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Chapter 134 A Leading Concept in the Industry

"Is this the Google Tunes project plan you devised?"

Ernst tapped his fingers heavily on the table, the project proposal Wallace Enzo had handed him gleaming palely under the light.

His brows furrowed into a deep frown as his gaze swept over the densely packed plans on the document, finally settling on the core function: MP3 format support. A barely perceptible sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

The entire solution is like a ship without a compass; apart from the MP3 format, it has no other highlights.

"Do you know how many blank CDs are sold in America in a year?" Ernst suddenly raised his head, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, piercing straight into Wallace Enzo's eyes.

Wallace Enzo was clearly taken aback when Ernst suddenly turned the topic to the blank CD market. After a moment of surprise, he could only shake his head honestly.

As a technical lead, his mind was filled with code logic and algorithm models, and he had never considered this type of consumer data.

Ernst sighed inwardly. These tech geeks are fine with developing technology, but when it comes to overseeing the overall situation, they're really not up to the task.

Google's biggest need right now isn't technology, but strategic talent who can stand on the mountaintop and see the big picture.

High-caliber talent is exactly what Google needs right now.

With Google's current valuation of nearly five billion US dollars, recruiting top talent is not difficult.

As soon as the company releases even the slightest hint, hordes of elites will flock to it like sharks smelling blood, ready to be chosen by Google.

After all, this soon-to-be-listed tech giant is like a fully equipped starship ready to set sail; who wouldn't want to board this train to financial freedom?

Once Google successfully goes public, the returns from its stock incentives will be enough to keep anyone up at night; no one can resist such temptation.

The problem is that Google's expansion has been too rapid, far exceeding the limits of talent development.

The asset size is growing exponentially, but the management system is like a rubber band that has been stretched too far, and it may break at any time.

At Google, a company with a substantial market capitalization and unlimited future potential, the appointment of middle and senior managers is never a simple matter of a snap decision. Background checks, competency assessments, cultural compatibility tests, and so on are all involved. Whether a person is suitable for a company requires time to develop and prove.

These newly recruited talents from outside the region must sign employment contracts, which means a considerable amount of salary expenditure each year.

If it doesn't work out, just replace them? The cost of breach of contract isn't a cost, and middle and senior management aren't employees you can just fire at will.

The key issue is the frequent personnel changes and the lack of a systematic management approach, which will only lead to increasing chaos within Google.

This is also why most middle and senior managers in large enterprises are selected and promoted internally.

In other words, Sergey Brin's management skills were inadequate, and his growth rate couldn't keep up with Google's rapid development.

This was a big problem, and Ernst felt it had to be solved as soon as possible.

Fortunately, the new headquarters will be ready for use soon. Once Google moves into the new headquarters, it will begin the process of restructuring and integration.

The first thing to do then is to find a new CEO for Google, either Sergey Brin as a regional leader or as a deputy.

However, these are issues that need to be addressed later; the immediate priority is the development of Google iTunes.

Looking at Wallace Enzo again, Ernst said, "Last year, 2.9 million blank CDs were sold in the United States, while the population of the United States is only 2.74 million."

Wallace Enzo was somewhat surprised, not expecting that so many blank CDs could be sold in America in a year, but he still didn't understand what Ernst was trying to say.

Sergei Brin, however, seemed to realize what was happening and asked uncertainly, "You mean—Google iTunes?"

Want to add CD burning functionality?

Ernst nodded and said with certainty, "It's not about joining, it's about having."

"Although MP3 is the future of the Internet, CD is the present."

Back in the late 80s, when computers were just becoming popular, a business also emerged and grew rapidly every year: CD burning.

American music albums are all original; there's no such thing as a hodgepodge of many hit songs on one album.

But many people like a song not because they like a singer; most of the time, it's just that they like the song itself.

But if an album has ten songs, am I supposed to listen to one song, then switch to another album, and find the song I like from that album? That's too much trouble.

However, with the widespread use of computers, this problem has been perfectly solved.

Many people buy albums, add the songs to their computers, and then burn their favorite music onto a blank CD.

Many people don't know how to use these music editing software programs, which has led to the emergence of a new business: CD burning services.

Major music companies are very happy about this, as it will boost CD sales.

To burn a CD containing only your favorite songs, you would often buy many albums.

CD burning provides songs? Do you think the major record companies are just sitting around doing nothing? Believe me, they could sue you into bankruptcy in no time.

"CDs will remain mainstream for at least the next three years. Are we going to abandon this huge business?"

"Google Tunes must have CD burning capabilities, and innovative ones at that."

"I've tried all the CD burning software currently on the market, whether it's RealJukbo..."

Windows Media Player, or the built-in CD burning software released by HP, are all complicated and difficult to use; they can all be considered second-rate products.

"Our goal is to make the CD burning software simple, even foolproof, for our customers. Users select the songs, click the burn button, and let the system handle the rest automatically. We want even an elderly lady to be able to burn an entire CD in three minutes, sweeping the CD burning industry into the dustbin of history."

Clicking on one of the pages, Ernst asked again, "And then there's the song download. Why does a user have to buy the entire album if they like a song?"

Sometimes it's not that Americans are stupid, it's just that they're driven by self-interest.

Because such regulations allow record companies to sell more albums, which are currently sitting in bank vaults, they are unwilling and do not want to change them.

How many people want their own CD, but are deterred by the sheer number of albums available to buy?

.

"If users could buy only their favorite song from an album, even if the price was slightly higher than the average price per song, they probably wouldn't mind, right?"

"And another thing," Ernst added.

"The traditional monthly subscription service will be cancelled, and a one-time purchase model will be adopted instead."

"It seems that monthly subscription services are more profitable, but when users buy a certain number of songs each month, the two will form a dead cross, and the difference will be huge."

"If the buyout fee for a song is $0.99, users will perceive it as very cheap. But if a user buys 100 songs a year, the cost is no less than the monthly subscription fee."

"A large number of songs are updated every year, and music lovers will definitely listen to no fewer than a hundred new songs each year."

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"Think about it, a Google Tunes user can buy a song they like for just $0.99 on Google, and then directly convert it to CD format and burn it to a blank CD on their computer with one click from within the Google Tunes playlist."

"If it were you, would you be tempted?"

After Ernst finished speaking, Sergei Brin and Wallace Enzo both swallowed hard.

They couldn't believe their eyes. If Ernst's description was true, Google Tunes would become just as powerful as Google Search and Gmail, crushing all competitors.

At the same time, the promotion of Google Tunes was a stroke of genius.

Everyone chooses Google Tunes because of music, uses Google Tunes, and gets used to Google Tunes.

Sergei and Wallace exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

This idea was like stringing scattered pearls into an expensive necklace, leaving the two speechless once again in awe of Ernst's ingenious idea.