"Little Edgar? The one from Seagram Group?"
Yin Fanka stood up abruptly, smoothing out her wrinkled butt-covering skirt, with a trace of surprise on her face.
"Yes, it was him. Time Warner wanted to reduce its debt and sold it to Bronfman Investment Group for US$2.6 billion."
Lu Fei was full of disdain. He was not afraid of the second generation of rich people losing their fortune, but afraid of the second generation of rich people starting their own business. The third generation of the Bronfman family was a typical example of "starting a business ruins the third generation."
The well-established Seagram Group has more than 250 well-known brands and derivative brands such as Chivas Regal and Martell. It is comparable to a liquor empire. It also has shares in DuPont. It can make you tens of billions of people even if you are still in the ole money world. The ranks must be toiled.
When the media was in a recession, they bought, bought, bought, bought Universal, bought Polygram records, bought a bunch of them, lost a bunch of them, and spent billions of dollars on it, and they were ridiculed as "the stupid ass of the media industry."
At this moment, little Edgar Bronfman, who did not have electronic identity authentication, was wearing a camel-colored old-money style, looking low-key and sophisticated. He was crossing his legs and shaking impatiently.
Isn’t it just the “new money” that makes you rich on the Internet?
What the hell is he from China? He dares to show off to a wealthy Jewish man who is wearing the Stars and Stripes?
When he snorted coldly, a man and a woman suddenly appeared in his sight. His attention immediately focused on the blond white girl, and he asked in surprise: "Are you Yin Fanka?"
"Hello."
Yin Fanka showed a formulaic smile and said hello politely.
"Hello."
When little Edgar Bronfman saw Lu Fei take away the hand on her waist, and then stretch it out in front of his eyes, a sour feeling suddenly surged into his heart, which was both envy and jealousy.
"sit."
Lu Fei shook hands with him and pointed to the red leather seats in the theater.
"Hoo~"
Little Edgar Bronfman calmed down his emotions and talked about the situation. Two of the three greetings were related to Yin Fanka. He was curious as to why this couple got together.
"I was interning and studying with him, and he gave me a job as a secretary." Yin Fanka took out a pen and paper from his bag, made a decent gesture of taking notes, and secretly reminded——
Let’s talk business now! My boss and I have some business to do!
"Saori, Lu."
Edgar Bronfman Jr. struggled to look away from Yin Fanka, "I'm referring to Roger. When he was in the position, Warner's performance was so bad, its revenue kept shrinking, and we had to fire him." he."
Lu Fei smacked his lips. Spotify could be what it is today, and Roger must have done the same thing. As long as he was at Warner Music, Warner would be a natural ally. Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s firing of him was tantamount to unplugging his own arrangements. senior internal response.
But instead of getting angry, he smiled and said: "Haha, you shouldn't say 'sorry' to me. Instead, I want to thank you for sending me such a knowledgeable and well-connected executive who can continue to shine in Logic."
"Really, hahaha..."
Little Edgar Bronfman's expression changed and he laughed in embarrassment.
Yin Fanka watched calmly. In the first confrontation, Lu Fei had the upper hand, and the dominance of the negotiations gradually shifted.
"Ahem, I'll come this time."
Edgar Bronfman Jr. cleared his throat: "Not only as the chairman of Warner Music, but also entrusted by the CEOs of Universal, EMI and Sony, they elected me as their representative to talk to you about the new agreement framework between us. "
"Go on, I'm listening."
Lu Fei looked at his confident look and couldn't help but curl his lips, a stupid donkey is a stupid donkey, you think you are recommending the leader of the martial arts alliance, you are just a pawn who has been deceived.
“Our demands are simple, we want to increase prices.”
Edgar Bronfman Jr. got right to the point. The record company has no money left. The current single price on Spotify is too cheap.
"The United States is 99 cents, the UK is 79 pence, and the EU is 0.94 euros..."
Lu Fei listed them one by one: "My pricing plan has withstood the test of the market. If the price rises rashly, what if the masses don't agree, the masses are unhappy, the masses don't accept it, and they return to piracy? By then, no one will have to No benefit!"
"Raise the price! The price must rise! Lu, we can't do it without raising the price!"
Edgar Bronfman Jr. frowned and said that Warner went public this year. Although digital music sales have increased year by year, sales of traditional albums have been declining. Revenues have dropped, and profits have naturally dropped. The financial report is quite ugly. How to deal with it? What about shareholders?
"How you explain it to shareholders is your own business."
Lu Fei ignored it, and his tone was particularly tough, "The logical promise is 99 cents, and it is 99 cents. No one can destroy the digital music market that is on the right track because of temporary greed."
"Okay, okay! It's okay not to raise the price."
The corner of Edgar Bronfman's mouth rose. The price increase was just a cover to gain leverage for real conditions.
So they came clean and asked to set up an annual fee model, which means that buyers only have the right to use digital music, but not ownership. If the one-year use right expires, they have to renew if they want to continue using it!
"If you pay once a year, isn't this a rental?"
Lu Fei narrowed his eyes, "Whose idea was it? Doug from Universal, Andy from Sony..."
"Of course it's us Warner, mainly me!"
Edgar Bronfman Jr. held his chin high. The end of the universe is rent collection, so the record industry can get a steady stream of rents, so why not.
Damn it, so smart!
Lu Fei declined politely, "Your idea is very good. Don't think about it next time. People like to fully own the music they purchase. The digital music copyright on Spotify is bought out once, without having to pay again."
"You can have this, Lu."
Edgar Bronfman Jr. said that record companies such as Universal, Sony, and EMI also supported the idea of annual fee collection.
Absolutely not!
Lu Fei didn't care and waved his hand to refuse: "Besides these, do you have anything else to say?"
Little Edgar Bronfman seemed to have expected it in advance and was not upset. He finally figured it out. Raising the price would not work, and neither would the annual fee. Is it possible to change the selling price from a fixed system to a floating system?
Good boy, wait for me here!
Lu Fei looked at this "media jackass" up and down. There must be a master behind him. He knocked on the armrest of the chair with his hand, "How do you want the price to fluctuate?"
"Lu, it's very simple. The more popular songs, the higher the price. The price should be more than 99 cents. Some old songs can be charged less. After all, not all songs are of the same quality." Edgar Brown Jr. All Fuman wants is to squeeze the most revenue from the best-selling songs.
Lu Fei touched his chin, thought for a moment, and disagreed with leaving the price choice to the record company.
"Why, Lu! Our demands are completely reasonable!"
Little Edgar Bronfman was so angry that he almost jumped up and down, even pretending, his face full of anger. I have already given in two steps, but you refuse to give in even one step? Is there any royal method? Is there any law?
Yin Fanka was so shocked that even though little Edgar Bronfman was not an old man, at least he was half a rich man, he never expected Lu Fei to be so disrespectful——
I said it’s 99 cents, it’s 99 cents!
Not even one point less! Not even one more point!
"you!"
Little Edgar Bronfman's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth. You won't agree to this, and you won't agree to that either. You don't bully honest people!
What's wrong with just bullying you?
Lu Fei had a cold face and no fear in his eyes.
Spotify has 80 million users worldwide. Together with Microsoft's MediaPlayer, Apple's iTunes, and Real's RealPlayer, it is also known as the world's four major music player software. Spotify sits firmly on the Iron Throne and is the world's largest music retailer, dominating Europe and the United States. , Southeast Asia, South America...
In the United States alone, the market share is 70%.
You are not qualified to talk to me from a position of strength!
"Lu, many websites allow the prices of music services provided by record companies to be floating, and we are willing to continue to cooperate with such websites."
There was a threat in Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s tone. The worst that can happen is that everything will be lost. Without our record company to support you, Spotify will be nothing! What else!
"You're talking about rareworks, right?"
Lu Fei disagreed and shrugged, "Why don't you try to convince Apple?"
"..."
Little Edgar Bronfman was speechless for a moment, "Why the hell am I going to come to you if I can convince Steve Jobs?" I originally expected Mr. Lu to compromise first, and then the recording industry would use the opportunity to force Apple to make concessions.
After all, Steve Jobs was more of a tyrant than Lu Fei!
"If iTunes still costs 99 cents, including the most popular songs, but Spotify increases its price, do you think users will abandon Spotify and Music?"
Lu Fei raised his lips, "So as long as you convince Steve Jobs to agree, I don't have any problem with it."
"No, Lu, only if you agree can we have a way to get Steve Jobs to agree." Edgar Bronfman Jr. played the emotional card, "We are allies, we are friends, and our companies recently planned to sue a group of Chinese infringers. MP3 search website, but Penguin and Sogou are not on the list. It’s all because of your face. Can’t you give us some face?”
Has it come to this?
Yin Fanka blinked, gaining a new understanding of Mr. Lu, her legs couldn't help but clenched, and her eyes filled with spring water.
"Give! But not this way."
Lu Fei patted his shoulder and comforted him calmly.
Although I despised this man from the bottom of my heart, I couldn't resist his father, Edgar Bronfman Sr. He was highly respected in the Jewish wealthy circles, had amazing energy, and was still powerful, so he had to give this man some face.
What's more, we can't just treat the record industry with sticks, but we must also give it sweet dates. Dogs bite when they are angry.
"What's the meaning?"
Edgar Bronfman Jr. was puzzled.
Lu Fei said directly that he could not make concessions on Spotify, but he could help Warner and Universal record companies increase their income and become rich.
"How to do it?!"
Edgar Bronfman Jr. was a revelation.
Lu Fei smiled and said: "Penguin will recently acquire a company that makes a video sharing website called 'Youtube'. Did you know?"
"I've heard of it! This website has stolen a lot of Warner music and music videos. If it weren't for the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), we would have organized a group of lawyers to initiate a lawsuit and we would definitely file it to bankruptcy!"
Edgar Bronfman Jr. said with a straight face: "Are you sure you want to buy this website?"
Lu Fei said: "That's right, so I want to talk to you, and Doug and Andy in the future. They are all indispensable. When we talk about the licensing agreement, you just need to license the content to YouTube. I promise to protect your genuine income like Spotify."
"How can you guarantee that?"
Edgar Bronfman Jr. was dubious.
"Once Penguin takes over YouTube, we will launch a copyright filtering system as soon as possible to automatically delete copyright-violating clips."
Lu Fei eloquently outlined an anti-theft blueprint, "Just like we have fairplay certification on lmusic, we will also upgrade a t id system on YouTube. Information will automatically patrol to accuse pirated videos, whether it is Warner Universal or any copyright company. Use this system to find your own videos.
Ban these contents and remove them from the shelves. Of course, there are better options. "
"What choice?"
Edgar Bronfman Jr. asked curiously.
“Share advertising revenue with these secondary creators.”
Lu Fei held out two fingers. Unauthorized content was either designated to be deleted or advertisements were played. This meant that the secondary creator was no longer a thief, but the financial backer of the copyright owner.
"Lu, can you really increase your income?"
Little Edgar Bronfman reminded Twelve to be wary of fools and being fooled into lameness.
"Penguin's positioning on the oil pipeline is to integrate all the information in the world. We are now in a very rare period of opportunity."
Lu Fei's analysis is very clear, especially that broadband began to spread around the world in 2005. Flash technology has a 75% market share in this year. Video technology and facilities have also become popular. YouTube, which focuses on flash video, must be the fastest growing. , the largest website, will there be fewer opportunities to make money in the future?
"Is the profit sharing the same as Spotify, 30-70?"
Little Edgar Bronfman couldn't help but feel excited.
You are quite ugly, but you think you are quite beautiful!
Lu Fei did not refuse, but wore a mysterious smile, leaving him in suspense: "The proportion of sharing is the third step, wait until we complete the second step."
"Isn't it content licensing?"
"Yes, but it also requires business development (bd). YouTube not only needs UCG, but also PCG. It needs to cooperate with professional media. Universal, Sony, EMI and you, Warner, all have settled on the YouTube platform and established their own channels. Finally, Artists who are easy to sign also register personal accounts..."
"all?"
"Yes, everything!"
Watching the fierce exchange between the two, Yin Fanka pursed her lips and focused her eyes more and more on Lu Fei. He seemed to have eaten up little Edgar Bronfman, eating him to death, with a look of calmness on his face. .
"Haha, Lu, you have a good idea..."
Little Edgar Bronfman is stupid but not stupid. He slowly figured out Mr. Lu’s conspiracy. Spotify has already strangled the record industry’s neck. Coupled with the oil pipeline, it still has no control over the main artery!
At that time, he was really the father of the record industry.
From now on, if you poop on my head, I have to endure it?
"If Warner agrees, we can discuss a third cooperation."
Lu Fei smiled brightly, "Hey, how many people want to kneel down to me and recognize their father, but there is no way!"
"What else? What is it!"
Little Edgar Bronfman looked at his playful face and resisted raising his fists to punch him in the face.
Riddler, go to hell!
"This will not be revealed until the press conference is over. The key now is that you consider my suggestion first."
Lu Fei stood up slowly: "We had a great chat today. I will tell Doug and Andy what I said to you."
"I will consider it seriously and get back to you soon."
Little Edgar Bronfman shook hands with the two of them perfunctorily, and his eyes stayed on Yin Fanka for a few more seconds. He silently recited "fuxk" countless times in his heart, and left in a hurry with a livid face.
"He seems very unwilling. I'm afraid your cooperation will be difficult." Yin Fanka looked sideways.
"Difficult to do?"
Lu Fei smiled and said nothing.
Yin Fanka changed the subject wisely: "What is the third kind of cooperation you are talking about?"
"Want to know?"
Lu Fei smiled and spread his hands: "Go back to the lounge and chat."
Yin Fanka glanced at the heavily guarded front desk and backstage, her eyes trembled, and she whispered softly: "Where is the bathroom?"
