America's Top Player

Chapter 45 Cardi B goes crazy
Li Ang's original plan was to return to New York immediately after his performance.

Cardi B's first album is a huge hit, and as a boss he has a lot to deal with, and he also has to attend the MTV Awards in ten days.

His new song had a great success at its debut at such an influential music festival, and now he should take such an important exposure opportunity as the MTV Awards seriously.

But at Phil's insistence, he decided to watch Kesha's live performance the next day first.

Although both of them have listened to the song "TIK TOK" so many times that their ears are callused, this is the first time they have seen a live performance.

If a piece of music becomes popular all over the world, it can largely determine the direction of popular music for a long time to come.

The next afternoon, after a long wait, Kesha finally made her much-anticipated appearance.

She didn't show up backstage until an hour before the performance, and Li Ang just watched her from a distance, with no communication between the two.

There are always two tall black bodyguards standing next to Kesha. They are like a wall separating Kesha from other singers, declaring the difference in their status.

Keisha looks plain and her dressing style is hard to describe, giving people a dirty feeling.

Her own explanation for this is "this is called garbage aesthetics."

But Leon felt that this look was not even as decent as the homeless women in Brownsville.

"Oh my God. Oh my God, Kesha is going on stage!" Ariana stood beside Leon and rubbed her hands excitedly like an elf.

"Do you like her very much?"

"Of course, she's absolutely adorable now."

Li Ang smiled but said nothing. It would be difficult for Ariana's "good girl" personality to become popular in America.

On the other hand, although Keisha is not good-looking, she completely fits the image of a bad girl in the audience's mind.

She pushed the boundaries of what a "bad girl" could be.

Before Kesha, no one could have imagined that a young girl could be so "heavy-tasting". Topicality and controversy are her heavy weights in establishing herself in the entertainment industry!
Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy
Woke up feeling like Diddy (Hey girl what's up)
grab my glasses, I'm out the door
Put on your sunglasses and go out
As soon as Kesha opened her mouth, the audience immediately broke into a chorus.

The song "TIK TOK" is incredibly popular, even Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" is far behind it.

The song broke the record for the highest first-week single sales in the United States, and Kesha became the most downloaded female singer of all time with 61 digital downloads of the single!
By the time the chorus of TIK TOK started, the place was completely crazy.

Tick tock, on the clock
Tick tock follows the rhythm

But the party don't stop no
The party never stops
Woah-oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh
Woah-oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh
The Made in America Music Festival instantly transformed into a super-large disco scene with more than 100,000 people. Only by being there can you know how shocking it is.

Li Ang was also deeply shocked by this scene. There was no doubt that Kesha's performance was better than his collaboration with Kendrick yesterday.

Ariana was standing aside, closing her eyes and twisting her body to the melody with a look of enjoyment.

If we didn't know that she had received strict dance training since childhood, it would be hard not to guess that this innocent-looking angelic girl is actually a nightclub celebrity based on her skillful dancing skills.

"Did you figure it out, Leon?" Phil patted Leon's shoulder and said.

"What do you see?"

"Future Fashion Trends"

Li Ang frowned. The question asked by Lao Deng was too broad. Even God might not be able to predict the unpredictable fashion trends.

But whether it is Lady Gaga's sudden popularity or "TIK TOK" becoming a phenomenon, there are actually traces of all this.

Li Ang hesitated for a moment and replied, "Electronic music is the trend of the future?"

Phil smiled with satisfaction and said, "You have a really good understanding." Electronic dance music was briefly popular in the late 90s and early s, but it quickly faded.

However, with the iterative upgrades of electronic music synthesis equipment, many DJs have contributed rich audio material libraries, and electronic music has risen again.

Needless to say, pop music, and the works on the Billboard charts are enough to illustrate the popularity of electronic music.

In terms of rap music, from the old school style to TRAP music, today's rap has been moving closer and closer to electronic music.

Kanye West, the hottest rapper nowadays, is an expert in this type of music.

A week later, Cardi B's first album achieved outstanding results as Li Ang expected.

It can even be said that it is too dazzling, directly surpassing the boss Li Ang on the list.

The title song of "Bodak Yellow" debuted as a dark horse in the Billboard TOP 20, while Li Ang's "Take Me to Church" ranked only in the 30s during the same period.

The album sales are enough to illustrate Cardi B's popularity. In the first week, all 35,000 CDs and vinyl records were sold out.

Many music fans who managed to grab the records even became scalpers and made a profit from the price difference.

This is an amazing achievement for a newcomer.

This also means that Cardi has reached the second-tier threshold with just one EP, and her status has surpassed her boss.

Leon did not show any unhappiness about this. The more popular Cardi B becomes, the more he will earn.

When dividing the money in the first week, Phil was so anxious that his eyes were almost bursting with anger.

The contract signed by Leon and Cardi B only includes a 10% share of sales plus copyright income, which is even more excessive than the slave contract signed by Leon and T-Ray.

The contract is for one year, which means that if Cardi B wants to adjust the terms of the contract, she can only wait until the contract expires or pay a large termination fee.

Phil reminded, "I think it's time to expand the company. Look, there's not even a professional financial person here."

Li Ang immediately agreed. Previously, the financial work of the entire label was handled by him and Bonnie, while the accounting and tax work was outsourced to the accountant of the brothel downstairs.

Hiring a professional accountant in New York is a very expensive undertaking.

Previously, I was limited by financial constraints, but now the situation is completely different.

Since "Bodak Yellow" is a mini album containing 5 songs, the price is naturally much higher than Li Ang's singles.

After all the CDs and vinyl records were sold, the sales exceeded US$300,000.
Moreover, the OEM factory in the back is still printing continuously. At this rate, Li Ang may become a millionaire in less than a month.

"Shxt, it's so easy to be a black-hearted boss."

Cardi B has complained more than once that she is so busy that she doesn't even have time to hook up, while Leon can just sit back and take away most of the profits.

However, this is only relative to newcomers. Some top-tier celebrities can easily take away more than 40% of the record share, and the company makes money by holding the singers' copyright income.

"Once everything at the company is settled, you should start working on your new album." Phil lit a cigarette.

Since Beyoncé particularly admires Leon, ROC Vice President Lenny does not dare to put pressure on him, so the pressure naturally falls on his agent Phil.

"No problem, I already have a lot of ideas for the new album." Li Ang showed a sly smile.

Within a week, he had completed the preliminary screening of Dane's works, and he cut out more than half of the more than 100 works without hesitation.

Next, you just need to further screen and see which works are more in line with your own personality.

(End of this chapter)