Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1316 Passing through a sea of ​​flowers, not a single petal clings to him.

After the release of the Feiyan 2nd generation MP3 player, websites such as Napster are expected to reach their peak since their inception, with user scale and traffic setting new records!

However, the major record labels are also reaching their limit in their tolerance for Napster.

If Himalaya Music can reach a cooperation agreement with record giants such as Warner, then Napster's demise will be imminent.

By then, Napster's last remaining role in Himalayan music will have completely disappeared, and naturally, Napster can be discarded.

Paid music downloads and music memberships are essential steps for Himalaya Music to become an internet music giant.

The era of paid singles was quickly brought to an end, giving way to the streaming era. After all, for ten dollars a month, you can listen to tens of millions of songs, while ten dollars can only buy ten songs. Users basically vote with their feet.

Streaming services like Spotify and Tencent Music have all launched membership programs, and paid memberships have become the mainstream in the digital music era, and have been accepted by users.

Another reason is that in the internet age, everyone can access the internet, and there are more and more ways to obtain information.

Pirated music websites are also emerging one after another. If legitimate music wants to compete with these pirate websites, it must use some means.

Implementing a music membership program is not so easy. The revenue from memberships on the Himalaya Music platform is shared with major record labels and singers.

Moreover, how to divide them is also a big problem, since the music library of members may contain hundreds of millions of songs, and users cannot possibly listen to all of them.

It's impossible to divide the membership fees equally among all copyright holders and songs. Therefore, on Himalaya Music, about 30% of the monthly membership fees are deducted as operating costs, server costs, and other expenses.

The remaining 70% of the membership fee will be distributed among different copyright companies and singers according to rules such as song clicks and downloads.

As for implementing the DRM system, it's not that we expect this system to completely eliminate cracking or piracy.

Instead, it makes it harder for pirated music websites to crack and puts them at risk of being shut down. Users will find using pirated music too troublesome, since a legitimate music membership can be obtained for just ten dollars a month, saving them a lot of trouble. That's enough and protects the mainstream music market.

At the press conference, many media outlets and reporters familiar with the record industry sensed that the record industry was about to undergo a major transformation upon hearing about the new rules that Himalaya Music Platform would be implementing.

After Tang Jun left the stage, the press conference essentially came to an end.

Just as Li Dongling previously predicted regarding the Feiyan 2nd generation MP3 player, its release will usher in a new era for music players and the record industry, and similarly, an old era will be completely ended!

After the press conference, the attendees left with different feelings, while the media and reporters left excitedly, as the Flying Goose 2nd Generation and the Himalaya music platform had brought them surprises.

Meanwhile, Hiroo Yoshida, the head of Sony Electronics in mainland China, left with a heavy heart. He felt that he needed to give a detailed report to Sony headquarters about the press conference, and that Sony's Walkman business might even have to change!

"We need to increase the production capacity of the Feiyan second-generation MP3 player. This year's production capacity must be guaranteed!"

Backstage at the press conference, Li Dongling gave instructions to Fu Cheng.

Last year, the Feiyan 1st generation MP3 player sold around 2.8 million units due to issues such as product qualification rate and production capacity.

This sales volume is quite impressive, contributing a significant portion of Dongling Hi-Tech's revenue last year.

However, the sales figures are still quite different from those predicted by Wall Street institutions. The key issue is not that sales are not good, but that production capacity cannot keep up. Even though component suppliers are working hard to produce, the production capacity still cannot meet the market demand.

"This year, the annual production capacity of Feiyan 2nd generation MP3 players will reach 4.5 million units, or even more than 5 million units!"

Li Dongling said that the performance of the Feiyan MP3 was much more powerful than that of the Apple iPod in his previous life.

The reason for this sales volume is not only that Feiyan MP3 technology is more mature than that of the iPod in its early stages, but the most crucial factor is that it ignited the internet music market. The huge number of internet music users and more than 100 million Napster website users have become potential users of Feiyan MP3!
MP3s and internet music complement each other, but the Apple iPod of the past did not have such an environment.

With the influence and brand recognition it gained last year, the sales of the Feiyan 2nd generation MP3 player this year are likely to surpass those of the same period last year; the only question is how high they can go.

This naturally requires Feiyan Technology to stock up on inventory to avoid repeating last year's mistake of insufficient production capacity.

"Himalaya needs to be prepared to cooperate with record companies such as Warner."

After giving instructions to Fu Cheng, Li Dongling looked at Tang Jun again.

"Himalaya Music Platform should seize the right opportunity and do its best to bring all five of the world's largest record companies to the Himalaya Music Platform."

I believe that we will see the world's largest legal online music platform born in your hands, Tang Jun.

In the future, the world's largest podcast platform and the world's largest music platform will both belong to Himalaya Music Platform, and to achieve all of this, we need you, Tang Jun.

"And in the future, the most powerful person in Hollywood, America, I believe will also be the leader of Himalaya!" Li Dashan's words made Tang Jun's face turn red, which shows how excited he was.

Tang Jun never imagined that he would become the most powerful man in Hollywood, but times make heroes.

If Himalaya truly becomes the number one podcast platform and the number one internet music platform, then countless celebrities, stars, singers, and record companies will have to depend on it.

After all, whether a song can sell well on the Himalaya Music platform depends on how much exposure the platform gives it, so isn't that asking Tang Jun for help?

"In addition to obtaining authorization from the five major record labels, the Himalaya music platform can finalize cooperation agreements with independent record companies and independent singers."

If necessary, Feiyan Technology could even issue new shares and bonds to acquire record companies and song copyrights!

Li Dongling was speaking to Tang Jun, which was also telling Fu Cheng that if they couldn't get the music copyrights, they should buy them!

If the five major record labels can't buy them, then they can't buy the copyrights of independent record labels or independent artists, it's just a matter of leverage.

In this era of internet frenzy, unused rights expire and become invalid. Before going public, Feiyan Technology did not have the spare money to acquire expensive music copyrights.

But things are different now. During the internet boom, Feiyan Technology never had to worry about selling its shares, no matter how many it issued.

To prevent record companies from ceasing cooperation with Himalaya in the future and switching to other music platforms, why not just acquire them directly? After all, there are always investors to bail them out!

Tang Jun stared at Li Dashanren for a long time before he realized that he felt like a greenhorn in front of Li Dashanren.

He was thinking of begging those record companies to cooperate, but Li Dongling took a one-step approach. Instead of trying to please those record companies, he might as well just acquire them directly. After all, it was just a matter of issuing more shares!
"I will work with the headquarters finance department and Wall Street consulting firms to handle the acquisition of music copyrights from record companies!" Tang Jun said.

Li Dongling nodded, then "casually" said to Tang Jun, "The software department at Dongling High-Tech headquarters will develop a new recommendation algorithm for Himalaya FM and music platforms."

If Himalaya wants to maintain its leading position in the industry, in addition to copyright, website optimization is also essential.

This algorithm can recommend podcasts, songs, and more to users based on their preferences, making Himalaya the platform that best understands its users!

For a website to retain users, it's not enough to have copyrights and resources; it also needs to be easy to use.

If a website is poorly designed and lacks substance, even with abundant resources, users will be quickly lost to competitors.

One example is NetEase Music in its previous life, which had far fewer copyrights compared to Tencent Music.

However, NetEase Music survived Tencent Music's onslaught by building a music community and offering features such as playlists, music reviews, and personalized recommendations. On the other hand, other platforms that competed with Tencent for music copyrights were completely wiped out.

Himalaya Music platform definitely needs algorithms and personalized recommendations to increase user engagement and paid subscription rates.

However, Li Dongling intended to keep this algorithm in the hands of Dongling Hi-Tech's software department, lending it to Himalaya for use, rather than giving it directly to Himalaya.

This is also to guard against potential future risks. After all, Feiyan Technology is listed in America. If an unexpected situation arises one day, there will be a backup plan to prevent Himalaya's music platform and podcast platform from being taken over!

Even if they steal it, they only steal the empty shell; the algorithm is still in the hands of Dongling High-Tech.

Other countermeasures include the fact that Feiyan Podcast's music copyrights, MP3 patents, and production bases are all in the hands of Dongling High-Tech's headquarters.

If one day, due to unforeseen circumstances, Dongling Hi-Tech reclaims Feiyan Technology's patent licenses, algorithms, etc., Feiyan Technology will essentially become an empty shell.

This isn't some kind of needless worry from Li the Great Philanthropist; it's simply that when facing robbers, you can never be too careful.

Dongling High-Tech and Feiyan Technology can be listed on the stock exchange and issue stocks and bonds in America, but to say that they can move their headquarters, technology and production bases there is just nonsense.

Dongling Hi-Tech is playing the game of passing through a sea of ​​flowers without getting a single petal on its side. After all, even its office building and equipment are rented. What can you expect Dongling Hi-Tech to leave behind there?
After the press conference, all departments of Feiyan Technology began to work intensively. Dongling High-Tech's marketing department, production department, Focus Media, and Dongling High-Tech's parts supply chain also joined the fray.

Because Feiyan Technology's production and OEM manufacturing are handled by Dongling Hi-Tech's production department, while promotion and sales are handled by Dongling Hi-Tech's marketing department and Focus Media, they naturally became quite busy as well.

However, given Feiyan Technology's current standing in the industry, the impact will extend far beyond just the MP3 industry!

"Several Wall Street institutions have raised their stock price expectations for Feiyan Technology!"

"Several securities institutions in mainland China have announced that they are optimistic about the A-share Dongke concept stocks!"

(End of this chapter)