New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 62
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 62. Expansion (2)
A copyright negotiation table was set up.
It was a meeting arranged by Tiger Fund, and representatives from the Music Copyright Association, Producer Association, and Performers Union all attended.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jung-hoo, the representative of Rollbook and Deputy Branch Manager of Tiger Fund Korea Branch.”
“You’re quite impressive for someone so young. Did you come from Wall Street like the Branch Manager we met before?”
“No. I only work in Korea.”
“You seem about the same age as my son, but you’re truly remarkable. Haha.”
The Copyright Association President was leading the atmosphere.
He was a figure with tremendous authority in the music copyright field and wielded great influence over the entire music industry.
“I’d like to make two proposals today.”
“We’ve already received materials regarding internet radio. We can handle it with a blanket contract like existing radio. Everyone agrees, right?”
“….”
The Copyright Association President was trying to seize control of the negotiation.
He brought up the internet radio blanket contract topic before I could.
Well, the Copyright Association held full authority over blanket contracts.
From other organizations’ perspectives, it wasn’t a matter of particular interest.
Some representatives even looked puzzled about why they had been called here.
“Internet radio can proceed that way, but the next issue requires everyone’s consent. Rollbook wants to provide a digital music file download service.”
“Are you saying you’ll distribute illegal pirated digital music files on the Rollbook site!”
“We absolutely cannot agree to this. We’re already suffering from pirated CDs, and we cannot stand by and watch illegal digital music files run rampant too!”
Intense reactions poured out.
Since most MP3s currently in circulation were illegal copies, there was a strong perception that digital music files themselves were illegal.
“It’s not illegal. It’s a system where people pay a fair price to purchase digital music files. Just like buying CDs, people would purchase songs on the internet.”
“CDs aren’t selling well as it is, and if downloads are possible too, who would buy CDs!”
The Music Producer Association President raised his voice.
The Producer Association controlled the music production and distribution market, and since CD sales were their main revenue source, they poured out negative reactions.
“The decline in CD sales is an inevitable trend of the times. Even if we completely eradicate the illegal copying market, we can’t stop this flow.”
“So you’re saying you’ll create another illegal market?”
“It’s the opposite. We want to create a legal channel in the online market that was only distributed illegally. There are definitely people who want to purchase digital music files legally.”
I was confident.
I was confident that illegal copying was rampant because there were no legitimate channels.
But the association representatives had a different perspective.
“If just one person downloads it, that file spreads instantly. How is that legal?”
“We’ve prepared technology to prevent that. We’ve developed an uncopyable encryption system. It’s a method that takes existing DRM (Digital Rights Management technology) one step further.”
“I don’t really know what DRM is… but are you saying you can really prevent copying?”
DRM was still unfamiliar in the music industry.
Since CDs and tapes were the main distribution methods, digital copyright protection technology was virtually unknown.
“Through various authentication methods, we’ve designed it so only the purchaser can play the digital music file. Even copied files won’t play without purchase authentication.”
“Hmm… that sounds good. But that doesn’t mean illegal downloads will disappear.”
“That’s right. So what’s important is that a ‘legal channel’ exists. Right now everyone uses illegal music files, but when there’s a way to buy them legally, perceptions will change.”
It was a matter of choice.
If everyone listened to illegally copied music files, there was no reason to feel guilty.
To use MP3s, you had no choice but to listen to illegal copies.
But if legal channels created options, social perceptions would inevitably change.
“It’s 500 won per song. We plan to pay 30% to producers, 20% to copyright holders, and 10% to performers.”
“So Rollbook takes 40%?”
“If the producer’s share is 30%, that’s 150 won. The performer’s share is 50 won.”
“Only 50 won for singers? Isn’t that too stingy?”
The representatives poured out complaints.
Since the amounts themselves were lower compared to CD sales, even with the same percentages, it felt different.
“This structure has the same equity share ratios as CD distribution. Rollbook is simply taking the record store’s profits, everything else is the same.”
“It’s not like you’re displaying products like record stores, and you don’t have monthly rent or labor costs, so aren’t you taking too much?”
“We have to handle more labor costs than record stores and server costs which are like monthly rent. And we’re also handling the work of extracting digital music files from existing CDs.”
It was frustrating.
They could say such things because they knew nothing about the online ecosystem.
How much were we paying in server costs per month for them to say such things?
“Hmm, it all sounds good, but will digital music file downloads actually make money? I wonder if we’re doing something pointless that won’t even be profitable.”
“I think you won’t be satisfied with it. So while I hesitate to call it an alternative, we’re planning to proceed with a long-term comprehensive contract for Internet radio.”
“How many years are you thinking for a long-term contract?”
“10 years. And we’ll pay the 10-year contract fee in a lump sum.”
I suddenly changed the subject.
Just talking about digital music file downloads would only lead us in circles.
And it was a card I played to win over the Music Copyright Association President, who had the strongest voice.
“We haven’t negotiated the one-year contract fee yet.”
“Compared to public broadcasting stations, our scale is still much smaller. But that doesn’t mean we can finalize a contract at too cheap a price, can we?”
“That’s true. We need to receive a fair price, if only for the sake of the producers and singers who work hard to create music.”
“So we’re thinking 100 million won per year.”
The Copyright Association President couldn’t hide his expression.
It was an expression that came from me calling out a higher amount than he had in mind.
And it was also a card I threw expecting this kind of reaction.
“It’s an amount that shows your will to contribute greatly to music development.”
“It’s also an amount we came up with considering the growth potential of internet radio. Once the contract is finalized, we’ll deposit it into the association’s account today.”
“Haha, very good. How about everyone accepts the proposal? This person is thinking so much about music development.”
The Copyright Association President was won over in one shot.
But the Producer Association and Performers Union representatives weren’t there yet.
I had cards prepared for them too.
“We’re also planning to run an anti-piracy campaign. Pirated CDs, cassette tapes, and even digital music files. Rollbook will lead and conduct a large-scale campaign to eradicate illegal copying.”
“What’s the scale of the campaign? Nothing will change if you just pretend to do it.”
“We’ll spend over 2 billion won on the campaign going forward. And naturally, it will be conducted jointly by the three associations present here.”
It meant we’d pay the money, so they should take credit too.
To remain as association representatives, they naturally needed achievements, and since I was creating achievements for them, there was no reason to refuse.
“Sounds like a good idea.”
“It’s not just a simple poster-level campaign. We’re planning national university districts, subway, and even TV advertisements. And we’ll make sure the names of all three associations appear first in every campaign.”
“Have you ever seen someone who thinks this much about music development? They want to stop illegal copying, so let’s support them.”
The Copyright Association President pushed strongly.
I was able to turn the most powerful person into a chess piece for just 1 billion won, making it easier to lead the situation.
“Understood. We’ll accept it.”
“Let’s do that for now.”
“I’ve arranged a meal at a nice place. Let’s go together once the contract is finished.”
It was basically saying let’s stamp the seal quickly and go eat.
The Copyright Association President stamped his seal first, and the other representatives also took out their seals.
***
I returned after finishing dinner with the music association representatives.
The General Manager, who had returned after finishing work, was waiting for me, and I reported the contract details in detail.
“You’ve successfully concluded a difficult contract. The 10-year long-term contract card and the anti-piracy campaign were excellent ideas.”
“In the case of the 10-year long-term contract for internet radio, it may be a loss right now, but it’s a contract that could benefit us when the internet radio scale grows.”
“You seem to think quite highly of the internet radio service.”
“The response to the pilot broadcast was very good, and we’re also preparing various projects.”
I was confident it would definitely succeed.
And it was also a service that absolutely had to be done.
“To expand into video content, it seems internet radio is necessary first.”
“That’s right. The functions and systems currently being developed can be applied to video as well.”
“Good. Oh! I also looked into homes and commercial districts – would you like to go see them together if you have time?”
“I’m fine with it, but are you okay with it, General Manager?”
It felt burdensome that the actual representative of Tiger Fund was moving around like a real estate agent.
But he had such a genuinely happy expression that I couldn’t refuse.
“Today’s schedule is all finished. Let’s go out for a stroll after a long time.”
“Thank you.”
I headed to Yeouido with the General Manager.
Near Yeouido Station Intersection, the General Manager parked the car and said.
“The location here is the best. There’s a lot of foot traffic, and with the securities district and corporations concentrated here, there’s no better location for a low-cost coffee store.”
“Since most are office workers, it really looks like a great location for a takeout specialty store.”
“I’ve set up several candidates. If Employee Lee makes up his mind, we can proceed with the contract today.”
There were three candidates.
All were near Yeouido Station Intersection, but each had clear advantages and disadvantages.
“The cheapest place is that 3-story building over there. The first floor is vacant and the price is good, but since it’s inside an alley, there’s less foot traffic.”
“This doesn’t seem right.”
“Right? Then, next is the building right in front of the exit. This has the best location.”
Even though it was before closing time, the street was bustling.
It was a location with guaranteed influx from morning commute coffee to after-meal coffee.
“Is there a reason why such a good spot is vacant?”
“It was originally a building owned by a small construction company, but they went bankrupt right after completion, so it’s scheduled to go to auction soon. That’s why everyone is hesitant about moving in.”
“If it’s waiting for auction, that would be concerning.”
“The last one is the building across the street, it’s a bit old but the location isn’t bad.”
Human greed was something that couldn’t be helped.
I had seen several properties, but the best one kept lingering in my mind.
“Can’t I purchase just the first floor of that building separately?”
“Since it’s going to auction, that would be difficult. Maybe if the successful bidder sells just the first floor later, but right now it’s not possible.”
“That would take a lot of time then.”
“The real estate market isn’t that active yet, so it might take several years.”
The best property kept catching my eye.
Perhaps noticing this, the General Manager spoke up first.
“You want to buy that building.”
“Getting just the first floor would be ideal, but I don’t have time to wait.”
“To buy the entire building, you’d need at least 8 billion won. Before the IMF, it would have been over 10 billion.”
“I’ll buy the entire building!”
I made the decision quickly.
With over 200 billion won in my bank account, there was no reason to hesitate.
Moreover, this wasn’t luxury spending but an investment, so I could decide quickly.
“I was about to recommend the purchase myself. Besides, the money won’t come out of your account immediately – we’ll process it as a loan, so your investment funds remain intact.”
“Can I pay it back later to eliminate the loan?”
“Of course. You can deduct it from your patent bonus, or pay it back with pure profits from Rollbook. And later, you can repay it with success fees from fund investments.”
Is this why people use credit cards?
Since no money was going out immediately, I could swipe it with peace of mind.
“Please proceed with that.”
“I’ll have a staff member finalize the contract today. Now, shall we go look at homes?”
Having bought a building, how big a deal could a house be?
I thought that briefly, but the home the General Manager had prepared far exceeded my imagination.
A luxury villa in Hannam-dong awaited me, completely different from the old villa in the run-down neighborhood.
Annual Salary 1 Trillion New Employee Chapter 62
E-book Publication Date | 2025.11.27
Author | Seo Oh
Publishers | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Publishing House | Poten
Address | [04783] 10th Floor, 8 Yeonmujang 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Phone | 02-6320-8500
Fax | 02-6320-8585
ISBN | 9791175305892
Price | 100 won
ⓒ Seo Oh 2025
This e-book is a copyrighted work protected by copyright law.
This e-book has been published under the author’s contract, and unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, and sharing are prohibited without written consent from both parties.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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