The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

Wednesday, 9:00 AM.

Beijing, Subway Line 1.

In the crowded carriage, everyone had their heads down, their fingers swiping rapidly across the screen.

The two girls in the next seat were chatting.

"Hey, have you listened to Jay Chou's new song?" one of the girls wearing glasses asked.

"A new song?" Another girl looked blank, her fingers still swiping the emoticon. "I had no idea, when did that happen?"

"The day before yesterday! Posters were plastered all over the streets."

"Oh..." the girl replied perfunctorily, her gaze returning to her phone screen.

On the screen, the chubby guy driving the tractor is singing "Nunchucks" off-key in a Shandong accent.

She couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Is that guy's new song any good?" she asked casually.

"It's alright, but..." The girl with glasses hesitated for a moment, "It doesn't feel the same as before. And nobody talks about it, nobody posts about it on social media."

"That definitely doesn't sound good."

The girl made her decision and gave the chubby guy a thumbs up.

"The really good songs have already been all over the internet. Look at 'Learn to Meow,' even my mom can sing it."

"Too."

Conversation ends.

The topic of that superstar was like a pebble thrown into a deep well, leaving no trace.

In their minds, the trending topics list of Weiguang is a barometer of the world.

Since it's not visible in the dim light, it means this matter isn't important.

This is the information cocoon.

Even if the outside world is flooded, you will still feel that life is peaceful and serene.

……

……

Thursday, 3 p.m.

Shenzhen, TME headquarters.

The CEO's office, which was once filled with a cheerful atmosphere, now resembles a leaky submarine.

Peng Jiaxin stared intently at the computer screen.

The screen displays a candlestick chart with a sharp drop.

The new album's sales, after a surge on its first day, did not decline steadily as expected; instead, they plummeted to zero.

It really is back to zero.

Apart from the die-hard fans who drove up sales on the first day, almost no casual buyers joined in afterward.

Why?

Peng Jiaxin's voice was hoarse, as if he were asking himself, or perhaps asking the air.

"In the past, when I released a new song, the sales would at least maintain 30% of the first day's sales for the rest of the week. Why did it drop so completely this time?"

The vice president of operations stood to the side, sweating profusely.

"Mr. Peng, we have conducted user research."

"What is the conclusion?"

"The conclusion is..." The vice president swallowed hard, "Most casual listeners have no idea that a new song has been released."

"How could we not know?!" Peng Jiaxin slammed the mouse on the table. "We spent 500 million on advertising! Subways, buses, Weibo, TV—it was everywhere! Even a blind person could hear it!"

"But, Mr. Peng."

The vice president's voice carried a hint of despair.

"Young people these days don't watch TV, don't take public transportation, and don't even use Weibo."

"They only watch short videos."

"And within that massive traffic pool with 1.5 million daily active users, this album is invisible."

The vice president pulled up a public opinion report.

"Moreover, the public opinion has changed."

Peng Jiaxin snatched the report.

The first thing that catches the eye is the headline of several self-media outlets:

Is the King of Pop past his prime? His new album's popularity plummeted three days after release, and sales fell short of expectations.

Can Jay Chou still compete without short videos?

A Superstar Left Behind by the Times: When Young People Only Know How to Meow Like Cats, and Don't Know About Nunchucks

Every word felt like a needle piercing Peng Jiaxin's eyes.

"This is a lie! This is a lie!"

Peng Jiaxin tore the report to shreds.

"This is a smear article that Lin Che bought! He's stirring up trouble!"

"President Peng, whether it's a smear article or not is no longer important." The vice president lowered his head. "What's important is that the capital market believed it. This morning, when the market opened, TME's stock price plummeted by 12%, erasing all the gains from the previous days."

"and……"

"And what?"

"And, Javier just sent a letter."

Peng Jiaxin's heart clenched suddenly.

"What did they say?"

"They said..." The vice president's voice trailed off, "If the problem of the new song being maliciously blocked and parodied on the Weiguang platform cannot be resolved, seriously affecting the artist's image and commercial value, they will consider... unilaterally terminating the contract."

"Smack."

Peng Jiaxin slumped into the ergonomic chair.

Contract termination.

These two words were like the last straw, breaking his back.

He finally understood what Lin Che meant by those words.

"In the old days, when a superstar released a song, everyone was in the spotlight. But in the new era, if short videos lose their amplification, even a god will die."

……

……

Friday, 10:00 AM.

TME main conference room.

The door was suddenly pushed open.

A group of people stormed in angrily.

Leading the group was Jay Chou's top manager, Mr. Yang.

"Where's Peng Jiaxin? Tell him to come out!"

General Manager Yang slammed a thick stack of documents onto the conference table with a loud thud.

"Is this the S+ level marketing campaign you promised? Is this what you meant by dominating the entire internet?"

Mr. Yang pointed at one of TME's vice presidents, spitting as he spoke.

"Go look at Weiguang now! It's all parody! All just memes! That guy driving the tractor is almost more famous than the real person!"

"Our fans are complaining that their new song MVs are being throttled when they post them on Weiguang, and their cover songs are being taken down. Your so-called 'copyright protection' has now become our 'traffic prison'!"

The vice president kept wiping his sweat, forcing a smile: "Mr. Yang, please calm down. This is malicious competition from Weiguang, and we are in the process of filing a lawsuit..."

"What's the point of suing!"

General Manager Yang slammed his hand on the table.

"By the time your lawsuit is over, it'll be too late! This album only has a month for promotion! If it doesn't take off in this month, all your subsequent tours and endorsements will be affected!"

"You're using the artists' futures as cannon fodder!"

Mr. Yang took a deep breath and straightened his disheveled collar.

"I'm putting my words here."

"Three days."

"If Weiguang cannot restore normal recommendations and remove those disgusting imitation shows within three days."

"We will terminate the exclusive agreement."

"We will go and talk to Weiguang ourselves."

After saying that, General Manager Yang turned and left, leaving behind a room full of TME executives with deathly pale faces.

The moment the door closed.

Everyone knows.

TME lost.

We lost completely.

Their prized copyright barriers, seemingly indestructible in the face of traffic hegemony, have actually been bypassed, with their home base stolen.

……

……

Friday night.

Beijing, headquarters of Microlight Technology.

Lin Che sat in his office, holding a glass of warm water.

Outside the window, Beijing was still brightly lit and bustling with traffic.

The phone on the table suddenly vibrated.

It was an unfamiliar number.

Location displayed: United States.

Lin Che looked at the number, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

He knew who it was.

That's the global vice president of Universal Music Group.

These international giants have been observing the situation this week.

Like a flock of vultures, they wait for the corpses of TME and Weiguang in this "nuclear war".

Now, the results are in.

The fact that the king's new song failed miserably in the "black hole" of Weiguang proves that Weiguang has the power of "life and death" over the music industry.

Lin Che answered the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Lin." A polite but stiff Chinese male voice came from the other end of the phone. "I'm William from Universal Music. I'm bothering you so late because I wanted to talk to you about... a new model for copyright cooperation."

"Mr. William."

Lin Che's voice was calm.

"If it's about granting Tencent an exclusive license, then there's no point in discussing it."

"No, no, no."

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded somewhat urgent, even a little ingratiating.

"We have reassessed our strategy for the Chinese market. We have seen that even a superstar like Jay Chou will encounter difficulties when he leaves Weiguang."

"We hope that Universal's artists can receive promotion on Weiguang, just like 'Learn to Meow'."

"To this end, we are willing to give up the exclusive first release rights on other platforms and give priority to opening up our core music library to Weiguang."

Lin Che took a sip of water to moisten his throat.

"Can."

He said softly.

"Send someone to Beijing next Monday to discuss this. Remember to bring the company seal."

hang up the phone.

Lin Che threw his phone on the table, making a crisp sound.

This sound heralded the end of the old copyright era.

Even the world's largest record company has to bow its head in the face of the dominance of online traffic.

"Boss."

Shen Nan pushed open the door and came in, holding a tablet computer in his hand, his expression complicated.

"Just now, Peng Jiaxin from TME sent me an official email."

"What did you say?"

"Just one sentence."

Shen Nan handed the screen to Lin Che.

The body of the email was indeed very short.

[Mr. Lin, are you free tomorrow? Let's discuss cooperation. —Peng Jiaxin]

Lin Che looked at the line of text.

He could imagine how trembling the once invincible industry leader's fingers must have been as he typed those words.

That was a surrender document.

"Reply to him."

Lin Che stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked in the direction of the Tencent Building in the distance.

Tell him that I'll give him half an hour tomorrow at 10 a.m.

"and."

Lin Che straightened his collar, his eyes cold.

"Have him bring the draft 'Strategic Cooperation Agreement'. If the terms don't satisfy me, he doesn't need to come in."

The night was dark.

Lin Che's figure was reflected on the glass, blending into the city's neon lights.

This battle will finally turn that behemoth into our employee.