Hugo Rhodes asked: "I heard Jerry Black say that Apple is going to release a new product that will make Polygram a lot of money?"
Jerry Black is the CEO of Apple's UK division.
"Yes, Mr. Hugo Rhodes, absolutely! This will not only benefit Polygram, but all record companies!"
While talking, everyone had come to Hugo Rhodes' office.
Hugo Rhodes heard the words, and his curiosity suddenly increased, "I'm curious about what kind of products can make a record company make a lot of money?" He couldn't help asking.
The secretary poured over two glasses of water.
Li Zetian picked up the water and took a slow sip, deliberately not in a hurry to tell him.
From the very beginning of the meeting, negotiations have already begun.
Whoever acts more urgently will lose out.
Li Zetian did not immediately answer his question, but instead asked: "May I ask Mr. Hugo Rhodes, what does the record company mainly rely on to make money?"
Hugo Rhodes replied: "The main way for record companies to make money is naturally to make money by releasing records!"
"Excuse me, Mr. Hugo Rhodes, how many records can a well-known singer sell?" Li Zetian continued to ask with a smile.
"Millions of records are pretty good, and some top singers have sold more than 10 million records..."
"Very good! If there is a product that can increase the sales of records, do you think the record company will support it?"
"Okay, Mr. Li, please don't sell anything, please tell me what this thing is!" Hugo Rhodes said.
Li Zetian knew that the other party couldn't hold his breath, so he smiled and took out the Walkman tape and the music tape from the bag.
"It's those two things!"
Hugo Rhodes knew the tape. In 1963, Philips of the Netherlands developed a cassette tape, which has developed rapidly due to its advantages of lightness, durability and strong interchangeability.
"This is?" he asked, pointing at the Walkman.
"Tape Walkman!" Li Zetian explained, "Put the tape in here and you can play songs, you can put on headphones to listen to the effect! You can also play songs without headphones, but the effect is slightly worse than headphones. "
Hugo Rhodes said: "Then I'll listen to it with headphones."
"Well, this is the best!"
When Hugo Rhodes put on the headphones, Li Zetian put the tape into the Walkman, then smiled at the other party, "Attention, it's about to start!"
Having said that, Li Zetian pressed the play button.
A beautiful and beautiful song came from the headphones, and Hugo Rhodes was very surprised. After a while, he took off his earphones and said to Li Zetian, "It is indeed a great product, but the sound quality is much worse than that of vinyl records!"
Li Zetian smiled and said, "You get what you pay for. The production cost of vinyl records is very high, while the production cost of tapes is relatively low! Mr. Hugo Rhodes, the Walkman tape player can be carried around with you. It will definitely be sought after by many young people, which will undoubtedly create a huge market for music tapes."
Li Zetian thought that the other party would be very happy after seeing the product, but unexpectedly, Hugo Rhodes frowned.
"Mr. Li, maybe you're right, but this will have a big impact on the vinyl record market! People buy Walkmans, buy music tapes, and naturally they won't buy record players and vinyl records. !"
The profit of tapes is low, and the profit of vinyl records is high. Even if you sell ten tapes, there may not be a high profit of a vinyl record. The release of music tapes may cause huge losses to the record company!
Li Zetian thought about it for a while, and quickly understood what the other party was worried about. He organized his language and said, "Mr. Hugo Rhodes, the sound quality of the Walkman is indeed quite different from that of vinyl records. I believe that I like music. of people are still willing to buy vinyl records, but they are also willing to buy Walkmans and music tapes, because they can take them outdoors to listen to songs. Just imagine, is this an extra income for the record company? As for the impact of vinyl records you said The market... yes, I have to admit it, but if the music tapes are selling way more than the records, I think the record companies can make more money."
"Only if the Walkman is very hot..." Hugo Rhodes reminded.
"Walkman will be popular, I am afraid it is not doubtful. What do you think, Mr. Hugo Rhodes?" Li Zetian asked rhetorically with a smile.
Hugo Rhodes is silent, because he is involved in the music industry, so he knows the users very well, and the Walkman tape player is very attractive to them.
Li Zetian continued at this time: "I believe that once the Walkman becomes popular, more manufacturers will follow suit and manufacture similar tape Walkmans, which will further develop the Walkman market into a huge market, and even many record players will Adopt music tape standards. There is no doubt that by then, music tapes will be popular all over the world." Li Zetian paused, his voice raised a few decibels, and said, "Whether you choose to embrace music tapes or stick to vinyl records completely, this is the question. Will decide the fate of the record company! May I ask Mr. Hugo Rhodes, is Polygram willing to be the first to eat crabs?"
After listening to Li Zetian's words, Hugo Rhodes was very tangled in his heart!
"Mr. Li, I'm sorry that I can't make a decision right now. I have to conduct a detailed analysis with my team before giving an accurate answer!"
Li Zetian frowned slightly and said solemnly, "I won't be staying in the UK for too long!"
"Don't worry, we will answer you as soon as possible."
"OK then… "
The first contact ends here.
Li Zetian walked out of the Poly Gold record company, depressed in his heart, and found that things were not as simple as he expected!
Three days later, Polygram Records finally gave Li Zetian an answer. They said that Polygon Records is a big business, and vinyl records are the company's main source of income, so they dare not take risks. However, they did not completely reject it. When music tapes are really unstoppable, they will naturally choose to join this camp.
Obviously, this is a very conservative decision.
"Mr. Li??" Branch CEO Jerry Black called out to Li Zetian in a low voice when he saw that Li Zetian didn't look right.
Li Zetian waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, PolyGram Records rejected us this time, maybe it's their loss. This afternoon, I'm going to return to the United States, and you have someone help me book a plane ticket!"
"Okay, Chairman!"
Li Zetian returned to the hotel, packed his luggage, and slept in bed for a while.
In the afternoon, Jerry Black came to the hotel and took him to the airport.
The next morning, at about 7 o'clock, the plane arrived in San Jose.
Li Zetian got off the plane, went to the pet store to pick up Simba the dog, and then went home. There was no rest after that and went directly to Apple.
Tian Shuai and others received a call from Li Zetian yesterday, knowing that the cooperation with the Polygram record company had not been concluded, and received an order from Li Zetian to hold a meeting the next morning.
In the conference room, the atmosphere seemed a little heavier than before.
Li Zetian sat in the first place and said, "The refusal of Polygram Records disrupted our previous plan, and now we can only use the backup plan! From now on, we will send the company's executives to many large record companies around the world to discuss cooperation, I'm sure there will be a record company willing to support us. Also, put a Walkman commercial on TV as soon as possible to let the record company know how popular our products are!"
"Now we are begging the record company, but one day the record company is begging us!!!"
Li Zetian couldn't help but say these words at the end. Although record companies have the dominant power in the tape era and the future CD era, when we enter the Internet era in the future, you will see whose era this is. ! ! !