Chapter 449 The Promotion of Tape Music Players

Chapter 449 The Promotion of Tape Music Players

Chapter 449 The Promotion of Tape Music Players
Time soon came to the end of August. On this day, Yang Wendong was in the office looking at the recent data of the group. Suddenly, the phone on the desk rang. Yang Wendong pressed a button and a voice came from the phone: "Mr. Yang, Mr. Wang from Honor Electronics is here."

"Let him in." Yang Wendong said while pressing the phone.

This is an internal communication device that was recently installed. People inside and outside can talk directly by just pressing the phone. So when someone visits or an external call is received, the assistant outside can inform directly without having to knock on the door and walk around frequently.

However, in order to prevent some secrets from being leaked, the device itself also has a timed shutdown and reminder function to prevent internal conversations from being overheard by outsiders when office workers are not paying attention.

Soon, Wang Zhiqun came in with a device similar to a "radio" in his hand and said, "Mr. Yang."

"Is this a tape music player?" Yang Wendong asked immediately after seeing it.

Very early on, he began to arrange for people overseas to pay special attention to new inventions of electronic products. In 1962, Philips in Europe invented a tape-based player. Although the sound quality of this player was not as good as that of vinyl records, it was cheap and small in size. In addition, it had a lot of room for improvement and had unlimited potential in the future.

As a time traveler, Yang Wendong naturally knew that tape players would be popular for the next 30 years until the emergence of MP3, when they would be eliminated.

However, when it first came out in 62, Yang Wendong was not in a hurry to buy the patent. One reason was that he did not have enough financial resources, and Philips was a big company that might not pay attention to him; the other reason was that the tape player was not yet stable and the market had little acceptance.

By 1964, several Japanese companies had also developed magnetic tapes, with different technical routes. This led to a very fierce competition in the underlying architecture. At this time, in order to gain market acceptance, these companies would be more willing to authorize other companies to produce them. In this way, they would have a chance.

Wang Zhiqun said, "Yes, this is Philips' latest music player. There are six songs on the tape inside, which can be played back countless times. As long as the tape is not approached by magnets, there will be no problem. Even if it falls a little, it will be fine."

"It is indeed much more practical than vinyl records, and it is also smaller in size." Yang Wendong said after taking out the palm-sized tape inside.

Wang Zhiqun said: "Yes, and some electronics companies in Europe, America and Japan are researching how to store videos on magnetic tapes. The technology has been able to do this, but the clarity is very low because a magnetic tape can only store a limited amount of data. This aspect is still being improved."

"Let's not worry about this for now." Yang Wendong added: "Let's just store the music data first. Don't worry about the video recording for now."

VCRs for recording videos also existed in the 90s, but this technology had a very short lifespan. It took many years to solve the storage problem in the early stages. After all, videos are much more massive than music. Later, there was competition from 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, which eventually killed all previous technology routes.

As for music storage, there was almost no rival before the emergence of MP3. Although CDs could also store music, they were not easy to store physically and were only convenient for use at home.

Wang Zhiqun replied: "Okay, I have also been discussing with Philips the price and the restricted area for purchasing the patent. Their current offer is $50, and they will take $5 from each unit in the future. They also limit our products to be sold only in Asia and not in Europe and the United States."

"The restricted area is not a problem, and the price can be negotiated, but a commission of $5 is too expensive." Yang Wendong frowned and said, "Talk to them carefully. Have you asked other companies in the United States or Japan?"

If you want to buy someone else's patent, you are often restricted by others and have to agree to certain conditions; but fortunately, this technology also exists in other places, so you have room for choice.

Of course, other families are also greedy, but it is better than one family being dictatorial.

"I understand. The commission is indeed too high." Wang Zhiqun said, "In fact, I have already contacted several companies in Japan and the United States. The price is similar. They may have had some tacit understanding before."

"Well, then ask more questions." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "In the future, when we have a certain scale, we will also conduct our own research and development in this area. Electronic products still need to be based on technology, otherwise they will not be competitive."

Changxing Industry can be popular because of its creativity, but the giant 3M is not. It is a combination of technology and creativity, so the future of Changxing Industry must also develop in this direction. Because even for Yang Wendong, a time traveler, the creativity of blockbuster products is limited. If it relies on this, it will decline sooner or later.

Not to mention the electrical and electronic industries. Without technology, it is impossible to move forward. Take computers for example. It is useless to have creativity. You have to make actual products. If you can't make low-cost or easy-to-use products, then it is useless even if you know the future.

Wang Zhiqun replied: "Okay, I will also set up a department to research and develop tape technology and tape players, and strive to get rid of the patent restrictions of other companies as soon as possible."

"Okay, first we have the industry, then we can consider progress." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "We will get the patent as soon as possible. While Japan is still in our home country, we will first take over some of the Asian markets."

Any product, even an iPhone in the 2010s, takes several years for global consumers to know of its existence.

In this era, the speed of information dissemination is even slower. When a new product appears, it takes a very long time to promote it. For example, even if there are several companies in Japan that can make this music player, even in the domestic market, they still have to spend several years on publicity and operation to cultivate enough customers. Before that, even if they can export to Southeast Asia, they will not have a lot of resources to invest.

This is Honor Electronics' opportunity. After all, for Honor, which has the Changxing Group behind it, the local Hong Kong market can be covered in half a month of promotion. The rest of the time, it can devote itself wholeheartedly to the Southeast Asian market and seize the initiative.

Time soon came to September, and the Miss Hong Kong event began to gain some fame in Hong Kong. Under the control of TVB and Changxing Media, the popularity of this event had attracted the interest of many beautiful girls. After all, the reward of a house for the champion was too tempting. Even though house prices were falling now, it was still beyond the reach of many ordinary families.

In addition to the champion, the runner-up, third place and even the top ten will have specific rewards, and participating in the event, except for the time cost, is basically free, because those who can enter the local preliminaries have food provided, and as for clothes, they also have to wear them.

Tsim Sha Tsui:

Yang Wendong brought Su Yiyi to the place where they first started their business.

Su Yiyi looked around and said with emotion: "It's only been 58 years since 7. Tsim Sha Tsui has changed so fast."

"Seven years is not a short time." Yang Wendong also said: "There were so many squatter settlements around Tsim Sha Tsui back then. If you look at them now, they are basically gone. Some of them may be immigrants who came in the last one or two years."

In the past, the mainland went from having almost nothing to becoming the world's largest industrial country and a quasi-developed country (recognized by the United States) in just three or four decades. This speed is unique in the world.

But in fact, the development speed of Hong Kong in the 60s was much faster than that of the mainland. The average GDP in 10 years was about 13%. This is also the comprehensive data including the economic crisis of 65-67. In recent years, the speed of Hong Kong's industrial development is absolutely unprecedented and unparalleled. Judging from the speed alone, it cannot even be compared with the mainland after reform and opening up, unless Shenzhen City and Shanghai Stock Exchange are taken out for comparison separately.

Su Yiyi smiled and said, "Then Brother Dong, your contribution should be at least 2%, right?"

"Maybe, it's hard to say, but it definitely has some effect." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.

According to Hong Kong's GDP statistics, the entire Changxing Group accounts for less than 5 percentage points, but if we only look at some towns, the 2% is about the same, such as Tsim Sha Tsui and Kwun Tong.

These two towns, one is the only production base for post-it notes and some plastic parts, and the other has a large plastic industrial park. They can be said to be the two largest production bases of Changxing Industry. As for Changxing Real Estate and Shipping, the former is a more dispersed investment with the main force in Hong Kong Island, while the latter is an asset floating on the sea, which does not directly help the Hong Kong economy. In addition, there is Shatin Town, which was once a very poor town and has become an important production base for Watsons Food and Beverage. After a few more years of development, Watsons will inevitably become the economic core and even the lifeblood of Shatin.

"Don't be so modest." Su Yiyi added, "I asked someone to investigate our former neighbors some time ago. They all work at Changxing Industrial. They are all living well now. Although they haven't bought a house yet, they can afford to rent one."

"Well, it's good to be able to benefit them." Yang Wendong nodded and replied.

In the first half year of my time traveling, when I first started my business, I also had some contact with the neighbors around me, and these people occasionally helped me a little. Therefore, after Changxing Industrial grew to a certain scale, they naturally joined my company.

But it is just an ordinary position. He will not give high positions to people who have no ability or connections. At most, he will give them high salaries as additional benefits. Even Zhao Liming and Lin Haoyu are now doing "supervision" work in their own charity funds, not management.

The two soon arrived at the Miss Hong Kong preliminaries venue, which was a large open-air venue with hundreds of people busy working. On a handicraft table, a dozen good-looking women gathered together.

Su Yiyi said: "This Miss Hong Kong pageant is so sunny."

"This is the only way for this year. It will be much better when TVB's studio is built next year." Yang Wendong said: "It can accommodate more than 2000 people and the environment is also 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 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It will not be able to make it in time for the Miss Hong Kong pageant, but it will be able to make it in time for next year’s Spring Festival Gala. This will also be the first Spring Festival Gala held by TVB.

"Yeah." Su Yiyi didn't ask any more questions, then looked at the podium and said, "These women are really good-looking."

"Hong Kong has 300 million people, and there are many beautiful women and handsome men." Yang Wendong added, "But the Miss Hong Kong election is not just about appearance, talent is also required. Now it is only about academic qualifications and appearance, and when it comes to the finals, art will also be considered.

The core purpose of holding the Miss Hong Kong event is to select high-quality actresses for TVB or Changxing Film, and there are requirements in this regard.”

"Yeah, but I also feel it's very lively." Su Yiyi said with a smile.

Yang Wendong said: "It's better to be lively."

After watching the Miss Hong Kong pageant for a while, Yang Wendong came to the backstage office. Many staff members from TVB and Changxing Media were also here, including Qi Ruifan and Qin Zhiye. Naturally, Yang Wendong asked them to come together.

"Mr. Yang, Mrs. Yang." Qi and Qin greeted them.

Yang Wendong said, "Please sit down. I called you here today because I have something to tell you."

"Please speak, Mr. Yang." Several people also sat on the benches outdoors.

The weather was a bit hot, so two considerate employees immediately brought over two large electric fans.

Yang Wendong said: "Honor Electronics has already bought a low-cost music player, not a vinyl record player, but a tape player.

This player will be one of Honor Electronics' main electronic products in the future. It can drive the development of Hong Kong's music industry, but it also needs enough music before it can develop."

In the early days of this new product, even Philips could not expand globally, and it also faced challenges from many peers in Japan and the United States. Therefore, they also wanted to sell the production authorization patents as soon as possible so as to maximize profits in a short period of time and ensure that they could continue to collect patent fees in the future.

Therefore, Honor Electronics negotiated with Philips for half a month and finally reached a patent licensing cooperation. Honor paid US$35 plus US$2.6 in patent fees per unit, and purchased a tape production line and a player production line for US$25. 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 you also need software, which is music.

Only with enough music can consumers spend money to buy the phone. Otherwise, just like in the past, if the phone has no APP, no one will be willing to buy it even if it has an 8gen4 processor.

"Music player? Okay, no problem." Qin Zhiye agreed immediately and asked, "How much will this player cost?"

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "It's not certain yet, but it will be much cheaper than a TV and more expensive than a radio."

The price depends on market demand. If the market demand is high, the product can be sold at a higher price. Vice versa. If the production capacity is insufficient, Yang Wendong will not force the product to be sold at a lower price. Otherwise, how can he recover the huge amount of patent fees he has paid?
"That's not bad. It depends on the sound quality." Qin Zhiye nodded and said, "As for music, I have been cultivating talents in this area, but there are only a few songs that have achieved success so far."

"It's enough to have some first. If that doesn't work, we can just cover Japanese songs on a large scale." Yang Wendong said: "Once the Hong Kong market and even the Southeast Asian market are developed, as long as there is money to be made, local singers will naturally emerge."

Earlier, Yang Wendong deliberately asked commercial radio stations to cultivate singers over a long period of time, bought 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 the boss Yang Wendong feel comfortable listening to them, it will be worth it.

But from the perspective of the entire market, this amount of training funds is not enough, so we try to buy copyrights from Japan and then cover them. This is the fastest way, but because there is only one market, the number is not large.

Now that cassette players have appeared and are ready to be produced locally, a large number of songs are needed. Only when there is more software can the hardware sell better. With more hardware, the software market will grow, 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, "Old Qi, your TVB can also play music in the late night. Some people should listen to it. In addition, you can hold music competitions, set up a platform like this, sell tickets and broadcast it live on TV. This can be considered as multiple benefits and can also bring some income to the singers."

With a TV station, many entertainment projects can be monetized, creating more revenue and stimulating the creation of front-end content.

"No problem, I'll come up with a plan as soon as possible." Qi Ruifan agreed.

Yang Wendong continued, "Okay, our group will work together to expand the Hong Kong music market. I will also invest in overseas channels, and then our profits will be higher than in the local market."

Some of Hong Kong's music in the past has not declined even in the TikTok era, and there are still many classics. It is hard to imagine that these songs were only created in Hong Kong, a city with a population of only a few million.

During the heyday of television and movies, Hong Kong music was also the same, sweeping across Asia, and even conquering a small part of the Japanese market. The famous singing group Beyond went to Japan for a concert and then had an accident, which was quite a pity.
(End of this chapter)