hollywood billionaire

Chapter 72 First order online
"It's not bad...I mean, definitely not a Billboard number one, but still a good song."

In the large conference room of Room 1000 of Xinghui Building, before the second chorus of "Ocean Eyes" was played, Karen Guo, who folded her hands on her chest and leaned back on the leather chair, closed her eyes and listened carefully, decided to Come to a conclusion.

"The arrangement and arrangement are very simple, but Serbon's post-production ability is really unparalleled, which brought the whole song to a new level."

"Topline is also good, very popular." Christopher Stewart took off the brown sunglasses hanging on the bridge of his nose, took a sip of the black coffee in front of him, smacked his lips, and searched for suitable words, "Sounds like a novice, But talented enough to know what the audience wants right now."

"In another two or three years, the production level and creative ability should reach a good level."

"Mr. Han, the creator, have we signed it? Over there."

Christopher set his sights on Han Yi who was sitting in the chair at the end of the conference room.

"Not yet." Han Yi smiled and shook his head, and replied, "What we are signing now is the agreement for this single, the record agreement and the release agreement. If the commercial performance of "Ocean Eyes" is good, they must be ours Don't worry about what's in your bag."

"Oh, I'm not worried, Mr. Han." The personality of the entire A&R team is similar to that of Karen Guo Xiang. They are all straightforward and straightforward. Although there are always one or two sentences that sound harsh, Han Yi prefers this straight-to-the-point style of doing things.An enterprise, especially a start-up company, is not afraid of such capable people who dare to speak out, but is afraid of such useless people who do things well but can't do anything.

"It's just that this agreement sounds strange. Phineas...and this female singer named Bi Li don't seem like artists with such negotiating power."

In Christopher Stewart's impression, it seems that no artist can be treated like this.Not Justin Bieber, not even Mariah Carey.

"They should be honored to have our services... not the other way around." Christopher tapped his chest lightly with his fingers and joked with a smile.

"If there were you at that time, they would have felt very honored, Christopher." Han Yi smiled indifferently, subtly turning the topic of signing or not into a compliment to the new team.

"Needless to say anything else, leave them to me, boss." Karen Guo sat up straight and brushed her hair sassyly, "Any contract that these two children want to sign, I can handle it .You don’t need to wait until the song is officially released, after you get the report.”

"This is fantastic. I appreciate your passion, Karen."

Han Yi nodded appreciatively and smiled.Karen Guo's fierceness that can split even a red sea in front of his eyes is a strong personality tempered by more than [-] years of professional career, and it is also the spirit that Han Yi hopes to see in a department leader.

For the young, immature but smart and cautious Phineas, although Han Yi has the two glittering titles of billionaire and UTA shareholder, when he first came into contact with him, he hadn't even registered a record company.Phineas had some concerns in his heart, and it was perfectly normal for him not to immediately agree to sign the full contract.

But nearly 20 days have passed, and the current situation is completely different. Han Yi is not only about to leave for New York to discuss with the Carlyle Group the whereabouts of a new investment of 3.99 million cash, but also has established a music business group. No matter from any point of view, it can be called a star-studded behind-the-scenes team.

This time, let Zhao Youzhen take Karen Guo to talk to Phineas and Bi Li again, Han Yi couldn't think of any reason for the two children to refuse Han Music's invitation.

The A&R masters who built Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez stand in front of you.Who else is more qualified than her to plan your future?
"Yuzhen, make an appointment with Phineas and Bili next, and let Karen chat with them, okay?" Han Yi turned his head and said softly to Zhao Youzhen on the right, "Also, the management contract It was also signed."

"No problem." Zhao Youzhen nodded in agreement.She has a close relationship with the two artists, especially Bi Li.The two are very close in private, and the latter even treats her as her own sister.According to Bi Li, since she was a child, she has always wanted to have such a close friend who can speak the secret language of the boudoir.

But it may be because of the good personal relationship that Zhao Youzhen has been unable to find a suitable entry point to persuade Bi Li to sign the contract in advance.Of course, Yuzhen herself knows very well that after all, she is just a fledgling manager who has never brought any artist seriously. One step further, Yuzhen will always be a little worried that she will show timidity.

Like Han Yi, Zhao Youzhen is very optimistic about the future of Billie Eilish and FINNEAS. She does not want to miss out on these two future superstars because of her lack of negotiation experience.

Therefore, Zhao Youzhen is naturally happy to have a senior in the industry like Karen Guo willing to lead the negotiation.This can not only effectively promote the work progress of human resource management, but also allow Youzhen to gain valuable learning opportunities.

She can carefully observe from the sidelines to see what are the shining points worth learning from this top Asian A&R manager who is being robbed by the three major music groups.

This may be the reason why Han Yi has always admired and trusted Zhao Youzhen as a partner. She has more than just a competitive heart and a strong internal drive to prove that she can do it.Her mind remained absolutely clear from beginning to end.Who you are, what you can do, what you can't do, what are your shortcomings, and how to learn.The coexistence of the humility that spurs oneself and the pride of not wanting to be outdone, constitutes such a fighting Yujin who is more frustrated and braver even in adversity.

A very simple example, when everyone was bullying her because of her fat body, Zhao Youzhen chose not to hate the world, but to face up to the difference between herself and the mainstream aesthetics, frankly admit that she has something that must be corrected, and then grit her teeth Try desperately to completely change the way everyone looks at her.

A small group of extreme feminists arrogantly ordered to change the society's definition of beauty and put a filter on everyone's mouth. If you become better yourself, and you don’t have the ability to truly change people’s hearts, then try to make everyone shut up and live in an illusory shell that has been quiet for a long time.

And a girl like Zhao Youzhen, even if she suffers a great grievance, even if she suffers an unbearable bullying from ordinary people, she will never take a half step back, let alone shrink into the armor with thorns.Her choice is to make unimaginable efforts, no matter if she shed blood or sweat, to make herself strong and beautiful bit by bit, every minute and every second, and finally win the sincere praise and recognition of everyone.

In Han Yi's view, the latter is the real feminism.

It is by no means "I don't allow you to say I can't do it", but "whatever you say, I will do it".

Emilia Earhart, Lucy Stone, Maya Angelou.

Use yourself to change the world.

"Karen, after the meeting, I have to trouble you to let me know a convenient time, and I will arrange a meeting."

"Next Tuesday will be good, Yoo Jin." Facing his compatriot from the peninsula, who was also sharp and capable, Karen Guo's voice was even softer.

"Okay, April 4, check."

"If there is no problem with this single..." Seeing Zhao Youzhen record the date in the calendar of the Macbook, Han Yi raised his voice slightly, reminding everyone to continue to focus on the topic of "Ocean Eyes" single promotion, "We Is it possible to release a single by the end of this month?"

"Yes, I was thinking, maybe it will be available on Friday." Karen Guo replied, "This is a single that has been released on SoundCloud. Excess materials need to be prepared and everything is in place."

"Okay. Have you read Yuzhen's playlist promotion plan?" Han Yi pointed to the iPad screen in front of him, "It has been emailed to everyone before the meeting starts."

"I see, I think it is a very innovative way of promotion."

Karen Guo's eyes met Zhao Youzhen's, and he gave a small smile representing approval.

"Actually, at IDJ we were discussing the role of playlists in promoting music two years ago. Before I left, there was already a project team dedicated to connecting with playlist owners... However, for large groups, you know, various processes I have to walk countless times." Karen shrugged helplessly, "So, I am actually very happy to see you doing this. A company of our size should have a vision ahead of the times and dare to do it at any time. The flexibility to try new things."

Han Yi listened carefully to Karen Guo's analysis, and he understood.He’s not back to the days of Naspter and piracy-ridden Internet barbarism, and music professionals living in 2016 are certainly not fools.The power of playlists should have already been noticed and experimented with.

As for why there has been no large-scale promotion, in addition to platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, which have not yet tilted official traffic towards playlists, the tedious internal workflow of Universal, Sony and Warner is also an obstacle that cannot be ignored.

Approval of the budget has to go through a meeting, contacting the playlist owner and such "external contractors" requires the signature and review of the vice president, and even making a PPT must follow the company's rules, and unauthorized screenshots and music cases cannot be used.

Compared with the bureaucracy of Johnson & Johnson, Bayer and Roche and other pharmaceutical companies, the promotion of new technologies and new ideas can be promoted quickly.

However, in other words, for giants like the three major music groups, their current work goal is not to continue to innovate, but to steadily increase the stock price while ensuring that the annual revenue target can be achieved.

Progress and conservatism do not depend on the will of a few people. When an organization develops to a certain stage, it will inevitably tend to be in a lawful state.Most of the epoch-making innovations and changes started from start-ups, and this is why Han Yi bet that he will be able to compete with the big three in the next few years.

"Did you come up with this idea, Miss Zhao?"

asked Abu Thiam at the far end, raising his hand.

"I am the executor." Zhao Youzhen will not be greedy for credit in this area. "Mr. Han was the first to propose this idea. He said that large-scale playlist promotion will be more effective than the platform's own home page recommendation."

"That's right, our observations are the same." Karen Guo took up the conversation, "Fewer and fewer people browse the homepage. Our user survey shows that most people think that the songs recommended on the homepage are 'not cool enough' , because they are a mass commodity that everyone can see. Now, especially the younger generation of users, when they open the streaming platform, they either go directly to their own collection or browse other users’ playlists.”

"That's why Yujin and I want to bet on the playlist."

Han Yi set a final tone for this strategy.

"There's nothing that sets an indie artist apart like a playlist."

"I thought you were just any billionaire on the street." Karen Guo glanced at Han Yi, showing her best skills, her face was normal, joking as if she was talking about business, hiding the imperceptible compliments In a humorous tone.

"Which street can you find a billionaire?" Amidst the echoing laughter in the conference room, Han Yi spread his hands and accepted the kind joke.

"This... is everywhere here." Karen's index finger circled in mid-air, "Seriously, I really agree with your tactics, Mr. Han. Next, I will arrange for Emma and Mia to follow Working closely with Victoria...Victoria, they're yours."

"You got it, girl."

Victoria White Mason, who was sitting opposite Karen Guo, snapped her fingers. From her voice to her accent, she was full of vigor and boldness unique to African-American women.This black girl is a talent recommended by Jordan Bromley. Before she joined Han Music, she had just been promoted to the junior director of Sony Music Group's Universal Digital Music Department.

In the last life, this 2015 graduate of Harvard Law School, who combines political correctness and entertainment law knowledge, was promoted in the music circle as fast as a rocket. In just six years, he was promoted to the subsidiary of Sony Music Group. Major label, Columbia Records Vice President of Marketing.

However, in April 2016, it was not as difficult to attract Victoria as it would be in the future. The salary package of 4 US dollars was enough for her to leave the large group and switch to Han Music.There are not a few marketing managers who jump back and forth between independent labels, streaming media platforms, large music groups and performing arts agencies. They are quick-thinking and know how to seize every opportunity to make their income spiral.

At only 26 years old, she still has a lot of time in the entertainment field.Taking Han Music's lucrative salary and head of marketing as a springboard to the next level was a surefire deal for Victoria-White Mason.

"According to Mr. Han's plan, we should release 80 playlists with the most traffic in the initial stage... But in my opinion, we should actually be bolder." Victoria-White Mason glanced at the densely packed content in the notebook and suggested. , "100 to [-] is a better number in my opinion. In the early stage, we must accumulate monthly trial user data as soon as possible, so that we can find Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms for better streaming and exposure. Chance."

"As Victoria said." Jorge Alfaro, a full-time streaming operation in the Marketing Department, agreed. He is from California State University, Long Beach. Before joining Han Music, he was the customer relationship manager of Deezer in the United States. The platforms need to see some solid numbers to help us get Ocean Eyes back on fire...they always want a single that's already trending, not something that's about to hit."

"No problem, do as you want. 80 to 100." Han Yi put his left hand on the table, probably pointing at the voice of Todd Gelfand, the chief financial officer of Han Music and Han Publishing, who had just been entrusted. direction, "Todd will assist you."

"Hmm." Todd Gelfand quickly listed a combination of numbers on a piece of white paper with a pen cap in his mouth, "Come to me, I'll adjust the budget... James, then Remind me, what's the radio promotion budget?"

"It's only $1 at the moment, sir." On the right hand side of Jorge Alfaro, James Wagner, the radio promotion manager of the Han Music Marketing Department, answered. Believe it or not, this guy from Germany The University of Texas at Austin, a 2011 graduate, was the only Caucasian white male in the room. “We would first send the master tape to iHeartMedia, Audacy, Beasley, and Hubbard’s mainstream radio stations in a regular way for them to perform. pick."

"At the same time, we will also...buy some exposure slots, KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and WHTZ in New York are our main targets."

"Do you have connections in iHeartMedia?" Karen Guo asked bluntly.The two radio stations mentioned by James are not only the top ten radio stations in the country, but also the champion stations with the most listeners in New York and Los Angeles.

"Ah... yes, I'm very familiar with the person who is in charge of arranging the playlist over there." Hearing this question, James Wagner's slight discomfort did not show.Although this approach is strictly against the law, because on the surface, record companies cannot use the form of bribing station managers or music directors to add their music to playlists.But the reality is, who can control it?As long as it is concealed enough, who can know which song was entered by inserting money?

"Our idea is to get the heavy rotation of the two radio stations for a month first. If the chart ranks at the top and it will help the conversion of streaming media, we will add some more... Our core style of play is still to use the radio station as the With other exposure methods, if you want to be on the list, you can’t do it without radio broadcasts, but if you buy too much, it won’t help Bi Li’s current level.”

"It's no longer the era when radio was king." Victoria-White Mason concluded the topic of radio promotion, "It used to be that a song that cost 30 or 40 dollars couldn't make it into the top ten, but now even if you are willing to spend 10 Dollars are nowhere to be found on record labels on radio promotion."

"I think the radio station should focus on free promotion in the future... If there is, it doesn't matter." Han Yi pondered for a while, and said slowly, "However, the contacts of iHeartMedia and Audacy in terms of live activities , we must do our best to strengthen the relationship, after all, they have many indicators for music festivals every year, this section will be more helpful to our artists.”

"Yes, I'm contacting the person in charge of the live event department through my contact person through Rui...uh." James almost missed the name of his radio contact person, and quickly bit his tongue, "This year's iHeartRadio Music Festival, we should be able to get Bili an opening spot on the Daytime Village stage, it's not a big problem."

"It's not just Billy, James, don't be too dead." Han Yi reminded, "There are still a lot of newcomers to be created, and the music festival is in September. Let's see which artists can compete during this time." Gain volume within."

"clear."

"Ok, last order of business..."

Victoria-White Mason crossed out a line in her notebook after each meeting item, and now only the last reminder on page five remains to be discussed.

"Mr. Han, when did you mention the meeting with Jimmy Yovin and Dr. Dre?"

"On April 4th, they will have a workshop at USC's Yovin and Yang College. I will attend and meet with them there to discuss the official drainage of Apple Music."

Han Yi glanced at the time on his phone and reconfirmed it.When he raised his head, Zhao Youzhen stared blankly at him.

Obviously there is nothing to be afraid of, and maybe Zhao Youzhen's gaze has no other meaning, but Han Yi still shrinks his neck, coughs dryly, and turns his head away from Youzhen.

"Todd."

"Mr. Han."

"You may also need to come to USC with me on the 26th. The details of some charitable funds need to be confirmed by you."

"I'll arrange a time."

Hearing Han Yi's words, a vivid expression began to appear on the Korean girl's face again.She sucked in a big mouthful of Ice Americano, and didn't stop until her tongue became slightly stiff.

Of course Zhao Youzhen knew who would attend the workshop with him then.

Xiao Ru has warmly introduced her to her "Sister You Zhen".

Yujin wants to go too...but that day, there is an important meeting with Viri and Phineas, so I can't miss it.

Fortunately, there were others present.

Zhao Youzhen bit the straw flat, thinking ecstatically.

It should be fine, right?

No, even if something happens, what does it have to do with me?

More importantly, what is "something"?
What a troublesome situation.

I am most afraid of trouble.

……

What am I doing...

What are you worried about?

(End of this chapter)