hollywood billionaire

Chapter 471 Birthday Party (Part )

Following the guidance of Corey McIntosh, Han Yi and Dr. Dre walked through the crowd of people greeting them and arrived side by side at the end of the lawn at 864 Stradella Road.

Xu Yiru and Zhao Youzhen were already standing on both sides, waiting for him there.

"Okay, okay, listen up, everybody!"

Diplo pushed down the master volume slider on the DJ booth, raised his microphone and his other hand, and shouted out an announcement.

"We need to pause the music... No, don't shush me, Billie, you naughty little girl."

"I didn't shush!" Billie shouted in a weird voice, "McGrady shushed me!"

"?"

Madison, with a sip of drink in her mouth, couldn't make a sound and could only try her best to show her innocence by spreading her hands.

Han Yi was touched by the cute girl with puffed cheeks, wide eyes, aggrieved, soft and cute look. He touched his nose, lowered his head and couldn't help laughing.

"Whoever it is, you're just gonna have to behave, okay? All of you," Diplo said, his arms forming a semicircle in front of him, "because what we're about to accomplish is what all of us gathered here to do today...give our birthday boy the best f--king party he's ever had in his life!"

When the cheers gradually faded, Diplo nodded with satisfaction and continued: "The first time I met Yi, our birthday boy, was in this house. Sam, my agent, called me before that and said, 'Yo, brother, there's a party here, and you may need to perform... without payment.' I was surprised because Sam never accepted a free performance for me, right, Sam? Let's raise a glass to that guy, he is a real unsung hero."

Raising his glass, Diplo nodded to UTA agent Sam Hunt standing in the crowd. Sam has been Diplo's exclusive agent since his official debut, and has witnessed his entire journey from $150 a night at nightclubs to $200,000 for 90 minutes now.

"Sam knows I love to perform. If I have a gap in my schedule, I will send him a message: 'Why do I have a day off in my schedule?' If the show ends at 9 o'clock in the evening on a certain day, I will also call him and ask him why he can't give me an after party. I am a guy who likes to perform and loves the job of DJ, but I basically never perform for free."

"That day, Sam told me, 'I know you will say no, but I hope you can reconsider because the occasion that requires you to appear is the celebration party of UTA.' I asked, 'What the hell is there to celebrate at UTA? I still have seven or eight days without performances in my schedule this month.'"

"Sam replied that a billionaire had invested several hundred million dollars and acquired shares of UTA...UTA was going to have a new owner."

"After he hung up, my lawyer - who is also Yi's lawyer, Jordan Bromley... Let's applaud Jordan! He is the most solid backing for the development of Han Music! Thank you, brother... OK, after Sam hung up, Jordan called me immediately and said that he had taken on a new client, the billionaire who had just invested in UTA, and hoped that I could meet him."

"I started to hesitate. I said, OK, let me check my schedule. If there are no performances or recordings that day, I will go over and take a look. Just after I said that and hung up the second call, the third call came again. I picked up the phone and saw that it was Peter Benedek!"

"I knew what he was going to say to me before I even got on the phone. I was like, oh shit, okay, maybe I do need to go do some free acting. Meet this boss, curry his favor, and get him to give me more people and resources and get me more shows. After all, he's so influential that he can get three very important people to call me at the same time."

"From then on, fate began to play its role. I still remember how surprised I was when Kevin and Sam told me who Yi Han was at the celebration party. He was so damn young! You tell me, this young man who looks only in his early twenties has such a huge fortune that he can support him to become the behind-the-scenes controller of one of the world's largest entertainment companies?"

"I was skeptical, I had a lot of questions until he contacted me and wanted to have a professional relationship with me outside of the show, until I started working with him."

"I think everyone in this room agrees, because most of you work for him, with him. He probably came across at first as just, excuse me, another Asian guy with a lot of money to burn. But the more you get to know him, the more you realize that's simply not true. That's not his story at all."

"He is a perfect partner, a great dreamer, and an efficient executor. With him, I...we have achieved grand goals that I never thought possible."

"Together with him, we won the first Billboard No. 1 in the history of Mad Decent label...!"

"With him, Mad City became the most talked-about event in live entertainment in 2016!"

“With him, I am sure that everyone here today…will embark on a journey to reach for the stars and the moon!”

Cheers, cheers, screams and applause, one wave higher than the other as Diplo narrates. When the atmosphere reaches its climax, the experienced Record Knight introduces today's protagonist.

"Now, please join me in welcoming our birthday boy to the stage. The one and only, Yi-Han!"

After exchanging glances with Xiaoru and Youzhen who were waiting beside him and a mixture of encouragement and relief, Han Yi raised his right hand and trotted onto the stage amid even more enthusiastic cheers.

This is the real reason why Han Yi, who usually keeps a low profile, heard that Xiaoru and Maddie were preparing a surprise party, but instead of trying to persuade them to stop, he went against his usual behavior and secretly asked Corey to give his full assistance to hold the party in a high-profile manner.

He needs such a stage to bring together the employees he has recruited and the business partners with whom he has reached cooperation intentions, to boost morale, strengthen cohesion, clarify strategic planning, and further shape his image as a team leader.

"Thank you, Thomas!"

Taking the microphone from Diplo, the two partners, who have a close relationship and have become closer with the success of "Cold Water" and Mad City, patted each other on the shoulders, then hugged each other passionately, whispered in a low voice for more than ten seconds, and then let go of each other.

"Isn't Thomas the greatest DJ and the best producer in the world? Let's applaud him! Another round of cheers!"

Turning his head to look at Diplo, who had retreated to the edge of the stage with one hand on his chest, Han Yi took a deep breath, and held the microphone in his hand solemnly as if he were holding the Olympic torch, and cast his eyes towards the DJ stand, where the outdoor lawn of 864 Stradella Road was already packed with people who were naturally moving towards him.

"I have a different story about my first meeting with Thomas... or more accurately, a different perspective."

Han Yi tapped the microphone with his fingers, and the metallic vibration gradually quieted down the shouts of "Happy Birthday" that were echoing on the lawn.

"I knew Thomas before I met him. I mean, it's impossible for anyone who is passionate about pop music not to know him, right? If you pay close attention to the trends in the music industry in recent years, it's not hard to find that... this man is the leader of these trends."

"I still remember the first time I heard Paper Planes and how it was so ahead of its time, musically, thematically, aesthetically. And then there was this explosion last year, oh my god, Major Lazer, Jack, Lean On, Where Are Now, he's the reason modern pop doesn't have a chorus anymore... it's all just drops."

A joke about electronic music aroused scattered laughter from the audience. Twelve of the top 2016 singles on the Billboard chart last week were electronic music. Ten of the 2007 electronic music songs did not have traditional choruses, but were drop songs composed of vocal samples and drum beats. It is no exaggeration to say that the European and American music scene in was dominated by pop electronic music. Diplo, who has been committed to promoting electronic music in the mainstream circle since , can undoubtedly be called one of the pioneers of this trend.

"So I can say this - and it's absolutely true - Diplo was one of the key reasons why I decided to invest in UTA. I wanted to get to know him, I wanted to learn more about his vision, and I wanted to make that vision a reality."

"Aw, man, I don't know what to say."

Diplo, who was standing on the side of the stage, pounded his chest with his hand and pointed at Han Yi, expressing his gratitude and being touched by these words.

"Everything I said is true. I never invested in UTA for its EBITDA, or its profit margin. I invested in it for the opportunity to work with world-class artists like you."

Looking at Diplo, he emphasized it again. After receiving the latter's enthusiastic response of shaking his head and clapping vigorously, Han Yi retracted his gaze and returned to the stage.

"So, before the UTA party, I told Jordan that I was going to meet with him and I was going to work with Mad Decent. That's why Thomas got those three calls in a row and why he was so scared for his life that he had to go to that celebration party... What? You didn't do it purely out of fear? Okay."

Amidst another round of good-natured laughter, Han Yi gave Diplo a thumbs up.

“Everything that happened after that was like a fairy tale.”

"I loved him instantly the first time I met him. I loved his talent and his vision for the industry. I hope he feels the same way about me because if not, it would be really weird that he agreed to run Mad Decent with me."

"Anyway, he accepted my proposal for collaboration with open arms and joined the nascent music scene like a pioneer - he always has been and always will be a pioneer."

“Less than a year later, as I step back and reflect on everything we have built together, I can humbly but confidently say that we have not let each other down.”

“Today, I’m proud to announce that ‘Cold Water’ has become the first single from Han Music to reach 5 million streams on Spotify… in just 14 weeks!”

"At the same time, with the excellent achievement of three consecutive championships on the Billboard singles chart, "Cold Water" became the only champion single this year... released by a record company other than the three major music groups!"

“With this phenomenal success, we introduce the world to Madison Beer…one of the youngest Billboard No. 1s in the history of the industry!”

"We... are creating a legend!"

"Mad Decent! Mad Decent! Mad Decent!"

Starting with the eager cry of a junior A&R manager, the slogan spread like wildfire. Soon, these independent voices began to synchronize and unify, converging into a fierce firestorm with enough power and potential energy to engulf the entire Hollywood hills.

There is no doubt that Cold Water is a breakthrough work that has made Han Music occupy a place on the map of the music industry. It is also a breakthrough work that woke up Universal, Sony and Warner in the middle of the night, sweating all over, and realized that a barbarian had entered the industry. It is also a window-breaking work that has awakened countless independent music companies, including Han Music, from their dreams and restored their confidence.

A song produced by an independent electronic music label, represented by an independent copyright company, and released by an independent record company has won three consecutive championships on the Billboard singles chart. The shock brought by this event and the deep meaning behind it are no less than the sudden emergence of Deep Seek for the music industry.

It turns out that players outside the three major music groups can also win this game.

It turns out that this game is not over yet.

Even better than resisting hegemony is the spark that ignites resistance.

"Cold Water" is the spark that makes Han Music hold its head high.

It is not the "Harlem Shake" that exploded on the Internet and was a flash in the pan, nor is it the "Gangnam Style" that seems to be full of exotic styles and represents Asia to challenge the United States, but is actually distributed in the United States by Republic Records, nor is it the "Thrift Shop" that is written from head to toe as "independent music, independent distribution", but in fact it still relies on the Warner Music Group platform for distribution. "Cold Water" is a real and thorough reshaping of the industry rules. There are no explosive Internet topics, no strong distribution channels, and it completely breaks away from the framework of the three major music groups. It is down-to-earth in streaming media, radio and offline promotion, using the most orthodox and irrefutable promotion method to beat Universal, Sony and Warner on the front battlefield where they are most confident.

RCA tore off a large piece of flesh and blood. "Cheap Thrills", which was originally expected to win the top four, was suppressed to only one week, and then handed over the top spot to "Closer". The most despairing thing is that the feature of this pop electronic single, which is still winning the top spot, is still a signed artist of Han Music.

Or they are the kind of signed artists who have management contracts, performance contracts, record contracts, and distribution contracts, which are 360-degree binding.

In the second half of 2016, everyone in the music industry was living in the horror story that the barbarian Han Music was about to cross Hadrian's Wall and head straight for London and even Rome.

"And this is not all we have done!"

Han Yi waved his hand and did not stop the shouting from the audience, but instead raised his voice a few decibels.

“We don’t just put out music, we bring it to people’s doorsteps.”

“We kicked off the first ever Block Party European tour and tickets sold out in every city.”

"We promoted one of the biggest shows in live entertainment this year, or any year, Mad City. Three days, 250,000 people, all of Las Vegas was rocking with our sound."

"Many of our colleagues at Han may know about this, but others may not know much about it, so I would like to take this opportunity to announce it here--"

"The box office data of Mad City Music Festival was finally checked and confirmed two days ago. In three days, we have earned a total of nearly 6000 million US dollars."

"After adding in sponsorship income, share of food and beverages, and sales of derivative products, and deducting the actual costs incurred..."

"Our gross profit reached an astonishing $3500 million!"

(End of this chapter)