Chapter 134 Free VS Paid
The Meta Platforms Company office was like a madhouse, with Cassius acting like a raging beast!
He smashed the phone, the chair, and the painting on the wall! It had only been three days of battle, and Cassius had publicly apologized twice. The first time was for the failure of 'Soulmate,' and the second time was for infringing on Paul’s song!
He was almost driven mad by the Creator!
Now, he learned that Creator had already acquired a large number of copyrights from independent musicians. He was even more devastated!
'Could Gemini app music really succeed?'
'Will it dethrone Meta Platforms Company music, which has dominated the market for years?'
Lots of questions stuffed his mind, and Cassius found it hard to accept!
Jacob had just called. Despite being a business mogul for years, Jacob was also at a loss! And this time, he couldn't blame Cassius, as the copyright strategy was Jacob’s own idea!
In desperation, the two of them devised a strategy—defense!
An utterly devastated Cassius sat in his wrecked office. He gritted his teeth and issued an order: 18 hours later, all paid songs on Meta Platforms Company music would be free to listen to! And it would be free for a whole month!
Both he and Jacob knew this move would result in billion-dollar losses, but they thought it could effectively curb the momentum of Gemini app music!
Even if they were the underdog now; they still held their advantage.
Meta Platforms Company music had been a mainstream music app for years, with countless fans. Its song library was vast, and the quality was top-notch.
Their move would only attract criticism from paid membership and single-song pay-per-play, so they decided to lift all restrictions!
And 18 hours later, it would be the time Gemini app music was scheduled to launch! They thought they should make the change before the app's release.
Cassius was utterly helpless! This was the only strategy left to him!
"Your music library has no famous songs, and its inventory is far less than mine. Even if you have loyal users, there wouldn’t be too many! At the very least, I can ensure that your initial launch doesn’t gain high traction! Make you look bad!" he exclaimed.
When Meta Platforms Company Music announced that it would be free for a month, sure enough, the internet was abuzz!
[Meta Platforms Company may have a bad reputation, but it has a lot of songs, and it's free? Not bad!]
[If it’s free, then it’s pretty good!]
[Okay, I’ll use it for a month for free, and then we’ll see!]
Seeing these comments, Cassius managed to squeeze out a faint smile. The billions weren’t spent in vain; at least users were willing to use it!
But unexpectedly, when Cassius saw a new post from Paul Three, he genuinely laughed out loud!
Paul Three: [To ensure the rights of independent musicians, Gemini app music will adopt a membership model—$15/month, with revenue shared 55% with the artists!]
"Charging? $15 a month?" Cassius laughed!
"You haven’t even launched, and you’re already talking about charging? And that’s when my Meta Platforms Company music is free? Paul Three, Alvin, you must be out of your mind!"
But as Cassius continued to scroll through the comments, his smile gradually froze!
[I think what Gemini app is saying makes sense!]
[After all, music creators need to eat too! Without money, no one will sing good songs for us!]
[Yes, I support Gemini app, I support reasonable charges! It’s a healthy cycle!]
[$15 to listen to songs for a month, that's not expensive!]
[Sharing half the income with the artists, Gemini app is conscientious! Good!]
[Great, the membership fee saved from Meta Platforms Company can be given to Gemini app, no problem!]
Cassius felt like vomiting blood. "These people with unstable stances! When Meta Platforms Company charged, why didn’t you say that?" he growled.
Cassius trembled as he scrolled through the comments. Fortunately, the comments weren’t as heated as before! After all, without even a single piece of work, even those who wanted to support you did not have any reason to!
But Cassius still felt some pressure! He called in the relevant person in charge of Meta Platforms Company music.
They devised two activities.
First, 18 hours later, not only would Meta Platforms Company music be free, but they would also put up $1 million for a lottery! They would select 100,000 users from those online in real-time and each would be given a prize of 10 dollars!
Secondly, they would invite two popular singers to give an online interview on Meta Platforms Company Music in 18 hours from now. They would sing live too.However, after devising these two plans, Cassius still felt uneasy. He always felt that the Gemini app kept coming up with surprising and terrifying moves!
"Fuck, we had never been this flustered before!" Cassius banged his head hard and yelled.
There was a knock at the door!
"Come in!"
Cassius looked at the visitor and suddenly smiled. "Director Wallace, you must have some good news for me!"
The person who entered was Louis Wallace, whom Cassius had previously sent to investigate the background of Gemini app!
Louis carefully navigated the chaotic office, came to Cassius, and remained silent.
Cassius felt something was wrong and tentatively asked, "Can we block Gemini app from all major download charts?"
Louis shook his head. "The momentum is too strong. We can’t block it, and even if we did, it wouldn’t help; they already have more users than us."
Cassius gritted his teeth. "Did you find their server? Can we expel it?"
Louis continued shaking his head. "Gemini app’s server is a mystery! I asked all the server rental companies, and no one knows! It's really strange!"
Cassius let out a long breath, still holding onto a last shred of hope. "They must have an investment company, right? Can we pressure them to cut off their cash flow?"
Louis continued to smile wryly. "I’ve asked all the investment companies on the market; they want to invest, but the Creator doesn’t give them a chance! Currently, Creator is self-funded! It is 100% privately owned!"
Cassius was utterly disappointed, feeling drained, and leaning back in his chair.
'Is Creator made of iron? Does it have no weaknesses at all? This is too hard!' he thought.
There was another knock at the door.
"Come in." Cassius weakly called out.
A slightly chubby, balding middle-aged man timidly entered the office. Judging by his appearance, he was probably a programmer.
Cassius’s expression changed. "Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you..."
"Mr. Greene, I have good news!" The programmer cautiously looked around. "I got Gemini app’s core code!"
"What?" Cassius jumped up! "Are you sure?"
The programmer nodded, pulling out a USB drive. "I’m sure it’s right here; I copied it all!"
"You did great!" Cassius was almost moved to tears! He quickly walked out from behind his desk, "Don’t worry, I won’t short you a penny of what I promised! Quick, call that useless tech director in here!"
The programmer, now grinning slyly, was the mole Cassius had planted in Creator Company days ago!
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