hollywood billionaire

Chapter 409: History Repeats Itself (Part )
"Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre, and... David Rubinstein?"

Han Yi's pupils suddenly contracted at the novel theory that he had never heard of before, and then he frowned.

"Yes. People like Monte Lipman regard Han Music as their strongest competitor and want to defeat you with all their strength and then ruthlessly eliminate us, not because of what we did... I mean, we all have basic reason and logic. Really, think about it carefully, can the achievements we have made since our establishment be so unbearable to them?"

"Yes, to be honest, this is my biggest doubt about this whole... conspiracy theory." Han Yi echoed Zhao Youzhen's rhetorical question, looking very much in agreement, "It is undeniable that as an independent music company, we have achieved many extraordinary achievements in less than a year. But these achievements are not unheard of. Many companies have achieved the same results in the past."

"Yeah, like 4AD."

This is the first name that comes to Yuzhen's mind.

Founded in 1980 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, this record company, headquartered in the heart of Camden, London, is one of the most successful independent labels in the past half century. St.Vincent, Bon Iver, The National, Grimes, to name a few, are all headliners that major music festivals around the world are vying for. Signing a contract with 4AD to release an album is the lifelong dream of many independent musicians.

"4AD..." Madison frowned slightly and thought seriously, "If I remember correctly, it is the same company as XL Recordings, right?"

"Yes." Zhao Youzhen responded, "They all belong to Beggars Group, Merlin's most important member company."

As influential as 4AD is, its parent company Beggars Group also owns four other labels, including Young, which owns a number of electronic music stars such as Robyn, Jamie XX, and The XX, and XL Recordings, which made Adele and MIA famous and has in-depth cooperation with the Radiohead band.

"So..." Maddie opened his lips slightly, wanting to say something but stopping himself. He must have changed his words in his mind. "Although I like our label very much, I have to admit that they do better... At least that's what it seems like now."

Han Music does have many first-tier stars who will shine brightly in the future, but in terms of album sales alone, even at their peak, they can hardly be compared with Adele. With a total global sales of 1.25 million records and a sky-high contract of $9000 million, XL Recordings has created a shining star that is enough to be recorded in British cultural history. Let alone Adele's last album "21" released by XL Recordings before she jumped to Sony, it only took one year to increase XL Recordings' net profit by 6700 million pounds.

In other words, XL Recordings and its parent company Beggars Group, which own the master copyright of this album, can live a prosperous life with this album for at least the next twenty years or even longer.

After all, until Han Yi was reborn, "21" was still the best-selling album in human society in the st century, without a doubt.

Such a miracle, let alone the current Han Music, even if three or four years pass, Han Yi doesn’t think he can accomplish the same feat with the so-called advanced information.

How did Universal, Sony and Warner react to the Beggars Group, which had achieved such remarkable success and directly rubbed the faces of the three major music groups? Not only did they not show any hostility, but they also developed extremely deep and long-term cooperation with this independent record company.

In 1992, 4AD reached a distribution agreement with Warner in North America, and the partnership has continued to this day. Sony's Columbia Records is also responsible for the sales of Adele's "19" and "21" in North America. It is a win-win situation with remarkable results and a pleasant working relationship.

Some people may say that letting the Big Three be channel distributors is to become their vassal in disguise. If Beggars Group had handed over the global channel distribution rights to Sony or Warner, then this theory would still be tenable, but the company only signed a local channel distribution agreement in North America, and the UK, Japan and other European markets that are crazy about making money are still firmly in its hands. More importantly, the 15% share of the channel distributor is unlikely to have any impact on Beggars Group's dominant position in the project.

"I never said it wasn't true... Honestly, I admire everything they do for their artists. They have always been the independent label we strive to catch up with." At this point, Han Yi raised his arm slightly and cast his eyes towards Zhao Youzhen, who started this topic. "Now you know why I was skeptical about this conspiracy theory at first, right?"

"I understood your thoughts from the beginning. This is why I have been paying close attention to the clues related to this matter recently and have been studying it carefully to find a reasonable explanation."

"Did you find it? A reasonable explanation."

"That's what I just said. I believe what the music festival organizer from Europe said is true."

"Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre and David Rubinstein are the root causes of why the music industry wants to destroy Han Music."

"Yes."

"I'm very interested in the reasons behind this. Did the organizer share this with you?"

"Yes. We never met, but we developed... this professional friendship where we would share things that wouldn't normally be appropriate in the workplace."

"For example?"

"for example……"

Yuzhen subconsciously glanced at Maddie beside him.

"what--"

It was such a simple and subtle gesture, but it made Han Yi look as if he had suddenly realized something.

"I see."

"What?" Maddie was confused by the two. "What did she say? And you just realized it?"

"The host lady provided a very inappropriate reason that might be a little...offensive to you."

"Offend...me?"

Before the index finger turned over and pointed at herself, Madison suddenly understood Zhao Youzhen's hesitation and the meaningful look in Han Yi's eyes. She took a deep breath and pursed her lips helplessly.

"It was some anti-semitic bullshit, wasn't it? Let me guess, they thought Jimi Iovine and Dr. Dre weren't Jewish, so this 'industry controlled by Jewish capitalists' wanted to kill them off, right?"

Madison raised her hands, and used her index and middle fingers to draw a quotation mark in the air at the same time, looking very indignant.

"That's... one of her statements, yes." Yuzhen hesitated for a moment and replied, "I need to make it clear that I don't agree with her statement. And her original words were not so straightforward."

"What did she say?" McGrady raised her eyebrows, already full of hostility towards the European organizer whom she had never met. In fact, McGrady is not a fanatical Zionist. Most of the time, she doesn't care about the traditions, history and living conditions of her race... Maybe it's not absolutely fair to summarize her like this, but she is just a little girl who hopes that her life and career will get better and better. McGrady grew up in a wealthy area of ​​Long Island and was well protected since childhood. She rarely experienced the so-called discrimination and oppression against Jews. She couldn't empathize with them, so she naturally rejected, feared and even hated the grand narrative and passionate tone packaged with national sentiments, and tried her best to stay out of it with an absolutely neutral attitude.

Doing so will be of great benefit to her and her career.

However, downplaying her Jewish identity does not mean that she is happy to hear people accuse her race and bloodline of some conspiracy theories that she thinks are unfounded. After all, this is America, and everyone becomes extremely sensitive and defensive when it comes to the topic of racial conflict. What's more, until now, there are still a lot of ridicules, attacks and insults against Madison Bill's Jewish identity in the comment sections of major social media platforms.

"She said that over the past two decades, Jimmy Iovine has essentially become public enemy No. 1 among ... Jewish people working in the music industry."

"This is too ridiculous."

"Yes, Europeans do have different views on things..." Without directly responding to Madison's indignant questioning, Zhao Youzhen continued to narrate in a calm tone, "We all know the history of Jimmy Iovine's rise to wealth. As a producer, his best partners are John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith and U2. As a music entrepreneur, his best partner is a media tycoon named Ted Field."

"With the first pot of gold he earned from the racing industry, Ted Field established Interscope Media and launched more than 50 film works throughout the 1980s, becoming a force that could not be underestimated in Hollywood at the time. In the mid-1980s, with his career flourishing, Ted Field began to consider entering the music industry. When he set out to establish the Interscope Records department, he hired a number of senior people in the industry who had rich experience and a strong network of contacts, but in Ted Field's view, these people were just so-called middle-level management talents. He also needed a boss with an extraordinary status, a real CEO, to help Interscope Records complete the transformation from zero to one."

"Coincidentally, at the same time, our Mr. Yowen is also raising funds to start his own record company. He knows that pop music will continue to innovate, and as a producer, he will soon be abandoned by the times. Young bands and musicians will only choose a more forward-looking new generation producer, rather than an old legend who rests on his legacy. He must join the management and move towards capital, so as not to be eliminated in the new wave."

"He sought help from every powerful person he knew, including U2's manager Paul McGinnis, who happened to know Ted, who was looking for a head for Interscope Records...Through Paul's introduction, Ted met Jimi and they were very impressed with each other. So, a few months later, Jimi Iovine signed a deal that David Geffen helped him negotiate..."

"and many more."

Madison Beal frowned and raised his right hand into the air.

"Did you just say... David Geffen?"

"Yes."

"He was the one who negotiated the Interscope deal for Yovan?"

"David Geffen's label Geffen Records signed John Lennon to a personal contract. His last album, Double Fantasy, was released there, and Jimmy Iovine was one of the producers of that album... They knew each other a long time ago. In fact, Iovine wanted to start his own record company because of Geffen's influence. They were both producers, but Geffen, who started his own business earlier, made much more money than him. In 1990, Geffen sold his record company to MCA in exchange for MCA shares worth $5.5 million."

"My question is... David Geffen, isn't he Jewish too?"

"Yes, he is Jewish."

"So how can this be a war between Jovan and the so-called 'Jewish capitalists' when his mentor himself is Jewish?"

"That's why I said that I don't agree with all the opinions of the organizer lady." Zhao Youzhen gave Madison a comforting smile, indicating his attitude and position. "Geffen was willing to help Jimmy Iovine, who was also a record producer. After the negotiations led by him, Ted Field and Jimmy Iovine reached an agreement and in 1990, the same year that David Geffen sold Geffen Records to MCA and devoted all his energy to DreamWorks, he established Interscope Records in a joint venture with Atlantic Records... Why are you laughing all the time, Yi? Is there something I said wrong?"

"No." Han Yi shook his head and explained with a chuckle, "I just think that history does repeat itself in an unpredictable way."

"What do you mean?" Maddie asked curiously.

"Jimmy Iovine's successful mentor David Geffen introduced him to entrepreneur Ted Field. Twenty-six years later, Jimmy Iovine, who also retired from the record industry, introduced me to Dr. Dre. Tell me this isn't history repeating itself."

"Now that it happens, it seems like the situation is exactly the same." Maddie nodded thoughtfully.

"If you think about it from this perspective, it seems that our current situation is really similar to the early days of Interscope." Zhao Youzhen also echoed, "The establishment of Interscope Records coincided with a period of great change in our industry... The 1980s dominated by glam rock and adult lyrics quickly faded away, Nirvana led the alternative rock revolution, the trend of singer-songwriters who wrote lyrics and music by themselves revived again, and the Spice Girls, N Sync and Backstreet Boys came roaring with teen pop music... When major record companies were crowded with expensive veteran artists, Interscope was free of burden and took action quickly, occupying the forefront of every wave."

"This is us, isn't it?" Han Yi pointed his index finger at Madison Beal and said with a smile, "She is the Spice Girls of our time."

"Then which one am I?" Maddie raised his eyebrows and asked.

"I only know one, Posh Spice." Han Yi teased, "Sounds like she would be a good match for you."

"Come on, you're not as handsome as Beckham."

"Huh?" Han Yi was speechless for a moment.

"Hmm?" Zhao Youzhen narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Hmm, what? I didn't say anything." Madison winked slyly, without lingering on. She got the upper hand verbally and quickly got back to the point. "I don't know if I'm a hottie, but Han Music is definitely the new Interscope... All my musician friends are jealous of me, and the attention and resources I'm getting from the label now."

"Jealousy is a stimulant that drives people to be dirty. It made us the eyesore of those big labels, and made Interscope in the 1995s the target of the mainstream music industry." Zhao Youzhen followed Madison's words and turned the needle back to the battlefield where the previous generation of music capitalists competed. "In the early s, Interscope was on a killing spree and was unstoppable. By the autumnal equinox in , they had become the world's undisputed number one label. Almost every emerging music genre was dominated by Interscope's signed artists, especially in the field of hip-hop. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Suge Knight, Death Row Records... No one can shake Interscope's position in the rap world."

"In every sense, Dr. Dre is Jimmy Iovine's most trusted face and Interscope's most commercially valuable cash cow - he can not only make himself a West Coast hip-hop legend, but also help Interscope quickly expand its influence in this field that can be developed and monetized in the long term. Unlike many rappers, Andre is a true, smart and sharp entrepreneur."

"And this is why I chose him to be the CEO of Han Music Group." Han Yi nodded in agreement, "He has all the qualities to become a giant in the music industry. All he needs is a stage for him to show off."

"But a lot of people don't want him to have a stage. That's true now, and it was true 20 years ago."

At this point, Zhao Youzhen cast his gaze towards the pitch-black main stage where the scene change was still in full swing, with a complicated expression.

"His and Jovan's joint success angered many people in the industry and left the seemingly invincible Interscope with a fatal weakness."

(End of this chapter)