hollywood billionaire

Chapter 297 Paris and Gifts

DJ Snake is a repertoire of Block Party's European tour. After "Lean On" became popular all over the world, the French electronic music producer's net worth and status were pushed to a new peak.

From early September to mid-October, within a month and a half, DJ Snake appeared at five top music festivals. Bumbershoot was held in Seattle on September 9. DJ Snake, like Holsh and G-Eazy, was one of the eight main guests of the music festival. Han music artists Madison Beer and Marshmello also participated in the music festival. It’s the second finale.

Nocturnal Wonderland in San Bernardino on September 9rd is the most influential electronic music festival in North America organized by EDC organizer Insomniac during the Labor Day weekend. DJ Snake was officially announced as the finale of the main stage on the second day.

On September 9th, at the Ultra Music Festival in Singapore, DJ Snake performed on stage before Deadmau10 as the finale. Ultra also replicated the same lineup at Odaiba Seaside Park in Tokyo, Japan on September 5th. A month later, the same was true for the Ultra Brazil station in Rio de Janeiro, but this time, the artist who took over DJ Snake was replaced by Martin Garrix from Deadmau9.

With five music festivals, two grand finales, and three grand finales, all with the most conspicuous position and size on the posters, it is self-evident that DJ Snake is extremely popular this year. And this is also the main reason why Han Live and Mad Decent chose DJ Snake to lead the show when they deliberately did not choose Diplo for next year's Mad City European leg.

As a world-class electronic music artist from the hinterland of Western Europe, DJ Snake has a natural appeal in London and Paris, and since the Pukkelpop Music Festival in Belgium on August 8, he has not performed in Europe for two months. , the market’s expectations and hunger are also sufficient.

So, three months ago, Diplo personally contacted DJ Snake, who informed his manager Amy Thomson, and then through the management company, informed the entertainment agency Paradigm that DJ Snake signed with, asking them to pay 10 per show. The preferential price of US dollars is reserved for the weekend of October 10st and 21nd.

This is another tip that organizers can use to effectively reduce costs when booking artists - if you know the artists themselves or their managers, then find a way to obtain their preliminary consent before approaching the entertainment agency for a formal contract. . Because acting agents can only take 10% of the performance income as commission, they don't care about the artist's development in other aspects, they only care about whether they can sign a performance contract at the highest possible price. The natural conflict of interest makes it difficult for the organizer to ask the brokerage company to make concessions on price.

But managers are different. They will give more consideration to the growth of the artist's comprehensive commercial value. If the event or the organizer itself is beneficial to the artist's future development, the manager will even help the organizer lower the price and ask the brokerage company to pay Offer better prices.

After all, although the manager cannot interfere in the work of the entertainment agency, the former has the final approval power for each performance contract. In other words, as long as the manager does not nod, no matter how many offers the brokerage company receives, they will not be turned into cash.

The reason why DJ Snake is willing to take the initiative to cooperate with the price reduction is also very simple. "Lean On" was released by Mad Decent. It is a collaborative single between DJ Snake and Major Lazer. It is also through this song that the current number of streaming media plays is the highest. Moombahton dance music, DJ Snake can continue the upward trend of "Turn Down for What" in 2013 and "Get Low" in 2014, and become a first-line electronic music star.

In addition, Block Party put DJ Snake on the regular lineup of the US tour two years ago. Diplo took him with him everywhere in Miami, Atlanta, and Brooklyn. Therefore, both emotionally and logically, DJ Snake should return the favor and participate in Block Party's first European tour.

More importantly, DJ Snake’s manager Amy Thomson is also negotiating some cooperation projects with Han Music and Renyu Management. The specific form and content of cooperation are still unclear, but Han Yi is determined to win this celebrity manager.

Currently, Amy's artist management company has two groups of artists, Swedish House Mafia and DJ Snake, both of which are valuable assets that Han Yi dreams of. In addition, Han Yi also knows Amy well. In his last life, he carefully studied the artist management manual published by Amy Thomson, and he also knew that starting from 2019, this elite manager would shut down her artists. Management company, fully devoted to the management of music copyright library.

Acquired her company before its natural demise, acquired two groups of electronic music superstars, and transferred Amy Thomson to Han Publishing to be responsible for the management of its own copyrights and collection copyrights. The management team led by Zhao Youzhen gradually Taking over Swedish House Mafia and DJ Snake is Han Yi's general idea for this cooperation project.

Amy is obviously very interested in this.

During this period, Amy Thomson, although she had not completely lost her passion for artist management, was still actively looking for ways to diversify her development. The grand blueprint drawn by Han Yi for her is a dangerous path that, if successful, can completely change the structure of the music industry.

If there is no amazing financial support, it can even be said that there is no chance of death.

Even with Han Yi leading the way, Amy would have to bet her entire career.

This happens to be the challenge that Amy Thomson, who has opened up a world for the Swedish Mafia and Uncle Snake in the world of electronic music through innovative and radical marketing strategies, likes to accept the most.

She is a gambler by nature.

In the previous life, the song "Taki Taki" released in 2019, which integrated electronic music, Latin music and pop music, created a new successful model for the pop music world, is proof of Amy's courage and vision.

She believes that this young Asian billionaire, who has made waves in the music industry in just half a year, is brewing a pot of antidote that she cannot resist.

It is a good remedy to rescue the world music scene, which appears to be surging but actually lifeless, from the three major patterns that seem to last forever.

If Han Yi was the chief surgeon, then she was willing to be his assistant preparing instruments for him at the operating table.

Compared with the nine-digit or even ten-digit copyright market, whether DJ Snake charges 15 or 10 for a single performance, and whether the currency unit is euros or US dollars, is not a difficult problem that requires repeated entanglement.

When both the artist and the manager agreed to reduce the price for the performance, the objections of the management company Paradigm became insignificant. As a result, Han Live only spent two-thirds of the normal market price to obtain the most solid box office guarantee for Block Party's European tour.

On the other hand, at Gud Vibrations, the overall situation is slightly different, but the essence is not far from the same.

Gud Vibrations is a limited group jointly created by American bass electronic music producer NGHTMRE and Heaven Trap duo Slander. "Gud Vibrations" was originally a Future Bass single released by the two groups of producers on Mad Decent in 2015. Because of the good response in the circle, NGHTMRE and Slander took advantage of the opportunity to approach activities together under the name Gud Vibrations.

Unexpectedly, this spur-of-the-moment move received an enthusiastic response from the performance market and the electronic music community. For a time, the momentum and appeal of the Gud Vibrations limited group even far exceeded the popularity of the two groups of producers themselves. It just so happened that both NGHTMRE and Slander's acting agents were with UTA, so there was no conflict of interest. Therefore, this temporarily formed limited group inexplicably became the biggest surprise in the electronic music industry in the second half of 2016.

Gud Vibrations7月1日和7月2日在好莱坞守护神剧院的两场演出全数售罄。8月20日Block Party的底特律站，组合在可以容纳1500人的罗素工业中心大放异彩，被评为当晚的最佳现场。而这两场演出，都是瀚现场与UTA合作打造的现场项目。

It is popular, unique and profitable, so the newly born Han Live will naturally increase its efforts. Han Yi proposed a preliminary plan, and American regional live performance director Celine Joshua was responsible for the specific implementation. Starting from November 11th and ending on December 10rd, Han Live planned a round of thirty-two local events for Gud Vibrations. A US tour consisting of 12 live houses.

The tour started in the Midwest, including Urbana, Illinois, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, Columbus, Ohio, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and then to Cleveland, which is the most popular place among American netizens. , and ended with two days of back-to-back performances in Chicago.

On November 11, after three days of repairs, the tour team will head south, deep into the hinterland of the North American continent, to St. Louis, Missouri, and drive all the way west. The connection between Kansas City, Kansas and Denver, Colorado is basically a straight line, and can be reached by the I-22 highway without changing roads. After two days of performances at the Ogden Theater in Denver's Capitol Hill, on November 70, NGHTMRE and Slander will continue to move in a straight line, but this time the direction is not due west but due south.

Taking the I-25 highway, it took six and a half hours to arrive in Albuquerque, New Mexico, then turned east and entered the Deep South, stayed one night in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then played three consecutive shows in Houston, Austin, and Dallas. A Texas city. After two days of repairs, it started from Charleston, South Carolina, and passed through nine states and [-] cities, including metropolises such as Philadelphia, New York and Boston, and finally ended in Wallingford, next to New Haven, Connecticut. Tour ends at De Oakdale Theatre.

43 days, 32 cities, the scale of performances in each city is basically around 1000-2000 people. In terms of total investment, this Gud Vibrations North American tour is not considered a big project. The artist’s guaranteed performance fee + venue fee + other miscellaneous expenses add up, and the cost of each performance does not exceed US$10. One-third of the shows are packaged and sold directly to nightclubs by UTA. The total revenue generated by thirty-two performances is just over one million US dollars, and the gross profit margin is only about 15-[-]%.

In terms of profitability, Gud Vibrations' North American tour is not as good as the Mad City Music Festival, but it is a very good training opportunity for Han Live's start-up team. The tour involves 32 cities, which means that the Hanshi team needs to carry out complex itinerary planning and logical coordination, which can exercise the organization and coordination skills of the company's grassroots employees. Although the middle and upper levels are all professionals that Han Yi hired from Caesars Entertainment, Live Nation and AEG Live, there are many fresh graduates who lack experience. For them, Mad City is a needed game. They passed the big test under the guidance of their mentor, and the Gud Vibrations tour was the first independent performance in their career.

In addition, the Gud Vibrations tour also provided Han Live with a valuable opportunity to understand and analyze different regional markets and audience groups in North America. This in-depth understanding will be of great benefit to the company's future market positioning and strategy formulation for other activities. At the same time, cooperation with various nightclubs, venues and other organizations during the tour can also help Han Live build a bottom-up network of relationships in the live performance industry, which is very important to the continued success of this startup.

Of course, what Han Yi is most looking forward to seeing are the various unexpected challenges that the team may encounter during the trip, such as equipment failures, travel delays, sudden illness of artists and other unexpected situations, and their response to these emergencies. coping methods. No internal training can simulate the high-pressure situation of "On the 30th day of the tour, the 18th show, NGHTMRE suddenly disappeared for four hours." The team's adaptability and problem-solving skills must also be taken step by step to avoid all the pitfalls. Only after stepping on it can you learn valuable lessons.

Whether it’s Gud Vibrations’ North American tour, Dua Lipa’s upcoming UK tour, or Lil Yachty’s ongoing joint Live House Tour, these projects may not create much value for Han Live financially, but they do It is an important process for a company to grow from immaturity to maturity. The two major gaps between Han Live and Live Nation and AEG Live, with the support of the memorandum plug-in, will not be reflected in financial resources in the future, but will only be reflected in execution capabilities.

Using enough projects to replace a sufficiently experienced team is the initial investment that Han Yi must complete.

The addition of Gud Vibrations to Block Party's European tour lineup is also a way for Han Yi to make early investment. However, the beneficiaries are not the executive team of Han Live, but the two groups of electronic music producers NGHTMRE and Slander.

One of the core strategies of Han Music to move towards the world's fourth largest music group is to launch differentiated competition in areas where the three major music groups have not yet established dominant advantages, and to minimize the distance between the group and Universal, Sony and Warner. , or even surpass them.

Hip-hop music, electronic music, and future Latin music are all the focus of Han Music's layout. Under the group that has not yet been formally formed, an important task for record companies, copyright distribution companies, entertainment management companies, artist management companies and live performance companies is to quickly expand their respective artist resource libraries for contract cooperation.

After Ibiza signed several top [-] DJs from DJ Mag, NGHTMRE and Slander are Han Yi’s next targets for naturalization. If it develops according to the normal historical trajectory, NGHTMRE will continue to be active in the performance market as the leading American Bass music artist in the next seven years. Deepening cooperation with him and signing a full contract can bring additional benefits to the artist management sector. of generous income.

And holding Slander's recording contract, distribution contract and management contract in hand is a task that can only succeed and cannot fail. In 2016, Slander was still delving into their original, yet-to-be-formed musical style, Heaven Trap. During this period, they were still widely regarded as a pure Bass music group - although there were vocal elements in the music, that was not the main selling point.

But soon, inspired by a large number of electronic musicians embracing the Billboard charts, in order to increase royalties and overall commercial monetization capabilities, Slander will launch a series like "Without You", which is mainly about vocal melodies and electronic music. The musical elements are embellished with pop electronics. And after 2019, with phenomenal singles such as "Love Is Gone", "All You Need To Know", and "Back To U", Douyin received the first wave of music dividends.

The song "Love Is Gone" alone has more than [-] million plays on Spotify. It is incomparable to a top single like "Cold Water", but there is no doubt that it is a precious copyright that Han Music cannot miss.

Therefore, in order to show the sincerity and strength of cooperation, Han Yi personally named Han Yi and asked Han Live to bring Gud Vibrations with a performance price of US$[-] to Paris and London. This will not only make the signing negotiations for other areas of the two groups of artists go more smoothly, but also use two performances in Europe to test the market before the start of the North American tour, helping the team understand the acceptance of their music in different cultural backgrounds. Timely adjust the structure and content of the set.

With the blessing of DJ Snake and Gud Vibrations, coupled with the basic lineup of Dillon Francis, RL Grime, Herobust and Ookay, the Block Party performance poster looks very attractive. As a Bass music-themed performance, it can be said that there are no shortcomings at all.

6000 tickets, priced at £59 each, were sold out in less than a week. Although the prices of the four basic artists have increased during the prime time period on Friday, and the rent of the venue itself is more than twice as high as that of the Greek Theater in Barcelona, ​​Han Live has successfully controlled the total cost of the London station. $27.7.

With an income of 35.4 pounds and an expenditure of 27.7 US dollars, even though the pound-to-dollar exchange rate was as low as 1.22, the final gross profit reached 15.49 US dollars, with a profit margin of 35.87%, 6% higher than Barcelona.

This is on the premise that the revenue from on-site alcohol sales has not yet been calculated. If the on-site alcoholic beverage share is included, the profitability of Block Party London is simply the sweetest dream of every organizer.

The Paris station with the participation of the Pardon My French quartet was even more terrifying. Nine groups of artists, eleven hours, and the Block Party started at [-] pm. OI FM radio station called it "a party that puts Paris on the world stage." A historic performance on the sound map."

虽然艺人成本随着Tchami、Malaa和Mercer的加入又多了三万欧元，但与此同时，票价也从59英镑上涨到了69欧元。考虑到2016年10月底英镑兑欧元的汇率只有1.1，巴黎站相当于是在伦敦站的基础上额外增加了5欧元。

Generally speaking, the 19th arrondissement is the worst arrondissement in Paris. The crime rate is high and various organized drug dealers are entrenched. Various travel guides strongly discourage tourists from choosing hotels in this area. But the Zenith Stadium is not in a residential area. It is one of the affiliated cultural facilities in the 55-hectare Villette Park, the third largest municipal park in Paris.

In fact, the park is home to one of the largest concentrations of cultural venues in Paris, including Europe's largest science museum, the Cité des Sciences et l'Industrie, three major music venues, and the renowned Paris Conservatoire. In other words, the safety factor of Villette Park, located in the northeast corner of the 19th arrondissement, is much higher than that of other communities in the 19th arrondissement, especially on performance nights when thousands of people come in and out at the same time.

Thieves are inevitable, they are as much a part of Parisian life as rats, but as long as they don't wander around, at least their lives are safe.

Therefore, geographical conditions and public security conditions did not become negative factors affecting box office sales. This time, the sell-out speed was even faster. Within seventy-two hours, all Ticketmaster's first-hand ticket sources were reduced to zero, and the prices were increased to 89 euros or even 129 euros. Second-hand tickets in euros are widely available on Stubhub.

This kind of indoor music festival has less than 31.03 people, and it is overseas. Han Live has no way to further expand profits in second-hand ticket sales like Mad City. The cost of US$47.61 ultimately resulted in a total box office of 52.85 euros, equivalent to US$[-].

Gross profit was US$21.82, with gross profit margin as high as 41.29%. The larger the scale, the stronger the profitability. Hanshibaijian has taken the principle of economies of scale to its extreme.

"I really want to go to Paris..."

After clicking on the review video and looking at it twice, Yuzhen sighed quietly.

"Kevin said the results were particularly good that day. Mosh Pit has been opened dozens or hundreds of times, and I had a great time chatting with Tchami and the others. If I were here, maybe I would have signed Pardon My French directly."

Even if Zhao Youzhen doesn't go, Renyu Management will have to have a manager accompanying them. Even if it's not for business negotiations, they still have to coordinate the schedule of all Mad Decent's cooperating artists. This task naturally falls on the shoulders of label co-founder Kevin Kusatsu. He is responsible for representing Han Music in Barcelona, ​​London, Paris, and ADE in Amsterdam.

"You mean, you're better than Kevin?"

Han Yi raised his eyebrows and teased.

"I didn't say it, you said it."

Zhao Youzhen gathered his right hand and put it to his lips, and whispered, with a rather playful look on his face. It’s not that she has any particular dislike for Kevin Kusatsu, it’s just that people in the electronic music industry use a multi-pronged approach at events, and it all depends on whether they can get out of bed the next day. Luck makes it difficult to complete contact tasks with quality and quantity.

"Okay, I said what I said."

Han Yi waved his hand nonchalantly and said with a smile.

"I also said... if you want to go to Paris so much, it must be more than just for the show."

"You don't know me yet." You Zhen glanced at him, "I have planned everything for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midnight snack."

"What's for breakfast?" Han Yi asked with interest.

“Breakfast at the Morris Hotel.”

It would be best to stay at the Morris Hotel, get up early in the morning, put on a delicate and elegant full make-up, put on the Oscar de la Renta that has been sitting in the closet for a long time, and ask Han Yi to meet him in the restaurant.

Then, he played a trick and arrived ten minutes late. Looking at him sitting in front of the marble fireplace, he was stunned and speechless, covering his mouth and snickering.

"What's for lunch?"

“Le Café de Mars next to the Champ de Mars.”

This is a warm and casual street restaurant that serves modern French comfort food with Anglo-Saxon, Middle Eastern, Asian and Mediterranean flavors. It is Zhao Youzhen's favorite restaurant in Paris. When she was still on a strict diet, she couldn't help but go there three times in three days. The waiter's attitude was unusually friendly and enthusiastic, and the food was Yuzhen's favorite, with rich red sauce that was rare in Paris. She simply couldn't stop eating at this Mars Cafe.

Putting on a casual outfit suitable for traveling, she knocked on Han Yi's door, coquettishly responded to his compliment that "this outfit looks good too", and stepped into autumn Paris with him.

It would be best if there was a little rain so that they could hold up umbrellas and get closer.

"What about dinner?"

"Le Pré Catelan."

You Zhen likes the decoration of this Michelin three-star restaurant. It doesn't matter what she eats, but in the night, the strong blooming dark green on the ground and the cold and restrained silver gray around it always make her feel calm and excited at the same time.

Staring at each other across the dining table, they chatted about each other's daily life that they were already familiar with. The last highlight is to take the coat from Han Yi. It is best for him to put it on for you, and then use the high heels as an excuse to naturally climb up his arms and disappear into the gorgeous city of lights.

"Don't tell me... you have named the places you want to go to for midnight snacks."

“Bim’s, Korean food, next to the Opera House.”

You can't get enough of three Michelin stars.

Others may be able to do it, but Yu Zhen, whose taste buds and appetite are fully aroused, cannot.

So she needs to have another meal of hometown food for midnight snack... Whether it's her hometown food or Han Yi's hometown food, she likes them all.

This kind of happiness that returned to ordinary after the glitz fascinated her.

In a foreign country where the sky is high and the clouds are dark, both of them have no roots and no worries, savoring every second of beauty that time has given them.

Awesome.

"Oh my god... you even have your eye on Korean restaurants in Paris." Han Yi exclaimed, "Isn't the guide... too detailed?"

"What's the use of being detailed? It's not like I haven't gone."

Zhao Youzhen held his head, his little milky voice became more and more obvious, and he was acting coquettishly in an extremely rare way.

"Leave me alone, let me... feel sad."

"Don't be sad." Han Yi comforted softly, "There are so many opportunities to go to Paris."

"It's impossible to predict this kind of thing. Who knows how long it will take for the next opportunity?"

"I'm really...sorry, Yuzhen."

Hearing You Zhen's words, Han Yi pursed his lips tightly and his expression became serious.

"I didn't expect you to take this trip to Europe so seriously. I'm... really sorry that I couldn't fulfill your dream."

"No, Yi, don't, don't apologize. I'm not actually unhappy, I'm just teasing you..."

Han Yi, who was suddenly depressed, panicked Youzhen. She quickly reached out her hand and stammered an explanation in Chinese. She originally just wanted to complain a little and let Han Yi say a few thoughtful words to comfort her, but she didn't expect that the other party would take it seriously.

Are you really "serious"?
  not necessarily.

After confirming that his performance had confused the Korean girl, Han Yi, who had a sad look on his face, could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.

Under Zhao Youzhen's puzzled gaze, he took out a photo frame about 30 centimeters long and 25 centimeters wide from the ordinary butter paper bag at Bouchon Bakery.

In the photo frame, there was only a yellowed sheet of music, with messy notation symbols and angry-looking wavy lines occupying the entire space.

"This is……"

"I couldn't go to Europe with you, so I brought you a gift from Europe to apologize. Do you think that's okay?"

"Okay... no, why do you have to apologize? You didn't do anything... you didn't do anything..."

Zhao Youzhen's surprised eyes opened wider and wider, he stood up unconsciously and murmured.

"Whose music score does it belong to?"

"A musician who stayed in Paris... To be precise, it's his manuscript. If it were a complete score, it wouldn't be just this one."

Han Yi lowered his head and glanced at the photo frame he had casually placed on his desk.

"This draft is from the second movement of this musician's String Quartet No. 9 in C major."

"he is……"

"Beethoven."

(End of this chapter)