Just as Manchester United's post-match press conference was ending, a new streaming platform called "Warner Online" went live!
Warner Music's headquarters sat at the northwest corner of Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, right next to Paramount's massive film studio. Yet, Warner Music's building stood out with its striking luxury.
The sleek silver-and-black glass façade gave the Warner Records tower a futuristic, high-tech vibe. Inside, Edgar Bronfman Jr. sat calmly in the top-floor tech department, watching everything unfold.
The door to the tech department bore a golden plaque: "Warner Online Tech Division." A steady stream of people bustled in and out, but Edgar Bronfman Jr. remained still, accompanied only by the tech director as they monitored the backend data of Warner Online on a computer.
"Has the platform launched? Why isn't the backend updating?"
The tech director quickly explained, "The platform just went live 15 minutes ago. There's a 30-minute lag in data feedback. Maybe you should take a break—you haven't slept since last night."
"Fine. But I need to know how much traffic Claire Lee's influence can bring and how much YouTube can drive to us. If I can't gauge customer acquisition costs, I can't estimate the next phase of platform promotion!"
The tech director immediately pulled up the Warner Online website to double-check everything.
The domain, HuaNaOnline.cn, was easy to remember. The homepage featured a simple rotating banner with three posters:
"Transformers" Soundtrack – Listen Now! "Claire Lee – Football Prodigy & Music Sensation – New Singles Out Now!" "All Warner Music Artists Now on Warner Online!"
The site had just three sections: Music Charts, Playlists by Genre, and Artists by Category. Though Warner had invested heavily in this streaming platform, Bronfman knew controlling costs was crucial when the platform's future was still uncertain.
For now, Warner Online only hosted Warner's own catalog—but as one of the "Big Four" record labels, that still meant nearly 20,000 songs in the library.
Just as the tech director finished checking everything and tried to play a song—nothing happened. The track loaded but refused to play.
Bronfman's eyes sharpened. "What's going on? Why isn't the song playing?"
The tech director froze. Basic troubleshooting should've caught playback issues—this was too elementary a mistake.
"I—I'll check again?"
Bronfman exploded like a furious rooster, leaping to his feet and unleashing a torrent of insults at the tech director. Even his secretary, who had just arrived at the door, hesitated to enter, looking nervous.
"Go to HR and resign. I don't want to see your incompetence again!"
"B-Boss… the servers crashed. Maybe you should approve the tech department's request for additional servers first?" The secretary finally managed to stutter out.
The tech director suddenly remembered something and blurted, "Yes! A massive user surge must've overwhelmed the servers! I knew I wouldn't make such a basic mistake!"
Bronfman eyed the freshly submitted document skeptically—until the computer screen refreshed, displaying new data:
Registered Users: 600,000 Paid Subscribers: 140,000 Single Purchases: 840,000 Top 5 Paid Singles: "One Day" "Irreplaceable" "The Nights" "Girlfriend" "Umbrella"
The tech director nearly jumped in excitement, pointing at the screen. "See, Boss?! It's not my fault—it's a traffic spike! Approve the server request so we can handle the load!"
Bronfman, slightly embarrassed by his earlier outburst but relieved the tech director wasn't holding a grudge, quickly signed the approval.
As he sat back down, he studied the numbers, muttering, "Rihanna's a beast—two of the top five are hers. But why is 'One Day' above 'The Nights'?"
The tech director quietly slipped out of the office without answering.
But when Bronfman saw the platform's half-hour revenue nearing $1 million, he couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction.
He'd spent $1 million on YouTube ads to promote Warner Online. At first, he'd been skeptical—but now, seeing the returns, he nodded in approval.
And his gut told him this was just the beginning. Though Sony Music had entered the streaming game first, Bronfman was confident Warner's catalog and bold strategy would outshine them.
That Night
After six hours of sleep in his office, Bronfman was jolted awake by a sharp phone ring.
"Hello?"
"Apologies for disturbing you, Mr. Bronfman, but I have a question."
The voice was familiar, but Bronfman couldn't place it. He squinted at the caller ID—
"Larry Page."
His eyes widened. He knew exactly why the Google co-founder was calling.
"Mr. Page, the numbers prove it—Google's acquisition of YouTube is a guaranteed win. Congratulations!"
Page's tone relaxed. "Thank you. Without your proof of YouTube's viral potential, we wouldn't have pulled the trigger."
"Mutual success. Let's keep collaborating."
As Bronfman hung up, he didn't yet know that USA Today had just dropped a bombshell—one that would shake the entire internet. The same announcement flashed across Google's and YouTube's official websites:
[Google Acquires YouTube for $2.4 Billion]