America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 201. 200. The Billion Dollar Baby: Time to Divide the Pieces

Taylor Swift is undoubtedly the best female singer since the millennium, or to be more precise, she would be perfectly qualified as the best singer.

Because her shelf life was too long; before Eric transmigrated, she was at the peak of her career, a star who competed with her in the same era.

For example, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and others have all seen their popularity gradually fade, or occasionally they would shock the world with their outrageous behavior, but then they would disappear again.

Taylor Swift is the only one who is always fresh and new, constantly innovating and surpassing herself.

In the first few years after her debut, her singing skills and style were not yet perfect. Although she was popular at that time, she was still some distance away from reaching the top.

Especially when trying to break into the most authoritative Billboard charts, she often encounters a variety of amazing songs that suddenly appear, and she gets overshadowed, which is a bit unlucky, so fans gave her the nickname "Tadpole".

Of course, this nickname also means that she is a beautiful woman, with "beauty" replaced by "mold".

Furthermore, she was the one who ushered in the era of digital paid music, which requires people to be willing to pay for your songs, demonstrating her appeal.

It ranks among the top in terms of followers and total views of music videos and songs on major social media and video websites.

The key is that she has always focused on making music, unlike some artists and singers who use their fame to create brands and sell cosmetics and other products. She has already crushed your business empires with the income from her concerts and albums.

Although she has had a dozen ex-boyfriends, it doesn't affect her number of male fans at all, because her songs are suitable for all ages, with fans ranging from those in their sixties and seventies to children.

A single global concert can generate over ten billion US dollars in direct consumption, and tens of billions of US dollars in indirect consumption. As a result, leaders or high-ranking officials from countries such as Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Indonesia have invited her to hold concerts.

If Michael Jackson was undoubtedly the world's number one superstar in the 80s and 90s, then Taylor Swift was the undisputed super queen after 2010. Her emergence plunged the global music scene into a situation of one superpower and many strong contenders.

In the film industry, the last superstar of the world is Leonardo DiCaprio, while in the music industry it is Taylor Swift.

As for whether another world-class superstar will emerge, it's probably very difficult.

At most, they can only have influence within their own country and surrounding areas; it's almost impossible for them to radiate influence worldwide.

"How's this little girl's singing?" Eric asked, pointing to a photo of a young Taylor Swift.

Mike glanced at her and said, "Not bad. She takes the rural route. She's not the top student in this group, but she's above average."

"The main reason is that she is still young. At 14, her body and voice are not fully developed. Some people are amazed by her young age, while others are limited by it."

"The other contestants didn't see how focused you were. Do you think this young girl has potential?"

Eric nodded, thinking to himself that she was incredibly promising, a veritable walking money-printing machine.

"Great, I love her name, Taylor, Taylor, tiger, a tough girl, hahaha."

Mike laughed at the homonym, then waved his hand.

"No, no, no, Swift doesn't look tough at all. She's a cute little girl. When I first saw her photos, she seemed like a country girl from a remote village."

"After listening to her song demos, a series of images came to mind."

"I usually sleep on the grass, or hug a wooden guitar, occasionally with a blade of grass in my mouth, and then gently hum the songs I wrote."

Eric looked at Taylor Swift's photo again and indeed felt that she looked a bit rustic and unsophisticated, and her features were not as defined as they are in later generations.

She's probably had surgery, at least to open her eyes, and had her nose and mouth done. But that's nothing, they're all minor cosmetic procedures. Which celebrity doesn't get them?

Jackie Chan even had his eyes surgically altered when he was young; as long as it's successful, he'll still be popular.

"In short, we must sign Taylor Swift. I have a feeling she will become a huge star and a world-class pop star."

"Eric, you think highly of her?"

"Yeah, my intuition is usually pretty accurate. No matter where she gets on The Voice, we have to sign her."

"I'll listen to you, but there's a small problem right now. Taylor Swift is currently signed with RCA Records, and to sign her again, we need her consent, as well as her parents' consent, and we'll have to pay a penalty for breach of contract."

"However, the price isn't high, after all, she's just a newcomer and a nobody. It might be tens of thousands, or maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars."

"Then let's find a way to convince this young lady. Meiyi can't have just one artist like you; we need more."

Eric continued flipping through the resumes, and soon another familiar name caught his eye—Katie Hudson.

Many people probably don't recognize this name because she later changed it to Katy Perry, also known as "Fruit Sister" to the public.

Although her achievements are not as great as Taylor Swift's, she is still a top-notch female singer who was once very popular.

"This girl is not bad either. Santa Barbara City, she's actually from Santa Barbara City."

Mike nodded: "Don't be surprised. She's quite famous locally, a popular local singer. I've even heard of her. If you go to a bar, you might run into Katie Hudson on stage."

Is she currently signed with an agency?

"no."

"It's signed, I have a feeling this girl will become famous."

Michael frowned, and hesitantly asked, "Eric, are you looking for a singer or a lover?"

"Huh? What?"

"Why are you only interested in women? These guys are pretty good too, like this Xilin, his rap has a great style, it sounds amazing."

"And this one, his voice is excellent."

Eric pursed his lips helplessly, thinking to himself, "What can I do? I don't know anyone else."

This is a very famous singer. If it were an ordinary singer who was only popular in the United States, he wouldn't recognize them even if they were right in front of him.

I kept scrolling down until the last one, and there came a third familiar face – a young man.

The photo clearly shows that she is of mixed race, with brown skin and a pair of bright, expressive eyes.

The name field reads Peter Keane Hernandez, a name many people probably haven't heard of, as he later changed his name.

Bruno Mars, nicknamed "The Mars Man," is a future superstar singer and a regular at the Grammys.

His incredibly catchy song "Uptown Funk," a blend of uptown funk and addictive music video dance, made him a global sensation.

One meme perfectly encapsulates his power: "Martian Immortal, with boundless magical power."

"Michael, I'm not looking for a lover. This young man is quite nice too, is he from Hawaii?"

Born in Hawaii, currently living in New York, I prefer hip-hop and rock, and I'm not signed to a record label.

"Great, then we'll take him too. I have a feeling this kid will become a big star."

"Well, you signed it just like that, which at least proves you're not choosing a concubine for yourself."

Unexpectedly, after Billy went out and wandered around for a few months, he actually found a few rising stars. Just like Judy, he has a lucky streak.

Friday afternoon, just before the end of the workday.

A meeting is being held at the MGM Grand building, attended by the Cooper family and all the company's top executives.

All eyes were on the father and son, their gazes revealing a hint of excitement.

They had thought this day would come, but they never imagined it would come so soon.

Many people initially joined the team because of Charlie Cooper, but unexpectedly, just over six months after joining, Charlie Cooper showed signs of retiring and began to hand over all the major powers of the company to his son.

Many people, even if they don't say it, are worried and afraid that MGM, which is recovering, will suddenly collapse.

However, in recent months, films such as "Happy Death Day" and "Don't Breathe" have achieved success one after another, winning a lot of box office revenue with low budgets.

Then came the release of "Transformers," which has grossed over 7 million worldwide.

In any industry, strength speaks for itself, and everything proves that Eric Cooper is an incredibly wise leader; his decisions have almost never failed.

Now, everyone wholeheartedly follows his leadership, hoping that he can lead them to a brighter future.

Today is the day to witness the results of more than a year of hard work, or as we call it, the "Pork Distribution Conference".

Eric looked at Charlie Cooper: "Say a few words, Dad."

Although he no longer gets involved in business matters, my father still holds the title of president.

He nodded slightly, then let out a long sigh, as if to expel years of pent-up emotions.

Having sat in this position for so many years, I have finally achieved my wish and witnessed the rise of MGM.

Even though it wasn't me who did it, what difference is there between my son and me?

If I hadn't trusted him and given him $1000 million, things wouldn't be like this now.

In other words, he is essentially an angel investor.

"We all know why we're gathered here today."

"MGM is going to go public again, and this is thanks to everyone's hard work."

"This is the result of our joint efforts, and it is inseparable from the sweat of everyone, so everything you have is what you deserve."

"Here, I want to express my gratitude to everyone. Thank you!"

clap clap clap...

The meeting room erupted in enthusiastic applause.

The father looked at Eric, nodded, and said, "I won't say anything more. This time, MGM will use 30% of its shares for IPO financing."

"We'll also allocate another 15% of the shares for internal financing. The opportunity is right here; how much you can take depends on your abilities."

HO

A gasp rippled through the meeting room, and many people began to breathe rapidly.

The 15% share was somewhat beyond their expectations. In private discussions, they thought Eric would at most allocate 10%, releasing a larger share to the market.

Undoubtedly, this approach would bring greater benefits to both the company and him personally.

However, he chose to share more profits with the partners who had helped him build the empire. Many people instantly felt a sense of loyalty and were willing to die for their friends. Such a boss is hard to find even with a lantern.

What many people don't know is that Eric's magnanimity stems from his greater trump card: Facebook and YouTube.

Even by 2023, Disney and Netflix will be strong enough. Looking at global film and television companies, they are the two giants vying for supremacy, and other companies are no match for them.

Even so, the market capitalization of the two companies fluctuates around $2000 billion, sometimes reaching $2500 billion.

In contrast, how much is Facebook? It once exceeded one trillion dollars, and all the film and television companies in the world combined are not worth as much as Facebook alone.

Even though various decision-making errors later led to a sharp drop in stock price, such as the baffling investment in Metaverse, it still managed to maintain a value of around $6000 billion, which still surpasses the total market capitalization of all film and television companies in the world.

YouTube, on the other hand, has always belonged to Google and has never gone public.

Countless people and institutions are waiting for it to go public independently, and the valuation given is nearly $4000 billion, which is far higher than Disney and Netflix.

Therefore, the upper limit of film and television companies is limited, and they are indeed far behind social media companies. The status and influence of the two are not on the same level at all.

So Eric didn't hesitate to use 45% of his shares for financing, and he needed the money; 45% was just the first step.

The money raised will be used to pay off debts and support the operation and development of Facebook and YouTube.

They will continue to raise funds until they maintain a remaining shareholding of 10% to 15%.

In addition, another 20% of the shares were sold to AK Films, essentially transferring the money from one hand to the other.

When AK Films grows bigger in a few years, it will definitely go public. At that time, another company will be used to hold a portion of AK Films' shares, creating a continuous nested structure.

Moreover, although he sold 15% of his shares to these executives, they may not have the capacity to acquire the entire stake.

While these shares are not as valuable as they were after the company went public, they are still far more valuable than when Eric first took over MGM.

Unlike traditional industries, film and television companies rely on storytelling to boost their stock prices. The better the story, the higher the market's expectations.

Judging from the current situation, MGM's story is clearly very well told, so this 15% stake is actually valued at $8 million.

Don't complain that Eric's price is too high. The government's procedures are in the final stages, and the price is almost double that amount. He's really being kind by giving his subordinates a chance to make money.

Even though these people have been executives for many years and earn hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars a year, Eric estimates that even if they sold everything they owned and took out loans, they still couldn't raise 8 million dollars together.

According to regulations, if company executives want to sell shares to cash out after the company goes public, the shares will be released from lock-up after one year, while the founders' shares will be released after three years.

Within a year, you can only hold onto the shares. If you actually take out a loan to buy them, and the price drops, you might end up in a very difficult situation.

The gamble is on whether you believe Eric can keep creating miracles.

What they can't buy will naturally be put on the market for financing, so the actual shares put on the market will most likely exceed 30%.

The meeting was short, and after it ended, everyone scattered like birds and beasts, needless to say, all trying to raise money.

(End of this chapter)