Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1358 Old Xu, do you want a wife?

"Yahoo's vision is truly outstanding!"

Li Dongling first praised Yahoo for its foresight, then changed the subject, saying, "The global music industry is undergoing a new transformation."

The American record industry is pushing for the Modern Music Act, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is suing Napster and other piracy companies. Justice will prevail in this case!

Li Dashanren declared righteously, "Pirated internet music websites in America will surely disappear into the annals of history."

The future of global record sales belongs to internet digital music, and digital music will belong to Himalaya Music!

Li Dongling looked at Yang Zhiyuan and said, with an expression that suggested Yahoo had gotten a great deal by investing in Himalaya Music.

The future of internet music lies with Himalaya Music; whoever controls Himalaya Music controls the global record industry.

This destined future internet giant is now being invested in by Yahoo. Isn't that just Yahoo getting a bargain?
This self-praising talk made Fu Cheng, the general manager of Feiyan Technology, who was sitting next to him, feel as if the destiny of the record industry lay with Himalaya Music!
If it weren't for the fact that Napster and other pirated music websites still hold an advantage in the current online music industry, one might actually be intimidated by Li Dashan's "theory of destiny."

Hearing these words, Yang Zhiyuan understood that Li Dongling was trying to raise the profile of Himalaya.

The American online music scene is now polarized, or rather, it's just a battle between Napster and Himalaya Music.

The key to the battle between the two sides lies in who will win and who will lose the music copyright lawsuit filed against Napster.

If Napster wins the lawsuit, it will not only cause a collapse for American Records, but for the entire global record industry.

However, if Nsoster loses the lawsuit, it will not only face huge compensation, but its founders may also be imprisoned, and the Napster website will definitely go bankrupt.

Once Npater falls, Himalaya Music, which holds the copyright libraries of the four major record groups—Universal, Warner, EMI, and Bertelsmann—will naturally become the new leader in the global music industry.

The global legitimate record industry is now divided into two camps: Universal, Warner, EMI, Bertelsmann, and Himalaya.

No one knows how Jobs convinced Sony Music, but Sony Music became an ally of Apple's iTunes music store, which means that Apple, Sony Music, and Sony Electronics officially became allies.

With the copyright libraries of the four major record labels, plus the independent records and personal copyright music acquired by Himalaya, nearly 75% of the legitimate music copyrights in the American music industry now belong to Himalaya Music.

As for iTunes, it only has Sony Music's copyright library. The entire legitimate music industry is almost entirely split 20/80, with Himalaya Music holding the 80%...

Therefore, Li Dashanren's statement is not just self-praise. Once Napster falls, what will Himalaya Music's valuation be?
At its peak, Napster's valuation exceeded $3.6 billion, but it has now fallen to less than $2.5 billion. Nobody knows if it can survive this crisis, and venture capital firms and investors who invested in Napster are looking for someone to take over Napster's equity.

Napster's valuation reached a peak of $36 billion, but who dares to say that Himalaya Music's valuation won't surpass it?

But Yang Zhiyuan, faced with Li Dongling's praise of Himalaya Music, knew that this was just to inflate the price of Himalaya Music, and shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"Nobody knows who will win or lose the Napster copyright lawsuit!"

"What if Napster wins, or the case drags on?"

Yang Zhiyuan looked at Li Dongling, as well as Fu Cheng and the others in the office, and said, "At that time, the one in danger will be Himalaya Music!"

"The only winners can be Himalaya Music, the American Recording Association, record labels, singers, and producers!"

Li Dongling said to Yang Zhiyuan with absolute certainty, then looked at Yang Zhiyuan, "Yahoo can only hope that Himalaya Music will win this lawsuit!"

Yang Zhiyuan understood what Li Dongling meant. This copyright lawsuit was far too big to be ignored. Everyone in the record industry, including the Wall Street institutions behind the listed record companies, could not afford to lose.

Since neither side can afford to lose, one of them will inevitably fall in the end. On one side is Napster, and on the other is the entire record industry conglomerate. Who is most likely to fall?
To put it bluntly, if pushed too far, Napster could even face physical extinction!
"What valuation does Himalaya Music want to accept investment at?"

Yang Zhiyuan asked the most crucial question: all that praise from Li Dashanren was ultimately just to inflate the price of Himalaya Music.

"Himalaya Music can transfer 10% of its equity to Yahoo at a valuation of four billion US dollars!"

At this moment, Fu Cheng noticed the look Li Dongling gave him, coughed, and called out a price.

This price was negotiated between Feiyan Technology and Dongling High-Tech headquarters, and it exceeds Napster's peak valuation.

Upon hearing this valuation, Yang Zhiyuan couldn't help but stare in astonishment at Li Dongling. He suddenly regretted his actions; this wasn't just a little ruthless, it was downright cruel!
"This valuation is impossible..."

Without hesitation, Yang Zhiyuan said, "Himalaya Music has not yet proven whether charging for music is a viable path."

"Jerry, as you just said, for internet companies, the most important thing is to look at the future."

"If we win the Napster lawsuit, then all future internet music users in the world will be potential users of Himalaya Music."

"Isn't this investment in Yahoo worth it?" Li Dongling, ever the expert, painted a rosy picture. When it comes to painting a rosy picture, Li Dongling's skill level is no less than that of the previous Iron Mans in Silicon Valley.

Seeing that Yahoo Chief was still somewhat hesitant, Li Dongling added fuel to the fire, "After the cooperation is reached, the Himalaya Music platform can grant Himalaya Music permission to log in using a Yahoo account!"

"As allies, Dongling Hi-Tech and Yahoo are sister companies, and we hope to have a 'deeper' cooperation with Yahoo!"

Not only Himalaya Music and Himalaya Podcasts, but also other platforms will allow users to log in using their Yahoo accounts in the future.

Li Dongling spoke to Yang Zhiyuan with an air of brotherhood, and Yang Zhiyuan's eyes lit up upon hearing Li Dongling's words.

These days, major internet companies are relatively closed and independent, and they absolutely do not allow users to log in using accounts from other websites, for fear of losing users.

Traffic is now the key indicator of a website's survival. The more traffic a website has, the more users log in every day, and the higher its valuation and market value.

For example, if a user logs into Himalaya Music with their Yahoo account, is that user a Himalaya Music user or a Yahoo user?
If other websites were to grant more permissions, they feared that the giant companies would drain their user base.

Yahoo acquired so many internet companies precisely for their users and traffic. If they could be acquired so easily, why would Yahoo spend so much money to acquire them?
"Is this true?"

Yang Zhiyuan asked in a deep voice, but his breathing was noticeably heavier.

If what Li Dongling said is true, then what's wrong with investing $400 million in Himalaya Music to raise its valuation?
Once permissions are granted, Himalaya Music users are essentially becoming potential Yahoo users as well. How is this any different from an acquisition?
After all, all Yahoo needs is traffic and users. Himalaya Music platform can bring Yahoo traffic and users, and that's enough. How it got them is not important.

This allows retail investors who bought Yahoo stock to see that Yahoo has acquired another internet platform, and that tens of millions of internet users will flock to Yahoo in the future.

Yahoo's valuation and market capitalization will continue to soar, as long as retail investors believe it!
“How can you joke about something like this?” Li Dongling said directly.

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhiyuan immediately said, "If the Himalaya music platform could grant Yahoo access and allow Yahoo accounts to log in..."

Yahoo is willing to invest in Himalaya Music at a valuation of four billion US dollars in exchange for a 10% stake in Himalaya Music!

Yang Zhiyuan was fully capable of making the decision on this matter. Four hundred million US dollars was a lot, but it was nothing compared to what Yahoo would receive. Yahoo's board of directors would definitely not refuse this deal.

Besides, what does money matter to Yahoo now? Yahoo's stock is hard currency, pegged to the US dollar, and even more valuable than the dollar!
What if you don't have enough money? Just issue a batch of Yahoo stock or bonds. There are plenty of retail investors willing to snap up Yahoo stock, no matter the price!
Li Dongling extended his hand to Yang Zhiyuan, "Dongke and Yahoo are allies, they were before, and they will be in the future!"

Li Dongling was naturally aware that this cooperation model posed a potential threat to Himalaya Music.

If users can log in to Himalaya Music using their Yahoo account, why bother registering a new account?

This is like wine laced with poison. What if one day Yahoo refuses to let users log in to Himalaya Music with their Yahoo accounts?

Yahoo even directly entered the internet music market, with its user base already established, posing a huge threat to Himalaya Music.

In the past, many websites and mobile apps, in order to get started quickly, voluntarily or involuntarily opened up permissions to Facebook and Tencent, allowing users to log in using their Facebook and Tencent accounts.

Initially, it did attract a lot of users, but then it was forced to join the Facebook ecosystem and had to pay both companies to run ads in order to attract new users.

Furthermore, if development becomes too rapid, it will attract their attention, either through acquisition or by launching an identical product, leading to a direct competition, with the final outcome being predictable.

If Yahoo could reach the level of Facebook, Google, and Tencent in its previous life, Li Dongling certainly wouldn't have taken this risk.

But after the bubble burst, Yahoo went downhill all the way. In a few years, it's uncertain whether Yahoo will bleed Himalaya Music dry or Himalaya will bleed Yahoo dry!

After Yang Zhiyuan signed the agreement, Himalaya Music's valuation was officially estimated at four billion US dollars.

Feiyan Technology is the largest shareholder of Himalaya Music, holding 70% of the shares, while Yahoo has become the second largest shareholder of Himalaya with 10% of the shares.

In addition, the four major record labels—Universal, Warner, EMI, and Bertelsmann—each hold a 5% stake in Himalaya.

"Jerry, I wonder if Yahoo has any interest in the GeoCities website?"

"Dongke is adjusting its business. Feiyan Technology and Zhixing Foundation may transfer some of their Yahoo shares. I wonder if Yahoo has any intention of buying them back?"

After exchanging cooperation agreements with Yang Zhiyuan, Li Dashanren seemingly casually said something to Yang Zhiyuan.

Yang Zhiyuan was momentarily bewildered, wondering if he had misheard.

This is almost identical to the famous line, "Old Xu, do you want a wife?"

(End of this chapter)