Hollywood Tycoon [US Entertainment + Business War]

Jade promised to invest a lot in Jerry Yang's "Internet Guide", but it was not a one-time payment, but a phased payment.And Jade has set goals for each stage. If the goals are not achieved, Jade's Pioneer Company will not continue to invest more.Yang Zhiyuan also expressed his understanding of this. After all, people will not inexplicably invest millions of dollars in a company that has not yet been established. It is already good to be able to provide support of [-] US dollars in stages.

According to the investment agreement, Jade has a 40% stake in the resulting company.Yang Zhiyuan has the priority to redeem this part of the stock; at the same time, when the new company issues additional shares, it must obtain Jade's consent.After the two parties confirmed the content of the contract, Jade gave the first investment to Jerry Yang in the form of a check.Seeing Jerry Yang's excited expression, it's hard to imagine that he will become the first generation spiritual idol of Internet entrepreneurship in the world.

In its heyday, Jerry Yang's Yahoo not only completely suppressed Google in the two major markets of the United States and China, but also drove Google out of the Japanese and Taiwan markets, and the Yahoo model is also the basic model of the first generation of Internet sites in China.Which one of Sina, Sohu and NetEase is not a direct disciple of Yahoo?One after another, a search engine and a set of information systems have made the first generation of Internet portals——portals.

But Jade also knew that Jerry Yang paid more attention to "content", which led to his defeat by "product-driven" companies represented by Google in the second Internet wave.Someone once ridiculed that Yahoo’s way of dealing with competing products is to acquire the company where the competing product is located, and then bankrupt the company; while Google acquires the company where the competing product is located, and then turns this competing product into a Google product.

Finally, when Google challenged Yahoo with its huge product line, only with an outdated search engine and a dilapidated mailbox system, Yahoo was naturally defeated.Of course, all this will happen in the new century, when Yahoo is still a thriving company.

"Mr. Sherman, are you really optimistic about that young man?" The person in charge of Jade Technology's affairs is called Eric Schmidt.

The reason why Jed contacted this person was that he would become the president of Google in the future and single-handedly develop Google into the largest and most respected Internet company in the world.Based on this alone, Jed is happy to have such an assistant by his side.At this time, Eric naturally does not have the bearing of a future president, so many things are a little ignorant.

"Aren't I a young man too?" Jed smiled and reminded Eric to pay attention to his age. "Since the invention of computer technology, the successful people in this industry have become younger and younger. This industry requires a lot of innovation, so the older people may be less suitable for this industry. Microsoft is now jaw-dropping Giants, just like IBM back then, do you believe it? One day, Yahoo will become a company like Microsoft.”

Eric Schmidt is not strictly a technical talent, so Jed put him more in charge of some administrative and publicity work.

And Schmidt is indeed skilled in handling these matters. You must know that Jade's technology company is composed of two major companies, Horizon and Pioneer. Horizon is headquartered in Europe and is mainly engaged in the research and development of optical media storage technology. Involves mobile communication and electronic equipment; while Pioneer is mainly based on network and computer technology.Although these two companies are bound to be integrated into one company in the future, Eric is very tired in management because of the two systems.

It's just that Jade still has some investments that cannot be made public at present, so there is no way to complete the integration of the two companies for the time being, so I can only look at Eric Schmidt's very tired work with regret.

After dealing with Yahoo, Jed returned to Los Angeles.But his secretary soon told him that David Geffen wanted to meet him.

This made Jed a little surprised. He and David Geffen are not friends, but because David Geffen and Spielberg co-founded DreamWorks, so Jed and him are still acquainted.However, since they are both wealthy and entertainers, and both are openly gay, they are often compared.

However, Jed thinks that there is nothing to compare between the two. David Geffen is only 22 years older than Jed in terms of age, and he can almost be called an uncle.However, Jed will not rashly reject another Hollywood rich man's invitation, don't tell his secretary to make an appointment with him.Soon, David Geffen said that if it was convenient, he would invite Jed to dinner at his house tonight.

Although going to Geffen's house for dinner sounds a little ambiguous, but David Geffen's home is also in Beverly Hills, so it's Jed's neighbor, so Jed just felt a little curious and didn't take it to heart. up.What Jed was curious about was that even ordinary friends would not invite him to his house for dinner for the first time.However, David Geffen is also famous in the entertainment industry for his free and easy and uninhibited, so Jed didn't think about the deep meaning behind it.After communicating with Jia Fei about the preparation of "Apollo NO.13", Jed rushed back to Beverly Hills from Burbank.

David Geffen's home in Beverly and Jed's home are completely decorated in two styles. Jade's home has a New England Puritan style, while David Geffen's is completely Victorian luxury and publicity.As expected by Jed, when Jed's car drove into David Geffen's house, countless flashing lights lit up, which is indeed one of the most guarded houses in Hollywood.It wasn't until Jed entered Geffen's house that he realized how flamboyant this uncle is. He not only invited a special team of chefs from the Four Seasons Hotel to take charge of the dinner, but also arranged a string quartet for accompaniment.Jed suddenly felt a sense of astonishment, and Geffen's enthusiasm made Jed a little bit at a loss.

"It's so hard to touch you, my dear Jed." David Geffen gave Jed a big hug.

Geffen is also Jewish, so he is naturally kind to Jed, a junior.He and Spielberg appreciate Jed differently. Spielberg appreciates Jed's artistic talent, while Geffen appreciates his business talent.Although Geffen is also a person in the entertainment industry, he is purely in the entertainment industry for fun, and the record company he invests in is purely for the musicians he likes to release records.But what Jed has to admire is that the uncle in front of him has led two generations of music trends in the United States.

Geffen founded the "Asylum Records" (Asylum Records) in 1970, which is a heavy metal rock record company that has made mainstream singers such as the Eagles, Bob Dylan and Jonny Michel popular.When he got tired of playing, he immediately sold the company to Warner Music.Then, unwilling to be lonely, Geffen founded "Geffen Records" (Geffen Records) in 1980. This is a comprehensive music record company that has made many American rock bands such as Cher, Guns N' Roses, and Nirvana popular. It also introduced British John Lennon and Elton John to the United States.Then Uncle got bored again and sold the record company.

In 1990, the uncle came back for the third time and founded "DGC Records".It hurts Jed to see David Geffen go through such a toss. Every ten years, a new record company is established, and the singer sells the company at its peak when it becomes popular, and the cycle continues like this.However, Geffen's cleverness is that he only sells record companies, but never sells the record copyrights of his singers. Therefore, David Geffen's copyright library has almost become an encyclopedia of the golden age of American rock and roll in the 80s and [-]s. , Enjoying the copyright income every year is enough to make many musicians envy and hate.

"Mr. Geffen, I officially appreciate your hospitality." Jed ate his dinner quite restrainedly.After dinner, it is naturally time to thank the host. "However, your invitation to me should be more than just having a meal together?"

"Of course not for a meal." David Geffen said with a smile, "No wonder Stephen said that you are straightforward and like to go straight. Although such a personality may not be pleasing in the mall, I like it very much. I find You are indeed here to discuss a business with you. It’s better to be straightforward when it comes to business. I want to start a pop record company. I wonder if you are interested in joining? Don’t worry about personnel, I have professional music in hand There is no problem with the team, whether it is production or distribution. I am just not familiar with the pop music market, so I want to use your eyes to discover a few newcomers."

Jed was a little bit dumbfounded, he could indeed point David Geffen to find newcomers, but the problem was that this was the age when American record singers were in decline.Old singers are still strong, and new singers haven't come out yet.The four queens of Madonna, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey are still the indicators of popular female singers, while the new generation of queens Britney Spears, Christine Aguilera and Jessica Simpson have emerged Only became famous in 1999.Jed didn't think Geffen would let his record company be alone for years.Most importantly, when Jed was thinking about the names of these singers, he suddenly discovered that these singers would go to Sony Music Entertainment Group one after another, either now or in the future.Sony is mainly composed of three major companies in the entertainment industry, Sony Music Entertainment Group (successively annexed large music companies such as RCA and BMG), Sony Pictures Entertainment Group (successively annexed Columbia Pictures and Samsung Pictures) and Sony Computer Entertainment Group.Although Jade seems to be dismantling Sony, he has to admit that the Japanese have quietly turned Sony into a super-large international entertainment company.

"What? Do you think I'm not capable?" Geffen looked at Jed's reluctance, and said with a smile, "I already have contracts with two singers, Mariah Carey and Madonna, what do you think? "

"How is it possible?" Jed was a little surprised, "Isn't Kelly's record contract still in the hands of Sony Music? Madonna is the number one queen of Warner Music, how could she change jobs?"

"What's impossible?" Geffen laughed, "The record industry in the United States is the same as your film industry. The production company and the distribution company are independent. The company signs the production contract and the distribution contract separately. Or a recording artist is spotted by the distribution company, signs the distribution contract in advance, and then finds the production company to sign the production contract; of course, the reverse is also possible. Large-scale companies such as Sony, Warner, and Universal The record company is indeed a giant, but they are mainly engaged in distribution work in the US market, and the production contract and management contract are separate companies. Why should I have nothing to do with the big record company? All I need is to convince them themselves. The disagreement between Kelly and her husband and manager is getting bigger and bigger. Tommy (Kelly’s husband at the time) wants to control Kelly too much, and always forces her to sing some urban love songs. It’s a pity that the black blood in Mariah Kelly’s body has begun Resurrected, haven't you noticed that her vocals are becoming more and more rhythm and blues recently? Tommy didn't follow Kelly's wishes, but deliberately forced her to do things she didn't like to do. Breaking up is inevitable. Not to mention job-hopping? As for Madonna, she has been in conflict with Warner Bros. for a long time, and I used an exchange agreement to get back Madonna's management contract."

"Exchange agreement?" Jed asked curiously.

"Warner Records will represent my new record company for distribution outside of North America." David Geffen suddenly said seriously, "The most important thing in doing business is that you have to find enough allies, especially in the United States. The United States has countless names. No consortium or large group can eat alone. Only when your interest group is large enough can your company be independent enough. Do you know why DreamWorks teamed up with Viacom and handed over the distribution to Paramount? ?Because DreamWorks is just a newcomer company in this industry, if we don’t have strong allies, then we will lose.”

"Is this what Mr. Spielberg asked you to say?" Jed suddenly realized something.

Geffen shrugged, "Okay. He mentioned it, and I think I need to remind you. After all, I have so much in common with you, and in some ways, you are more energetic than me. - how , are you interested in starting a record company with me?"

Of course, Jed understands the meaning behind Geffen. Joining forces with Geffen to form a record company is tantamount to warning those in the entertainment industry who covet Galaxy Movies and Dongfeng TV. Jed is not a person without allies. On the one hand, his relationship with Viacom Group On the other hand, it is to invest with the richest people in the United States. Small and medium-sized companies should weigh their own weight if they come to make trouble. "No problem. Mr. Geffen has always been familiar with the recording industry. Why don't you invest in a business that is sure to make money?"

"My new record company is called NGR, New Geffen Records. But since you assumed it, Geffen doesn't need to point it out. What do you think is a better name?" Geffen asked with a smile.

"NGR? How about NewGeneration Records?" Jed suggested.

"Good idea." Geffen applauded, "Okay, since you are one of the new bosses of NGR, you must do your best for the company, right? Tell me, we are more interested in those singers, we can consider signing them ?”

"The child stars of the Mickey Mouse Club, I suggest you cultivate them." Jed thought for a while, "Britney Spears, Justin Tim Lake and Christine Aguilera are all singers worthy of signing . . . and, David, why don't you consider signing Michael?"

When Geffen heard Britney's name, he was still smiling, but after hearing Michael's name, Geffen was a little astonished, and he said after a long time: "Jed, you are a good person, but unfortunately this world may not be like us. There are some things, we should not get involved too deeply, because there is nothing we can do."

"Okay." Jed didn't know why even a person of Geffen's level couldn't solve this problem, so he could only temporarily suppress the confusion in his heart.The next topic was some small talk about music. Geffen appreciated some of Jed's views, but Geffen didn't take Jed's prediction that the traditional record market would decline after the rise of the Internet.He felt that the rise of TV would suppress radio, but now the United States not only has a well-developed TV industry, but also the radio industry is still prosperous.Naturally, Jed had no way to explain it to him, because without the emergence of MP3, who would have predicted that the record industry would decline extremely quickly in the new century?After saying goodbye to Geffen, Jed returned to his home, and Old Bell reminded him that it was Jafei who had called him.

After calling Jia Fei back, Jed knew that Tom Hanks, the best actor in "Apollo NO.13", which he had in mind, declined the performance. "Is there really no possibility? Jia Fei, maybe I'll come forward and talk to him?"

"Maybe there will be a chance, but I'm not optimistic about it." Jia Fei said truthfully, "The consecutive Oscar winner has already put him on the burden, and I'm afraid that the next movie will attract criticism. He thinks that this kind of space-themed historical movie It is not what he is good at, so he is unwilling to act. More importantly, he thinks he needs to settle for a while."

Jed thought for a while, and replied: "No matter what, we have to try to find out."