Chapter 451 PHS Ringback Tone Service
Li Yiwen couldn't imagine using a mobile phone to take photos, surf the Internet, watch movies, etc., but it would be great if he could make his favorite music his ringtone.
"If I could spend a little money every month to turn a song I like into a ringtone, I would definitely be willing to pay."
Lu Yiming nodded slightly and said, "Yes, so the most important thing now is to get the copyright first, so as to avoid more trouble later."
SK Telecom of South Korea first developed ring back tone, and then introduced it to Taiwan in 2003, and it has developed rapidly. When it was first introduced in 2003, the number of users of ring back tone of telecom was less than 2 million, but by the end of 2004, it exceeded 20 million.
At that time, it cost 10 yuan to customize a ringtone, and you would be charged once you changed the song, or 5 yuan a month. At this price, 20 million users could collect 100 million yuan in ringtone fees every month. This was easy money.
Although Li Yiwen didn't know how Lu Yiming operated it, he understood the usage scenarios and potential needs of this thing after listening to Lu Yiming's description. He immediately said, "Okay, I'll go talk to you right away."
A few days later, Hong Kong.
Huaxing Records took the lead in organizing a high-end dinner party, inviting all the bigwigs in the Hong Kong record industry.
They got together to discuss licensing the song copyright to Qianqian Jingting.
The person in charge of Huaxing Records just started the conversation, and then everyone started chatting one after another.
"So you all received an invitation from Yixun Technology? I thought it was just Huaxing."
"I was wondering why you invited us to dinner, so this is what happened."
"I have looked for you guys. It seems that Yixun Technology has looked for everything it can. So, have you sold it?"
"Sell it. The price he offered is not low. You'd be a fool not to sell it."
"Haha, that's right, it's just internet copyright. He promised not to release the album, or else he would pay triple the compensation. To be honest, I really hope he breaks the contract so I can make a fortune."
"Me too, come on, let's go."
"This young man is really a money-making boy. This year's year-end bonus depends on him."
"Who says it's not?"
The dinner was filled with laughter and joy.
Thanks to rampant piracy, Lu Yiming and Li Yiwen traveled around Hong Kong and basically collected most of the excellent works in the Chinese music scene with almost no setbacks in the process.
Newspaper media are also following up on this matter. After all, he is now one of the richest people in mainland Xia, and the youngest among all the rich people. He is in the limelight, so his every move attracts attention.
Soon, the news that Lu Yiming spent a large sum of money to buy the online copyright of the song was reported in the newspapers.
Li Yiwen casually bought a newspaper and pointed at the news on it and said to Lu Yiming: "Look, everyone is laughing at you now and calling you a fool. I wonder what their expressions would be if they knew your entire plan."
Lu Yiming said with an indifferent expression: "Laugh if you want, but don't hinder me from making money. You should speed up and get some excellent music works from the mainland, Taiwan, and even Japan and South Korea. As long as the price is right, you can get them. "
Upon hearing this, Li Yiwen immediately lamented: "Ah, it seems that I am destined to be a hard worker. Well, now that I have a private jet, it's quite convenient to go anywhere."
At this moment, Lu Yiming's cell phone rang. When Lu Yiming picked it up, he found that it was Wu Ying calling.
"Mr. Lu, are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together. Jack Ma is here too."
Lu Yiming said: "Okay, I just happen to have something to tell you, so come pick me up when the time comes."
"Okay, that's it, you go ahead and get busy."
"Um."
In the evening, Lu Yiming met Wu Ying and Jack Ma.
It had been a long time since I last met Jack Ma. As soon as they met, Lu Yiming teased, "Boss Ma, how are things going recently? I guess I've spent all my money, right?"
Ma Jieke felt embarrassed. After all, he had spent all the money of his sponsor without achieving any decent results. Even though he was thick-skinned, he couldn't stop himself.
But Majek is Majek after all, and his only thing about him is his tough talk. Without blushing or panting, he said confidently: "This is how it is when it comes to the Internet. I always believe that the Internet is the future. There is no reward without hard work."
Lu Yiming knew Jack Ma's character very well. This guy was trustworthy before 2020. He waved his hand and said to Jack Ma, "You don't need to explain too much. I invested in you because I believe in you. So, you can do whatever you want. If you are out of money, come and tell me. I don't have much, but I have the most cash. I will definitely help you."
When Jack Ma heard this, he heaved a sigh of relief, even though he was a little nervous. He said, "Mr. Lu is really generous. It seems that cooperating with Mr. Lu will be one of the most correct decisions I have ever made in my life. Don't worry, I will definitely make a name for myself in the Internet industry."
Wu Ying smiled and said, "It is really an opportunity for us to meet Mr. Lu."
He poured a glass of wine for Lu Yiming, then raised the glass and said, "Mr. Lu, there's nothing more to say. All the feelings are in the wine. Come, I'll toast you. I'll drink it. You can do whatever you want."
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.
Lu Yiming took a sip and said with a smile, "Everyone in the world is here for profit. I am a pure person. I am here to make money. As long as you don't let me down, that's fine. Mr. Wu, how is your PHS business going?"
When Lu Yiming asked, Wu Ying sighed and said, "Xiaolingtong's business is currently facing some difficulties. Competitors have emerged, and there are several state-owned operators behind it. Recently, because of this matter, I can't sleep well and can't eat well. Mr. Lu, you are the best at publicity, can you help me think of a solution?"
Although Xiaolingtong will eventually win thanks to its killer advantage of being cheap and affordable, when it comes to making money, the sooner the better.
Lu Yiming did not directly say that the ringback tone service was prepared for Xiaolingtong. Instead, he looked thoughtful, pondered for a moment, and said, "I did think of a way."
When Wu Ying heard this, he immediately became excited. He leaned forward and stretched his neck, as if this way he could hear Lu Yiming's words earlier.
"I knew Mr. Lu would have a solution! Mr. Lu, what do you think I should do?"
Lu Yiming said: "Differentiation and specialization, your product must reflect the difference and have special functions to attract users."
Wu Ying slapped his thigh and said with a look of delight, "Yes, yes, that's right, Mr. Lu."
He poured Lu Yiming another glass of wine and asked, "Then how do we create unique features and differences?"
Lu Yiming took another sip of wine, pondered for a moment, and said, "I think we can start with the cell phone ringtone."
"Cellphone ringtone?"
Wu Ying and Jack Ma both looked confused.
Lu Yiming said, "Look, nowadays, when someone calls, the ringtone of mobile phones is just ding-ding-ding-ding. All mobile phones basically have these few tones. There is no personality or characteristics at all. It may even be a bit annoying if you hear it too much. Don't you think so?"
Wu Ying's eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "That's right! Sometimes I'm in a bad mood and I get annoyed by the jingling sound. Mr. Lu, do you have a solution?"
Lu Yiming nodded slightly and said, "Yes. What do you think? If we give users the right to set the ringtones and let them use their favorite music as their incoming call ringtones, wouldn't that be very personalized?"
"Great, it's really great! This is really very unique!"
Lu Yiming continued, "So, since we provide such a unique service, it is understandable that users pay a little bit of money, right?"
“Good fellow!”
Both Wu Ying and Jack Ma were shocked.
As for Lu Yiming's wild imagination, Jack Ma felt that his own ideas were simply not up to par.
This is the highest level of getting something for nothing.
"Boss Lu, you are such a talent!"
"No, genius!"
Lu Yiming laughed and said, "The technology of ringback tone is not complicated. It can be realized by a third-party switch. As for songs, there are plenty of them in my Qianqian Jingting app. I can just use them when the time comes. If your Xiaolingtong adds such a unique function, and you spread the word about it, won't the sales increase? Moreover, this function is not provided for free. We can activate it through SMS and charge a monthly fee of two or five yuan a month. We can make money from Xiaolingtong and ringback tone. Isn't it a win-win situation?"
Wu Ying nodded vigorously: "Yes, if Mr. Lu wins, I win too, it's a win-win situation."
In order to avoid disputes in the future, Lu Yiming gave Wu Ying a heads-up in advance, saying, "Brother Wu, let's make a deal first. The ringback tone service cannot be monopolized by Xiaolingtong, but Xiaolingtong can take the lead. Therefore, you need to plan the promotion strategy well. Take as much market share as you can before other telecom operators react. Within half a year at most, I will open this function to all users. After all, it's such a big pie, and those people can't refuse to eat it. If I hold on to it, I might get into trouble."
Wu Ying is also a generous person - of course, he couldn't be tough even if he wanted to, since he was using Qian Qianjing's music library. He immediately said: "Of course, I can understand. Look at me, I can't think of a reliable idea no matter how hard I try. Brother Lu, you have a good brain. This idea is really amazing."
All the problems were solved at once, and the three of them had a great time eating. If it weren't for Zhao Tiezhu, the three of them would have had to sleep on the street that night.
A few days later, Xiaolingtong announced the launch of its ringback tone service and advertised it crazily in newspapers and on television.
"Would you like to download this song as your ringtone? Please send the song name to 1066958820, and it will be activated immediately. You can customize your own personalized ringtone... The SMS rate is 2 yuan per message, excluding communication fees, and the monthly package is 10 yuan..."
Wu Ying's action shocked all his colleagues.
There was only one sentence in everyone’s mind: How the hell can you play it like this?
When Lu Yiming saw this advertisement on TV, the audio version of the advertisement automatically played in his mind, and he shuddered with fear.
Although he wrote the slogan, listening to it now still feels like a childhood nightmare.
Originally, Xiaolingtong occupied the low-end market with its low price. Now, with so many advertisements, those who are planning to buy a mobile phone will see that by spending a thousand yuan on a mobile phone, they can get personalized ringtones that even those tens of thousands of yuan mobile phones can't match. If they don't pay for it, how can they still be human?
For a time, the Xiaolingtong sales counter was crowded with people.
At the same time, Qianqian Jingting also made a lot of money from this business.
Ten dollars per person per month, that’s pure profit just sitting there!
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of July.
Each company announces its sales volume.
Xiaolingtong was far ahead of the rest, and the sales of the second-place competitor were less than a fraction of its sales.
This data shocked the digital and technology circles.
"Is the power of the ringtone so terrifying?"
Everyone knows that this sales volume is brought by the ringback tone service.
Since they have money to buy mobile phones, they must have gotten beyond the point of having enough food and clothing. If at this time, you give personality to the stereotyped ringtones and let users decide their own preferences, it would be strange if the sales did not improve.
Today's mobile phones only have the function of making calls and sending text messages, and the only differentiation is probably the appearance. Now that Xiaolingtong has given mobile phones a new function, how could everyone not flock to it?
In line with the principle of "join if you can't beat them", several operators and mobile phone manufacturers have launched their own ringback tone services to seize the market.
Making money is not shameful.
After seeing the market situation, some people also wanted to get a piece of the pie.
For example, doing nothing.
After learning about the operating model of the ringback tone service, he immediately found Joe Bert and said excitedly: "Mr. Bert! I have a big project here..."
Before Shi Wuwei could finish his words, Joe Bert said with disdain: "The last time you started a big project, I lost 10 million US dollars. Now you're doing it again?"
Seeing Joe Bert bring up the past again, Shi Wuwei felt a little embarrassed. But he soon recovered and patted his chest and guaranteed, "It was just an accident. This time it's definitely safe!"
When Shi Wuwei told Joe Bert about the ringback tone mode, he became so excited that his blood boiled.
"As long as we buy the copyright of the songs, we can negotiate cooperation with telecom operators. Then users will have to pay every month. This business can last forever."
This new model of making money without doing anything made Joe Burt, a financial elite from Wall Street, call him an expert. He immediately smiled and put his arm around Shi Wuwei's shoulders, as if the two of them were close friends who hit it off immediately: "The person who came up with this business is simply a genius! It's great, but from now on, it's mine!"
Shi Wuwei said excitedly: "Don't you have connections in Hong Kong? Let's work together to get the copyright of the song first, and then I will use my family's connections to negotiate with domestic telecom operators. Then we can wait for the money to flow into our pockets."
The sooner the better to make money, the better. Since they hit it off immediately, the two of them set off for Hong Kong.
After arriving in Hong Kong, Joe Bert called his college classmate, Wu Yu, general manager of Huaxing Records, and proposed to pay a visit.
Wu Yu was naturally very welcoming to the arrival of the Wall Street tycoon and old classmate, and hosted the two of them in a very famous tea restaurant.
Joe Bert and Wu Yu reminisced about their friendship when they were studying in college in New York, and then Joe Bert proposed to purchase the company's song copyrights.
At this time, Huaxing Records owned the copyrights of songs by a series of singers including Chen Meiling, Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Roman Tam, Eliza Chan, Jenny Chan, Leon Lai, Sammi Cheng, Chen Long, Andy Hui, Sally Yeung, etc. It can be said to be a giant in the Hong Kong music circle.
After Wu Yu heard the purpose of the two people's visit, he was stunned: "You also want to buy the copyright of our company's songs?"
Shi Wuwei was now anxious to make money from the ringback tone business. Hearing Wu Yu's words, he immediately felt something was wrong: "Really? Did someone buy the copyright from you before?"
Wu Yu also looked puzzled: "Yes, someone came here two weeks ago, and many news media reported it at the time. Didn't you know about it?"
Shi Wuwei complained: "There are so many messy news every day, how can I pay attention to them all?"
Then, he caught the key words in Wu Yu's words: "Two weeks? Half a month ago? How could it be that early? Xiaolingtong launched the ringback tone service only half a month ago... Holy shit? It's not Xiaolingtong that is looking for you to buy the copyright, right?"
Wu Yu said: "No."
Shi Wuwei let out a long sigh and asked, "Who is that?"
Wu Yu did not hide it and said, "Lu Yiming."
"hiss……"
Shi Wuwei took a deep breath and cursed, "This is even worse than Xiaolingtong."
Shi Wuwei and Joe Bert immediately knew that something was wrong. The feeling of being beaten to the punch by someone else was really uncomfortable.
Seeing their expressions suddenly become very ugly, Wu Yu asked curiously: "What happened?"
Shi Wuwei then told the story about Xiaolingtong's ringback tone business.
Since Xiaolingtong had no business in Hong Kong, it did not promote itself here. Wu Yu had no idea that Lu Yiming had acquired the copyright of the song and actually used it to make ringtones.
After listening to Shi Wuwei's story, Wu Yu was so angry that his eyebrows almost stood up. He cursed without caring about his image: "This Lu Yiming is really unethical! He actually used our music copyright to do such a thing!"
Thinking that Lu Yiming only paid a buyout fee, took away all the songs, and charged a monthly fee, making money without doing anything, Wu Yu felt so heartbroken that she couldn't breathe.
At first, the bosses of these record companies laughed at Lu Yiming and called him a fool, but now they realize that they are the fools.
Shi Wuwei lost interest for a moment and even had no appetite for the top-quality steak in front of him.
He stood up and said, "Okay, since your copyright has been sold, let's find someone else."
Wu Yu said weakly: "Don't bother with that. The copyrights of most good songs have been taken by Lu Yiming. You guys are a step too late."
