American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 109 Celebrating Victory by Distributing Gold with a Large Scale

[An epic night! The Voice of China grand finale attracted 70,000 spectators!]

[Nationwide frenzy! The Voice finale averaged over 5800 million viewers!]

[Making history! "The Voice of China" has become a legend in the variety show industry! And even in the television industry!]

[A perfect ending! The first season of "The Voice" concluded yesterday! The highly anticipated 'Hawaii boy' Bruno Mars emerged victorious! 'Sunny girl' Katy Perry took second place! Lana Drake came in third!]

Mariah Carey becomes the winning mentor of the first season of the wildly popular music show "The Voice"!

[Rockets' Elton John says he'll come back!]

[Former Police frontman Sting expressed his resentment in an interview!]

Boss Springsteen says his protégé Katy Perry is his absolute favorite!

【…】

Amidst the gasps of astonishment from those in the industry;
Amidst the cheers of thousands of spectators;

The first season of The Voice officially ended late at night on December 27, 2003, Pacific Time.

The phenomenal results of the final episode and the fact that it has been leading the trend since its premiere have made "The Voice" the most shining star in North America and even the whole world. The next day, all the media gave it their front page headlines.

Although the focus of each report differed, and the emotions expressed in writing and broadcasting varied—some were filled with emotion, some with amazement, some with numbness, and some with joy—all of these could be summarized in one sentence:

"Miss Beaver is awesome!"

Ah!
Without Isabella, there would be no The Voice!

Without The Voice of China, there would be no legendary present!
Without the legends, there would be no mass celebration!
Oh my, Miss Beaver is truly one of the many things that come from one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things!
Nonsence--

It's the sun!

Cough cough cough...

There is a consensus among the public when it comes to praising Miss Beaver.

Isabella's success is the result of many years of collective witnessing.

From Harry Potter to The Voice movie and then to cross-over song releases and variety show production, Isabella's every step has been clear and well-defined, and the whole process has not been smooth sailing.

Initially, some questioned whether she was too beautiful and didn't match the Hermione Granger in the books. Then, some questioned whether she wrote the script for "The Voice." Then she was attacked by Eminem, a notorious figure in North American literature...

When Isabella endured slander yet still existed, accepting the rainbow after the storm was simply the instinct of the general public.

but--

The final results of "The Voice of China" were met with praise, but not everyone was satisfied with them!

After Bruno Mars won the championship, the other three teams in the top four were immediately unhappy.

"Dxxn! An Elvis impersonator can win a championship? How is that possible?!"

"Exactly! What else can Bruno Mars do besides cover hit songs?"

“I even think he got so many votes simply because the celebrities he paid tribute to were so popular! For example, he said he was paying tribute to MJ, so MJ's fans voted for him? Or he said he was paying tribute to Elvis, so Elvis's fans praised him?”

"I think it's possible! And this guy is short! He doesn't have any star quality at all!"

The first season finale of "The Voice of China" had just ended, and by the early hours of the next day, there were already voices of discontent on the internet.

While waiting for daylight to arrive...

Since Disney didn't rig the ticketing, Bruno Mars was truly elected by the people. So, when Bruno Mars' fans discovered that the very person they had painstakingly raised was being slandered?

The so-called counterattack, a war of words, ignited the entire internet in an instant!

"Our Bruno doesn't deserve to win the championship? What a joke! So you mean your Katy Perry and Lana Drake deserve to win the championship? Pah! They're both lowlifes! All they do is sing those pointless, whiny songs all day long!"

"Yeah—Katy Perry says she loves rock and roll every day—but she's not cool at all—she only plays soft rock—"

"Our 'Car Girl' is the same! She sings those dirges all the time! It's so depressing to listen to her!"

"Yeah! I'm starting to wonder how Lana Del Rey even made it to the finals? 'The Voice' is such a bright and cheerful stage! Isabella is so adorable! And then when Lana Del Rey came on stage, the stage went dark! What??"

"Right, right, right! Which group is Lana Draco from? Sting's group? Is Sting deaf? How could he choose her?"

boom--

When the flame war spread to the mentors, even more people got involved.

"Oh, oh, oh—your Bruno has only won one 'The Voice' title so far, right? And you're all so arrogant? You think you can criticize Sting? You're a bunch of idiots—"

"M-Fxxk! The Voice is a talent show! And all the mentors are real Grammy winners! Your Bruno Mars hasn't even released an album yet! And you're already so eager to promote him?"

"I'm telling you idiots! The end of 'The Voice' is just the beginning of everyone's music career! You want to hype up your Bruno? Okay, no problem! Get him to release a song! If he gets a runner-up spot, I'll eat my computer!"

"That's right! If your Bruno wins the championship without a winner, I'll eat my computer! And then, I want to say something else! Your Bruno's contestant status is also problematic! He's clearly from Hawaii, but he registered in California. By doing this, he's squeezing out the living space of Californians! If we're really looking at things fairly, he shouldn't even be allowed to participate in 'The Voice'!"

"Yeah—giving him the championship is nostalgia—it's charity—"

"..."

Since the entertainment industry is inherently a breeding ground for noise, it's no surprise that feuds erupt from time to time.

So, are fans of "The Voice of China" contestants tearing apart honors for their idols?
In the eyes of the public, this is a perfectly normal thing!
Or, to put it another way, when the selection process of "The Voice of China" is very similar to the idol-making approach, several months ago, when the national finals of "The Voice of China" had just started airing, many contestants' fans had already been arguing online.

Should we continue tearing each other apart?
There seems to be no problem with this.

Can……

They started tearing it up as soon as the match ended?

Can't even last 24 hours?

This just goes to show that people shouldn't eat too much, otherwise they'll run into a lot of trouble.

Isabella was unaware of the outside world's turmoil, but she could predict it.

There's nothing she can do; she was a fan of celebrities in her past life too.

What's with all this talk about horse face, half-baked guy, drizzling, bus... it's always the same old trivial stuff...

Having witnessed so much of this, and knowing that the fan cohesion emphasized in the celebrity industry is actually the sense of identity formed by the fans of various celebrities participating in one conflict after another.

So even if it's a huge commotion outside, she doesn't care.

Furthermore, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, and Lana Del Rey are all her people!

No matter how much these people's fans argue, she's the one who profits!
Of course, even if Isabella wanted to care, she didn't have time to care at the moment.

Although the first season of "The Voice" has indeed officially ended, the wrap-up work has only just begun, and there is still much to be done.

Uh……

Ok……

Actually, it was counting money.

Hehe ~
The first task was to sell copyrights!

Ever since The Voice of America officially broke the 5% average viewership mark, television stations around the world vying for the rights to The Voice have pulled out all the stops, sending their bids to Isabella.

The reason we didn't talk then was because we didn't have time. The reason we can talk now is because Beaver Company's long-term partner, Valentine O'Connor, has thoroughly categorized and studied all the contracts submitted by various parties.

“Isa, Mrs. Haywood, the offers from all sides seem complicated, but in reality, they fall into only two categories.”

"One type is obtaining a license, and the other is buying out the rights."

“Like the BBC, they want to acquire the license on an annual payment basis, £2500 million a year, with a minimum three-year contract. Then, after the contract expires, they want to have the right of first refusal to renew. On the other hand, TVA in Canada wants to buy out the permanent operating rights of The Voice in Canada in one go, and they have offered a fixed price of $5000 million.”

Whether it's an annual payment or a buyout, those are normal practices in copyright transactions.

The problem is actually with the water pumping.

To be honest, if Robert Iger hadn't been eyeing Michael Eisner's position, Isabella would never have been able to get a revenue-sharing contract from Disney.

The clause that allows water to be drawn out the moment the mouth is touched is like scalding pig with a knife!

As for how copyright buyers can choose between annual payments or outright purchases?

This essentially comes down to the value of the IP and the nature of the company that is buying it.

Let's talk about value first.

If an IP is extremely valuable, then buying it outright is the most cost-effective option.

Because once a buyer who acquires copyright through an annual payment method has established the IP, the copyright holder can arbitrarily raise the price as the contract expires. This is similar to the renaming of "The Voice of China" to "Sing! China." Even though Canxing has a bad reputation, it still paid legitimately in the "The Voice of China" deal, but... the Netherlands' demands kept increasing year after year, so there was nothing that could be done.

Let's talk about its nature—

Even if buying out high-value IP is the smartest business decision, many times, many TV stations cannot do so. The reason is simple: TV stations in many countries are public enterprises.

Like the BBC, it's a public broadcaster.

It was established with a royal charter.

The annual reports are audited by the British government.

If a company spends a large sum of money to buy an IP at once, then the decision-maker must make the IP a success.

Otherwise, they might have been able to get in.

Furthermore, the fact that company executives spend large sums of money to buy intellectual property makes them easy targets for competitors looking to usurp their position.

Because the value of an IP is something that everyone has their own opinion on, it's something that can be inflated and resold.

So, you're the head of the BBC, and you spent hundreds of millions or even billions to buy an IP?

Surely it's okay if I accuse you of corruption and put you under investigation?
Let's see if I can kill you!
Since Isabella knew this, she was open to both annual payments and buyouts, as long as the price was right.

As for Vivian...

Isabella glanced at her mother.

Over the years, my mother may seem to have done nothing, but in reality, she has made up for a lot of learning in her spare time.

Therefore, after catching her daughter's gaze, Vivian asked directly, "Can you assess the price?"

"Of course." The bald man nodded with a smile.

"Then you can go and do the evaluation. Give me a report after you're done, and I'll tell you who to talk to first after I've read it."

"Ok."

"Then, I have one more question."

“Mrs. Haywood, please speak.”

"I'd like to know why Canada would consider buying out 'The Voice'? And why... offering $5000 million?"

This question made Isabella turn her attention back to the bald man.

The bald man said, "Oh—that's because TVA, the company that wants to buy the exclusive rights to 'The Voice,' is a French-language television station—"

Anyone familiar with history knows that there was a place in North America called New France, which was a French colony.

With the rise of Great Britain and the outbreak of the French Revolution, the First French colonial empire finally collapsed.

However, the history of colonization allowed French to take root in Canada.

For this reason, in order to better serve these people, there are dedicated French-language media outlets in Canada.

Currently, TVA, which offered 100 million to buy the Canadian rights to "The Voice," is Canada's largest French-language media company.

What they want to create is a French version of The Voice in Canada.

As for why Canadian media don't produce an English version of "The Voice"?
Well, judging from the balance of power, if the US really wanted to unify North America, Canada wouldn't be able to resist.

That place is America's backyard!

ABC's signal can be received throughout Canada!
Could The Voice have reached 5800 million viewers?
Canadians also deserve credit for this, my friend!

“Oh, so TVA wants the French-only rights?” Vivian understood.

“Uh… what they actually want is full copyright,” the bald man said. “But as long as America exists and Disney exists, Canada can’t produce an English version of The Voice. Of course, when we’re talking to them, we can ask them to specify in the contract that they can only have the production rights for the French version.”

"How many people in their country speak French?" Vivian wanted to know the specifics.

"The statistics for 01 show that there were around 670 million, not exceeding 700 million, accounting for 20% of the total population." The bald man was well-prepared.

“If that’s the case… then 5000 million is quite reasonable.” Vivian looked at her youngest daughter.

Isabella raised her eyebrows; she was fine.

Since the first task couldn't be completed in a short time and the contract wasn't easy to sign, after inquiring about it, Ms. Beaver brought up the second task: reviewing the revenue report for the first season of "The Voice" sent by Disney.

The combined advertising revenue from the 'main competition' and 'growth' segments totaled 16.3 billion, so...

Isabella will receive 1.63 million.

US dollars.

When this number appeared, Isabella was so happy that she practically grinned from ear to ear!
But this was still the revenue from the first episode of "The Voice"—

"Disney's financial report does not include radio revenue, which is the revenue from the airing of The Voice songs on radio. This is Warner's operation, and they themselves have not yet settled accounts with radio stations in North America."

"Then, videotapes and soundtracks hadn't even started selling yet."

"Next, Warner will hold a celebration tour, and you will also get a cut of the revenue from the tour. The tour will in turn lead to the production of tour videos and soundtracks, which are also derivative products of The Voice."

"You can also take a cut."

"Therefore, in the next few years, The Voice of China Season 1 will continue to bring you a steady stream of income."

“Even with a conservative estimate, you can still get another 1.63 million.” The bald man’s words made Isabella slam her hand on the table!
Honestly, at this moment, she really wanted to light up a cigar called Victory!

Pay with US dollars!
but she……

I don't smoke.

Furthermore, even if she smokes, she doesn't dare to smoke in front of her mother, because her mother really has an iron fist.

With Vivian's personality, if she had even a hint of cigarette smoke on her, she'd probably smash her into a beaver pancake!

but……

She has other ways of celebrating—

"Mom! I'll buy you a bag worth two million!"

The little beaver looked at its mother with a happy smile.

Vivian was overjoyed upon hearing the figure of 1.63 million.

But as soon as the 200 million package comes out...

Her face immediately fell.

He said sarcastically, "Oh—my dear daughter—if I remember correctly—at the beginning of this year you told me you were going to buy me a bag worth 200 million—you didn't seem to be earning that much back then—"

So—your love for me—will—shrink—over time?

"Oh—this really breaks Mom's heart—"

"..." Miss Beaver's face twitched at the sound of those melodious words.

She knew her mother was joking, but...

This guy takes on jobs way too fast!
And the acting was so pretentious!
"Stop, stop, stop, stop! Mom, if you keep talking like this, I might become England's number one unfilial daughter."

"How about I buy you a three million yuan bag? I'll cover the difference!"

"Oh—" Vivian's voice rose even louder, "So your love for Mom is only a tiny fraction of what it used to be—"

"..." Miss Beaver's eyelids twitched.

She decided to stop arguing with her mom because she discovered that when her mom got excited, she could talk even more than she could.

"Because I want to use the remaining money to buy an island, okay?"

'? '

Vivian stopped acting and asked with some confusion, "Buy an island?"

“Okay, let’s buy an island.” Isabella nodded.

Yes ~
Isabella has always had a dream~
That is to own an island of your own~
The reason for having this dream is also very simple.

1. That is to pursue poetry and distant fields.

2. That is the freedom that everyone loves.

The former goes without saying, it's all about the beautiful island scenery, while the latter...

That one is related to Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle.

Anyone who follows North American news has probably heard this story:
Hawaii, the fiftieth state of the United States, is composed of an archipelago.

Larry Ellison owns one of them, named Lanai.

Since this is an inhabited island with over three thousand residents, it has all the basic amenities for human life, including public facilities and government offices.

Therefore, when Larry Ellison privatized the entire island, he was responsible for maintaining all the public facilities on the island, paying the salaries of all government employees, and providing jobs for the local residents.

Uh……

This logic might be hard for many people to understand.

In layman's terms, the maintenance funds for a local public facility and the salaries of government employees all come from government taxes. However, when the taxpayer in a local area is a single enterprise or individual...

This is equivalent to the company or individual bearing all the costs.

This kind of responsibility seems a bit stupid.

But at the same time……

This kind of responsibility can also give you supreme power.

Yeah~
He is the king!

Under federal law, police body cameras used during law enforcement operations are required to be connected to the internet and upload data in real time to a database at police headquarters in Washington, D.C.

But not on Lanai Island, where all the data is stored in Oracle's database.

Under federal law, private individuals are not permitted to possess armed forces.

But Larry Ellison simply set up his security company on Lanai Island.

Then, they were allowed to openly and legitimately purchase police equipment under the guise of being employed by the local government.

When using it outside the island, you just need to sign a receipt.

transfer.

Well, people often say that in a capitalist society, you can own guns but not bulletproof ones?
Those are all laws governing ordinary people.
The wealthy have a million ways to legally get themselves into armored vehicles!
Isabella admits that she is just an ordinary person.

So, in her past life, she was truly envious after seeing the news.

Don't laugh.

No one dislikes freedom.

And now...

When she has money and freedom, or rather, when she can try to be free...

"Mom, I want to have my own island."

"Do you remember when we went to Aidensol last year to film 'The Voice'?"

"Isn't it absolutely fantastic?"

Isabella winked at her mother.

Vivian, who understood what she meant, was taken aback at first—

Like federal law, the British Code also has similar loopholes. In other words, the loopholes in American law are copied from British laws, which are products left over from the monarchical era.

Those dukes' fiefdoms can actually handle a lot of things.

Then, Vivian raised the corners of her mouth—

"Oh, if it's an island like that... that would be wonderful!"

"But...it's very difficult to do..."

Finally, Vivian burst into laughter—

"But that's not important, is it? Having a dream is the most remarkable thing."

Nobody dislikes freedom!

"Okay!"

Miss Beaver snapped her fingers, then looked at the bald man, "Uncle Valentine..."

"My job has arrived." The bald man readily accepted the commission.

The familiar words made the little girl's eyes crinkle with laughter.

Uh……

She knew that freedom was hard to come by, and that freedom was matched with power. She also knew that in this era, the best way to climb the social ladder was through Silicon Valley. But—not to mention that investing in technology was never too late 10 years ago, financial investment alone cannot bring you power. And unlimited wealth growth will only turn you into a fat pig rolling in oil.

Take Berkshire Hathaway as an example. Why does Warren Buffett join the board of directors of every company he invests in? Because only in this way can he truly control the employment of tens of thousands of people!
When Warren Buffett is paying salaries to hundreds of thousands or even millions of people, is it because his company is too big to fail?

No.

He cannot fall.

So……

Let's take it one step at a time.

It's like building a house; you buy a piece of land first, and then slowly build on it.

therefore?

Now?

Buy the island first!
Enjoy!
Be happy first!
Hehe ~
"Oh—our princess has arrived—"

"Hahahaha~~~Isa~~~Good evening~~~"

“My goodness—Miss Granger—it’s such a pleasure to meet you today—you may not know me, but we’ve been working together for many years. Let me introduce myself, I’m Douglas Daft, Chairman of Coca-Cola.”

On the evening of April 28, 2003.

Isabella, dressed in a black tuxedo, walked into the celebration party prepared by Disney and Warner for "The Voice".

Ang~
The project you run has been a great success?

The capitalists will definitely throw a big celebration banquet to announce to the world that they have won!
Otherwise, how can I annoy my opponents?
Right?

As soon as she appeared, Isabella was surrounded by the guys who were already there.

Among the crowd was Disney CEO Robert Iger;
Barry Mayer, chairman of Warner Bros., was among them.
Douglas Daft, the chairman of Coca-Cola;

It includes McDonald's COO James Skinner;

Besides that, there were a bunch of people Isabella didn't recognize...

This is actually why Isabella works so hard during the day!
Since we're meeting with potential business partners tonight, wouldn't it be pointless to miss out on their opinions?
If someone gives her a cold shoulder, she can't possibly put on a smiling face, otherwise she'd look like a fool!

Since she's attending a victory celebration banquet, the profits should be distributed beforehand, right?

If she cheers while being tricked, wouldn't she be a huge victim of injustice?

Since the risks have been eliminated, Miss Beaver was all smiles tonight.

As she smiled and nodded at the guys who were trying to be friendly, she was led by Robert Iger and Barry Mayer to the red carpet stage at the front of the celebration hall, where a large table was set up with a large red cloth on it.

It's obvious that something is hidden there.

After being uncovered, a huge ice sculpture appeared before the public.

That's a mountain-shaped sculpture worth 5800 million.

58 million.

The hostess brought a hammer, and Robert Iger and Barry Mayer had Isabella smash it.

Although the little girl had never attended a celebration banquet before today, she still knew how to go through the formalities.

but……

"Okay, everyone, before we start smashing, I want to say something."

Isabella took the microphone, smiled at the crowd below the stage, and said, "I am truly grateful to everyone for coming today."

"Because of you, I might not even have seen this iceberg."

“I have been working with Warner for several years. Whether it was the record-breaking success of ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’, the huge success of ‘The Chamber of Secrets’, the great results of ‘The Voice’, or the sale of my mini-discs for ten million… I have never had a celebration party for these victories.”

"Or rather, I heard the news of 'The Philosopher's Stone's' huge success while I was on set."

"Because we were filming 'The Secret Chamber' at the time."

"So when I found out there was a celebration party tonight, wow~ I was totally surprised~"

"I was even thinking, 'Does Hollywood even have things like this?'"

"If that's the case, does that mean I've missed out on several meals?"

Isabella paused after saying this.

His brow furrowed slightly, and his face showed confusion.

His bewildered look elicited a burst of laughter from the audience!
Barry Mayer rolled his eyes, seemingly with a lump in his throat, wanting to complain, but more like...

Suppressing her confusion, Isabella turned to look at Barry Mayer and said sincerely, "Barry, Warner Bros. is really lucky to have you. You are so good at managing money and controlling company costs."

Barry Mayer's face instantly fell.

He nodded somewhat awkwardly.

“hahahahaha——”

This situation caused a sudden burst of laughter from the audience.

That's proof of their support!
It's also a symbol of status!
After telling a not-so-funny joke, Isabella swung her hammer and smashed it hard against the ice sculpture.
Then there was a "thud."

The transparent iceberg broke into several pieces.

The shattering ice shards caused cheerful music to fill the celebration banquet hall.

(End of this chapter)