Reborn America, this is my time

Chapter 292

Although Steve Ross is a half-way monk in the entertainment industry and only purchased Warner and all its subsidiaries for US$[-] million ten years ago, since he has chosen cross-border operations, he has already done so in advance. I did my homework and gained a deep understanding of the entire industry.

For example, he knew that the three major record companies in North America are Columbia Records, American Records and Warner Records. Among the three, Columbia Records has the largest market share. American Records is the best in performance ticketing. Although Warner Records You are a giant, but there is still a lot of room for growth.

For another example, he knew who the most popular music artists were at the time.

Among the list that can be counted in one hand, there are only four artists who can ignite North America with music. They are Elvis Presley, the godfather of pop and Elvis Presley, who passed away from a heart attack two years ago; the soul singer Ray Charles; Queen of Dynamite Brenda Lee; and Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin.

Among them, most of Elvis Presley’s music recording copyrights are in his own hands. Soul singer Ray Charles has held his own music copyrights since [-]. Dynamite Queen Brenda Lee’s music copyrights are in the United States. music, while soul diva Aretha Franklin belongs to Warner Records.

Yes, Warner Records has an agency distribution contract with the Queen of Soul, and this is the real reason why Warner was able to become one of the three giants of American music in a short period of time.

There is no way, the influence of the King of Heaven and Queen of Heaven is so great.

They alone are a company.

In addition, before acquiring Warner, Steve Ross already understood that even though Warner encountered a serious financial crisis at the time, it was still a high-quality asset as long as all non-entertainment assets that were dragging down the company were divested. , then Warner Group can usher in a new life, because the three major sectors of film entertainment, TV entertainment, and music entertainment all have strong room for growth.

This is also true. After he intervened in the split, Warner did change its appearance.

When Steve Ross can talk endlessly about the North American entertainment market to his friends, his understanding of the American entertainment industry is definitely expert level.It is precisely because of his deep understanding of North American entertainment that a few months ago, when Ethan Jones said that he wanted to take Michael Jackson away from Colombia, Steve Ross personally studied Michael Jackson’s Resume, he wanted to know why Ethan Jones suddenly wanted a black singer.

To be honest, at first, Steve Ross really thought Ethan Jones had discovered another future star.Because when his secretary presented Michael Jackson's report to him as he requested, the thickness of the dozens of pages was simply the standard of a supernova.

But after he watched it for a full hour, he discovered...

I am worrying too much!
Although Michael Jackson, like countless superstars, had already started his music career at a young age and debuted in a band with his brothers, for many years after that, they did not stir up excitement in the music world. Attention splash.

Even though they had been touring the Midwestern region of the United States since [-], the places they performed were either dancer clubs or cocktail lounges, and the departments that invited them to perform were either small local government auditoriums or certain... Some high school dance scenes.

Not to mention their level is mediocre, but at least they are among the best in North America.

Even though they won a contract with Motown Records in [-] and entered the Miss Black America beauty pageant in [-], they sang a cover of the Isley Brothers' single "It's Your Thing" of the same year. , but this performance did not receive much response.

It wasn't until 1970 that they debuted on Billboard. "I Want You Back" killed countless competitors with an invincible appearance. After selling 200 million albums in six weeks, the Jackson Five became the first. For the first time, he officially entered the public eye as a winner.

And this has been six years since their debut.

For the music industry, this speed is extremely slow.

Because everyone in the industry knows that music is an industry that relies on talent, and the gap between the top and the top is like a chasm.In this industry that competes for talent, all top singers are instant successes, but those who become famous over time are basically unable to reach the top of the pyramid.

And the fact is...

That's roughly the case.

In 1970, they became popular, and the next year, they started touring the world. In [-], Michael Jackson even participated in hosting the first All-American Music Awards Ceremony. However, in [-], the entire group began to decline, first because of profits. Later, due to family problems, Michael Jackson's third brother announced his withdrawal from the group. In order to keep the name of the five-member group, Michael Jackson's younger brother Randy Jackson joined the group.But it's a pity...

They never touched the sensation again.

Afterwards, Michael Jackson, who entered adolescence, began to work independently, but his unstable voice and off-field problems brought him a lot of controversy.

Although the album sold well, no one dared to say that the iconic black accent had the appearance of a king.

As such, when the news emerged that Michael Jackson would release a new album again this year, both his employer Epic Records and other people in the industry felt that Michael Jackson's new album should still be a money-making project, but The final result can only be good sales.

A few months ago, when Steve Ross read information about Michael Jackson and listened to his hits, he made the same judgment as the experts.

He felt that with Michael Jackson's current growth rate, even if Ethan Jones bought his contract, Destiny Music would not be able to become a new giant.

And if the contract of an ordinary star singer can be exchanged for the stability of Hollywood...

For them, this transaction is definitely a sure profit.

But the problem is...

Now, is Michael Jackson's new album expected to top the Billboard charts?
In the future, is it possible that Michael Jackson's new album will become this year's best-selling album?
What an outrageous situation is this special code!

Steve Ross couldn't believe his ears at all, and quickly urged his subordinates to collect the latest information on Michael Jackson, and then...

He was completely overwhelmed by the overwhelming praise!
The Village Voice, which has a place in the recording industry, published a comment by well-known music critic Robert Christgau: "I don't know how Michael Jackson did all this, but I know that "Off the Wall" is absolutely This is the biggest surprise in the music industry this year! His voice is like notes from heaven, and he can smoothly slide into one amazing falsetto after another!"

Randall Taraborrelli, a well-known American journalist, said: "When I heard the new album "Off the Wall" by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, I was petrified in an instant. He His voice is very charming! Very sexy! It is in sharp contrast to the childish voice before, and it vividly makes me feel that he has grown up!"

Not only that, independent writer Stephen Holden’s article was also selected by Rolling Stone magazine. He stated in the article, “Michael Jackson will definitely be the next superstar! No! Now he has embarked on the road to success. The steps to the temple! His transformation is amazing! Especially his mastery of technique! Now he is definitely the most skilled singer in the world! No one!"

When the media from all walks of life generously praised Michael Jackson with complimentary words, the highly sought-after fact made Steve Ross's face darken after reading the report.

Since a simple text description could not allow him to truly feel the quality of the work, he asked the general manager of Warner Music to get him a copy of the album.

When he stuffed the palm-sized tape cassette into the Philips player, "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" on the first page also came out of the speaker.

The signature disco tune made him frown;

The energetic, dynamic score smells like a Quincy Jones breakthrough;
And when Michael Jackson soaked the cheerful melody with his lively falsetto...

"MFxxk..."

His mouth opened slightly and he murmured.

"It's impossible, it's impossible..."

He breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling.

“How could a song like this be ignored by Colombia?”

“How could this skill be ignored by Colombia?”

“Columbia is actually willing to sell Michael Jackson of this caliber to Ethan Jones?”

"Oh--"

"Are their entire management idiots?"

"Their entire management doesn't have any level of appreciation for music!"

"Don't their entire management listen to the artist's new work before selling him!"

Steve Ross is crazy!
Although he did conduct in-depth and detailed research on Michael Jackson before, all judgments were based on existing public information!
What he can see is the fact that Michael Jackson has not become famous in the past 15 years!
What he could hear was that Columbia Records didn't take Michael Jackson's new album seriously!

When an artist has been in the entertainment industry for almost 20 years without any major breakthrough...

As a person, you will feel that this guy has talent, but not high, and has luck, but not strong.

When an artist’s contract company feels that the artist can be sold or not...

Others who seek their own interests will naturally encourage them to sell!

Of course, if Columbia Records just sells the superstars under their name, then Steve Ross will not only not be angry, but will think that these idiots have done a good job.

Because when everyone is one of the three major players, the weakening of other players is the strengthening of one's own.

But the problem is, now, the guy who bought Michael Jackson from Columbia Records is their current biggest enemy, Ethan Jones!
When Ethan Jones already has absolute advantages in the four major fields of video games, computers, software, and movies, how about adding another cash cow to Destiny Games?
How to fight this battle?
Moreover, what happened is too outrageous, right?

If Steve Ross remembers correctly, their layout in Hollywood was completed at the end of last year and was only officially implemented at the beginning of this year.

The interval was not even more than a month!

Not only that, those who know the plan are the heads of well-known companies!
With such a short time and the members being in high positions, it was impossible for anyone to leak the news!But the problem is, after they were fully prepared, Ethan Jones first overturned their Hollywood rules table in February this year?And then immediately asked Columbia for Michael Jackson?When Colombia had no intention of selling, Ethan Jones relied on the complicated relationship between their Hollywood company and the psychological curve of asking for mercy to save the country, and successfully obtained Michael Jackson?
This method -

No matter how you look at it, there is a problem!

If I have to describe it——

It's almost like Ethan Jones is trying to trick them!

"Could it be..."

“Can Ethan Jones predict the future?”

"Impossible...impossible...this is absolutely impossible..."

"No one can predict the future!"

"There is definitely a hidden agenda in this matter!!"

Steve Ross yelled -

At this moment, the old man who had been playing chess with Ethan Jones for almost three years suddenly discovered that his competitor had super powers!Why is it that every time Ethan Jones encounters difficulties, he can always save the day?Why is it that every time Ethan Jones strikes back, he always comes up with an amazing product?
If this magic happens only once, it can only be said that Ethan Jones is just unlucky.

If this kind of magic happens twice, it can only be said that they are really unlucky.

But when this magical thing happens three, four or even five times...

Ethan Jones is just out of luck with that special number!Because even if Ethan Jones takes off Lady Luck's underwear and puts it on his head, he can't always win!

unless--

Ethan Jones really does what Steve Spielberg said...

As soon as I close my eyes...

You can see the future...

But this...

"impossible!!!"

And just as Steve Ross held his head in his hands, racking his brains to figure out the key to the problem, at the same time, Cornelis van der Krugt, CEO of Philips North America, also sat down with cold hands and feet. On his boss's chair, placed in front of him is MJ's album sales report.

There were 17 in the first week, 11 in the next Saturday, and 20 in three weeks. The fact that he might touch [-] in the next week made his head spin.

Because he knows that according to the current trend, "Off the Wall" may receive double platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America by the end of this year.

Although this number does not seem exaggerated, because many kings can easily achieve this result as soon as they release an album, but Michael Jackson is now an artist of Destiny Music!
His success will give Ethan Jones a huge boost in his digital disc project!

Before, Philips dared to join forces with Sony, dare to challenge Ethan Jones, and dare to compete with Destiny Games in the digital disc project, because they have rich music copyrights in their names.

Their PolyGram is unbeatable in Europe, and the music company under Sony's name is also a giant in the neon market. With this rich music content, they dare to make equipment.

He admitted that although they were afraid of Ethan Jones before, they still felt that Ethan Jones was quite idiotic, because the best channel to promote digital discs was music. In this case, Ethan Jones No music content but dare to make music equipment?

Who gave him the courage?

But now...

Cornelis van der Krugt just felt like an idiot.

Because a king can rival countless first-line singers.

His fans are loyal fans of the Destiny game digital disc standard.

Thinking of this, Cornelis van der Klucht suddenly sighed.

"I always thought that Ethan Jones's target was Commodore and Rockwell, but I didn't expect that his first punch was aimed at us..."

This fact made him smile bitterly and shake his head.

Although he felt bitter, at this moment, this matter had nothing to do with him.

Now he has only one goal, and that is to make the accounts of the North American branch beautiful. As for the problems caused by Ethan Jones?Let the guys at the head office worry about this!
When the news from North America reached Eindhoven in the Netherlands, the Philips Group immediately held an emergency meeting to discuss how to respond.After they learned that although Michael Jackson was bought by Ethan Jones, his album "Off the Wall" was still released by Columbia Records, they immediately thought of Sony and hoped that they could come forward.

Because Sony’s Neon Music Industry owns half of Columbia Records!

"Contact Sony immediately!"

"Let Sony communicate with Columbia Records!"

"Do whatever you can to suppress Michael Jackson's explosive momentum!"

"Including but not limited to directly stopping the distribution of Michael Jackson's album!"

"We can't let Ethan Jones get a new king of music!"

Amidst the roar of the chairman of Philips, the vice president who was in contact with Sony immediately dialed Norio Ohga's phone, hoping that they could contribute in the war against Ethan Jones.

However, after Philips told Norio Ohga about his demands, Norio Ohga in Tokyo now looked bitter and said: "I'm sorry, we may not be able to do this."

"Because I had already contacted Columbia Records before you called."

"Now, they are also fighting among themselves."

"The person who answered the phone was the CEO's secretary. He said that all Columbia Records executives were in a meeting because the CEO of Columbia Broadcasting Network, the parent company of Columbia Records, had learned about Michael Jackson. Take the initiative to ask what happened."

"CBS wants to know why, when Ethan Jones offered to buy Michael Jackson, Columbia Records issued a report that Michael Jackson had no potential?"

"They want to know, why was Michael Jackson bought by Ethan Jones?"

"They want to know, do Columbia Records executives want to get out of business?"

"With CBS Network already involved in the matter, Columbia Records executives now have only one goal, and that is to safely escape from this unprovoked whirlpool."

"At this time, they don't have time to communicate with me."

"It's even less possible for them to go against Ethan Jones at this point."

"Everyone knows that Ethan Jones will be punished."

"When everything was stable, no one wanted to provoke him. Now, after Columbia Records is in trouble, no executive is willing to provoke the god of death..."

The straightforward words made Philips' senior management's eyes darken. At this moment, they suddenly understood why the North American subsidiary had been losing to Ethan Jones in previous confrontations.

Because Ethan Jones's special code is a shit stick!

Every time he takes action, it can stir up a terrible stench within his competitors!

"This man is really disgusting!"

"MFxxk!"

　Note: ① The situation of Michael Jackson in the article was written based on the situation at that time. Now the media calls Michael Jackson’s state when he was in the Jackson Five as a cutting-edge example of black cross-border artists. But at that time, these things were not available, not only In this way, during the Motown Records period, they still had very strict control over Michael Jackson and refused to allow him to express himself freely.Not many media outlets were optimistic about him back then. Even Rolling Stone magazine's description of him as a 'child prodigy' and 'possessing overwhelming musical talent' was added after he became famous.It's all about watching people order food.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)