American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 252 Scout's Invitation (Bonus Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

December 29, 10:00 AM, Wiesman.

Lin Yu'an had just finished his routine trap patrol, but the wolf pack remained as elusive as ghosts, leaving no new traces.

He returned to the cabin and was about to have breakfast when the satellite phone, which had been silent all night, rang again.

The caller ID showed a number from Los Angeles.

"Good morning, Mr. Lin." A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone; it was Scout Braun.

But this time, there was a hint of appreciative amusement in his voice, "I hope I didn't disturb your breakfast."

"Good morning, Mr. Braun. You're very punctual." Lin Yu'an's tone was calm and even.

“Efficiency is a fundamental virtue in this industry.” Scout smiled, then got straight to the point, “I’ve read your email and that excellent story.”

He paused, then his tone became incredibly sincere: "First of all, on behalf of all of us, I would like to express my gratitude to you once again."

"It's not just about thanking you for your profound understanding of Justin's music, but also for being willing to share such a real and moving personal experience with us."

"Secondly, I must admit that you are a natural strategist. That email was the most brilliant knock on the door I've seen in recent years."

Lin Yu'an didn't speak, but listened quietly.

“So, in response, I also bring our utmost sincerity,” Scout said. “Mr. Brian Lord, co-chairman of CAA, has authorized me to extend a formal, top-tier brokerage contract offer to you.”

“We don’t talk about those vague plans and blueprints,” Scout’s tone became extremely sharp and pragmatic. “We only talk about one thing—what we can do for you right now.”

"Your Arc'teryx brand ambassador contract officially expires on January 1st, right?"

"Yes."

“In other words, there are less than three days left for negotiations.” Scout’s voice took on a cold tinge. “And this is the first gift we’ve prepared for you.”

He continued, "I suggest you sign an agency agreement with CAA immediately. If you become a CAA contracted artist before January 1st, the nature of your negotiations with Arc'teryx will completely change."

"It will no longer be a battle between you personally and a business empire worth tens of billions of dollars. Instead, it will be a showdown between CAA, the most powerful talent agency empire in Hollywood, which is also worth tens of billions of dollars, and Arc'teryx."

"By then, behind you will stand the top business negotiation team in all of Hollywood, and Marty Singer, who strikes fear into the hearts of every corporate legal department."

"We'll take responsibility and carve out a piece of cake from Arc'teryx's apologetic contract that will leave them heartbroken!"

Scout's voice was filled with undeniable confidence. "Eight million a year? No, that's just a joke. That's just an appetizer they use to test your limits."

Lin Yu'an's eyes flickered slightly. He had to admit that Scout's proposal was incredibly tempting.

But he wasn't immediately blinded by his success; he astutely grasped the key point.

“Mr. Braun,” he began slowly, “it sounds like a perfect plan, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch. What will the CAA, or rather you, gain from this?”

"Why would you choose to engage in a potentially mutually destructive war against a giant like Arc'teryx for a newcomer you've only known for less than 24 hours?"

This was a sharp counter-question, a probe to gauge the other party's true intentions. Scout on the other end of the phone chuckled with admiration once more.

“Very good question, Mr. Lin. I enjoy dealing with intelligent people.” He answered frankly, “The answer is simple, there are three points.”

"First, we need to give you a treat. We need to prove to you, through a clean and decisive business victory, that CAA has the ability and the determination to defend your value. Arc'teryx is the perfect treat."

"Secondly, we need a story, a story of 'CAA going to war with top brands to fight for the best interests of its artists.' This story will solidify CAA's dominance in the industry far more effectively than signing ten ordinary stars."

“As for the third point…” Scout paused, a hint of amusement in his voice, “Brian and I both absolutely, absolutely hate losing. In particular, we hate seeing our friends being bullied by those self-righteous idiots.”

These words, though a mixture of truth and falsehood, sounded incredibly sincere.

Lin Yu'an fell silent. He knew that his opponent had already laid all their cards on the table.

"So, what about the compensation?" he asked the last, and most practical, question.

“It’s very simple,” Scout answered crisply. “CAA’s standard top-tier artist contract, agent commission, 15% of the total revenue. Of that, CAA takes 10%, and my SB Projects, as a co-producer, takes 5%.

This ratio is standard for top Hollywood contracts—fair, but not outrageous. Lin Yu'an remained silent, waiting for what was to come. He knew that true sincerity wouldn't be so simple.

Sure enough, Scout changed the subject and threw out the real "dessert".

"However, to show our utmost sincerity and to accelerate your growth, Brian and I have discussed it and decided that for the first three years of your brokerage contract, we will adopt a tiered commission model."

"Specifically, we will not take a penny of the income generated from your independent creations, such as the revenue share from your YouTube channel's advertising or fan donations. That is your purest income as a creator."

"For regular business collaborations, such as endorsement contracts offered by other brands, we take a standard 15% commission, because that requires our professional team to negotiate and execute."

“And most importantly,” Scout emphasized, “are those top-tier projects that I personally or Justin’s connections bring you directly.”

"For example, in collaborations with the LVMH Group, documentaries invited by Netflix, or potential future collaborations with Universal Pictures, CAA and I will voluntarily forgo most of the commissions and only symbolically charge 10% of the total revenue as fees for project management and legal support."

These words were impeccable, demonstrating both great sincerity and clearly defining business boundaries.

This is no longer a simple brokerage contract; it's an invitation to become a "co-founder" with shared risks and benefits!

Scout on the other end of the phone was clearly very confident in his proposed solution.

He waited quietly, waiting for Lin Yu'an's grateful agreement.

However, after a moment of silence, Lin Yu'an slowly spoke.

“Mr. Braun, your proposal does sound very sincere.” His voice remained calm, without any hint of emotion.

"However, I think we can perhaps try a more interesting approach to conventional business collaborations."

Scout's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly on the other end of the phone. "Oh? Tell me about it."

“Take the Arc'teryx contract for example,” Lin Yu’an said, as if he were discussing a business case that had nothing to do with him.

"They've already offered eight million US dollars a year, after tax. This figure is, I can say, the basic income I'm guaranteed to receive personally in this matter. Regardless of whether CAA is involved or not, this figure will not be less."

He paused, then his tone suddenly sharpened, "So, if CAA's involvement in this negotiation is merely to help me protect this basic income, then frankly, I don't think the 15% commission is reasonable."

Scout remained silent, listening with interest to see what the young man had to say.

“How about this,” Lin Yu’an proposed, “we’ll use this ‘eight million US dollars’ as the baseline.”

"In this negotiation with Arc'teryx, all the portions of the final contract below or equal to eight million US dollars are my personal spoils, and I don't think I need to pay any commission for them."

"And all the amounts exceeding eight million US dollars, whether it's nine million, ten million, or even higher, that's where CAA, as a top brokerage firm, truly demonstrates your capabilities and creates incremental value for me."

"For this incremental value, I am willing to pay a higher commission than the standard, 20% or even 30%, which is negotiable."

"In short, Mr. Braun, the more meat you can bite off of Archaeopteryx, the bigger slice of cake you can take from me."

"Your earnings will depend entirely on the tangible value you create for me. Do you think this game is fair?"

A long, deathly silence fell on the other end of the phone.

Scout Braun, a man who had dominated Hollywood for twenty years, experienced for the first time the astonishing charisma of a newcomer he was nominally recruiting.

He could even picture the calm and confident expression on the face of the Chinese man on the other end of the phone, deep in the snow and ice of Alaska.

He hadn't expected Lin Yu'an to be so bold, so direct, and even a little aggressive, completely seizing the initiative in the negotiations in an almost brutal way.

But this, on the contrary, stirred up an indescribable excitement deep within him.

He likes this kind of personality!

In this dog-eat-dog world, a submissive and overly humble personality won't get you far.

Only those who, like wolves, dare to bare their fangs at the negotiating table and defend their own interests deserve CAA's top-tier resources and are worthy of Scout Braun's investment!

(End of this chapter)