My son is a reincarnated soul; I overheard his inner thoughts and became the richest man.

Dinner time at a quiet steakhouse in Manhattan.

Seeing Chen Feng staring blankly at the steak on his plate, Zhou Kai put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth, and quietly broke the silence.

"Mr. Chen, are you still worried about the copyright fees?"

Chen Feng snapped out of his daze and gave a wry smile: "Yeah, these associations are way too greedy, they're practically robbing us. If we buy them all, our cash flow will be severely strained."

Zhou Kai swirled the wine in his glass, his eyes flickering, and said meaningfully, "President Chen, you've actually misunderstood. Who said we have to buy the copyrights from all four companies?"

"Hmm?" Chen Feng looked up at him.

"Although Fengtian Technology has the background of IDG, it is essentially a Chinese company."

Zhou Kai lowered his voice, "In the United States, antitrust laws are not just for show, especially for foreign companies; regulatory agencies are extremely sensitive to them."

"If you acquire exclusive licenses from all four major associations at once, creating a de facto monopoly, it can easily attract investigations from the Federal Trade Commission, or even malicious lawsuits from competitors."

"Therefore, my advice is: only choose one or two top companies to cooperate with."

"Having access to either ASCAP or BMI's music library is enough to cover 70-80% of the popular hits on the market, which is sufficient to build our competitive advantage. As for the rest, we can discuss that later, or we can even leave it undiscussed."

"This saves a huge amount of money and avoids legal risks, killing two birds with one stone."

A word to awaken the dreamer.

Chen Feng slapped his thigh suddenly, his eyes gleaming.

"Oh yeah! How could I have forgotten about that!"

I was too focused on perfecting the "music ecosystem" before, but I neglected business strategies and legal boundaries.

When it comes to business, enough is enough; why pursue something big and all-encompassing?

By securing contracts with just one or two major players, MusicBox's content library will be rich enough, and the user experience will be guaranteed.

As for the remaining fugitives, their impact on the overall situation is negligible.

"Assistant Zhou, thank you for the reminder!"

Chen Feng raised his glass and said sincerely, "This is a toast to you! We'll do as you said, focusing on just two companies, and let the rest go to hell!"

"Mr. Chen, you're too kind. It's just that outsiders have a clearer perspective," Zhou Kai said with a smile, clinking glasses with Chen.

With his mental burden lifted, Chen Feng was in a great mood.

Now that the strategy is set, the subsequent negotiations will be much simpler.

When faced with a choice between two or three options, the initiative is actually back in your own hands.

......

Two more days passed.

Chen Feng then met separately with representatives from the four major copyright associations.

This time, he didn't just talk in generalities; he went straight to the point, constantly testing the bottom line of each party.

Back at the hotel, Chen Feng stood by the window, gazing at the dazzling New York night view, lost in thought.

The words of her son that she had heard at home echoed in her mind.

Apple's iPod is set to launch at the end of the year, followed by the iTunes Store. Steve Jobs is a master negotiator; once he gets involved, the licensing fees will definitely skyrocket.

Furthermore, if Apple gets the exclusive rights, our MusicBox will be completely finished. We must get there first and secure our spot!

Chen Feng was well aware that although it was only May, there were still six months until the end of the year.

But these past six months have been a race against time, a battle between life and death.

While Apple isn't as formidable as it was later, it's still a behemoth with a market capitalization of several billion dollars.

When it comes to burning money, Fengtian Technology, this upstart little brother, is no match at all.

Moreover, this is America, their home turf.

"We must act quickly and make the moat deeper."

Having made up his mind, Chen Feng went to the negotiating table for the third time early the next morning.

This time, instead of casting a wide net, he focused his firepower on the two largest companies—ASCAP and BMI.

After a full day of heated debate, an agreement was finally reached.

Fengtian Technology secured the license for ASCAP's entire music library with a guaranteed annual licensing fee of $11.5 million, plus a 53% share of single-track downloads.

For BMI, the annual licensing fee is $10.8 million, with a 53% revenue share.

In order to completely block the path of newcomers, Chen Feng forcefully added an exclusivity clause to the contract: although it cannot prevent them from licensing to others, under the same conditions, Fengtian Technology has the right of first refusal to renew the contract.

Furthermore, this contract is valid for twenty years.

The licensing fee increases by 8% annually and is paid once a year.

The moment Chen Feng put down his pen, he felt his back was soaked with sweat, but a huge weight was finally lifted from his heart.

With these two contracts, MusicBox gained its soul.

Even if Apple enters the market later, Fengtian Technology will have already established a firm foothold.

However, this brings with it enormous financial pressure.

The total licensing fees for the first year amounted to $22.3 million.

Although Fengtian Technology still has more than ten million US dollars invested by IDG, that is the capital for development and cannot be touched.

The small profits earned domestically in April were all poured into the forty newly opened directly operated stores.

This huge sum of money can only be allocated from outside.

Fortunately, there is a one-month grace period for payment. We can withdraw tens of millions of RMB from Legend Network and exchange it for foreign currency, which should be enough to tide us over.

But we can't rely entirely on legends.

Because there's another money-devouring monster waiting for him back home.

Just last night, Lin Wan called from overseas with good news: the acquisition of the "Luyuan" electric vehicle factory in Shanghai has been finalized.

The final acquisition price was RMB 55 million, a full acquisition.

This money also needs to be set aside.

Since their own funds are so tight, they can only rely on external forces.

The day before returning to China, Chen Feng took the initiative to meet with William, Senior Vice President of IDG's New York headquarters.

"Mr. William, you mentioned last time that IDG headquarters intends to make additional investments in Fengtian Technology. If your sincerity remains, I think we can sit down and have a good talk at the beginning of next month."

"Of course, the amount released this time will not be too large. I plan to use this money specifically for the construction of the copyright library."

Upon hearing Chen Feng's invitation, William displayed a standard professional smile.

"Of course, Chen. IDG's confidence in Fengtian Technology has never wavered."

"Then, let's set it for the beginning of next month."

William was a cunning old fox; he knew exactly what was going on.

Chen Feng set the date for next month, partly to wait for the first month's sales figures for F1 and T1 in the US market.

As long as the data looks good, the valuation will naturally rise.

On the other hand, this is also the deadline for paying copyright fees.

Of course, Chen Feng had a deeper consideration behind his actions.

Without the support of IDG's US headquarters, Fengtian Technology, a Chinese company holding so many US music copyrights, could easily become a target.

With IDG's deep partnership, many underhanded attacks can naturally be deflected by someone else.

"It's a deal. However, I might have to trouble Mr. William to send a team to China. I'm currently very busy and it will be difficult for me to fly over."

Chen Feng picked up his coffee, took a sip, and said calmly.

"No problem, it's our honor."

William readily agreed.

After finishing their business, William changed the subject: "By the way, Chen, I heard you asked us to inquire about a high-speed brushless motor technology?"

Chen Feng's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm: "Yes. Is there news about Mr. William?"

William shook his head regretfully: "There aren't any particularly suitable targets yet. But don't worry, I've already asked the technology department to keep an eye out. As long as there are relevant patents or laboratories in the United States, we'll get feedback soon."

"Of course, I'm keeping an eye on it, and I'll let you know as soon as I have any leads."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble."

Chen Feng nodded. Although he was a little disappointed, he knew that this kind of cutting-edge technology was not something that came easily and that he had to be patient.

......

The day after finalizing the financing agreement with William, Chen Feng boarded a flight and crossed the Pacific Ocean back to Shanghai.

The path has already been paved for the mess in the United States.

The next important task is for Lin Wan to take over.

Whether it's setting up a North American branch, tracking Amazon's approval process, or overseeing the distribution of goods through Walmart's channels, a strong executor is needed.

After more than ten hours of flight, the plane landed at Pudong Airport.

After adjusting to the time difference at home for a day, Chen Feng appeared in the office of Fengtian Technology on the morning of May 14th, feeling refreshed and energetic.

"Mr. Chen, welcome back."

Lin Wan walked in carrying two thick documents. "This is the final contract for the acquisition of Luyuan Electric Vehicle Factory. The terms have all been reviewed and are just waiting for your signature."

"And this is the company's job level system and salary standards, which have been revised according to your previous instructions. Please take a look."

Chen Feng took the documents and first opened the acquisition contract. Fifty-five million, a full acquisition, including all production lines, factories, land, and technology patents.

After quickly glancing through the document and confirming that everything was correct, Chen Feng picked up a pen and swiftly signed his name.

"Done."

Chen Feng closed the contract, and just as he was about to say something, he suddenly stopped, smiled and shook his head, "I was originally thinking of having you take charge of the follow-up integration work, but it seems that won't be possible."

"You're flying to the US soon, so leave this to Zhao Ya."

Lin Wan smiled slightly: "Did President Chen originally give any specific instructions?"

"It's nothing major." Chen Feng waved his hand. "I just want to change the name of this factory. The name 'Green Source' is too rustic, I don't like it. I'll have Zhao Ya handle it later."

"Take these next few days to hand over your work to Zhao Ya, and then you can leave. I'll explain the situation in the US to you in detail later."

"Also, once we get there, the first thing we need to do is find a reliable video editing company to shoot some decent videos for F1 and T1. We can't skimp on this; we have to make a big splash."

"Understood, Mr. Chen," Lin Wan replied efficiently.

After dealing with the electric vehicle issue, Chen Feng picked up the second document.