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“So I really had, for the first time in a long time, so much delegated that I could (relax) and spend time with the family and play games and have fun. My plan was to list Megaupload and probably do an exit within a year after the listing. I almost felt like retiring. I wanted to finish those projects I was working on with Megabox, with the artists I got involved, I wanted to do the Megakey and provide this legalisation of free downloads with that technology. I didn’t really see myself doing this work for a very long time. And then my dream was to go into the movie business and make movies.”

Dotcom was already making music. He had met Grammy Award-winning producer Printz Board of the Black Eyed Peas a year earlier in Paris. He asked if the artist wanted to be one of his producers on a new music project.

“Hell no,” said Printz Board, telling the story later, “I want to be the only producer.”

When the Dotcoms came back from Europe, Printz Board and his team from Beatz & Produce moved into the guest house and began recording music in regular sessions at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios. The recording consumed hours of every day. Dotcom obsessively drove the group on in the studio. “Everything I do, I want to be the best at otherwise I don’t do it. It has always been like that, all my life. And I can tell you, without wanting to sound arrogant . . . anything I have done in the past, I achieved what I want to achieve. I’m a perfectionist.”

And Dotcom wanted to be in charge: “I’m sitting there with the top producer who has written hits for the Black Eyed Peas and the guy gets frustrated with me because I’m anal about one tone. Or I like it better like this . . . or like that. It really required him to adapt as well to this attention to detail.”

IN THE MONTHS leading up to the destruction of Megaupload, there was a growing friction between it and the copyright industry. Megaupload was bigger and bolder than ever, talking of new business plans which cut across territory considered by the copyright industry to be traditionally theirs. One of those ventures was MegaMovie, intended to be an online database of films. There was also MegaBox, the proposed music site which would allow users to buy tracks from popular artists — but also allow artists to sell directly to the public. “I was having meetings with Hollywood producers trying to establish communication and trying to work with them. I wanted to license content for MegaBox from the music labels.”