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"We want to talk to you about the future of Napster!"

In a small office, the two companies sit side by side.

Andrew the Chief Financial Officer of the American Starstar Group and GOOG1E? Freeman, Attorney David? Drummond, Chenxing Technology Marketing Officer Pierre? Macro and his assistants were well-dressed and looked very calm.

Compared to them, Napster co-founder Sean? Fanning, Shi En? Parker, Executive Elling? Richardson, CEO Hank? Barry, Legal Counsel David? Boyce, as well as six or seven board members, didn't look good.

Although they successfully appealed and postponed the San Francisco court's injunction against them, they can only know how much success they have in front of the media when they claim that Napster will win the lawsuit.

Here is a noble person who has to be mentioned, this person acted as a "white knight" in the snow when Napster was in internal and external troubles, invested $1300,000 in Napster, and invited David, a well-known lawyer in the Microsoft antitrust case? Boyce vs. Hank? Barry...... This person is John, the chairman of Napster? Hemer, who is also the founder of the venture capital fund.

"As I mentioned in my letter to Mr. Hemmer, although your company has successfully suspended the injunction that was recently decided by the court, the core operation mechanism of the Napster software determines that it creates a lethal target for the riaa and the four major records, and you cannot modify it, I believe that Mr. Boyce will not deny my words?"

David David, a veteran lawyer who once made a name for himself in Microsoft's antitrust case? Boyce frowned slightly: "We'll find a way!" ”

"Perhaps!" Andrew? Freeman spread his palms noncommittally and said lightly, "But I'm not sure you can fix this flaw before the Court of Appeals makes a final judgment, unless ......"

After a pause, he smiled lightly, "Unless you're going to bow to the RIA and the record companies...... Oh. And the musicians who are suing your company for infringement! ”

Andrew? These people in Freeman's mouth refer to the heavy metal band Meta11inetapster, and there are also many musicians holding wooden signs in front of the door, which shows that while Napster is destroying the record industry with the edge, the "talent" of advocating freedom and sharing is also bringing huge passivity to the company.

If this is never a problem in China, and the founder of Napster is an American and the company is in San Francisco, then the problem is huge!

David? Drummond mused, "I've seen your case file, and the dead end of the Napster infringement case is 'know and assist.'" Your company knows that the user's purpose is to copy and pirate the company, but still assists the user, so you are legally responsible! The court's judgment against your company is based on: (1) Napster personnel have experience in the audio and video industry; ii. In other cases, these persons have assumed responsibility for the protection of copyright; 3. Napster personnel downloaded the infringing text; 4. When Napster conducts marketing, it uses and mentions infringing words...... Aid, omission, and profit-making are all factors that determine that even if your company can appeal against the legal weapons from the record company at the moment, it will not be able to delay the next judgment! ”

"We know better than you about the dossier!" I saw that the faces of others were ugly. Scheming John? Hemmer said quietly, "You didn't come to San Francisco to mock us for our bad situation, right?" ”

"I said I was here for the future of Napster!"

Andrew? Freeman looked up and down Sean, who was a year or two younger than his boss? Fanning. He looks younger and more immature, and there is no bottomless depth and scheming in his eyes, but with anxiety and frustration that is clear at a glance! -- This is evident from this. The boss's long-planned acquisition may go smoothly!

I wonder if the boss really has the confidence to deal with the counterattack of the riaa and the record company! David? Drummond muttered in his heart, after all, the asset scale of the Chenxing Group and Napster are not at the same level at all, if the Chenxing Group participates in the lawsuit on behalf of Napster. The record companies that have always been unhappy with Internet companies are probably going to be happy!

John? Hemmer smiled slightly, "So, you're here to buy napster?" ”

Will Andrew? The intention of Freeman and his entourage was punctured, and more than a dozen key executives of Napster present had mixed faces, and the co-founder Sean? Fanning and Shien? Parker looked at Andrew with a wistful gaze? Freeman.

Andrew? Freman said quietly: "If we can get the friendly atmosphere with Napster's shareholders to the end, I want to ...... Yes! Although we don't agree, our boss seems to be interested in Sean? Mr. Fanning and Shi En? Mr. Parker admires it, who knows? Maybe it's because of their age! ”

Listened to Andrew? Freeman's words seem to be true or false, Sean? Fanning was surprised: "Does Mr. Song appreciate us?" It's an honour to have his appreciation, especially in such a terrible situation! ”

is also the founder, one who has built a huge business empire in two and a half years with one hand, and the other who has fallen into the mud of copyright and is difficult to maneuver...... That's fine, but in such a formal venue, the rhetoric of the majority shareholder can make the negotiation very delicate. In addition to the two founders of Broken Thoughts, the other executives of Napster couldn't help but roll their eyes.

Rubbing his forehead, John? Hemmer towards CEO Erin? Richardson winked, the latter nodded, and said, "The email you gave us a few days ago, our shareholders have carefully considered it, and there are many questions, I wonder if Mr. Freeman can answer me?" ”

"Of course, please!"

"Why is Mr. Song Chen interested in napster?" Aylin? Richardson asked, "Like Mr. Fanning said, we're overwhelmed by the RIAA and the record giants, and your company doesn't seem to have a digital music or even publishing business!" ”

Andrew? Freeman smiled slightly: "You know, our boss's idea is wild, and none of us knows what he is thinking, but it doesn't prevent us from executing such and such plans for him, no matter how much trouble his plan will bring to the company!" Who told us to take his wages? ”

Andrew? Freeman's last humorous words made the always cold David? Drummond couldn't help but smile. And the assistants around him couldn't help but laugh.

Aylin? Richardson also laughed heartily: "Mr. Song's genius planning talent has earned him global respect, and I am deeply honored to be the executive officer of Napster now!" But I want to know, are you buying our company with Chenxing Group, or a subsidiary? Also, will you give us full control over the operation? ”

Pierre? McCro shook his head and said regretfully: "You will be merged into Chenxing Technology and have your own arrangements, but unfortunately, we will completely rectify Napster and close the P2P sharing business!" ”

Except for the Chenxing side. The faces of the people at Napster changed.

John? Hemer muttered, "Why? Isn't Mr. Song's acquisition of Napster in favor of our free and great sharing business and advertising business? ”

"To be exact, we're only interested in the Napster brand and the engineers!" Pierre? "As for advertising revenue, it needs to be modified to align with our company's 'people-first' culture!" ”

The atmosphere in the conference room froze.

Sean? Fanning pondered for a moment, to Andrew? Freeman said cautiously, "If that's the case, I don't think the Napster is worth much!" ”

Andrew? Freeman smiled kindly at him and said, "That's going to be our concern, Mr. Macro has already said, we only want napster users and engineers!" If we acquire Napster. Napster is coming to life in a new, more friendly way! ”

Napster CEO Hank? Barry said lightly: "When it comes to friendly ways, Napster also has its own solution, and we will cooperate with the German company Bethelsmann." Strive to get the other party's investment to avoid a hostile takeover when the company is in crisis! ”

David? Drummond glanced at him, put his left hand on the back of the chair and said leisurely: "I thought we would be the white samurai of your company instead of the black samurai of the hostile takeover, it seems that there is a big difference of opinion between us!" ”

Hank? Barry smiled, "Now that you're ditching the Napster sharing mission, it's clear that you're not going to make a reasonable assessment of this business. Is that right? Mr. Freeman, I am curious, although Mr. Song admires Mr. Fanning. But will he come up with a sincere price? ”

Took the end of the pen and tapped on the table, Andrew? Freeman has realized that John? Helmer and Hank? Barry may be an opponent of the takeover, so he muses, "I hope everyone here understands that Napster needs a backer now, not a fight with the riaa and the record giants!" You know very well that even if the Napster can stall for time, you still have the sword of Damoris hanging over your head that will fall at any moment! You don't know when you're going to close, and you don't even know what to do in the future! I don't even have to guess to know that Batesmann, who is also one of the plaintiffs, must have put forward very harsh terms to you, and you may get a large amount of financing, but the problem is ...... You don't know what's next? ”

Andrew? Freeman's questioning silenced the napster side, Sean? Fanning said gloomily: "We are going to spend a lot of money to buy the rights from the global music giants in order to obtain a favorable opportunity for an out-of-court settlement? ”

Andrew? Freman asked quietly, "It looks like it will take a lot of money, and it's ...... I don't think they will agree to sell copyright resources to your company! In their eyes, the tech companies that 'steal' their products are always an abomination! Napster, in particular, you seem to have cost them at least $1o billion in the last two years; John? Hemer clasped his hands, his wrinkled hands rubbed gently, and he asked with a faint expression, "This doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Tatsuxing Group, but I heard that Mr. Song Chen is now in close contact with Sony CEO Nobuyuki Idei in Tokyo, can I assume that you have any ideas for digital music?" ”

Andrew? Freman smiled: "Although our boss doesn't know how to manage the company, he can see what others can't see and do things that others can't imagine!" We have better ways to work with these greedy giants, and I'm proud that my boss is such a great master of strategy. So even though we didn't approve of the acquisition, we still came! With sincerity, I invite you to join Chenxing Company! The premise is that you are willing to let go of your preconceptions and clearly recognize that you are in a difficult situation and need help! ”

Pierre? McCrop also said: "The reason why we don't agree with the acquisition of Napster is that we are not going to have the same sales business as Napster, but we will have to bear a lot of litigation costs after the acquisition." But if you are willing to give up entanglement in price, we will welcome you to join on behalf of Chenxing Technology! ”

John? Hemmer was silent for a moment and asked, "As the second largest shareholder of Napster, I want to know what the asking price of Chenxing Group is?" ”

"Three million dollars!" Andrew? Freeman said lightly.

Aylin? Richardson and the others frowned fiercely. But without speaking, one of the board members muttered indignantly, "Too low! ”

John? Hemmer asked coldly, "Mr. Freeman, your offer doesn't look like the behavior of a white knight!" ”

"You know, our boss is a master strategist, and we're just a businessman, that's our job!" Forty-year-old Andrew? Freeman smiled widely.

Co-founder Shi En? Parker was the first president of Napster, and he frowned unhappily: "But sir, the people who fancy Napster's nearly 40 million users are not only your Chenxing Group, but also Bertersmann Music Company!" ”

Nearly 40 million? Andrew? Freman's hearts jumped.

Song Chen's guess of the millions of users is Napster's number before it was taken to court by the RIAA. Since the lawsuit began, a large number of users have become loyal fans of Napster! And before Napster was ruled against the case and decided to appeal, it had 30 million users.

And it was only a short time after it was successfully appealed. With 10 million new subscribers, users who are worried that Napster will go out of business are frantically exchanging music, with 12,000 songs streaming across the network every minute, almost filling up their hard drives! This number is an extremely crazy "legendary" number in the 2ooo year of the universal "narrow band"!

It's no wonder why Batesmann Music, as a music giant, hides from the music giants who advance and retreat together. Secretly made contact with Napster.

And Andrew? Although Freeman updated the information of the target company before he came, he did not expect that Napster had accumulated nearly 40 million registered users in a short period of time, judging by the time the company was established. This number grows faster and crazier than QQ!

A little groan, Andrew? Freman said quietly: "So, in addition to Bertelsmann, are the four major record giants of Universal, EMI, Sony, Warner, and the Recording Association of America willing to abandon the lawsuit against your company?" ”

Freeman's words undoubtedly hit the other party's soft underbelly, Shien? Parker was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

Andrew? Freman asked: "Even if BMG is willing to cooperate with you and provide funds, how long do you think these funds will keep you in court?" ”

Sean? Fanning took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "But we can make the record giants face up to our energy!" ”

"The power of Napster is very powerful, and I think your 40 million users speak for itself!" David? Drummond smiled, "But this power is based on trampling on American law, and the process of the law dictates that you can delay the final trial, but the result is the same, unless you can come up with a large amount of money to organize a lobbying team to persuade Congress to change the Digital Millennium Copyright Act!" ”

Pierre? "The biggest problem for you napsters right now is that whether you continue to stick to it or change the direction of your operations, you're in an embarrassing situation where you have no way out!" ”

"Do you have a way to change this?" John? Hemmer mused, "Do you have a way to change the record company's deep-seated hostility towards us? ”

"That's my business!" David? Drummond said lightly.

There is confidence in the tone. (To be continued!)