San Francisco, Marriott Hotel. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Today is the day of the launch of the third generation of Firefly players, and the hotel's largest ballroom is packed with guests and journalists from all over the world as it was last year.

It's just that after listening to the new product introduction just now by Firefly Electronics CEO Victor McNelli, Larry Ellison, who was sitting next to Eric, applauded quite perfunctorily, and leaned over very disapprerovingly and said: "So, that's all, Eric? Larger capacity, longer battery life, and improved sound quality that is difficult for consumers to intuitively feel? Seriously, if I were you, I would fire the entire team responsible for new product research and development after the press conference." ”

Eric looked at Christina Aguilera who walked onto the stage to start the halftime show, and said without turning his head: "If I do this, companies like Sony, Philips and even Microsoft that want to enter the digital music player space will have to go crazy." Larry, you're not going to have the idea, are you?"

Larry Ellison complained, "You guy, I'm worried about you. So many manufacturers are going to launch digital music players this year, but your team has just come up with a generation of mediocre products with no new ideas, do you think Firefly Electronics can still hold its own advantages?"

"Then give it a try," Eric said with a smile on his lips, "Speaking of which, we have prepared a $100 million lawsuit fund, and we are waiting for a lively lawsuit with everyone." ”

"I think you're going to be angry," Larry Ellison grinned, suddenly realizing something, looking at his watch, and seeing that if it ended like this, the press conference would be too short, so he leaned over again and whispered, "Eric, there's a surprise, isn't it?"

Eric shrugged, "Guess what?"

Speaking of which, the just-released third-generation Firefly player is indeed just another hardware and software upgrade on the basis of the previous two generations, and there is nothing that can make people shine, and it is no wonder that Larry Ellison was disappointed, and the other reporters and guests on the scene generally felt this way.

However, this is definitely not due to the lack of innovation in the R&D team of Firefly Electronics.

In fact, due to Eric's strong boss staring at any time, it is impossible for the Firefly Electronics R&D team to slack off even if they want to, and there are really a lot of new product ideas that come up with every year.

If necessary, Firefly Electronics is ready to launch products such as a refreshing full-touch Firefly player or a more miniature button Firefly player with flash memory media.

It's just that Eric doesn't want to be too eager to expand the product line of Firefly Electronics, creating a lot of digital music players with different styles and prices but not much difference in basic functions. Because this will only make consumers have difficulty in choosing, and then instinctively tend to lower the price of the style, pulling down the average selling price and overall profit of Firefly electronics.

Moreover, the management of Eric and Firefly Electronics agreed that the most important task of the company at present is to further improve the surrounding ecological services such as digital music stores and user payment systems related to Firefly players, which is the most powerful 'moat' to maintain the market advantage of Firefly players.

As long as users can have the convenience of obtaining music content far beyond the same type of products, even if Firefly Electronics is forced to further license the relevant patented technology of MP3 players under anti-monopoly pressure in the future, it will be difficult for competitors to threaten the market position of Firefly Electronics.

After Christina's performance, Tina Brown took the stage and officially began to introduce the mini music store project that Firefly Electronics and Yahoo will jointly promote in the eyes of the guests.

When a prototype image of the mini music store appeared on the big screen, Tina Brown hadn't even officially started the feature introduction, and there was already a noticeable commotion.

After all, most people can easily guess what this machine is for based on its appearance.

Then, when Tina Brown began to give a full touchscreen demonstration, many discerning media reporters were already secretly passing on the news.

Larry Ellison briefly listened to Tina Brown's introduction, and then leaned over with a hairy face again, and his tone was tentative: "Eric, is the operating system of this machine customized by Microsoft?"

Eric was a little surprised, he didn't expect Larry Ellison to grasp the most crucial point in such a short period of time, and said again: "Guess what?"

Larry Ellison confirmed his judgment from Eric's expression, grinned and patted him on the shoulder, then gave him a thumbs up, "Well done." ”

Eric smiled, and didn't bother to say a few words of concealment.

Larry Ellison and Microsoft are well known to not deal with each other, and seeing a brand new operating system appear on the Firefly Electronic Mini Music Store, it is natural to think that Eric is planning to challenge the market position of Microsoft's Windows operating system, how can he not be excited.

If the time goes back another five years, Eric may have this idea, but now, with the release of Windows 98, Microsoft's supremacy in the field of PC operating systems has been unshakable, Eric naturally has no heart to do this doomed attempt, and his eyes have been firmly fixed on the future of mobile operating systems.

The Firefly electronic mini music store brought far more surprises to this launch event than the third-generation Firefly player, which should have attracted the most attention, and the new generation of M-200 music phones released by Nokia at the same time.

At the end of the press conference, the Internet media and the evening newspaper of the day began to appear overwhelmingly about the news of the Firefly Electronic Mini Music Store, and some media also made the same speculation as Larry Ellison, and then many people called Firefly Electronics and Yahoo executives to test, even Microsoft could not sit still, and the gate students endured until the next day, or dialed the phone and tried around the corner.

However, the buzz about the mini music store didn't get much excitement from Firefly Electronics and Yahoo executives.

Eric arrived in San Francisco from Los Angeles at noon, and the press conference began at 2 p.m. and ended at 4 p.m., and most of the reporters and guests who would stay were looking forward to tonight's reception.

"A large proportion of shareholders and executives within the Seagram Group are already full of doubts about Universal Music's cooperation with Firefly Electronics, and the company's total debt size of $12 billion also makes them have to be cautious about the claims of creditors, and it is reasonable for them to terminate negotiations with us. Now, Universal Records, Warner Records, and Sony Records have all been ruled out, and we only have two options, EMAI Records and BMG Records. ”

In the conference room, Eric listened to Bill Olsen's presentation of the current situation while flipping through the documents in front of him.

A few days ago, Eric was also surprised to hear that Universal Music refused to continue licensing negotiations. He hurried back to Los Angeles from the East Coast to meet with Edgar Bronfman again and raised the promised loan to Seagram to $1.5 billion. This was the highest bonus Eric was willing to give, and so was what Edgar Bronfman had expected. However, Edgar Bronfman still did not let go.

It is conceivable that the capital forces that obstruct the cooperation between Firefly Electronics and Universal Music behind the scenes have made full preparations.

Warner Records and Sony Records were left out in the first place, and now, without Universal Records, the best potential partner, Firefly Electronics is left with only two major record labels in Europe, EMI and BMG, to fight for.

After Bill Olson finished speaking, Tina Brown said: "The decline in the record industry continues, and I think sooner or later, whether it's Universal Music, or Warner Records, or Sony Records, it's going to have to think about the transition to a digital music player." ”

"The point is, we don't have time to wait for them to take the initiative to transform, and the company needs to get the content ready as soon as possible. ”

"Perhaps, we can aim for a larger number of small and medium-sized record labels, and although the big five records are very strong, these small and medium-sized record labels are also very rich in content. ”

"The best artists and records are in the hands of the Big Five, and our collection of a hundred records from small companies is not necessarily worth the impact of a single record of a big five artists. ”

"Firefly Records' backstreet boys and spice girls have been able to bring enough influence to digital music stores, and what we need to do now is to give users more choices in terms of content. ”

“……”

Eric listened to the discussion for a while, looked up, and asked Bill Olsen, who was sitting diagonally across the table, "Bill, what is the reaction of the two companies in Europe, or, do you think the two companies are easier to win over?"

Bill Olson smiled wryly: "EMI and BMG's attitude towards digital music sales licensing is even colder than that of Universal before, and they should have been in contact privately, and it is obvious that an offensive and defensive alliance has been formed, and we can only fight for both of them at the same time, or, give up at the same time." ”

There was silence in the room.

After a few moments, Victor McNairy said, "Eric, actually, the solution to this matter has always been simple. The major record companies are basically just trying to get a piece of the digital music player. So, you just need to agree to transfer a portion of the shares of Firefly Electronics, and the situation we are in now is solved. ”

The pencil in Eric's hand swirled between his fingers, shook his head slightly, and said, "Victor, this is not easy at all. ”

"Eric, I understand that you have great expectations for Firefly Electronics, we are not short of funds, and the performance growth is also very strong, which is our advantage. But we also have to face up to our weaknesses, and we need partners. And even if you think this company is going to be worth $100 billion, or even $200 billion, in the future, we have to act on Firefly Electronics' $30 billion valuation and influence now, and that's the reality. ”

However, everyone should know that Firefly Electronics' products are definitely more than just Firefly players. ”

Jeff Klebel, the company's vice president who was transferred from Nokia to be in charge of the Firefly electronics supply chain, raised his hand to attract everyone's attention, and then looked at Eric and said, "Eric, do you mean that the Firefly player is actually not the most important thing for Firefly Electronics, I remember you expressed a similar point before." ”

Eric nodded and said, "Although the Firefly player is currently almost all of Firefly Electronics' source of profit, just like the cassette recorder and the MD player that will be eliminated before it is fully promoted, this product is likely to be replaced by new portable music playback carriers in the next five to ten years, such as mobile phones." ”

"So, Eric, I have a solution," says Jeff Klebel, "and we can spin off the Firefly player business and create a separate subsidiary, and then look for the partners we need in that subsidiary." In this way, other potential business units of Firefly Electronics will not be disturbed. Even, if it's true that the Firefly player is doomed to obsolescence, we can even take off the business at the highest point, if you're willing to sell it, of course. ”

In the conference room, everyone's eyes lit up when they heard Jeff Klebel's words, and Eric's fingers on his pencil stopped.

In fact, as long as the Firefly player can be promoted quickly, Eric doesn't mind sharing a portion of the profits with the big record labels. It's just that Eric is very resistant to the record company's intention to directly invest in Firefly Electronics.

For him who can clearly see the future, Firefly Electronics' ARM company and multiple technical teams related to tablets and smartphones are the company's most valuable assets, and the Firefly player is more like a transitional product for Firefly Electronics.

Jeff Klebel's suggestion also gave Eric a sense of enlightenment.

The separate spin-off of the Firefly player business and the establishment of a subsidiary can not only solve the current dilemma faced by Firefly Electronics, but also make the Firefly player a separate listing operation.

After all, Henry Paulson's words at the Hearst party were all about something, but one thing was true: the executives and employees who own shares in Firefly Electronics want the company to go public for better returns, and that appeal is understandable to anyone.

Slowly drawing a circle with a pencil on the information in front of him, Eric pondered for a moment, and then used the pen to point in the center of the circle, without any mud and water, looked up at everyone, and said decisively: "Then, let's do this, now, let's discuss how to implement it." ”

Inside the ballroom of the Marriott Hotel.

It was already nine o'clock in the evening, and although the banquet hall was crowded with people and seemed very lively, there was still an inexplicable atmosphere in the crowd.

Because, until now, as the host, several core executives of Firefly Electronics have not shown up, and only a public relations manager of Firefly Electronics came forward to preside over the opening of the reception.

In order to entertain guests from all sides, the banquet hosted by Firefly Electronics is very attentive, and all the details are impeccable, the guests do not have much dissatisfaction, but there is more and more curiosity in their hearts, and many people have looked at the door of the banquet hall more than once, looking forward to the appearance of the high-level figure of Firefly Electronics.

Some of the media reporters who attended the party even hid in corners and began to contact the outside world to try to find out what was going on.

After more than half an hour, at the door of the banquet hall, a group of figures that everyone had been waiting for finally appeared, and the guests who couldn't bear it at all surrounded one after another.

Eric lagged behind everyone for a while before entering the banquet hall, and at this time Victor McNelly and the others had already attracted most people's attention, but when Eric entered the banquet hall, he was immediately caught by Larry Ellison: "Eric, tell me what happened, I will almost call the police if you don't show up again?"