Jeong Seong-woo took out a small music playback device, and a smile spread across Lee Hyun-woo’s lips.
“No matter what anyone says, MP3 players are a specialty of Korea.”
At times like this, isn’t it okay to indulge in a bit of national pride?
Of course, the evaluation depends on how well the MP3 player works.
Lee Hyun-woo examined the MP3 player and finally put the earphones in his ears and pressed the play button.
Then, the popular song by Candy Boy started playing, stimulating his eardrums.
- I love you!
Was it just his mood?
Or was it because he had actively intervened and lost objectivity?
He barely noticed any sound quality degradation.
He even felt like humming along without realizing it, so he quickly pressed the stop button and removed the earphones before speaking.
“It’s good.”
“Really?”
“I have no reason to lie. But the device is a bit larger than I expected. Can it be made smaller?”
Jeong Seong-woo had a complicated expression.
Lee Hyun-woo casually suggested making it smaller.
It wasn’t dough, so had he taken it too lightly?
“That can’t be true.”
Thinking that he had to endure to succeed, Jeong Seong-woo quickly asked Lee Hyun-woo how small he wanted it.
“This is the minimum, but what size are you expecting?”
“I’d like it to be about the size of a mouse.”
“……”
Jeong Seong-woo was speechless, his mouth agape.
Then, Lee Hyun-woo spoke in a calm voice.
“Mr. Jeong, don’t think too hastily. And do your best to fail.”
“Excuse me? Fail?”
“Yes, you seem to be putting everything into making this. How about thinking that if you fail, you can make something better based on that failure? I’ll take the burden of failure.”
“……”
Jeong Seong-woo’s eyes widened slightly.
It was inevitable because the burden here meant money.
“Every failure takes time. That means the cost for the research team will increase. In fact, we hired more researchers this time.”
“You’ve already made it, so it doesn’t seem like you’ve hired them for long.”
“That’s true…”
“Making it hastily is just hoping for luck. Think about what happens after it’s made.”
Lee Hyun-woo continued, holding up the MP3 player.
“It’s two-thirds the size of a cassette, requires a lot of materials, and can’t be a substitute. But if you reduce its size by half and its weight by a quarter, consumers will see it as a new innovative product, not just a substitute.”
In his previous life, 【Single】, which developed the mobile operating system Droid, encouraged failure.
Not that they meant to fail on purpose, but they encouraged employees not to fear failure.
As a result, everything born from those efforts supported 【Single】.
A manager actively embraces the strengths of successful companies and mixes them with their own philosophy.
Lee Hyun-woo was no different.
“We still have plenty of time. It’s okay to fail. In the meantime, we’ll expand the base of MP3s.”
Of course, it wasn’t easy to expand the base at once.
Just looking at how 【Jungle】 had developed MP3 files and kept postponing the release while holding continuous meetings showed how difficult it was.
So far, only one thing had been decided: the name of the website.
It was the simple and straightforward 【Jungle Music】.
So why hadn’t anything been decided beyond the name?
Various stages of meetings had been held, but there were many disagreements on the pricing system.
Lee Hyun-woo didn’t make any particular claims, but the team leaders roughly came up with the following answers.
000 won per song!
0000 won for ten songs!
000 won meant between 100 and 990 won, and 0000 won meant between 1,000 and 9,999 won.
From Lee Hyun-woo’s perspective, who had lived far into the future, it was an incredibly expensive pricing system.
But the reactions of the team leaders varied greatly today as well.
“No matter how I think about it, isn’t the price for ten songs too cheap?”
“That’s right. If it’s less than 10,000 won for ten songs, it’s practically buying an album at that price.”
Such comparisons were only possible because they couldn’t know the future.
Would they believe it if someone said that in the distant future, you could listen to songs for free on a video platform like 【We Tube】?
For reference, when MP3 files were first serviced in Korea, the price per song was a whopping 600 won.
This was Lee Hyun-woo’s dilemma.
“Maybe it’s because I lived in a world where I could listen to songs almost for free… but the price per song feels too expensive.”
Although it was cheaper than buying a CD, lowering the price significantly would speed up the spread of MP3 files and players.
Just like when the price of computers, which were 2 million won at the beginning of this year, was suddenly cut to 1 million won.
“If we managed that, we can do it this time too.”
With this thought, he took a deep breath and made a decision.
“100 won per song.”
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
An array of exclamation marks followed.
From the team leaders in charge of development to those in charge of sales and marketing.
“100 won per song?”
“You’re not joking, right?”
“You’re really out of touch with reality today.”
“Did we do something wrong? If so, just tell us. Don’t torture us like this.”
Each team leader looked at Lee Hyun-woo with various expressions, silently, and after a few seconds of silence, they began to voice their concerns.
“The agencies won’t stand for it.”
“Neither will the artists. Last time, when you mentioned 100 won per song, some people said it was too much behind your back even though they said it was okay upfront.”
“Who? Kim Yoon-sun? Clones?”
“Excuse me? No, that’s…”
Han Se-jin, who had brought it up, couldn’t answer properly.
Because the only artists Lee Hyun-woo had mentioned 100 won per song to were those two.
“Alright, then let’s have a meeting.”
“A meeting?”
“Call the representatives of the artists’ agencies. And propose that we sell at 100 won per song.”
“Won’t they oppose it?”
“They will. So we’ll have to find a compromise. If we suggest the lowest price, they’ll suggest a higher one.”
This was the solution Lee Hyun-woo envisioned.
However, Lee Hyun-woo also considered another negative point when he mentioned the meeting.
“The problem that arises with the advent of MP3 files is not actually the price. It’s the illegal sharing that will start.”
Illegal sharing of music files through P2P programs will eventually spread.
There was no way Lee Hyun-woo could prevent this, even if he returned a hundred times.
Despite knowing this, the reason he pushed for an MP3 music site was simple.
If he didn’t do this, the future standards would be uncertain.
As always, Lee Hyun-woo was a leader who could clearly determine the direction to move forward.
This time was no different.
After hearing all the various opinions, it was time to make the final decision, so he looked at each team leader and asked.
“Alright, who will talk to the agency representatives?”
“I will.”
“Me too.”
Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho raised their hands eagerly.
They seemed to see it as an opportunity to showcase their abilities.
“Good. First, set the date and time.”
“Yes, I’ll contact them right away.”
“Me too.”
“Alright. Then, work hard, and let’s end the meeting here. Everyone, get back to your tasks.”
Once a decision was made, moving forward was the implicit rule of 【Jungle】.
Everyone stood up and returned to their respective tasks.
Of course, they still had question marks in their heads, but the trust that surpassed those question marks allowed them to focus on their work.
Naturally, that trust was directed towards Lee Hyun-woo.
This was the reason why 【Jungle】 was doing well, and similarly, Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho, who handled tasks quickly and efficiently like their CEO, began working hard, making calls and visiting people.
The sales team and marketing team employees were the same.
“Hello? Ah, Mr. Jeong, do you have time next week? We’re holding a meeting at our company.”
“Mr. Oh, it’s been a while.”
“If you have time, I’d like to visit. Oh, you’re available now?”
Thanks to their efforts, they managed to summon the agency representatives to 【Jungle】 within a few days.
The reason this was possible was that Lee Hyun-woo’s reputation was growing.
In the meantime, the media covered 【Jungle】’s activities daily,
“【Jungle】 partners with Son Jung-yi to enter Japan!”
“【Jungle】’s core developers head to Japan to establish a portal site and online shopping mall!”
“【Jungle】 prepares for business collaboration with the American portal site 【Alta Vista】!”
“【Jungle】’s core developer to visit 【Alta Vista】 next month to explore new business opportunities.”
The amounts of money involved in these headlines were no joke.
So, the business and IT sectors were on high alert, and even the government occasionally contacted them to verify the facts.
Moreover, even without these major news stories, a lot of CDs and tapes were already being sold on 【Jungle Shopping】.
In other words, 【Jungle】 had become a very important sales channel for the artists.
So, they couldn’t refuse if they were asked to come.
However, Lee Hyun-woo didn’t lead the meeting.
He left it entirely to the sales and marketing teams, telling them to push through even if they failed.
“There’s no way everything will be resolved in one meeting.”
Lee Hyun-woo didn’t expect everything to be resolved easily in a single meeting.
Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho, who were determined to succeed no matter what, didn’t realize this.
“Their enthusiasm is commendable.”
He recalled what he had said to Jeong Seong-woo, the CEO of 【Alpha Cast】, a while ago.
“Take the challenge. It’s okay to fail. I’ll take full responsibility.”
Just like Lee Hyun-woo, Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho, who handled tasks efficiently and quickly, finally held a meeting with the agency representatives.
As a result,
“They said they absolutely couldn’t accept 100 won per song.”
That evening, Han Se-jin, who had confidently said he would take responsibility, reported back awkwardly.
Lee Hyun-woo nodded with a smile.
“Of course. So, what price did they suggest?”
“600 won per song.”
It was an interesting price.
Could it be that their influence was stronger in their previous life, which is why they had set it at 600 won?
“Not a chance.”
Lee Hyun-woo wanted to set the ecosystem order in this life himself.
“Alright, then proceed with the second meeting.”
“The second meeting?”
“Yes, this time with the executives of the Korean Singers Association. Invite them.”
“……”
Han Se-jin blinked, unable to grasp the intent.
Lee Hyun-woo intended to explain anyway.
“You’re aware that the distribution between agencies and artists in our country is extremely abnormal, right?”
“Ah, yes…”
“So, this time, I want to empower the people who sing and create the songs. In other words, regardless of whether it’s 600 won or 100 won per song, I want to allocate a lot to them. I’m planning to set the minimum artist distribution rate at 50%.”
“……!”
