hollywood billionaire

Chapter 355 Vision 2030
"what."

Dr. Dre nodded and responded.

“You’re going to do another Desert Trip music festival.”

"Not really." Han Yi smiled and shook his head, "The Desert Journey Music Festival is too small for me."

"Too small?" Andre pointed at Han Yi, "Six days, 1.5 people, box office of million US dollars."

"I know, but I'm not talking about this kind of scale." Han Yi also gestured a number to Andre, but he raised it with just two fingers. "There are two artists every day, the same lineup, playing Played twice over two weekends.”

"Isn't it enough?"

"Not enough." Han Yi responded firmly, "What Goldenvoice and AEG do can only be regarded as a concert, not a music festival."

"Then how many groups of artists do you plan to invite every day?"

"It's almost the same as Mad City this time." Han Yi shook the back of his hand, "Seven...eight a day, about eight."

"Other countries."

"But you will also have to invest more costs." Andre looked at Han Yi, "It may require a larger venue than 75000 people."

"Where are you going to do it?"

Han Yi does have a never-ending pool of funds, but no matter how strong the financial resources are, they should not be used to squander it. Especially in the memo, they repeatedly emphasized to him that the return ratio of business investment is directly linked to the profitability of the project. in the case of.

"There is absolutely no need for us to book artists based on the Desert Trip Music Festival. The event tones and business ideas of the two projects are completely different. AEG's Desert Trip is created in a way that is closer to a platter concert. An unreplicable cultural memory, which makes people accept the Super Bowl-level price of US$1599 for a three-day standing ticket. What we want to create is a nostalgic music gathering with stars that can continue to be performed year after year. Festival."

"If you calculate it this way..." Andre ran through the numbers in his mind quickly, "The investment in this project will still be greater than that of the Desert Journey Music Festival."

"There are several alternatives... maybe here, maybe in London, maybe... other countries, not necessarily."

"I just said that our two projects are different." Han Yi shrugged, "I didn't say that my project would be smaller than theirs, right?"

Han Yi's hands flew in the air and he described vividly.

Following the direction Han Yi was facing, Dr. Dre easily found the object hinted in the former's words - a man wearing a spotless Arab robe and a red and white traditional headscarf, who persisted even in the night. A short, fat, middle-aged man wearing sunglasses.

"Eight giants like the Rolling Stones."

The most expensive one, Kanye West, only paid $4 million in performance fees.

"For a band like the Rolling Stones, just invite one group every day. Of course, other artists won't be too bad, whether it's hip-hop, pop, or even jazz, reggae, and R&B. We'll find everyone." The most representative artists of the era and the most influential music styles allow our audience to get the purest, most complete and heartfelt contemporary music experience no matter which day they watch the show or which time period they enter. It’s almost like going to… a music museum.”

"Richard Isley is a very good example." Han Yi pointed at Andre and smiled, "But "Never Gonna Give You Up" and its singer should not be ranked too far behind. According to In my opinion, the second finale and the bottom three and four should be at least on the level of Earth, Wind, Fire or Bon Jovi."

"Of course it will be bigger." Han Yi glanced over the already crowded dance floor, "It's bigger than here, and bigger than the Empire Polo Club."

"One hundred thousand people?"

As one of the most popular bands in the world, the Rolling Stones, which has been in existence for 54 years, have the most jaw-dropping performance offers in the world. Take their Zip Code tour in North America last year as an example. It had 17 performances and a total box office of US$1.097 million, with an average of US$645.3 million per show. Generally speaking, for superstars like the Rolling Stones who can sit in the front row of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the profit share with the organizer is basically 95%:5%. The artist gets 95%, the organizer gets 5%, and there is also a high minimum fee. Therefore, after deducting production costs, the Rolling Stones can receive at least US$500 million per performance.

There is no second artist at this price range, even at an annual music event like Mad City Music Festival, which is unanimously regarded by all media as having a jaw-droppingly luxurious lineup.

"So, the overall structure is pretty much..." Dr. Dre rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, and then continued, "Let me make a random analogy. The finale artist on a certain day is ABBA, "Dancing Queen", "SOS" , all that shit. Most people buy tickets to see them, but at the same time, there are some artists who have been lost in time and make the festival worth it, like... Richard De-Aisley?”

“Of course it’s impossible to hire legends like the Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney for everyone.”

"Our estimated minimum number."

"Are you crazy?" Andre couldn't help but raise his voice, "Saudi Arabia?"

“What happened to Saudi Arabia?”

“You want to do a music festival in Saudi Arabia?”

"If anyone locally is willing to host it."

"In that country, even watching movies is illegal." Andre glanced at Shi Shiran, who was sitting in the middle of booth No. 1, following the rhythm of Kendrick Lamar's music, with a strap on his lap. The Arab man, who was playing to the beat, turned down the speaker again, "Who are you going to sell tickets to then?"

"You're right, Andre. Public viewing of movies as a form of entertainment has been banned in Saudi Arabia for thirty-five years, as have concerts open to the public. If they want to sing and dance, people can only Close the door and entertain yourself." At this point, Han Yi breathed a sigh of relief, "But nothing is static, even the most stubborn and conservative country in the world. Andre, Do you know who that guy is sitting over there?”

"Who is he?"

"His name is Turki Al-Sheikh. He was appointed as an adviser to the Saudi royal family last year and is the chairman of the Saudi Entertainment General Authority that was just established in May this year."

"General Entertainment Administration?"

"That's right." Han Yi thought for a moment and asked, "Andre, have you heard of 'Saudi Vision 2030'?"

"I can't remember where I read it, but I'm sure I've read it." Dr. Dre nodded, "They want to build a diversified open economy by 2030 that doesn't just rely on oil exports. Ah, Yes, I saw it in the Washington Post. They seem to have connected this plan with the power struggle within the royal family. It is said that the manipulator behind the scenes is the crown prince, the current king’s favorite youngest son.”

"Deputy Crown Prince." Han Yi corrected, "The current Crown Prince Nayef is the nephew of King Salman. But since the old king deprived his father Muqrin of his crown prince status last year and awarded it to him, the whole world The world is speculating that this is to eventually pass the throne to King Salman's youngest son, MBS-Mohammed bin Salman." "What do you think?" Andre asked. Although he is already a veritable billionaire, billionaires also have a circle. The hip-hop legend, who is well-known in the music industry, has no access to the most powerful royal family members on the other side of the world in the Near East, and he has no understanding of the mysteries of this huge family.

Having reached this level and status, even if he once knew nothing about it, Andre would force himself to understand these major events happening around the world. Because, unlike ordinary people who can laugh off the news after reading it, Andre knows very well that most of the headlines will affect him in a high position at an inadvertent moment.

Such as now.

"It's a sure thing." Han Yi's answer was categorical, as if he were King Salman. "The Vision 2030 plan can be announced with great fanfare, which already shows that the Saudi royal family has an answer to the ownership of the next crown prince. At the latest Next year, you'll be seeing the news. Remember this name, Andre, MBS, and the chances of him appearing on the front pages of international news in the next few years will be very high."

This is indeed the case. The Riad Ritz-Carlton purge in 2017 allowed the world to see the crown prince’s thunderous methods for the first time. From then on, he became the actual ruler, replacing the old king who was more than eighty years old and active on the stage.

"So opening up entertainment will become one of his inevitable political achievements after taking office."

"Otherwise why would he establish the General Administration of Entertainment?" Han Yi raised his chin, "Turki was not on our invitation list either. He bought the booth with his own money."

Before Turki Al-Sheikh appeared at the Mad City Music Festival, no one at the venue knew who bought the three-day right to use deck No. 1. They only knew of a company registered in New Jersey that paid the full amount in one lump sum a month ago.

Therefore, when Blink-182's set was halfway through and several bearded men in white burqas took their seats one after another, dozens of surprised eyes fell on them in the booth area.

The most surprised among them were McKenzie and her three best friends.

Because the two white men who invited them to the booth area brought the four girls to booth No. 1.

Without any hesitation, Isabella Rodriguez immediately went over. It doesn't take keen observation to tell that these Arab men, each with an average of three or four burly bodyguards, are definitely the kind of super wealthy people who are extremely rich. Soon, Eva Martinez also walked back quietly holding a goblet.

She watched Turki Al-Sheikh tip the waiter.

Two hundred dollars per person.

What else?

Rush quickly!

A little later, many supermodels in deck four were ready to move.

If you can't be a "Dubai wife", you won't suffer any loss if you can be a "Dubai lover" for one night.

However, Turki al-Sheikh himself, who showed little interest in Isabella and Eva, nodded succinctly to the two girls, and then he brought them up, along with the others, and they "carried with them " He stayed in booth No. 1 with his female companion, while he patted his robe, stood up slowly, and walked towards booth No. 4 where the stars gathered.

To everyone's surprise, Turki Al-Sheikh did not try to use his inexhaustible supply of gold bars to gain the favor of Hollywood female stars and Victoria's Secret supermodels like the stereotypical Saudi tycoon. He greeted everyone in the booth politely and humbly, introduced himself, and invited them to have the opportunity to visit Saudi Arabia to see if there are any suitable projects for cooperation, and then...

Turki spent the remaining hour or so in a lively conversation with Han Yi.

Turki Al-Sheikh, who has been involved in the turbulent Saudi political arena for more than ten years, has chosen the right camp in advance. As the right-hand man of Prince MBS to promote the Saudi Vision 2030 plan, Turki Al-Sheikh has an extremely vicious eye. He can identify the host of the party at a glance in any complex social situation, no matter how low-key they appear.

Han Yi was busy with this matter before Dr. Dre arrived at the scene along with the artist motorcade transporting Kendrick Lamar.

His understanding of Turki Al-Sheikh came entirely from this - after all, although most people who care about international politics know MBS, few people will deliberately remember the people around him. subordinate.

"So he came here specifically to inspect Mad City?"

"They are not here specifically to inspect us. They came to the United States this time mainly to discuss with Six Flags Group the construction of a roller coaster park in Saudi Arabia, Cirque du Soleil's resident performance, and to review Thinkwell Group's plans for Saudi local culture and entertainment in the next few years. The plan for the gradual opening of activities." Han Yi told the truth, "Thinkwell CEO Joe Zenas took them to Las Vegas to learn from the experience and study how this city, which is also built on the desert, uses cultural and entertainment activities. It has become a world tourism center. And our music festival happens to be in the same week as their visit to the casino."

"How about that?" Dr. Dre raised his chin, "Does the Chief like it?"

"I like it. What he wants is this kind of event that can attract tens of thousands of tourists, look very lively, and add glory to the Saudi royal family." Han Yi nodded, "Turki invited us to visit Riyadh next quarter. , let’s see if the cultural park they are building in the north can be used as the venue for the Mad City Middle East Station.”

"Big?"

"He showed me the planning drawing." Han Yi used his two index fingers to draw a rectangle in mid-air, representing the iPad that Turki Al-Sheikh just handed him. "If we do it for four days, the total amount will be It can sell 4 tickets."

"Fuuuuck——" Andre drawled and laughed gruffly, "What are they going to prepare for, the World Expo, the Olympics, the World Cup?"

"It's not the same land, but you're right... They are really planning to bid for the World Expo, the Olympics... and the World Cup." Han Yi knew that Dr. Dre just casually mentioned the three giant events with the largest number of participants, so He didn’t seem particularly surprised, “Each project has its own area, and this cultural park is really just for the music festival.”

"This is the so-called oil wealth." Andre said with emotion, "If that's the case...then there's nothing wrong with choosing Saudi Arabia. Anyway, the royal family will pay for you... They pay for it, right?"

"Yes, they require 100% investment, and we don't want to contribute a penny." Han Yi said with a smile, "MBS is planning to establish a two-trillion-dollar sovereign fund specifically to invest in various projects of the Vision 2030 plan. I I told him about Mad City, Temple Music Festival, and that retro music festival we just talked about, and Turki said if we can do it, they want everyone.”

"Congratulations to you, man." Dr. Dre extended his fist towards Han Yi, "We haven't finished the first session yet, but the next three sessions are already guaranteed to be profitable."

"The next three games? Not so fast." Han Yi smacked his lips, "It will take time for the crown prince to come to power, and it will take time for Saudi Arabia to slowly open up... The construction of the cultural park will also take time. The ground has not been broken yet. If you want to put it into use, you have to wait until at least 2019.”

"That's still three years away."

"Yes, there are still three years. So, I made a suggestion to Turki that he was very interested in." Han Yi raised his hands and clasped his fingers tightly together, "Before we actually introduce the music festival to Saudi Arabia, Make arrangements in advance and join Han Live and Apple Music in this legendary music festival that has not yet been implemented. As a co-organizer, you can first familiarize yourself with the gameplay and operation mode of the music festival. By the way, you can also give conservatives within the royal family a look at the feasibility of the project. performance and profitability.”

"It took three years to start from Los Angeles and gradually move this event to Riyadh."

(End of this chapter)