchs has the final say in Warner Records. If he is unwilling to give in, Warner Records has no choice but to cooperate with Himalaya Music. It can only watch the number of Napster users increase and the sales of Feiyan MP3 players increase, and the more bargaining chips it will have.

Roger Ames shook his head helplessly. A higher-ranking official can crush a person, and he can do nothing about it if Michael Fuchs refuses to leave. If he wants to really get rid of Naster, he has to get Michael Fuchs out of Warner first!
……

“This is a work of art!”

"If it wasn't for the flying goose logo, I would have thought that such a work of art should have appeared in Apple's laboratory!"

The Feiyan MP3 player was disassembled into its individual parts and lay quietly on the laboratory table, surrounded by a group of Apple executives.

The person who just spoke was Tony Fadell, Apple's current chief engineer. He looked at the Feiyan MP3 player in front of him with shining eyes, and then covered his head in pain. "Damn it, this is the new generation of music player I imagined, but it was realized by an Asian company!"

In his previous life, Tony Fadell was known as the "Father of iPod". Before joining Apple, he sold his player concept to Philips and RealView Technology, the world's largest media player company in Seattle, and his concept was finally adopted by Jobs.

Of course, Tony Fadell’s previous player concept was just a concept similar to an MP3 player and had not become a blueprint.

Since Tony Fadell joined Apple, Apple is now busy with the iMac G3 project, the first product since Jobs' return. The entire Apple is heavily in debt and is counting on the iMac to make a comeback.

Tony Fadell hadn't even had the chance to present his music player concept to Steve Jobs before he saw the Feiyan MP3. In Tony Fadell's eyes, this was simply his dream phone.

But this dream was not realized by Apple, but by a mainland technology company on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. This was what made Tony Fadell most painful. It was like a woman he had secretly loved for many years, but when he was about to propose marriage after saving up the betrothal gifts for many years, he found out that she was already married...

"The design of this MP3 player is quite mature!"

Jobs also picked up a Feiyan MP3 player, looked at it carefully for a moment, and then spoke to the Apple executives on both sides.

Now Jobs has recruited his team after his return. In addition to the chief engineer Tony Fadell mentioned above, there are also core hardware engineers, Rubinstein who has followed him for many years since Next, appearance designer Jonathan, software director Patrick, etc. Another one is Apple's supply chain master.

Cook, who worked as a slave at IBM for twelve years and as vice president at Compaq for three years, was fooled by Steve Jobs' reality-distorting ability into working for Apple, where he helped Steve Jobs manage Apple's supply chain system.

It's just that Cook has just joined Apple and does not have much say yet. No one thought that he would eventually succeed Steve Jobs and become the head of Apple in the post-Jobs era.

In their previous lives, these people served as loyal followers and helped Steve Jobs build the Apple empire.

With Jobs's discerning eyes and his obsession with details, he spent a long time looking at the Feiyan MP3 in his hand but could not find any faults.

Feiyan MP3 can be said to be the culmination of Dongling Hi-Tech's industrial chain and technology over the years. From technology to production, it is considered top-notch in the current electronics industry.

After looking at it for a while, Jobs put the machine back reluctantly.

"It will definitely replace the Sony Walkman!"

Jobs gave his own judgment, and then added, "The trend of the next generation of music players will definitely be MP3!"

Then Jobs said with regret, "Apple needs to enter the MP3 industry, but after launching the iMac. This is the most important thing for Apple now!"

(End of this chapter)