hollywood billionaire

Chapter 408 Crusades

"Mad City! I'm sure you've all heard this song, let's do it together!"

"From your roommate back in Boulder, we ain't ever gettin' older.

We ain't ever gettin' older,

We ain't ever gettin' older…”

"Thank you, Las Vegas! This is Holch, you guys did a great job! I love you all, good night!"

"Mad City! Our next song will be an emotionally resonant Future Bass, the most impressive melody of this summer. Please join me in welcoming... BeBe-Rexa!"

"In the silence, when there's no one by your side,

Would you call in the name of love?
In the name of love, name of love..."

"I love you, Mad City! Thank you for giving me a perfect night, a night that I will remember forever. Now, I hope each of you will take out the remaining little energy and jump as high as possible to welcome the last drop we spend together!"

"Mad City..."

"I had no intention of bringing any special guests up tonight, but my friend Nicki Minaj was watching the show and we thought it would be fun to do something for you guys. No, this wasn't a planned cameo...thank you for coming on stage, Nicki. We love you so much...let's do it."

"I've been here all night..."

"Ariana!"

"I've been here all day..."

"Nicki——"

"And boy, got me walkin' side to side..."

"Let them know!"

"Crazy city, I love you, thank you! What a wonderful night, this is our memory, I will always remember it in my heart!"

"Thank you next,

Thank you next,

Thank you next,

I'm so fucking grateful for my..."

Holch, Martin Garrix, Ariana Grande, the three groups of guests who appeared on the second night of the opening of the Crazy City Music Festival after Major Laer, their popularity has risen step by step, and so has the atmosphere on the scene. When Ariana Grande's closing song "Thank You, Next" came to an end, this unprecedented music feast was almost over.

That's right, Ariana Grande's music may not be the type that people would dance to at music festivals in the traditional sense. "Dangerous Woman" and "Thank You, Next" are soothing contemporary R&B and pop soul music, "Side to Side", "Love Me Harder" and "Into You" are the most classic mainstream radio-style pop dance music, and even the most rhythmic "Bang Bang" and "Break Free" put the vocal melody above the arrangement rhythm, which makes the audience jump up and down involuntarily, but it is only a dozen seconds.

In other words, although Ariana Grande's set cannot make fans fully engaged like Martin Garrix, or even become an integral part of the performance, integrating and transforming into an indispensable visual element of the music festival, it does not mean that her performance cannot move the 75 people in the Las Vegas festival venue who are familiar, unfamiliar, favorable, or hostile to her. Making full use of this real stage that far exceeds the specifications of ordinary stadium concerts, Ariana presented a top-notch live show lasting more than minutes.

It was not a carnival for all the people, but a ceremony for the singers. In the one-hour and fifteen-minute full-length set, Ariana Grande showed her flawless singing skills and increasingly mature and sophisticated stage performance. With the movie-level visuals that were carefully polished two months ago and the joint efforts of the two teams, as well as the fireworks matrix that was more spectacular than Independence Day, the three-pronged approach and the trinity presented the most exciting live performance of Ariana's career to the audience in Las Vegas.

The brilliant galaxy formed by mobile phone screens at the scene, and the long-lasting cheers after Ariana bid farewell to the stage with tears in her eyes, all indirectly confirmed the triple success of Han's live artist lineup selection, on-site equipment construction and on-site event execution.

The lights in the venue suddenly went out, and the line array speakers stopped playing the accompaniment, returning the sound field to the noisy audience. Under the dim neon lights, people could vaguely see the staff running back and forth on the live stage, racing against time to change the stage for tonight's closing performance. Although everyone knew that there was at least a fifteen-minute interval between the two sets, the dance floor still maintained a restless excitement due to the almost religious enthusiasm and anticipation for the finale guest of Mad City's second night.

A searchlight that is lit for testing, a microphone that makes a friction sound because it is not turned off in time, or even the sudden scream of a bored music fan, can instantly ignite the emotions of the entire audience and cover the night sky of Las Vegas with cheers.

It's not an overreaction, it's not making a mountain out of a molehill, but the upcoming performance can really be called a historic one. No one knows when the next time this group of people will be gathered together, or whether there will be a chance to see them gather on stage in the future.

This kind of opportunity is so rare that it can't be missed and will never come across again in a lifetime. It is enough to drive any fan who loves pop music culture crazy.

The air was buzzing with eager anticipation, 1971 hearts beating in sync every second. The audience was eagerly waiting for the greatest hip-hop artist of our time to take the stage, just like the boxing fans waiting for Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier to fight at Madison Square Garden on March 3, 8, and just like the 1998 million NBA viewers who held their breath in front of their TVs on June 6, 14, waiting for the "last shot" to hit the basket with 5.2 seconds left.

In the suffocating atmosphere, Han Yi, Zhao Youzhen and Madison Beer were the calmest of the group. At least within Han Yi's sight, they were indeed the calmest. It was not because they did not like the rap legend who was about to take the stage, but because they were discussing something serious enough to dilute their expectations for a wonderful performance.

"Monte Lipman, yeah... I know this guy very well."

"You know him very well?" Han Yi looked at Madison Beal who made this statement and asked curiously, "Aren't you from Xiaodao? He is the CEO of Republic. Logically, they should not belong to the same system... They can even be considered competitors within Universal."

"It's not a system, but everyone is exchanging information all the time, especially the recording artists signed to the three majors." Madison Beer curled his lips and replied, "People read the headlines about us and talk about us. But at the same time, we also need some topics to discuss with each other... Usually, these topics are the executives of the labels that are closely related to us and their various secrets."

"You have a lot of friends inside Republic Records?"

"I don't know if I should call them friends... You should know that Ariana is an artist of Republic Records. She would share some anecdotes from time to time at the internal party of SB Projects. There are also some singers I know, Natalie La Rose, Sage the Gemini, and Drake... Well, Drake doesn't talk much about his record company, but at the party we will get together to talk about him, and there will be a lot of things related to Republic Records..."

"For example?"

"For example, Monte and Ivory are much more open-minded than most record company CEOs. They are willing to give artists a lot of creative freedom. They basically always have an attitude of 'Don't worry about it, just do what you want'...but the person who said this is Ariana Grande, so they are just more good at flattering those first-line artists." "They treat newcomers no differently from other labels in Universal." Zhao Youzhen spoke with facts, "Austin also contacted representatives of Republic Records before signing with us. It is said that the conditions they offered are like a slave contract compared to our contract...his words, not mine."

"This is normal. Large organizations value discipline more than creativity...even in the creative industry." Han Yi nodded and responded as if it was a matter of course.

"Yeah, that's why I said that Ariana's opinion is hers alone."

Madison snorted expressionlessly. She was not Ariana Grande's friend from the beginning, let alone her fan. Even though they worked in the same artist management company before, at best she could only be considered a colleague who was secretly competing with her.

"For ordinary people like us..."

"You can't call yourself 'average' if you're a Billboard No. 1 artist, Maddie."

"I'm talking about that time, when I was at Island Records." Madison smiled and glared at Han Yi coquettishly. "I was curious about everything at the time. I was eager to know what was what, who was who, and... all the celebrities in the industry who might help further my career. The Lipman Brothers were almost the first group of names I heard after I first arrived in Los Angeles. Scooter arranged a series of label meetings for me, and Republic Records and Island Records, which actually signed me later, were among them. So, naturally, I went to consult people I knew about Republic Records, asking them who was running the company and what it was like to work there..."

"What did they say?"

"The pace is fast, sometimes a bit chaotic. The various departments are clearly separated and work independently. In order to perform better, they will even hold others back... There is no boundary between personal life and work. If you leave work at 6:30, you will be criticized by your boss. Most employees can only leave the company after 8 o'clock. The workplace environment is very serious, and the tempers and attitudes of senior executives are almost all extremely bad. For such a large record company, the salary level is seriously low, office romances are very common, and employees sleep with each other. If you don't have a strong backer, you can hardly get a chance to get promoted here..."

After a long list of negative comments, Madison Beal changed the subject.

"But even so, most people are reluctant to leave Republic Records. Because they know that if they stay here, they will be more likely to be exposed to the real A-list talents in the industry than others. Whether it is artists, producers, A&R or sound engineers, Republic Records always has the most outstanding talents. And the emergence of these talents can greatly promote your career development process, allowing you to obtain honors and achievements that others can only achieve in a dozen or even dozens of years in just a few years."

"Now, after listening to this, you should have a clear picture of what kind of people the Lipman brothers are, right?"

“Yes, I think… they are the most entrepreneurial type of people. They are the real and vital element of our society, the element that drives us forward, there is no doubt about that.”

Han Yi drawled out his voice and used the most neutral and objective words to summarize what he heard from Madison Bill about the Lipman brothers. He had to consider every word carefully, because like Madison Bill and many other important figures in Hollywood, Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman were also from Jewish families.

“They are goal-oriented and always strive to be the leader in the industry. Sometimes, this drive and desire is so strong that it must come at the expense of others... This gives rise to a workplace atmosphere like Republic Records. Please correct me if I am wrong.”

"They say the most important part of doing business is to understand the people you need to deal with. In this sense, you make me feel very safe about my decision to deal with Han Music." McGrady stood on tiptoe and smiled, "This is exactly the style of the Lipman brothers. As two Jersey boys who want to be famous in Manhattan, they must maintain this ruthless way of doing things."

"A little more than that." Zhao Youzhen, who is usually taciturn and only provides important information at critical moments, spoke up at the right time, "Their greatest strength is knowing when to be ruthless to whom and when to be warm to whom. Monte's brother Avery was an assistant to Clive Davis when he first entered the industry."

"The Clive Davis from Columbia Records?" Han Yi asked.

"He is also the Clive Davis of Arista Records." Zhao Youzhen provided a clear time node. "When Avery met Clive, the latter was the CEO of Arista Records. Clive took Avery under his wing and gave him a thriving career. In 1991, he took an important position on behalf of Clive in the newly established Sony Music Entertainment. Four years later, with Clive's recommendation, he reached a cooperation with Universal Music, and then Republic Records was established."

“So you’re saying that Clive Davis is the puppet master behind all this?”

"I wouldn't call him that, but it's normal in our world. Just like... you know, the NFL, there are a fixed number of teams, and powerful people are always trying to install as many disciples as possible in as many clubs as possible."

"That's true. Universal, Sony, and Warner, they all hire the same group of executives...it's just a big, dirty spider web." There was no particular change in Han Yi's tone. After all, this was a reality he had already understood and accepted before entering this industry.

"Just like Yuzhen said, the Lipman brothers relied on the protection of Clive Davis and the fact that Republic Records was the flagship label of Universal Music Group, so they could get a good deal on both sides. Therefore, they always regarded Republic Records as the leader in the record industry..."

"That's not wrong. They have indeed dominated the music industry in the past two years." Han Yi shrugged, interrupting Maddie's indignant narration, "Drake, The Weeknd, Ariana, DNCE...they've been good."

"Ugh, I really don't like your neutral and objective attitude." McGrady rolled his eyes and raised his voice slightly, "Wake up! Monte Lipman thinks they are the boss and the godfather, and they should take the initiative to take responsibility and lead this crusade."

"The Crusades?"

"Yeah, a crusade against you!"

"You make me sound like a heinous heretic."

"You are an unforgivable heretic." Zhao Youzhen calmly took over the conversation and testified to Madison's statement, "We are all unforgivable heretics, at least in their eyes. Monte Lipman is just the first powerful person to speak out. I am a manager, not a label executive, so although I am still part of the entire ecosystem, I can hear people say things... Karen, Adrian and other Han Music employees can't hear."

"The league is not ready to accept another club right now, so they will try everything they can to expel us. I have warned you before, and I think many people have said the same thing to you... Yi, the storm is coming."

"The storm is coming... Yeah, Taylor said so too." Han Yi grinned helplessly, revealing a bitter smile, "I would give you the same answer as her. First of all, I came to the party wearing a raincoat, so I was prepared for any weather. Secondly, I still think they overreacted. Han Music may have grand development plans, but it certainly doesn't deserve this level of hostility and attention... at least not now."

"If they were only targeting you, I would probably agree with you."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Youzhen's unexpected answer made Han Yi frown slightly.

“I heard a very interesting theory the other day from a festival partner in Europe. She’s not technically part of the game, but her outsider status may help her see things through a clearer lens.”

"She said that the three biggest fears are your partners and the new normal they want to promote, compared to you personally."

"Specifically, there are three people."

"Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre... and David Rubinstein."

(End of this chapter)