Reinventing the Millennium

"Director Yu, I think you need to take a good look at yourself."

Yike President Fang Zhuo's first night in New York was very busy. Even so, he still made serious criticism of Yu Hong while having supper together.

Fang Zhuo usually calls him "Xiao Yu" or his first name, but it is relatively rare for him to call him his job title in such a serious manner.

Yu Hong took two bites of the midnight snack and stopped eating. She closed the papers on the table and admitted, "I have a responsibility."

Fang Zhuo's communication with Yu Hong these days has been through phone calls and the Internet. His first impression when he saw her today was that she was a little thinner. He knew that her work content and pressure were quite high.

"I don't want to say anything to you because of the ban itself." Fang Zhuo considered his tone, "I feel that you have not fully understood your identity. You are not only the marketing director of Yike, but also responsible for the entire company in the United States. of operation.”

"The market is closer to the front line. In this regard, you have to pay attention to hiring people instead of always bringing people to do it yourself."

"Let's go back to the Virginia ban. Isn't the corporate legal department you set up very negligent? There is no warning in such a situation."

As Fang Zhuo talked, he didn't want to eat midnight snacks anymore.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from his desk, took out one and lit it, and said what he saw from his perspective: "These legal attorneys were all hired with high salaries, but they have seriously neglected their duties in handling the lawsuits in Virginia. .”

Yu Hong defended: "Actually, they didn't expect Apple to apply for a ban so quickly."

"That means there is a problem with their ability. If this matter is left to Cadwalader Law Firm, it will definitely not be like this." Fang Zhuo said solemnly, "If it is not handled well, it may cause Apple to combine the operation of music copyright To complete the counterattack in the market.”

"We spend millions of dollars every year at Cadwalader Law Firm, and I think we still need to listen to their opinions more on legal issues."

"I don't want to hear about the quarrel between the company's own legal department and the law firm, nor do I want to hear about careless excuses. I'll take the responsibility where it's due."

Fang Zhuo looked at Yu Hong and expressed his attitude.

Yu Hong pondered and suddenly asked: "Are we going to use the legal department to set an example for Yike Overseas?"

Fang Zhuo raised his eyebrows. He was a quick learner. He nodded: "If something goes wrong, I won't be held responsible. What will the other people who are busy because of this matter think? Moreover, it is not that the legal affairs department has not been replaced. At this stage, Martin is still responsible. They do it, and Cadwalader Law Firm has deep resources.”

"Deduction of bonus?" Yu Hong asked tentatively.

Fang Zhuo said calmly: "You announce this first tomorrow. If they have any objections, I will speak up and add to their serious dereliction of duty at work."

"Do you think they will have objections?" Yu Hong understood the meaning.

Fang Zhuo tapped the table with his fingers and just said "hmm".

In fact, the legal department established by Yike in New York is not a recruitment of new legal talents, but talents recruited by headhunters with high salaries. The purpose is to cooperate with the law firm to deal with the increasing litigation issues of Yike.

Normally, such a legal arrangement should not result in such a straightforward injunction-style result as in Virginia.

This made Yi Ke very passive.

If it were Cadwalader law firm, Fang Zhuo believes that they could easily drag out Apple's lawsuit for several years. This is something that has been confirmed in other lawsuits.

The other side may be able to win, but Martin and the others can postpone this matter for a long time.

The market is changing rapidly, and what is troublesome now may not be a problem in a few years.

"The legal affairs staff are proficient in the law..." Yu Hong said slowly.

"When they cause losses to the company, Martin and the others can once again prove the strength of the law firm." Fang Zhuo showed no mercy or regret at all. They are all Americans anyway.

Yu Hong let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the legal department that was finally built might be abandoned.

"Xiao Yu, you must look at the company from an overall perspective, not just the company, but also the entire industry." Fang Zhuo changed his tone to a gentle one.

Yu Hong couldn't help but sigh: "It's too busy here. The market is busy developing, the department is busy recruiting people, and we still receive letters from lawyers almost every week."

"Who isn't busy? I should be jet-lagged today, and I'm very tired just sitting here dealing with things." Fang Zhuo shrugged and pointed outside the office, "There is also an assistant from Sina outside, maybe he I also have information about domestic companies that I would like to review."

Fang Zhuo sighed first, and then encouraged: "Let's survive this period. If we can negotiate the music copyright, the model will be opened up. Otherwise, return to China as soon as possible. That will be easy. Either way will work."

Yu Hong nodded, she also understood the importance of music copyright. If this aspect was occupied by Apple, the usage habits of hardware would be completely invaded.

By then, price will not be the main influencing factor. Yike may still have some market share, but it will no longer be able to provide much competitiveness.

Fang Zhuo no longer mentioned departmental issues, but instead talked about negotiations with ASCAP, the largest music copyright organization in the United States, and also used this to talk about the marketing director's vision and choice.

"I looked at the progress of your contact on the flight here. There are too many details, and it's too penny-pinching."

"That's not to say you shouldn't pay attention to details. It's just that in your position, you have to focus on the big and let go of the small."

"Tomorrow I will consider overturning most of the previous negotiations. We should not discuss the authorization amount with ASCAP, but discuss more practical things with them."

Fang Zhuo stood up and brewed a cup of black coffee, fully savoring the bitter taste before continuing: "Suppose ASCAP wants us to compete with Apple for bids. How can we, a company that has done Series A, compare with a listed company like Apple?"

Yu Hong nodded: "ASCAP has indeed changed its attitude this week."

"Of course money is a good thing, but apart from money, do we have anything that can make ASCAP more attractive?" Fang Zhuo reminded.

Yu Hong was dealing with various tasks recently, and one thing flashed through her mind, and she said: "iMusic?"

Fang Zhuo finally showed his first smile tonight: "Well, our iMusic, together with P1 and M1, is the leading music management software on the Windows platform. Apple's iTunes must take into account its own ecosystem. We should be the one doing music format conversion. the best."

"From CD burning to MP3 format, and from MP3 to CD, the computer and the player have smooth communication in both directions. This is where Yike receives the most letters from lawyers."

"We can make concessions on this function and make it confidential. We can only convert CDs to MP3s individually."

Fang Zhuo said eloquently: "Also, we can make attempts to restrict users to spread music to more devices, which is also worthy of ASCAP's attention."

"They want money, and they also want to tame the wildly growing MP3 market. Simply relying on the law, the effect seems to be average at present, and it must require the cooperation of manufacturers. This is a good bargaining chip."

"We can provide help in this regard. This is their pressure on us and a middle ground where we can cooperate with each other."

Fang Zhuo emphasized: "Not only ASCAP, but also institutions such as SESAC and BMI, they all have to make choices in the face of the gradual development of digital music on the Internet. No one will reject the trend that can bring profits."

"I think Yike has proven with its performance in the market that we are also part of the trend."

Yu Hong thought for a while and said: "When we faced users, iMusic's music format conversion was a good function to convince them to use it. Now, when we face ASCAP, the bundled users have become Yike's bargaining chips. .”

"Yes, seizing this point and showing our willingness to cooperate is a powerful weapon in negotiations between Yike and ASCAP." Fang Zhuo added, "Especially, before Apple has reacted."

"They probably know now that we are negotiating the authorization amount and that we are struggling with the Virginia ban. So we have to go in the opposite direction and overturn the previous negotiation strategy and launch a blitzkrieg to restrain the market."

Fang Zhuo put out the cigarette, only half confident in his heart.

I've been a little busy these past two days as I've been catching up on work. I'll add a chapter tomorrow.