hollywood billionaire

Chapter 45 UTA Square
The conversation between Han Yi and Jordan Bromley continued until the end of the dinner. The two chatted speculatively and had a simple meal at the blue silk sushi between the Nordstrom department store and the AMC theater.

What you eat is not important, what matters is the content of the conversation, from the potential acquisition targets of copyright distribution companies, to the independent labels that record companies can include in their pockets, to the regions and fields that live performance companies should focus on, to In the new world, Han Yi finally found someone who could be on par with him in terms of professional insight in the music industry, or even a little bit better.

Seeing once is better than hearing a thousand times is a wise saying that has survived thousands of years. No matter how you read about Jordan’s music copyright killings in the news in previous lives, it is not as impressive as today’s face-to-face heart-to-heart conversation. This made Han Yi Looking forward to the next cooperation with Jordan Bromley.

To show his sincerity, after returning to Stella Della No. 864, Han Yi transferred the initial consulting fee of 100 U.S. dollars to the company account of Manate Entertainment. Within seconds, a message from Chase Bank popped up on his phone A push message for $[-]. Although the [-]% cash reward is not much, it undoubtedly shows that Han Yi is eagerly looking forward to Jordan Bromley, the legal adviser.In response, Jordan Bromley sent the record agreement and distribution agreement of "Ocean Eyes" to Han Yi's mailbox within an hour.

The agreement is naturally modified from a commonly used template, but almost every page of Jordan Bromley is filled with dense comments.

In terms of the record agreement, Jordan Bromley offered Bi Li the conditions of a rookie, a repayable advance payment of 7.5 US dollars, a 15% all-inclusive tax rate, and if the converted sales of streaming media plus album downloads reach 25% 0.5 copies, the tax rate will increase by 50%, and if it reaches 1 copies, it will increase by 20%. After that, the tax rate will automatically increase by 1% for every [-] sales.

Traditionally, the tax rate for singles should be only one-third of that for albums.Because in the era of physical records, the cost of releasing a single and an album is almost the same, and both need to be carried in the form of CD or cassette, but the price of selling one song and selling ten songs is naturally different. Same day.In the case of the same cost, the CD of a single can only sell for two or three dollars, while the price of an album can reach eighteen or even twenty dollars.

You don't need to be an expert to see that the profit margins for physical singles are much lower than physical albums.In fact, the reason why record companies released physical singles in the past was just to play an outpost to sell albums.In this case, the record company asks the artist to bear the compression of profit margins with them.If the tax rate stipulated in a certain singer's record agreement is 15%, then only 5% can be allocated to the royalties of single sales.

Entering the era of streaming media, smart artists began to gradually realize the irrationality of this clause, because online distribution has no real cost to speak of, and there is no situation in which profit margins are depressed. Said to be almost pure profit.As a result, most of the musicians who have already debuted have removed this clause from their record agreements.However, this does not affect the record company's use of the so-called practice to deceive newcomers. If there is a little carelessness, the musician's small share will be stolen by the record label.

Jordan Bromley informed Han Yi in the comments that he could be bound by the single tax rate downgrade clause, or at least down to 10%, with the rookie status of Billie and Phineas, and the upcoming $7.5 Judging from it, they should not be too sensitive to this number.

But in the end, Han Yi still decided to keep the tax rate at 15%. After all, it is already a low enough figure. Han Yi, who has 85% share and can withdraw 7.5 US dollars in advance, has the advantage.In addition, Han Yi's goal is not just this song. Through "Ocean Eyes", the ultimate goal he and Zhao Youzhen want to achieve is to bind the two children in all directions.

There are relatively few points to consider in the distribution agreement, the transfer of ownership, the reimbursable creator's advance payment of 2.5 US dollars, and then the [-]-[-] split ratio. In the American music industry, few copyright distribution agreements can change the distribution company. This eternal sharing ratio with creators.

However, even so, Han Yi can still appreciate Jordan Bromley's dedication and professionalism from some details that ordinary people cannot detect, such as the distribution of the $75 advance payment in the two contracts.Jordan Bromley wrote 25% of the advance payment in the record agreement, and the other [-]% in the distribution agreement. This is not a plan that the gold medal lawyer came up with, but it is fully formulated based on the reality of the industry.

In 2004, the United States passed the Royalty Tax Rate and Distribution Reform Act - HR1417, which revised the way of formulating the statutory tax rates of various royalties, from the original arbitration group to the negotiation between the Librarian of Congress and the Copyright Registry. Appoint three federal judges as full-time royalty judges, and the three-member Library of Congress Royalty Committee will determine the tax rate that different media outlets should pay to copyright owners after using copyrighted products.

On May 2007, 5, after 1 days of oral questioning and 48 pages of written records, the Royalty Board established for the first time a flat tax rate for Internet broadcasting.Every online broadcasting platform, whether it is broadcasting musical works, dramatic works or news products, needs to pay royalties to copyright owners at this tax rate.

By the beginning of April 2016, the online broadcast tax rate had been adjusted twice.Now, music publishers can get 4% of the total platform revenue from platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music as distribution royalties, while record companies can get 10.4% of the total platform revenue as record royalties, a ratio of exactly 31.2:25.

Setting the 25 advance payment of "Ocean Eyes" in the same 75:[-] way can ensure that the "interest-free loan" that Han Yi handed over to Bi Li and Phineas will be divided between the music copyright and the master tape copyright. plates, returned to his wallet at the same rate.

After slightly modifying and deleting the notes, Han Yi forwarded the two agreements to Zhao Youzhen for safekeeping.Before handing over the agreement to Bi Li and Phineas to sign, Han Yi still has a lot to do.

Register the music copyright distribution company, record company and artist management company in Beverly Hills, and get the business tax registration certificate from the city government finance office, then fill out the LLC-1 form to register with the state government, and finally make an appointment with the IRS Applying for an Employer Identification Number, this series of processes can only be signed with the musician in the name of the company.

These companies, which aim to become key players in the music industry, naturally need an office space that meets their status.Zhao Youzhen has already started searching within West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. She will gather suitable venues and hand them over to Han Yi to decide.Generally speaking, the company registration in the Los Angeles area will be completed within 4-6 weeks. With the assistance of Jordan Bromley's contacts, this lengthy process that is artificially delayed in most cases can be shortened to 1-2 weeks.

In about ten days, after registering the company, finding a good venue, and then using the newly established company to sign the lease contract, Han Yi's Hollywood career map has opened up the first piece of territory that is completely his own.

Creating a kingdom requires patience, and during this time, Han Yi has other things to do.

For example, head to UTA Plaza and check out his acquisition of United Artists.

UTA Plaza is only two streets away from Beverly City Hall, and it takes only five or six minutes to walk to Rodeo Drive. It can be said that it is in the central business district of Beverly Hills-of course, Beverly has no traditional meaning The cluster of office buildings on the street, even the UTA Plaza, is surrounded by three four-story low buildings, No. 6, No. 9336 and No. 9346 Municipal Road.

Before the 1990s, it was the largest refrigerated warehouse in Beverly Hills. With the rapid urbanization of the greater Los Angeles area, the warehouse was transformed into a 23.6-square-foot warehouse by New York real estate giant Tichmann Speyer. High-end commercial real estate.

In 2011, the United Artists Agency signed a 15-year long-term contract with Tischmann-Speyer, leasing the entire building of No. 9336 and part of No. 9346.As an emphasis on important tenants, Tichmann-Speyer renamed this property from a municipal complex directly to UTA Plaza, and UTA also plans to use this place as a long-term base, spending millions of dollars on renovations, not only built A 150-seat private screening room, as well as an outdoor private event space for various premiere events and promotional activities.

In 2014, the Rockefeller Group, which is controlled by Mitsubishi Estate, purchased the real estate here for US$2.12 million. Encouraged by the new property, UTA even continued to expand the lease scale. They moved the building originally leased by Playboy magazine It was also taken together, forming the current exclusive office park of 19.1 square feet.

Surrounded by municipal auxiliary roads, UTA Plaza has a quiet office environment that is not disturbed by the outside world. Less than a hundred feet away from the auxiliary road, you can go straight to Santa Monica Avenue, and reach all parts of Los Angeles smoothly, which makes the office park more convenient. Performance and practicality are greatly improved.

At this time, Han Yi had just turned from Santa Monica Boulevard into Municipal Road, squinted his eyes slightly in the passenger seat, and looked up at the facade made of overlapping glass curtain walls and beige marble surfaces.

"It's much better than the previous office."

Today, the black bodyguard Kian Griffin was in charge of escorting Han Yi. Compared with the Albanian officer Fiyamu Derwig who deliberately kept a prudent distance from his employer, the former obviously did not care so much about this issue.After all, his former employer was Su Ge Knight, a ruthless man who managed both bodyguards and lawyers as gang members.

"Su Ge used to be from UTA?" Han Yi asked curiously.

"The entire Death Row has talked about agency cooperation with UTA, but it didn't work out in the end." Kian shook his head, looking a bit sad, not sure if he was thinking of Dre or 2Pac.

"What was that like?"

"What is it like?" Kean Griffin was a little puzzled.

"Together with the legends." Han Yi recalled Death Row's all-star hip-hop lineup, "Dr.Dre, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, MC Hammer..."

"Oh, it was a crazy time, absolutely crazy."

Kean Griffin steered the steering wheel steadily with one hand, and pressed a fist against his thick lips with one hand, and his laughter sounded like it had traveled through an entire era.

"I'm not a rapper, heck, I'm even from the east coast, but I'm still a member of Death Row, my whole life."

"This has always made me very curious." Han Yi sat up a little bit, looking at Kian with curiosity, "You are from the east coast, but you are a bodyguard for Sugar Knight...you can correct it at any time. Me, but for me as an outsider, this is crazy stuff."

The struggle between hip-hop and gang forces between the east and west coasts is an unavoidable and colorful stroke in the history of American rap music development.

This kind of dispute from paper and pen, tongue, tape to bullet not only gave birth to countless classic Diss and Diss Back works, but also caused the greatest representatives of the two coasts to fall successively.

On Sept. 1996, 9, black activist Louis Farrakhan, who enjoyed great prestige on both sides of the aisle, held the first public meeting at the Mariam Mosque in Chicago, a territory considered a "neutral city." A peace summit to resolve a dispute between the two coasts following the assassination of West Coast hip-hop icon 22Pac.But the bloody violent conflict continued until March 2. After The Notorious BIG, the number one rap star on the East Coast, was shot dead in Los Angeles, Louis Farrakhan held a summit again. Suge Knight and Puff Daddy Talking talent finally decided to quell the dispute.

Even after that, though, there was still a sharp divide between West Coast and East Coast rap circles.There's no way a West Coast hip-hop artist can make it to a party in the Bronx and Harlan, and an East Coast rap star won't get any applause from Compton and Crenshaw.

Therefore, under such circumstances, it must be said that this bodyguard from New York can become the confidant in charge of Suge Knight's personal safety, which has to be said to be a strange thing.

"There are a lot of gangs in New York. Mine happens to be in conflict with Biggie Smalls's. The east and west coasts only occasionally go to each other's cities to fight, but we fight for our lives every day." Kean said lightly, but Han Yi knew , Behind each of these words is a black life buried in Trinity Cemetery in Harlan, New York.

"While touring the East Coast, Suger needed someone who really knew the place, could keep them safe, and be the mediator. I was the one."

"20 years of gang career, I didn't fall down at a certain street corner, not relying on fists and pistols, Boss." Kean pointed to his temple, and then nodded his lips, "It's here, and here."

"I can imagine, Kian." Han Yi nodded, "In my opinion, you are synonymous with street smarts in their mouths."

"Oh, I don't dare to say that, but it's okay." Ji'an pouted, accepting Han Yi's compliment.

"I'm not used to this kind of life now, right? It's a lot less exciting."

"At my age, life is no longer a G-Funk song." Kian let out a long sigh of relief and twisted his neck. Following his movements, Han Yi could vaguely see a shocking scar on the opponent's shoulder.

"Do I enjoy this life? Maybe not. But I thank God for it every day."

"Grateful... at least I'm not the one that fell, or the sneakers hanging on the pole."

Kean Griffin's memories came to an abrupt end here, because if he dug deeper, the pair of eyes that fell on the passenger seat of the BMW 750iL and hadn't closed until his death would appear in his mind again.

"Okay, Boss, we're at the gate. Do you need me to wait for you at the main gate?"

"You can give P1 to the parking attendant, and we'll go in together."

Han Yi patted Kian on the shoulder and said softly.

Turn off the engine, and the exclusive parking staff of UTA Plaza have already surrounded them like an enemy. For this kind of supercar, they will never drive to the underground parking lot.Putting it in front of your eyes, at least two people will take care of it, so you can feel a little more at ease.

"Mr. Han."

Seeing Han Yi walking up the outer steps of No. 9336, Vincent Di, who was waiting outside, hurried up two steps and greeted him.

"Long time no see, Vincent." Han Yi smiled at the other party.

"Mr. Le Pen and the three founders of UTA are waiting for you in the lobby on the first floor."

Vincent turned slightly to make way for Han Yi.

Looking in the direction of the opponent's raised arm, Han Yi saw Douglas Le Pen's tall and generous back.

Surrounding him were three 'old friends' whom Han Yi had never met before, but who were already very familiar with each other.

Jim Berkus, Jeremy Zimmer and Peter Benedek.

UTA Big Three.

Finally met.

　Thanks to the new lord, Abai, for standing still and bringing more updates!It's still the old rule, more and more are waiting to be on the shelves... woo woo woo I can't stand it
　　
　
(End of this chapter)