American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 76 Epic Operation: New Contract

"I think the arrangement by Disney and Warner is pretty good."

As we entered the living room and sat down, Mom said, "We've discussed this before. From a practical standpoint, we don't have the capability to independently develop 'The Voice,' so it's good news for us that Disney and Warner are willing to take it on."

"Yes."

Catherine nodded in agreement, adding, "Furthermore, once Disney and Warner Bros. are willing to take on all the production, the development of 'The Voice' should proceed very smoothly. And if 'The Voice America' is successful, we can sell the rights to 'The Voice' worldwide, which will generate a very considerable income, a year..."

"Two or three hundred million should be easy, right?"

"I think it's about the same," Mom agreed lightly.

As she spoke, she glanced at her youngest daughter, who was resting her chin on her hand, and said, "Of course, I'm not suggesting that you immediately reach a cooperation agreement with them. I personally think that 30 million is not their maximum, because 30 million is a small project for both Disney and Warner. So, when Barry Mayer and Robert Iger both want to win, there should still be room for negotiation on this price."

Since Isabella had anticipated Iger's actions and thought he would most likely want to develop "The Voice," it was inevitable that she would discuss the project with her mother and sister first. Sure enough, the anger over the prior agreement turned into a natural reaction upon hearing about the collaboration.

Everyone can analyze the collaboration rationally, but as for my mom and sister's thoughts...

"Then let's call Valentine O'Connor over for negotiations?"

Isabella pursed her lips.

"Uh... I think it's fine..." Vivian thought for a moment and prepared to take out her phone.

The bald lawyer may not know much about entertainment, but as long as he understands the law, that's enough for him, given his professional ethics.

Furthermore, once Isabella can receive the entire revenue from a project, they no longer need the bald man to fight tooth and nail over the contract.

However, Catherine raised her hand, "Wait a minute, Mom."

"Ok?"

"I have a question."

"What's the problem?" Isabella looked at her older sister.

Catherine said, "Personally, I think Disney's project proposal is a bit exaggerated. If I remember correctly, Disney stated in their 'The Voice' project proposal that they wanted to hold auditions simultaneously in all fifty states of the United States?"

"Isn't this a bit crazy?"

"Although I have never been to the United States, I know that the economy and population of the fifty states in the United States are not evenly distributed."

“It is understandable to conduct selections in economically developed and densely populated areas.”

"Can it be done everywhere?"

"I think 'American Idol' only has a few regions, right?"

Isabella has never watched the show "American Idol".

Firstly, she was already past the age of watching talent shows.

Secondly, she simply didn't have the time.

Since taking on the role of Harry Potter, Isabella only took a proper six-month break after filming wrapped on Sorcerer's Stone. With each film's release, her workload increased year by year. She was so busy with work that she had no time to watch variety shows.
However, this does not mean that she knew nothing about American Idol.

She had previously come across related reports online, so she knew that there were only seven or eight regions in the first season of "American Idol"? New York, Los Angeles, Miami... basically all of them were major cities in the United States.

When the number of applicants for the first season of "American Idol" was less than 10,000, Disney wanted to hold a nationwide audition.
This……

Robert Iger's investment is a bit too big.

Furthermore, large-scale projects mean high costs and long processing times.

But Disney doesn't seem to have much time left right now, does it?

“Keisha, you’re right, Disney’s idea is indeed quite strange.”

Vivian realized what was happening.

Looking again at her youngest daughter—

"Oh, then let's not make the call yet."

Isabella said to her mother, "Let's call it a day for now. Let's wash up and go to bed. We have filming tomorrow morning. We can call Valentine over after we've thoroughly studied the plan Disney gave us and made sure it's okay."

As she spoke, Isabella had already stood up.

Vivian and Catherine exchanged bewildered glances at their behavior of preparing to take a shower and rest.

What do you mean by "damn it"?

"I don't know—"

"Could she be planning to research Disney's contracts herself?"

"I don't know—"

Vivian and Catherine felt that there was something wrong with Isabella.

They've never done variety shows before, so this is...

Are we reinventing the wheel?
Yes.

In their view, if there are aspects of a matter that they don't understand, they should ask for outside help, such as calling J.K. Rowling to ask if she knows anyone in the television industry. Letting experts do what they are good at is the most important thing.

And this...

"Oh, Isa, your face changes pretty quickly!"

"You were being naughty in front of me yesterday, and today... you're here to greet me obediently?"

The next day, early in the morning.

In the hotel restaurant booked by the film crew.

As soon as Isabella arrived, she looked for Columbus. After finding him sitting at a table by the window, drinking coffee while basking in the morning sun, the girl promptly grabbed a plate, picked up some snacks, and hopped over to him.

Before she could even greet him, Columbus spoke up with an air of nonchalance.

The strange, sarcastic voice had no effect on the little beaver.

She smiled and said, "Director~ you're right~ I'm here to apologize to you~~"

"Humph--"

Columbus rested his chin on his hand, his gaze lowered, blew on his coffee, took a small sip, and said, "Oh—"

An affected voice came out of his mouth.

"You're apologizing to me the moment Barry Mayer and Robert Iger arrive?"

"Tsk tsk tsk—your apology is really valuable—"

"..."

Isabella's little face puffed up. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"..."

Columbus was somewhat amused and exasperated. "Is this how you beg for help?"

"Of course!"

The little girl stopped smiling and raised her head slightly.

"It's already very kind of Her Highness to apologize to you, what more do you want?"

His nonchalant attitude amused Columbus, who coughed lightly and shook his head, saying, "Go ahead, what's up?"

"Oh—I'd like to know how strong Disney is—"

Seeing that Columbus had stopped joking, Isabella finally asked what was on her mind.

That's right~
When faced with a problem she didn't understand, Isabella knew she should seek help from someone knowledgeable.

Right now, isn't the person who understands Hollywood best, or rather, knows the most industry secrets, sitting right in front of her?
After Isabella finished explaining her doubts, the smile on Columbus's face disappeared.

Looking around, he said, "This isn't the place to talk. Shall we go for a walk?"

"Alright."

Isabella promptly tossed the breakfast she had prepared to her mother.

He asked someone to bring him a sandwich to the set, then grabbed an iced Americano and left the restaurant with Columbus.

Although the hotel where the film crew stayed was in town, it wasn't far from Hagrid's Hut, the filming location today.

Therefore, after leaving the house, the two of them headed straight in that direction.

At first, neither of them spoke.

Columbus sipped his coffee, seemingly organizing his thoughts? But it also looked more like he was hiding from someone.

About five minutes have passed?

Once they left the town and there was no one else around, only Columbus's own security detail lagged far away, he said, wearing glasses, "Isa, I personally think Bob's idea is quite normal."

"Why?"

The little girl turned her head away.

Her sleepy face under the golden sunlight was quite adorable.

"Because Disney's ground promotion capabilities are the strongest in the United States, bar none."

Columbus said, "As early as the 1950s, Disney had already created its own membership organization, Disney Club. In an era when communication was not well-developed, Disney was already able to maintain fans in 50 states at the same time. Moreover, before 1960, Disney Club had more than 8 million registered members."

"So, Bob wants to expand the auditions for a show nationwide?"

"I personally think it's not an exaggeration."

"Because Disney can really do this kind of thing, and in the whole of America, only Disney can do it."

"They have offices in all fifty states across the United States."

“Then, I would say that once Bob had the idea of a nationwide audition, his ambition became obvious.”

"He probably wanted to do a live broadcast of 'The Voice of China' from the very beginning."

"For example, when the city competitions are held, he will have the local TV stations broadcast their competitions live. When the state competitions are held, he will have the TV stations in each state broadcast 'The Voice' live. After doing this, when the national competition starts, the national live broadcast ratings of 'The Voice' will be very good, because all the local live broadcasts can be regarded as the program's promotion."

"When a show can be promoted in fifty states at the same time, the public’s attention to it is unprecedented. At the same time, there are contestants in each state. And these contestants are making their way to the national competition with the support and cheers of their local residents. This fact will give all viewers a sense of participation, belonging, and pride, and will make them spontaneously support their own children. Then... the 'Voice' brand is established."

"To put it simply, that's Bob right now..."

"I just want to win."

Isabella's eyes flickered.

She was aware of the Disney Club organization.

Therefore, when Columbus mentioned it, Isabella realized that Disney might actually be able to hold a nationwide audition.

But at the same time, a new question arose in her mind—

"Chris, is Bob able to mobilize such a massive force right now?"

"What I mean is, Bob isn't the chairman of Disney yet, after all."

“Oh—” Columbus glanced at her and said with a smile, “Isa, what do you think of the ‘Million’ project?”

"Huh? What do you mean?" The little girl didn't understand why the director brought up "Million Dollar Man".

Columbus finished his coffee, squeezed the paper cup tightly, then put his hands behind his back and said lazily, "No matter how good 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' is, it can't possibly be good enough to air three times a week and still have 30 million viewers."

"The reason this show's ratings are so phenomenal is because Bob worked hard to bring the game into every person's home. It was Bob who made 'Millions' magical, not 'Millions' that gave Bob everything..."

All the wildly popular entertainment projects are the result of marketing.

The success of Harry Potter relied on publicity, and so did the success of Who Can Be a Millionaire.

When promoting "Millions," Iger used Disney's channels. He used Disney's ground promotion team, turning what should have been a national registration hotline in a single region into state-by-state registration hotlines, and then, a miracle happened.

The idea is very simple—

No matter how large the customer service team is, a single television program cannot serve the entire nation simultaneously.

Therefore, when North American viewers find that they can't get through to the national registration hotline no matter how many times they call, the difficulty of participation will lead to disappointment. Then, some will find it uninteresting, and others may give up on the program altogether due to a lack of engagement.

But what if everyone could discover that they could make the registration call with just a little effort?

As long as everyone can hear a 'Hello' from Disney, the sense of participation increases.

People will feel the authenticity of the show!
People will feel that the prize money for the show is right in front of them!
This is the key to why "Millions" can air three times a week and why ABC can beat NBC and CBS!
Robert Iger changed the way games are registered!
This gave North American people the illusion that anyone could become a millionaire!
Of course, receiving viewers by state as an independent registration point can certainly attract enough attention, but it will also increase the production difficulty for the program team, because with more participants, the number of people who pass the screening will also increase. In that case, let alone broadcasting three times a week, even if it were broadcasting thirty times a week, they still wouldn't be able to film everyone.

Therefore, to solve this problem, Iger set a strict attrition rate for his subordinates.

99.99%.

Unless the person who calls to register is exceptionally talented, they will be eliminated immediately.

The reason for elimination could be failing to answer the questions asked by the telephone conferencing team correctly, or having incorrect pronunciation.

That's right, even poor pronunciation can be a reason for them to eliminate someone.

Furthermore, the explanation that Egger wrote for his subordinates was also very clever.

He instructed his subordinates to say the following when refusing people with heavy accents:

Disney's mission is to help every American child grow up healthy and become a pillar of society. A heavy accent can cause misunderstandings for children's learning, especially for educational programs. They don't want to mislead children watching their programs. Therefore, they hope that aspiring contestants will practice their pronunciation more in the near future. They also said that they will follow up within three to six months. If the result is "Okay" by then, those who make the call can skip the preliminary round and enter the second round of selection.

In other words, the grades are retained.

Disney's reputation in North America these days is well-known!

When such words, which are for the good of children, are uttered, any normal person can accept them!

Those who can participate in the preliminary rounds of knowledge competition programs are basically normal people!
So……

Wouldn't 30 million viewers be enough with three broadcasts a week?

Robert Iger has never been a pig that rides the wave.

Or rather, it's impossible for a pig to rise from a broadcaster to the head of a corporation, let alone be noticed by Warren Buffett.

Upon hearing this account, Isabella was immediately reassured.

Since Robert Iger was playing a long game, she could focus on negotiating the price.

There's space now!

"Thanks, Chris."

The little girl smiled and sincerely thanked Columbus.

"Hmm~"

Columbus shrugged, indicating that he didn't need it.

During their 'casual chat,' the two of them arrived at the film set.

After sitting in the rest area for a while, Vivian and Catherine, who had finished breakfast, also arrived.

I devoured the sandwiches my mom and sister brought, just like a guinea pig.

When the time came to nine o'clock, the filming crew began.

Since the location of Hagrid's Hut is not a public facility or public road, the filming schedule was normal today: starting at nine and finishing at two. After completing the task, Isabella returned to the hotel with her older sister and mother.

They closed the door and discussed the matter.

A consensus was reached, and a meeting was arranged with Dihua.

State the results of the discussion directly—

"We can work together."

Isabella smiled as she looked at the four of them.

“Oh—this is really great—” Barry Mayer and Robert Iger were delighted.

However, before they could even stand up and shake hands with Isabella...

The young girl added, "But before we begin formal negotiations, there are two things we need to resolve first."

"What is it, Isa? Just tell me."

Since neither Barry Mayer nor Robert Iger felt they owed Isabella anything, they answered very quickly.

"Okay."

Isabella nodded and said, "The first thing is, can we settle our accounts now?"

She looked at Barry Mayer.

"The Voice?"

Barry Mayer raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah~"

Isabella smiled and nodded.

“Of course.” This was a simple matter for Barry Mayer.

Without hesitation, he said directly, "After I go back, I'll have someone prepare the reports, and then I'll come to England to settle the accounts with you."

In the contract between Isabella and Warner Bros., the revenue sharing from The Voice movie was settled every six months.

也就是说，当《好声音》的上映时间为2002年的12月25日时，第一笔分成的结算时间最快最快也要在2003年的6月25日之后，其实也就是7月1日。

But there are always exceptions, aren't there?
Warner Bros. has already made a considerable amount of money from The Voice's box office, as the six major Hollywood studios have a 136% payment period with theaters.

One month after a film's release, Hollywood giants settle the first bill with theaters. The second bill is settled three months later. If a film's run exceeds three months, the third bill is settled six months after its release.

Of course, the above settlement methods are only used in North America, Europe, Australia and other regions.

Settlements in other places will take longer.

But that's not important, right?
When The Voice grossed $200 million in North America, Warner Bros.' North American revenue share was already enough to cover Isabella's global box office revenue share. The reason why investors were unwilling to share profits in advance was simply to ensure that they had enough liquidity.

If you really ask it for it, it will definitely give it to you.

Since there's no problem with asking for payment in advance, then it's only natural to keep the money in our pockets.

5% of 3.73 million is 1865 million.

Isabella wouldn't feel at ease until she got the money.

As for revenue from soundtracks, videotapes, mini-discs, etc.?
That's still a long way off.

Warner Bros. hasn't even fully recouped its investment in the soundtracks and mini-discs yet, so asking for payment at this point would be putting Warner Bros. in a difficult position.

Videotapes were never even released to the public.

The VHS version of "The Voice" will be released at the end of this month, so we can make more money by avoiding the release date of the 100-page DVD.

"Thanks, Barry."

Isabella nodded to Barry Mayer, then looked at Robert Iger.

“Bob, the second thing is about you.”

Does our collaboration even qualify as a collaboration?

"Huh?" Robert Iger was taken aback by the tongue-twister-like words.

Barry Mayer smiled broadly. "Oh, Bob, people are asking if this collaboration counts as a collaboration? Didn't you have a verbal agreement to collaborate on a project? But you didn't specify what project it was, did you?"

Once Barry Mayer explained it this way, Robert Iger immediately understood.

He shook his head, both amused and exasperated, and said, "Isha, your question is a bit difficult for me to answer, because I believe that we will continue to cooperate in the future, won't we? This is just the beginning."

hmm~
Isabella's question was simple: did Robert Iger's current collaboration fulfill the agreement?
If that's the case, then isn't she currently a free agent?

Hehe ~
Of course, Isabella knew that what Egger said was true.

As long as the "The Voice of China" IP can be successfully established, they will continue to collaborate in the future. Therefore, whether or not the cooperation agreement is fulfilled is no longer meaningful to them at the moment.

So……

"Isa, why do I feel like you're just trying to liven things up?"

Barry Mayer asked with a smile.

"You think I'm right."

The little girl readily agreed, "Because what we're about to discuss is rather serious..."

With the two miscellaneous matters settled, the formal negotiations began.

First, Isabella presented her ideas for creating the program—

"Bob, I have two preliminary ideas about producing 'The Voice'..."

The "turn-around" and "blind audition" features in variety shows were not invented by "The Voice of China".

But The Voice of China was truly the first to combine them.

Therefore, as soon as the novel idea came to mind, Eger immediately thought Isabella's suggestion was fantastic.

At the same time, he was also somewhat surprised.

"Isha, you didn't actually have this idea of doing a variety show all along, did you?"

Aiger smiled and sized up Isabella.

“There is a variety show element in The Voice of the World.”

Isabella's ambiguous response.

"To make the matches in the movie look more realistic, we referenced a lot of things when writing the script."

"You can ask my sister if you don't believe me."

Isabella pointed at Catherine.

Catherine nodded repeatedly.

She rewrote the script for "The Voice of the World"!
Whenever Isabella has a new idea, she writes it down until she cuts off her hand!

"Okay, I've taken note of your suggestion."

Iger glanced at his secretary beside him, and seeing her writing furiously without saying a word, he smiled and said, "After the cooperation is finalized, I will assemble a dedicated production team. They will discuss and evaluate your ideas."

"As long as the idea isn't too difficult to implement, I can accept it."

Although Aeger did not give a clear answer, Isabella believed that Aeger would definitely take her suggestion.

Because blind selection is interesting.

Secondly, Isabella wanted to gain more benefits—

“Barry, I think you should know that I run a talent agency, so…can I sign some people?”

Although Isabella had no intention of signing singers before starting her own agency.

But if an opportunity comes along and you don't seize it, wouldn't that be crazy?

Music makes way more money than movies or variety shows!
Therefore, when the production company was able to obtain the contestants' agency contracts, she wanted to get a share of the profits.

What if there's a genius among the contestants?
Not to mention, she doesn't have hyperthymesia. Since she can't keep copying articles forever, signing talent is inevitable.

This……

"Isa, this is not easy to give away."

Barry Mayer pursed his lips and said, "All of Warner's revenue from The Voice is in here."

"Because Disney doesn't have to pay any royalties for the music."

"So, if you cut a piece off my cake..."

“Oh, Barry, you’re overthinking it. I don’t want much, and we need to renegotiate Bob’s offer.”

Before Barry Mayer could finish speaking, Isabella interrupted with a laugh, "Besides, you know, our company doesn't have the distribution capabilities. All I want are artist management contracts. As for how the album will be released?"

"Then let Warner do it."

Artists in the pop music industry typically have two types of contracts.

One type is an agency contract, and the other is a record deal.

The former mainly manages the artist's external affairs, such as offline events, concerts, and endorsements and commercial performances.

The latter can only manage record releases and single releases.

Furthermore, in practice, these two contracts often do not overlap.

So when Isabella's company lacked distribution capabilities, her intentions were clear: she wanted to take a cut from some artists' commercial deals, while those artists would still use Warner's channels to release songs and albums.

Since that's the case...

"Isa, will you hold the copyrights to those singers' songs?"

When discussing professional topics, Barry Mayer's expression turned serious.

What he asked about was a situation where the management contract and the record contract overlapped.

In the pop music industry, if an artist signs a management contract before signing a record deal, the management company can negotiate the release and production of the record with the record company on his behalf. This is also a way for many small labels to survive.

I've spotted a promising newcomer, signed him, and trained him. Once he's matured, I'll then discuss collaborations with larger corporations.

If this guy becomes famous, then I'll profit. Since I was the first person to discover him, and I was the one who signed his record contracts, the copyrights to his songs can fall into my hands through contractual agreements.

In such a situation, if a large company wants to poach talent, the only option is to acquire my company.

Because major record labels do not have management contracts with rising stars, nor do they own the copyrights to the songs; they only have the rights to distribute the songs.

Of course, specific purchases are also possible.

In a capitalist society, anything can be sold, as long as everyone is willing to negotiate...

"It depends."

Isabella was telling the truth.

"Okay, okay."

Barry Mayer wasn't a newcomer to the industry, so he understood what Isabella meant.

After thinking for a moment, he smiled and held up three fingers, saying, "Before the national competition starts, after the 150-person roster is announced, you pick three, and Warner will take the rest."

"You can't wait until the results are out before you choose, because if you do, you'll essentially be taking the top three spots directly."

"This is unfair to Warner."

"Then, Bob vouches for you, and your people can't be pre-selected for the top three."

"If the audience actually votes them into the top three, okay, I accept it."

"But if you're going to use the show to specifically promote them, then... I'll have to back out."

"Then, we must include a clause in the contract."

"That's the person you signed. Before they leave your company, all their records and singles must be released by Warner Music."

"If you decide you no longer wish to run the company in the future, Warner has the right of first refusal to acquire it."

"This should be fine, right?"

Barry Mayer's eyes widened.

The eyes, which had become cloudy with age, now gleamed with a sharp light.

"Of course~~~"

Isabella smiled and nodded.

Barry Mayer's suggestion makes perfect sense; after all, he's here to make money.

If Isabella takes all the profits, they won't be able to keep working.

Furthermore, helping Barry Mayer secure his current position is also Isabella's current goal.

The more secure Barry Mayer's position, the more Isabella will be able to gain.

Putting aside everything else, let's just talk about the iron fist of capital.

As long as Barry Mayer stays in Warner, Isabella will have someone to protect her.

So, you caused them to be unable to deliver on their promises? You caused them to be replaced by the competition? Aren't you the one who suffers the loss?

Right?

Finally, Isabella wanted a performance-based contract.

“Bob, I’ve talked to Chris. He said you’re very strong and that you can definitely make The Voice a success.”

"So how about we sign a performance-based clause?"

"For example, you offered me 2000 million plus 10 million for the first season? I can accept that, but at the same time, I hope to add a clause to the contract that I will take 1000% of the total revenue. After the season ends, I will take whichever is higher."

"Of course, my appearance fee is excluded."

“I want to receive the appearance fee separately, and then compare the price between 2000 million and 10% commission.”

"..."

Aiger licked his lips with the tip of his tongue, looking somewhat helpless.

“Isa, to be honest, your price is a bit high.”

"But The Voice is just a small business for the entire Disney Group, isn't it?"

It is only natural for people to protect their own interests.

Therefore, Isabella didn't think there was anything wrong with her asking price.

Furthermore, in a capitalist society, there is no such thing as giving up profits. As long as you have real value and can consistently help others make money, even if you take a little more, in other people's eyes, this is still a win-win situation.

So……

"Bob, your goal is to become the king of Disney."

Isabella winked at Aiger.

As soon as these words were spoken, laughter erupted in the large conference room.

And Iger himself...

He didn't want to say anything more.

"Call a lawyer."

Aiger sighed softly and said, "Call the lawyer over, we can start drafting the contract."

"But I also have to add one requirement, which is that you have to write a promotional song for The Voice of China."

"I can add a floating clause to the contract if you agree."

"no problem."

Isabella clapped her hands.