Chapter 449 The promotion of tape music players
The time soon came to the end of August. On this day, Yang Wendong was in the office looking at the recent group information. Suddenly the phone on the table rang. Yang Wendong pressed a button and the voice came out: "Yang Sheng, Glory. The king of electronics is here.”
"Let him in." Yang Wendong pressed the phone and said.
This is a recently installed intercom device. You only need to press and hold the phone to have a direct conversation with the outside. So when someone comes to visit or receives an outside call, the outside assistant can inform you directly without having to knock on the door frequently.
However, in order to prevent some secrets from being leaked, the device itself also has scheduled shutdown and reminder functions to prevent internal calls from being listened to by outsiders when office workers are not paying attention.
Soon, Wang Zhiqun walked in with Brother Yi's "radio"-like device in his hand and said, "Yang Sheng."
"Is this a tape music player?" Yang Wendong asked immediately after seeing it.
Very early on, he began to arrange overseas people to pay special attention to new inventions in electronic products. In 1962, the European Philips Company invented a tape-based player. Although this player was inferior in sound quality to Vinyl records, however, are cheap and small. In addition, they have deep room for improvement and have unlimited potential in the future.
As a time traveler, Yang Wendong naturally knows that tape players will remain popular for 30 years in the future and will not be eliminated until MP3 appears.
However, when it first came out in 1962, Yang Wendong was not in a hurry to buy the patent. One reason was that he lacked financial resources. Philips was a big company, so he was not necessarily interested in it. The other reason was that the tape player was not yet stable and the market did not accept it. degree.
By 1964, many Japanese companies had also developed tapes, and the technical routes were still different. This formed a very fierce competition in the underlying architecture. At this time, in order to make the market accept them, these companies would also be more aggressive. I am willing to authorize production to other companies. In this way, I will have a chance.
Wang Zhiqun said: "Yes, this is Philips' latest music player. There are 6 songs on the tape inside, which can be played in a loop countless times. As long as the tape is not approached by magnets, there will be no problem. It will be fine even if it is dropped. .”
"The practicality is indeed much more convenient than vinyl records, and the size is also smaller." Yang Wendong said after taking out the palm-sized tape inside.
Wang Zhiqun said: "Yes, and some electronic companies in Europe, the United States and Japan are studying how to store videos on tapes. It is technically possible, but the resolution is very low because the data that can be stored on a tape is limited. This aspect is still limited. Improving.”
"We won't care about this for now." Yang Wendong added: "We will only store music data first. Don't worry about video recording for the time being."
VCRs were used to record videos in the 1990s, but the life of this technology was very short. It took many years to solve the storage problem in the early stage. After all, videos are more popular than music. Later, they encountered competition in optical disc storage technology, and the two sides fought to the death. On the other hand, DRAM memory technology developed according to Moore's Law, eventually defeating all previous technical routes.
As for music storage, there were almost no rivals before the emergence of MP3. Although CDs can also store music, CDs are not easy to physically save and are only convenient for use at home.
Wang Zhiqun replied: "Okay, I have also discussed with Philips the price and limited area of purchasing patents. Their current quotation is US$500,000, and in the future they will take a commission of US$5 for each unit, and limit our products to only It can be sold in Asia, but not in Europe and the United States.”
"The restricted area is not a problem, and the price can also be negotiated, but a commission of US$5 is too expensive." Yang Wendong frowned and said, "Have a good talk with them. Have you asked other companies in the United States or Japan?"
If you want to buy other people's patents, you are often restricted by others, and you can only agree to certain conditions; but fortunately, this technology is also available elsewhere, so you have a choice.
Of course, other families are also greedy, but it is better than one family being arbitrary.
"I understand, the commission is indeed too harsh." Wang Zhiqun said: "Actually, I have also been in contact with several companies in Japan and the United States, and the prices are similar. They may have had some tacit understanding before."
"Well, let's ask more questions." Yang Wendong thought for a while and said, "In the future, when we have a scale, we will have to conduct research and development in this area ourselves. Electronic products must still focus on technology, otherwise we will not be competitive. ”
Changxing Industrial can become popular based on creativity, but the giant 3M is not. It is a combination of technology and creativity, so the future of Changxing Industrial must also develop in this direction, because even Yang Wendong, a time traveler, has hot-selling ideas. Those who are limited and rely on this or that will sooner or later fail.
Not to mention the electrical and electronic industry. Without technology, it is difficult to move forward. Let’s talk about computers. It’s useless to be creative. You have to make actual products. If you can’t make low-cost or easy-to-use products, then even if you know the future It's no use either.
Wang Zhiqun replied: "Okay, I will also set up a special department to develop tape technology and tape players, and strive to get rid of the patent restrictions of other companies as soon as possible."
"Okay, build the industry first, and then consider progress." Yang Wendong nodded and said: "Get the patent as soon as possible. While Japan is still in the country, we will win some markets in Asia first."
Any product, even the Apple mobile phone in the 2010s, would take several years to make its existence known to consumers around the world.
In this era, the speed of information dissemination is even slower. When a new product appears, it takes a long time to promote it. For example, this music player. Even if there are several companies in Japan that can make it, even in the Japanese domestic market, they will have to spend several years. It will take time for publicity and operations to cultivate enough customers. Before that, even if they could export to Southeast Asia, they would not invest a lot of resources.
This is the opportunity for Honor Electronics. After all, it is a local market in Hong Kong. For Honor, which has the Changxing Group behind it, half a month of publicity can cover it. In the remaining time, it can devote itself wholeheartedly to the Southeast Asian market and take the lead. Let’s talk about it later.
The time soon came to September. In Hong Kong, the Hong Kong sister activities began to gain some fame. Under the control of TVB and Changxing Media, the popularity of this matter has attracted the interest of many beautiful girls. After all, the winner will be rewarded with a house, which is tempting. It's so big that even if housing prices are falling now, it's still out of reach for many ordinary families.
In addition to the champion, the runner-up, third runner-up and even the top ten all have specific rewards, and participating in the event, except for the time cost, everything else is basically 0, because those who can enter the local preliminaries are provided with food and clothing. Something to wear.
Tsim Sha Tsui:
Yang Wendong took Su Yiyi to the place where they first started their business.
Su Yiyi looked around and said with emotion: "It's only 7 years since 1958. Tsim Sha Tsui is changing so fast."
"Seven years is not a short time." Yang Wendong also said: "There were so many squatters around Tsim Sha Tsui back then. If you look at them now, they are basically gone. Some of them may be immigrants in the past year or two."
In the past life, the mainland went from almost nothing to becoming the world's largest industrial country and a nearly developed country (recognized by the United States) in thirty or forty years. The speed is so fast that it is unique in the world.
But in fact, the city of Hong Kong developed much faster than the mainland in the 1960s. The average GDP in 10 years was about 13%. This is comprehensive data including the economic crisis of 1965-67. In the past few years, Hong Kong’s industrial development The speed is absolutely unprecedented. Looking at the speed alone, it cannot even be compared to the newly opened mainland, unless the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange are separately compared.
Su Yiyi smiled and said: "In that case, Brother Dong, your contribution is at least 20%, right?"
"Maybe, it's hard to say, but it must have some effect." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
According to Hong Kong GDP statistics, the entire Cheung Hing Group accounts for less than 5 percent, but in some towns alone, the figure is about 20 percent, such as Tsim Sha Tsui and Kwun Tong.
Of these two towns, one is the only production base for post-it notes and some plastic parts, and the other has a large plastics industrial park. It can be said that they are the two largest production bases of Changxing Industrial. As for Changxing Real Estate and Shipping, the former is relatively scattered. The investment is mainly in Hong Kong Island, while the latter is an asset floating on the sea, which does not directly help Hong Kong's economy. There is also Shatin Town. This once poor town has become an important production base for Watsons food and beverages. In a few years of development, Watsons will inevitably become the economic core and even the lifeblood of Shatin.
"Don't be modest." Su Yiyi added: "Some time ago, I asked someone to investigate our former neighbors. They all worked in Changxing Industrial and are living a good life now. Although they haven't bought a house yet, they still have a good life. Affordable to rent.”
"Well, it's good to be able to benefit them." Yang Wendong nodded and replied.
In the first half year of time travel, when I first started my business, I also had contact with my neighbors. Occasionally, these people helped me a little. Therefore, after Changxing Industrial gained scale, they naturally joined my company.
But it is only an ordinary position. He will not give high positions to people who have no ability or connections. At most, they will give high salaries, which can be regarded as additional benefits. Even Zhao Liming and Lin Haoyu are now "supervisors" in their own charity funds. Work, not manage.
The two soon arrived at the venue for the Miss Hong Kong preliminaries. It was a large open-air venue with hundreds of people busy. On a handmade table, more than a dozen good-looking women gathered together.
Su Yiyi said: "This place where Miss Hong Kong is elected is so sunny."
"This can only be done this year. It will be much better when TVB's studio is completed next year." Yang Wendong said: "It can accommodate more than 2,000 people and the environment is good. Various activities can be held there in the future."
The TVB studio is already under construction. It is located next to the TVB Building in Tseung Kwan O. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It will not be in time for the Miss Hong Kong election, but it will be possible for the Spring Festival Gala next year. This will also be the first Spring Festival held by TVB.
"Well" Su Yiyi didn't ask any more questions, then looked at the podium and said: "These women have really good looks."
"There are 3 million people in Hong Kong, and there are many beauties and handsome men." Yang Wendong added: "However, the Miss Hong Kong election is not just based on appearance, talent is also required. Now we only choose academic qualifications and appearance. When the finals come, we will also look at literature and art. .
The core purpose of holding the Hong Kong Sisters event is to select high-quality actresses for TVB or Changxing Films. There are also requirements in this regard. ”
"Yeah, but I also feel it's so lively." Su Yiyi smiled.
Yang Wendong said: "It's good to be lively."
After watching the Miss Hong Kong election for a while, Yang Wendong came to the back office. Many staff from TVB and Changxing Media were also here, including Qi Ruifan and Qin Zhiye. Naturally, Yang Wendong asked them to come together.
"Yang Sheng, Mrs. Yang." Qi and Qin greeted.
Yang Wendong said: "Sit down, I called you here today because I have something to tell you."
"Yang Sheng, please speak." Several people also sat under the outdoor stools.
It was a bit hot, so two discerning employees immediately brought over two large electric fans.
Yang Wendong said: "Glory Electronics has bought a low-cost music player, not a vinyl record, but a tape player.
This kind of player will be one of the electronic products promoted by Honor Electronics in the future. It can drive the development of Hong Kong's music industry, but it also needs to have enough music before it can develop. ”
In the early days of this new product, even Philips was unable to expand globally. At the same time, it faced challenges from its counterparts in Japan and the United States. Therefore, they also wanted to sell the production authorization patent as soon as possible so that they could sell it within a short period of time. Maximize profits while ensuring that you can continue to collect patent fees in the future.
Therefore, Honor Electronics, after half a month of negotiation with Philips, finally settled on patent licensing cooperation. Honor paid US$350,000 plus a patent fee of US$2.6 per unit, plus US$250,000 to purchase a tape production line and playback equipment. As long as the equipment is shipped to Hong Kong and assembled, production can begin.
But equipment and technology alone are useless. These are hardware, and software is required, which is music.
Only with enough music can consumers spend money to buy it. Otherwise, similar to the previous life, no one would be willing to buy a mobile phone without an APP, even if it has an 8gen4 processor.
"Music player? Okay, no problem." Qin Zhiye agreed immediately and asked: "Then how much will the price of this player be?"
Yang Wendong shook his head and said: "I'm not sure yet, but it will be much cheaper than a TV and more expensive than a radio."
How much the price should be set depends on market demand. If the market demand is high, it can be sold more expensive, and vice versa. If the production capacity is insufficient, Yang Wendong will not force the price to be cheaper. Otherwise, after paying so much patent fees, how can it be recovered?
"That's not bad, it just depends on the sound quality." Qin Zhiye nodded and said: "In terms of music, I have been cultivating talents in this area, but there are only a few songs that have achieved results so far."
"It's OK to have some first. If it doesn't work, just cover Japanese songs on a large scale." Yang Wendong said: "When the Hong Kong market and even the Southeast Asian market are cultivated, as long as there is money to be made, local singers will naturally appear."
In the early days, Yang Wendong specifically asked commercial radio stations to cultivate singers for a long time, buy songs at high prices, and even signed some people. From an economic perspective, it has always been a loss, but for Changxing Group, it is just a drop in the bucket. Not to mention other things, If two good songs can appear and make boss Yang Wendong feel comfortable listening, it will be worth it.
But from the perspective of the entire market, this amount of training funds is not large, so I try to buy copyrights from Japan and then cover them. This is the fastest, but because there is only one market, radio stations, so the number is not large.
Now that tape players have appeared and are ready to be produced locally, a large number of songs are needed. Hardware will be easier to sell if there is more software. And with more hardware, the software market will become larger, which will drive the growth of local songs.
Qin Zhiye agreed and said: 'Okay, I understand. ’
Yang Wendong looked at Qi Ruifan again and said: "Lao Qi, TVB here can also play music in the middle of the night, and some people should listen to it. In addition, they can hold music competitions, just set up such a structure, and then sell tickets to the TV station Live streaming can be considered multiple benefits and can also bring some income to the singer.”
With TV stations, many entertainment projects can be monetized, creating more revenue and stimulating early content creation.
"No problem, I will make a plan as soon as possible." Qi Ruifan agreed.
Yang Wendong continued: "Well, our group will work together to expand Hong Kong's music market. I will also invest in overseas channels. By then, our local income will be higher."
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Some music from Hong Kong in the previous life has not declined even in the Douyin era. There are still many classics. It is hard to imagine that these songs were only created by Hong Kong with a population of several million.
At the peak of TV and movies, Hong Kong music was the same, sweeping across Asia, and even the Japanese market was conquered to a small extent. The famous singing group Beyond went to Japan to attend a concert before the accident happened, which is quite a pity.
(End of chapter)