The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1474 Crossroads
Anson said, "So, this song will not be included on the album."

Dustin was stunned for a moment: Hiccup!
Mike thought there was something wrong with his ears, and blurted out in surprise, "What?"

Anson was completely unaware. "Didn't I just say that this song was inspired by Spider-Man? I'm going to discuss with Sony Columbia whether to include it in the soundtrack..."

Mike waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, no, this kind of song should of course be included in your personal album. If Sony Columbia plans to include it in the movie soundtrack, they should discuss the copyright issue with us."

Looking at Mike's resolute expression, Anson laughed dumbly, "But the style of this song is inconsistent with the album. Dustin also knows that the album needs consistency. It's not worth ruining the integrity of the album because of a song."

"It's worth it!" Mike said bluntly, "It's worth it, how could it not be worth it!"

Mike couldn't help but lean forward slightly because he was too excited and eager. "Anson, I don't know how to make music. I'm just a businessman without musical talent. But I know the market. I have a keen sense of the music market."

"I knew 'Wake Me Up' would work, I knew 'Viva La Vie' would work, and I knew this song would work, 100 percent."

“We can’t miss…”

Anson blinked and looked at Dustin for help.

Anson thought Dustin would agree and express the same point of view, but he didn't expect Dustin to show an embarrassed expression. After struggling for a moment, he spoke cautiously.

“Maybe, we could use it as a hidden track on the album?”

"This would ensure the song's inclusion without damaging the album's integrity; but, Anson, Mike is right, this song should not be in the hands of Sony Columbia, they would just be wasting a great gift."

Anson was stunned and laughed, "Ah, I forgot that you are competitors."

Just as Universal owns Universal Pictures and Universal Music, and Warner Bros. owns Warner Pictures and Warner Records, Sony also owns two of the world's top entertainment industry companies, Sony Columbia and Sony Records.

Of course, these top companies operate independently and have little particular overlap with each other, despite being part of the same parent company.

Therefore, the soundtracks of Sony Columbia's films are indeed given priority to Sony Records for distribution in order to achieve resource integration and reduce communication costs in the middle. This is indeed a common cooperation model in the industry; but this is not a hard and fast rule. Cross-group and cross-company cooperation is rare, but it objectively exists.

For example, if Anson's record contract is with Warner Records, and Sony Columbia tries to include Anson's works in the movie soundtrack, this is not prohibited. In the end, it all depends on the negotiations between Sony Columbia and Warner Records.

But then again, if it can be avoided, we should naturally try to avoid it as much as possible.

Mike said with a serious face, "We are not competitors. They made too many mistakes in decision-making. We have surpassed them now. The so-called competition is a thing of the past."

Now, Warner Records' competitor is Universal Music.

With just one sentence, Anson's smile fully blossomed.

On the side, Dustin saw that the topic was going off track, and quickly winked at Mike: Business!
Anson finally showed up today, and they must seize the opportunity to discuss business; however, Anson showed his bargaining chips and impressed everyone again, which also means that they need to show more sincerity, otherwise if Anson is really won over by Universal Music or Sony Records, they will really be in tears.

The focus at present is not whether the contract should be renewed or whether Anson should be persuaded, but what conditions they need to use to persuade Anson.

It was not just about persuasion, but also about making Anson feel respected. More importantly, Warner Records needed to make the entire music industry feel that they were serious and that this contract was not just about Anson.

Mike also knew this, so he was a little nervous before he spoke -

Because he knew that once the contract was successfully signed, the entire record market would be in turmoil, which meant that after the August 31st band they were once again standing at the crossroads of history and had the opportunity to subvert the market structure.

In 2001, Mariah Carey signed an $ million contract with Virgin Records for four albums, with an average value of $ million per album, setting an unprecedented record that shocked the entire industry.

At the time, people said that Virgin Records was crazy.

Facts have also proved that Viking Records is indeed crazy.

At that time, Mariah Carey was in the midst of a double turmoil in her career and life. After signing the contract, she ambitiously tried to start a new career by launching both movies and records to escape the pain of divorce in her real life.

As a result, both the film and the record suffered a failure.

Mariah Carey's movie "The Stars" only earned $4 million at the box office and lost more than $20 million; and her first studio album released under Virgin Records fell into the lowest point of her career, with global sales of only two million.

What's worse is that of the four singles released from the album, three did not make it to the charts, and the only one that did make it only peaked at number 81.

This is the first time in Mariah Carey's entire ten-year singing career that a single has not entered the top 40, not to mention the three singles that did not make the charts.

Failed!

After one album, Viking Records was willing to pay liquidated damages to terminate the contract early. This has been hailed as the stupidest and craziest contract in music history, and even indirectly led to the subsequent bankruptcy and acquisition of Viking Records.

Mariah Carey made a fortune, earning some money from the contract and some money from liquidated damages. She then turned around and signed a contract with Island Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music, and made a comeback two years later without any impact on her career. However, the ending of Virgin Records was not so good.

It is a wake-up call for the entire industry.

It has been less than two years since this incident, and now Warner Records is preparing for another big move that is in no way inferior to the contract between Mariah Carey and Virgin Records. Just imagine the storm that may arise for the entire industry.

Everything is in Mike's hands at this moment. How can he not be nervous?
Looking at Anson quietly, Mike suddenly laughed, "You did it on purpose, right? It's also a lie that I just happened to pass by the company today, right?"

Anson chuckled, "So, does this mean you're impressed?"

Mike, "More than impressed, it was a complete education! But that's why you used your secret weapon, isn't it?"

Anson's smile became even brighter. "If I say that this secret weapon was originally intended to be used in conjunction with the promotion of the upcoming Spider-Man movie, and that I was going to record this song first regardless of whether we cooperated or not, it was purely an accident; and that passing by Warner Records today was indeed a coincidence, would you believe it?"

Mike looked at Anson, his face sincere and calm.

Finally, a smile bloomed on the corners of his mouth, and Mike spread his hands, "Does this matter? What really matters should be what is about to happen next."

(End of this chapter)