Reinventing the Millennium.

Chapter 324 Dangerous situation (three in one)

On September 9, Yike formally appealed to the higher court for the ban on product sales in Virginia.

It was also on this day that Yike filed a lawsuit against Apple for alleged unfair competition in the Supreme Court in New York, New York.

At the same time, Cadwalader Law Firm considered the key sales areas of Yike products, and planned to initiate protective lawsuits based on the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and the Uniform Trade Secrets Act in California, Washington State, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia within a week.

Yike used to be active and passive to respond to the lawsuit, but now it has turned into a tit-for-tat initiative.

You sue me, he sues me, he sues you, you sue him... The situation involving music copyright and industry development finally ushered in the final "I sue you, I sue him".

In the afternoon of this day, Yike team drove to conduct a new round of business negotiations with ASCAP.

"Xiao Yu, do you think there is room for cooperation between us and Apple?" Fang Zhuo was thinking about a question on the way.

"They got all the bans out, and we started suing them again in the morning. Isn't this space for cooperation relatively slim?" Yu Hong said.

"ASCAP also sued us, and we have been talking about it." Fang Zhuo smiled, "But, how to find this cooperation zone, the only thing I can think of is digital copyright."

In the face of the easy-to-use music format conversion software in the US market, iMusic and iTunes are relatively well received. They follow the principle of simplicity and stand out among the complicated software.

In fact, both iMusic and iTunes are for the use of their own users, and the wider spread is beyond the expectations of the two companies.

In addition, some consumers use Apple's iPod to use Echo's iMusic, because the latter is more adaptable, and the former is compatible with Windows. This is one of the reasons why Apple sued Echo for unfair competition. .

"Mr. Fang, how many users can paid digital music downloads bring?" Yu Hong is different from Fang Zhuo's firmness. She still has some hesitation at the software level, which is also the doubt of some employees.

"The market can't go on like this forever. If you walk on the right path, you will definitely gain something, and how much you gain depends on our method in the process." Fang Zhuo glanced at his watch. It will be three o'clock in the afternoon, and he can already see To the signage of AS.

Yi Ke arrived at the office of AS, and the group got off the car one after another.

This is Fang Zhuo's first time here, but others have been here many times.

It's just that, by coincidence, Fang Zhuo saw people from Apple when he passed the corridor, and they seemed to have just finished their talks with AS.

Yu Hong frowned, not naively thinking that it was a coincidence.

Fang Zhuo was also heartbroken. AS made the two rivals meet so nakedly for the sake of a higher quotation. He didn't think that the other party would be more optimistic about Yike than a listed company like Apple.

In other words, there is a high probability that AS is using Yike as a bargaining chip to raise the price of Apple.

At [-]:[-] in the afternoon, Fang Zhuo and his group of seven sat in the conference room where Apple had just sat, and their mood was obviously depressed.

"It's okay, we're going to overthrow it and start talking again. AS's side is just training, and there's the next one." Fang Zhuo said something about the current situation in Chinese.

The guiding spirit of breaking the pot and breaking the wrestling was very effective, and the frustration of the other six people dissipated a lot.

After Fang Zhuo said this, he temporarily changed his negotiation strategy, and said directly: "Mr. Taylor, our marketing director of Yike has talked with you for a long time, and I also saw that you have introduced a new competitor just now, you Do you mind offering a price that satisfies you based on the negotiation with Apple just now?"

Taylor, the executive vice president of AS, was a little surprised at the calmness of the president of Yike. He thought for a while and smiled: "You are much happier than your colleagues. Apple's licensing quotation is 60% higher than yours, and there are also single songs. [-]% share."

Yike previously negotiated with AS for the license price of the copyright library, which is around 50 million US dollars a year. This is a fixed price, and the online thing to do is to charge for music downloads. The share that has been negotiated is about [-]%.

Now Apple has mentioned 1300 million + 60% at once, which is a very competitive offer.

Fang Zhuo weighed it silently in his heart, and said: "I am happier than my colleagues because I am the president, and I have authority that they don't have, just like now, I can express my opinion on Apple's price from my status as the president of Yike. .”

Taylor asked with interest: "Then what do you think? Can you accept it?"

"Mr. Taylor, do you know why Apple is willing to quote a price higher than ours?" Fang Zhuo asked.

Taylor laughed and said directly: "Because they are richer than you."

The faces of Yu Hong and the others were a little ugly.

Fang Zhuo nodded, and admitted without changing his face: "That's true, but the United States not only has AS, but also SE, BMI, and record companies. With Apple's current sluggish computer business, the annual revenue is as high as tens of millions. Copyright fees are also extremely stressful, and these require cash."

Taylor shrugged, "So?"

"So, Apple would rather bear the pressure of raising the quotation so much than take the copyright urgently, because they are at a disadvantage in the current market." Fang Zhuo said steadily, "Apple has fewer users than Yike, and everyone knows that buying Users who have P1 and Ipod are the most accurate music users, and our value is to sell AS music to them.”

Taylor was unimpressed.

Fang Zhuo tried to introduce competition: "Not only AS, SE and BMI we are contacting are also very interested in Yike's user groups."

Taylor showed a somewhat frivolous smile: "Really? Mr. Fang, as far as I know..."

He added the emphasis, and continued: "SE and BMI didn't respond enthusiastically to you, not even as well as our AS."

Fang Zhuo frowned slightly, it would be very bad if the other party communicated with SE and BMI.

He didn't panic, but elicited today's main purpose: "That's because AS didn't hear about our new conditions, but SE and BMI have already heard about it."

Taylor put away his contempt. It is possible that the oriental man in front of him behaved differently from his colleague.

"In addition to being willing to match Apple's offer to you." Fang Zhuo confirmed this first, and then continued with Taylor's surprised eyes, "We are also willing to make improvements on iMusic."

Taylor sat up straighter with his upper body, and was quite moved: "How to improve?"

"All digital music copyrights authorized by AS will not be shared with third-party devices." Fang Zhuo said a name he just named last night, "This is the SPA technology developed by Yike, which is specially used for copyright protection."

He threw another chip: "Also, iMusic can turn off the function of burning mp3 format to records."

Taylor really felt the sincerity from Yike. He and the department head next to him exchanged glances, and he also saw the emotion in the eyes of his colleagues.

At present, the record market in the United States is sluggish. This is a headache for music copyright agencies and record companies. One of the important reasons is the rise of digital music and their dissemination on the Internet.

At the same time, AS and SE are very dissatisfied that digital music can be freely recorded to records through software.

AS is the one that responds most intensely. It has already sued nearly ten software with similar functions, including iMusic, iTunes, and Mcco. However, it takes a process to file a lawsuit, and this process sometimes becomes painful due to the efforts of barristers.

The executive vice president of AS turned his head to discuss with his colleagues in a low voice.

Fang Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief, and motioned for Yu Hong to pass the document to Taylor.

It can be seen from the reaction of the other party that the existence of music recording software really makes music organizations a headache.

After about 10 minutes, Taylor gave a formal answer: "Mr. Fang, we have sensed your sincerity. We need further discussion on this point. Let's continue our discussion here at this time tomorrow afternoon. How about it?"

"no problem."

Fang Zhuo got up and shook hands with the executive vice president of AS, then turned and left with the team.

Taylor personally sent the president of Yike out, then returned to the meeting room, and immediately said: "Call Apple immediately and tell them that Yike is willing to match their price, and see if there is a higher price."

"I also need to tell them all the changes that Yike is willing to make to iMusic, and what kind of SPA technology, let's see Apple's attitude."

A department head asked hesitantly: "Where is Yike? Do we really want to talk to them tomorrow?"

"Fool, there is a small company that can force a listed company like Apple to raise prices, why don't we choose a better one?" Taylor said indifferently, "The attitude of Apple's people is also very positive."

He commented contemptuously: "This is a small company from the East, and it closed down at some point."

The head of the department nodded. It is true that a listed company like Apple is more attractive.

AS' call was made to an Apple executive.

Sure enough, the other party attached great importance to the latest offer from the competitor.

In just half an hour, Apple's slightly cautious statement came - we are willing to further increase the sales share to 65%, and at the same time make beneficial changes to iTunes.

As for the specific extent of this "beneficiality", it needs further evaluation.

……

A group of seven from Yike's business negotiations was quiet on the way back to the company.

The four Chinese and the two native white men were observing the boss's expression, while Fang Zhuo was thinking with his brows furrowed.

Before the commercial vehicle arrived downstairs in Yike, Fang Zhuo suddenly said: "Can I still contact SE to meet this afternoon? Anyway, this round of ours is to express important intentions, and the time is not too much."

"Yes, Mr. Fang." Qi He, the fastest-promoted overseas marketing deputy director of Yike, immediately replied, "SE is the closest company to us. If you want to talk to BMI, you have to fly to Washington."

Fang Zhuo nodded: "Then drive there now and contact them on the way."

Qi He immediately took out his mobile phone to contact SE.

Compared with AS, there are much fewer tracks in the SE copyright library, and a condition of 500 million US dollars + 55% was mentioned earlier.

"Xiao Yu, you saw clearly from the side just now, what do you think Taylor and the others think?" Fang Zhuo asked Yu Hong.

"Not optimistic." Yu Hong said her feelings from the sidelines. "I think Taylor just uses us as a tool to raise prices. Maybe we go ahead and they contact Apple later."

Fang Zhuo also had the same judgment, and took a breath: "Let's see how SE is doing. I suspect that Apple may have contacted them all over again."

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the Yike team appeared in SE's office and had a quick business negotiation as expected.

Because of Fang Zhuo's previous communication with AS Taylor, he talked about his sincerity more comprehensively this time.

He first talked about the sluggishness of the recording industry and the trend of digital music on the Internet, then he talked about the brutal growth of digital music on the Internet, and finally he talked about the digital music copyright protection technology being developed by Yike.

In a sense, iMusic has benefited from the spontaneous sharing of many users, and now the closure of software functions will definitely attract dissatisfaction from these people.

Faced with pressure from music copyright agencies and competitors, Ke Yike could only choose this way.

The company has to survive to think about anything else.

The discussion between Fang Zhuo and SE took an hour.

If he can score 80 points in the previous negotiation with AS, then he thinks he can score 90 points in this round.

However, 90 points did not get a direct statement from SE, and the other party also had to consider it like AS.

This is actually a normal business process, but it is not good news for Yike, who is competing with Apple and has witnessed AS's attitude.

Working overtime at night, Yi Ke has already made an appointment with BMI in Washington to discuss the day after tomorrow. The president will still lead the team in person, and the marketing director will stay in New York. However, everyone still has a glimmer of hope for another round of meetings with AS the next day.

What if your own judgment is not allowed?
What if Apple has no follow-up conditions?
In the afternoon of the next day, Yi Ke had a second meeting with the original team of AS, and there was a good news and a bad news.

The good news is that Fang Zhuo and Yu Hong's judgments are very accurate.

The bad news is that Apple has followed up on the conditions.

The intention of the second round of AS is obvious, to see if Yike can offer an overwhelming price, or continue to use Yike to force Apple to raise the price in the negotiation.

This is actually normal.

It's just that the abnormal thing is that Taylor's intentions are too obvious, which makes people feel a little uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Fang Zhuo didn't talk any more. He just gave an offer that was close to the limit, 1300 million US dollars + 70% share.

AS is exactly the same as on the first day, and the lien is still discussed.

Fang Zhuo didn't care about expressing his objections, so he led his people to Washington to meet with BMI in the early morning of the third day.

This time the business negotiations took a lot of time.

BMI is different from AS and SE. Its full name is Broadcast Music Association of America, which belongs to the second largest music copyright authorization organization in the United States. Take a more open attitude to the outside world.

It was here that Fang Zhuo finally felt the true intention from the music copyright organization, and made some gratifying progress.

BMI appreciated Yike's efforts on digital music copyright, and expressed its willingness to see a better industry climate and promote the development of digital music together.

They also have a more positive attitude towards licensing music to Yike.

only……

However, BMI also bluntly stated that they are also actively open to licensing to Apple.

In other words, BMI wants to eat two companies. It does not want to sign an exclusive authorization, but wants to receive money from both companies.

Generally speaking, the pursuit is "I have what no one else has", but "I have what no one has" under the competitive situation is forcing "I have what I have".

Let’s not say that BMI is the most authentic and positive attitude among the three institutions. Let’s just say that if I don’t sign here, Apple directly signs an exclusive one, which will weaken its competitiveness even more...

BMI's request for two shares of money was really beyond Fang Zhuo's expectations, and he even faintly admired such a straightforward request.

Changing Fang Zhuo this time has to be considered a little bit, mainly because the conditions need to be re-evaluated.

On September 9, the president of Yike returned to New York and held a meeting to summarize the current trends in contact with music copyright agencies.

The three largest institutions, AS, SE, and BMI, are contacted by the president personally, while other record companies and small and medium-sized institutions are contacted by the company team.

All in all, I contacted ten companies, and the one that moved me the most was BMI in Washington. The others were either up for sale, had contact with Apple, or regarded Yike as a savage who destroyed the market.

Regarding this "barbarian", Fang Zhuo was quite relieved, it was much better than having contact with Apple.

Fang Zhuo summarized the information and came to a conclusion that the modification condition of iMusic is a weapon that can be considered by the organization, but it is not fatal enough.

"Xiao Yu, do you think we should quickly and heavily invest in a family to cooperate with, so that some people may be determined to cooperate."

When the meeting ended, Fang Zhuo was not sure about his judgment.

"You mean BMI?" Yu Hong asked.

Fang Zhuo was very troubled: "BMI... this one is indeed not very good as the first one."

After hesitating for a long time, he still said, "Let's wait and see if anyone is willing to let go."

Yike's contact with music copyright is very intensive, so it seems a bit urgent, which is very unfavorable to business negotiations.

Cooling things down a bit now might change things in favor.

However, it is counterproductive.

One day later, the "New York Times" and other media suddenly published a lot of related news, reporting on the copyright purchase behavior of Yike, a Chinese company.

"I was surprised to find that a company from Dongfang Huaxia is challenging Apple."

"People from the ASCAP Association revealed that this company named Yike is facing many lawsuits and trying to calm the situation by purchasing music copyright authorization."

"Even though Made in China is gradually appearing in the eyes of New York City citizens, such consumer electronics products are still surprising."

"However, although Yi Ke frequently contacted music copyright agencies and record companies, they did not gain much."

"Because of Yike's previous behavior of disrupting the music market, music copyright agencies and record companies are unwilling to license music to this eastern company."

"Not only that, Yike is still facing serious infringement lawsuits. I'm not sure whether this company will go bankrupt because of the high compensation."

"New York Times" is an influential media in the United States and the world. Not only is its circulation among the top ten in China, but its website also has a high number of hits.

The reports represented by its content have had an impact almost seamlessly.

The first is a clear notice from AS that they will cooperate with Apple in copyright authorization, followed by a statement from SE, which is basically the same as AS, and even BMI, which wants to eat two shares of money, has a bad tendency.

As for the record company, their attitude was ambiguous, and they were more concerned about the interests of the record in their hands.

For a time, Yike's external environment deteriorated sharply.

These media reports also brought another negative impact. Fang Zhuo received a call from Li Xinyue of the Anliang Association, hoping to have an interview about the funds of the MIGA Fund.

Fang Zhuo has reason to believe that Li Xinyue has concerns about her overseas activities because of the reports.

On the evening of September 9th, Fang Zhuo ordered Yike M28 and P1 to offer a small amount of discounts, trying to consolidate a wave of market prices in the market where it has its own advantages.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, the lights in the office were brightly lit, the employees had already returned from get off work, and Fang Zhuo was still looking at various materials.

"The situation is not good." Yu Hong gently put the teacup in front of the boss.

"When did you come? Didn't you go back?" Fang Zhuo didn't notice the marketing director coming in at all, and smiled at Yu Hong.

"Going back is also work, and here is also work." Yu Hong shrugged, "Since I came to the United States, I really put all my thoughts on work, but I didn't expect the market to change so quickly."

"Apple has made a lot of preparations." Fang Zhuo smiled, and couldn't help but light another cigarette and put it in his mouth, "It can't be too fast, our M1 and P1 still have an advantage in the market, just let it go on like this , this advantage will soon disappear.”

The market constraints of digital music are gradually becoming clear, and the inability to compete for share in copyright indicates suffering in the near future.

"I used to think about creating a career that could be included in MBA textbooks, but now I'm really halfway done." Yu Hong smiled.

Fang Zhuo was also amused: "It's the half that got beaten up by other companies, right?"

Yu Hong nodded.

Legal prohibitions, copyright operations, public opinion tendencies, Apple's series of punches completely suppressed Yike, and the money and resources involved are indeed the background of listed companies.

If Yike falls in the market, the case of Apple’s reversal of the market will definitely be written in MBA business textbooks, because the next thing is the delicious cake in the era of digital music.

"Yike still made money. Even if we fail and go back to China, there is no big problem." Fang Zhuo smoked half of his cigarette and said thoughtfully, "It's just that I don't know if the old bear will take it this time." Dao 攮 (nǎng) me."

Yu Hong nodded seriously and said, "There are nine out of ten chances, this is not the first time after all."

Fang Zhuo laughed out loud as he thought of Xiong Xiaoge's face.

Yu Hong laughed with him, which was a rare relief in recent days, even if it was out of self-mockery.

bell bell bell.

The phone ringing at 11:30 in the evening was quite abrupt and penetrating.

Fang Zhuo glanced at the number, frowned, and took the landline.

Hang up the phone after a few words.

Yu Hong was already angry: "Anlianghui? Isn't this adding insult to injury?"

"It's okay, they're quite polite of this nature, just asking me, lest I go back to China without saying hello." Fang Zhuo took a sip of tea, "They are so comforting, Sina's third quarter financial report is coming out soon, That's a big plus."

Before Yu Hong could speak, the abrupt and penetrating voice of the phone rang again.

The call time this time was also very short, and Fang Zhuo's succinct response of "Yeah" made Yu Hong unable to guess who the other party was.

"Yike's situation is actually not too bad." Fang Zhuo picked up the teacup again and poured half a cup of tea into his stomach, and then said with satisfaction, "Things are all compared."

Yu Hong was puzzled.

"The court's prosecution is handled by a law firm. Whether there will be any major twists and turns in a short period of time, media reports are temporary. With so many things happening every day, the enthusiasm will soon disappear."

"It's the music copyright. We actually need a partner to demonstrate potential intentions."

Fang Zhuo eloquently explained the current situation.

Yu Hong stared at the landline that was picked up just now, and asked tentatively: "Just now..."

"It's another unlucky company." Fang Zhuo said the answer calmly, "Sony Music."

It was the record label owned by rival Sony that was being challenged to eat into the music player market.

(End of this chapter)