Chapter 81： Apple

"Apple." This was Gu Luobei's answer.

From the very beginning of the call, Gu Luobei said "company", indicating that this third party is to communicate in the name of Warner Records, and the transaction mentioned by Gu Luobei, Warner Records is also to be carried out in the name of the company and the other party. negotiation. Therefore, Claire-Dyss was already mentally prepared, this third party should be a big company, but when she heard that it was "Apple", Claire-Dyss still showed a surprised expression.

Apple, of course, Claire Dess knows that this company is called Apple Computer. Powerful. Although at the beginning of this year, Apple launched the portable music player iPod, and bundled the free music download software iTunes, but at present Apple is still in its infancy in the music market, and its reputation has not been shown.

Then, why did Evan Bell try so hard to get to know a company specializing in computers through Warner Records? The purpose behind this, Claire - Days is very puzzled.

In the end, Claire Days took Gu Luobei's sentence "If you can arrange a meeting, Warner Records can arrange a three-way meeting. I am happy to see Warner Records become an important role in this meeting", and came to Li- In Kelleher's office.

Lee Kelleher has turned forty-six this year. The reason why Warner Records poached him from Universal Music with a high salary is because of his unique vision and drastic reforms. The most important thing is his eclectic innovation. Awareness, this is very important for Warner Records, which is at a low point in the acquisition of EMI.

According to the memory of taking care of Luo Bei in his last life, the horn of Warner Records' rise in the world started in 2001, but Gu Luobei is not sure whether there is this Lee Kelleher behind it. But what makes Gu Luobei happy is that it was Lee Kelleher's innovative consciousness that made Claire Days treat him differently, and also allowed Warner Records to take the first step towards friendship with Gu Luobei.

After hearing Claire Days' proposal, Lee Kelleher was surprised, but he wasn't as rude as Claire Days. Although Claire Days was old enough to be confused, the lack of courage in her character was not enough. It is doomed that he and Lee - Kelleher's position is different.

Lee-Kelleher didn't make a decision right away. After all, it had become a problem between companies, so he needed time to think about it. Gu Luobei, the little shrimp among all living beings, even if he is talented, is absolutely not qualified to say such arrogant words: Guaranteed benefits? No businessman can assert that a transaction is guaranteed to make money. If there was such a transaction, the world would have been in chaos.

Three days later, Lee Kelleher took Claire Days and a middle-aged man in his thirties to Harvard University. Li-Kelleher would be willing to appear in person for only one reason, "copyright", which was the key word given by Gu Luobei.

Copyright, let alone a leader, even an ordinary person knows the importance of copyright. Leaving aside other types of copyrights, when it comes to music copyrights alone, there is a saying in the United States that "the copyright to create a great song will give you a lifetime of food and clothing." Warner Records, the copyright owner of "Happy Birthday to You," for example, earns $2 million a year from the song, though most of the proceeds are currently donated to charities. After the copyright of a song is registered, any use for profit, including movies, TV, commercials, and karaoke, must pay the copyright fee for each use. Therefore, copyright is absolutely crucial for creators and record companies.

Generally speaking, the music group has two main divisions, the recording division and the copyright division. The record department is the most well-known part of the record company, responsible for the production, publication and distribution of music, etc.; the copyright department is more of a hidden hero, whose main job is to sign music authors, manage the copyright of musical works, and buy, sell, and authorize music. Copyright, etc. Claire Days, who is responsible for discovering new singers, is under the copyright department.

Although the public is more familiar with the record department, all record companies know that the copyright department is the lifeblood of a company, and this is their main source of income. It is worth mentioning that one of the major reasons why Warner Music acquired EMI is because EMI owns the copyright of 1.3 million pieces of music, which is the most valuable part of EMI.

It is a pity that although the records of the greatest rock band The Beatles in the history of pop music are all released by the recording department of EMI, the copyright of all the music of the Beatles is not owned by the copyright department of EMI. The copyright of all Beatles music is currently owned by Sony Records, one of the five major record companies. This fatal injury caused Warner Music to choose AOL and give up EMI at the critical moment of the acquisition. This shows the importance of copyright.

Gu Luobei, an independent musician, actually has a proposal for copyright, and it also involves Apple and Warner Records. Lee-Kelleher didn't sit there for three days, and after a series of data collection and analysis, he made a bold prediction: Could this young man named Bell have the latest news on the legal commercialization of digital music? Imagine? If it is, then this is definitely a huge change in the music industry, and this is definitely a huge business opportunity that has never been seen before. No matter how many possibilities there are, Li-Kelleher is willing to give it a shot, which is why he personally came to Harvard University to visit Gu Luobei.

At present, digital music downloads in the United States are still in the free stage, and music sharing websites headed by Napster have had a strong impact on the copyrights of traditional record companies. Through Napster, everyone with a CD can take his collection online to exchange and download for free, and netizens can share two million free music files. With more than 60 million registered users, Napster has made the spread of digital music grow at an astonishing rate, and has also brought digital music into the audience's field of vision.

The founders of Napster are Sean Fanning and Sean Parker, two freshmen, and Sean Parker will become the world's largest social service website Facebook (Facebook) in the future. One of the founders of Facebook has also become an indispensable turning point in the development of Facebook.

The free downloads provided by Napster make the copyrights that traditional record companies have always held in their hands unable to generate value. So, starting in December 1999, five major record companies, including Bertelsmann, Warner, EMI, Universal, and Sony, joined forces to bring Napster to court, accusing it of copyright infringement. This also brought the copyright issue of digital music into the public eye for the first time.

However, for now, the lawsuit between the five major record companies and Napster is progressing slowly. On the one hand, it is determined by the legal system of the United States. There have been no cases related to digital music before, so the trial is very slow; on the other hand, it is also very slow. Napster is confident that their services should be recognized by law because of the diversionary relationship between the two parties. At the same time, the inside of the five major record companies are not monolithic, and each has his own thoughts.

The five traditional record companies believe that killing Napster will not fundamentally prevent the impact of online music downloads on the traditional music industry. Many music exchange sites that also use file sharing technology do not have a central server. Traditional records are not only difficult to obtain evidence in lawsuits. , and it is difficult to enforce even if the lawsuit is won. Now the five traditional record companies are only nominally maintaining the traditional rules of the game.

In this case, in early January, the five traditional record companies had internal disagreements. Bertelsmann took the lead to withdraw from the alliance and reached a cooperation agreement with Napster, agreeing to put the works of artists under the company on Napster's website. for download.

In February, Sony also launched a Walkman that can play digital music files mp3. Although Sony claims to still insist on cracking down on copyright infringement by online music downloads, this action is obviously a reluctance to cater to the market.

At this point in time, Gu Luobei's idea of ​​copyright appeared, and he involved Apple, which launched iTunes and iPod. Everything pointed to the legalization and commercialization of digital music copyright. No wonder Li-Kailai He would be so interested. Of course, even if Li-Kelleher's idea is wrong, there is nothing to lose. It is also a good thing to just meet the musician who created "Just a Dream"Gu Luobei is sitting The corner of the "Hungry. Thirsty Student Bar" was by the window. At this time, it was only after three o'clock in the afternoon. The bar was empty, and only the bartender was wiping beer glasses on the counter. Looking at the three men sitting in front of him, Gu Luobei was really surprised. He didn't think that one of his ideas would get such attention. The emphasis on digital music copyright also proves the outstanding vision of the people who come here. The vice president of Warner Records personally went out to show that Lee Kelleher is indeed a representative of the innovative school. Warner Records can rise from this. He is absolutely crucial important person.

In addition to Lee Kelleher and Claire Days, Gu Luobei saw the representatives of Apple, and knew that in the future, Apple could rely on iTunes to occupy the first place in the digital music download market. It is not unreasonable.

Andy Rosen, a man who has not yet turned 40 this year, has become the head of Apple's newly established iTunes division. When Apple launched its portable music player and iTunes, it also formally established a department responsible for iTunes content planning and selection, as well as dealing with artists and the industry. This department, which has been established for less than half a year, is currently mainly responsible for free downloads of music and paid downloads of Apple-branded exclusive game plug-ins.

The establishment of the iTunes division also confirms the vision of Apple leader Steve Jobs, who has seen the possibility of paying for downloads on the Internet in the future. The same is true. In 2003, the successful operation of digital music paid downloads changed the pattern of the music market.

Now, what Gu Luobei has to do is to promote the early operation of this business model!

Today's first update, favorite, recommend, please support!

​​