America's Top Player

Chapter 154 Netflix Dad

Chapter 154 Netflix Dad
In order to maintain his dignity as an East Coast boss, Didi tried his best to force a smile on his stiff face.

His face looked as ugly as if he had eaten a fly.

"What else can I say, Bro?" He turned to look at his good brother JAY-Z, and his intention was obvious - how long this kid can continue to be so arrogant depends on your attitude.

"I also want to thank all the media friends present here." Li Ang placed his hand on his brow and looked into the distance, pointing with his other finger. "You, you, you, and you."

"The New York Sun, Celebrity Insider, and XXL."

"Look at all the fake news out there. I have to thank you."

If Li Ang's skin is thick enough to block bullets, then these media people have no shame at all.

You can't work in the media industry if you have the dignity to do so.

Despite being ridiculed like this, his expression didn't change at all.

I just grabbed my camera and took pictures like crazy.

Li Ang's subsequent speech became much more normal.

I thanked everyone from the company to my friends, and even brought Beyoncé and Taylor along.

JAY-Z's expression became increasingly ugly.

As far as he could remember, this kid had never thanked his big brother on the podium.

Never in private either.

However, his wife was having a passionate affair with the other man, and gossip was flying everywhere.

He couldn't help but glance around and found that Beyoncé's reaction was even more excited than his own.

Beyoncé quickly noticed the strange look and retorted, "Don't look at me with such strange eyes. Aren't you happy for Li Ang's achievements?"

After Li Ang walked down from the podium, the discussion continued.

It didn't subside until five minutes later.

"Bro, you're amazing!" Mars kept praising. "Look at Diddy's expression, it's like he's been cheated on in public!"

"Cuckold? Are you serious?" Li Ang rolled his eyes at the other person.

Everyone knows that Diddy’s current preferences are very abnormal.

Around the millennium, he was still able to treat everyone equally.

In order to refute the rumors in the media, he repeatedly disclosed the details of his sex life with Jennifer Lopez in interviews.

Now, Diddy is completely immersed in "Brotherly Love."

Young and handsome guys like Bieber are his favorites.

Taylor, Cardi, Robbie, Kendrick.
A group of Li Ang's acquaintances and friends gathered around and congratulated him.

"Congratulations, Bro~!" Kendrick pushed Mars aside.

He didn't win any awards tonight, not even a nomination.

However, his arch-rival Drake received multiple nominations.

Taking advantage of Li Ang's shots is the best way for him to gain traffic tonight.

The host then began announcing a series of country music awards.

There was little suspense at the country music awards; this was Taylor's territory.

The Grammy Awards tend to be academic, and sometimes they will creatively award the trophies to less popular singers.

But Billboard won't.

Taylor's traffic and data are far ahead of other country singers.

"Looks like you'll be very busy running around later," Leon joked. "Why don't they give you all the trophies at once?"

"Honestly, I'm tired of repeating those meaningless acceptance speeches over and over again." Taylor said with a proud expression.

She didn't receive many nominations at this year's Billboard Awards.

There is a huge gap compared to Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

Even the relevant betting agencies did not anticipate this before the shortlist was announced in April.

"We can try to collaborate more on your next album, and we will sweep everything at next year's awards ceremony," Li Ang induced.

He was obviously addicted to riding on Taylor's popularity.

The quality of the work is not the main reason why "Bang Bang" can top the Billboard charts.

In the eyes of many professional music critics, Adele's works are of higher quality.

The main reason for achieving such an achievement is that there are enough gimmicks.

Especially Taylor's super strong fan base.

"Next album? I haven't got any inspiration yet." Taylor shook his head.

No one would have thought that this girl would run out of inspiration.

The scumbag is the source of her inspiration, and now is her emotional vacuum period.

Now that the scumbag is gone, the inspiration is naturally gone too.

Li Ang wanted to say something, but the host had already read out the list of winners.

Except for the unexpected win of Best Country Song by Lady Antebellum.

Taylor won both the Best Country Singer and Best Country Album awards, and no one thought it was a surprise.

Everyone was already chatting animatedly in the second half of the ceremony. Apart from the perfunctory applause when the awards were announced, everyone was chatting with their acquaintances and old friends.

Li Ang noticed from afar that JAY-Z was chatting with Leonard of Warner Records with their arms around each other.

He was quite curious that these two people could chat with each other.

"Le Ang, I want to introduce you to a friend." David Fincher, who has always been introverted and low-key, came over.

He pointed to the tall, thin, white man next to him who looked a bit bookish. "This is Mr. Scooper, the head of Netflix."

Hearing Netflix's name, Leon quickly stood up and said, "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Scooper."

Netflix is an Internet company founded in 1997 and was once just an online DVD and Blu-ray rental provider.

Since its listing in 2002, it has been the leader in the streaming film and television sector.

In March of this year, the company announced the release of a series of original film and television program content.

This move caused an earthquake in the entire film and television industry, making traditional giants such as Sony and Warner tremble.

It is as wealthy as Disney Studios.

"I mentioned to you before that I'm planning a TV series," David said.

"I remember it very clearly. The show was called 'House of Cards', right?" Li Ang remembered that the other party had indeed mentioned a TV series during the chat.

It was a political thriller.

"The project has officially started, and Scooper has given me unlimited help." David looked at Scooper, his gratitude overflowing with words.

Li Ang was curious before, a high-budget TV series, especially a political drama
Only a fool would invest.

The combination of politics and thriller is too abstract.

But if it was Netflix that took action, it would not be surprising that the show was successfully launched.

The entry of such Internet companies into the film and television industry is a dimensionality reduction attack on those traditional giants.

The financial strength alone is completely different.

"I heard that Mr. Leon is very interested in the film industry? You collaborated with Lionsgate on a movie about hip-hop music?" asked Scooper.

"Yes, this movie will be released in theaters next month." Li Ang felt uncomfortable when the word "cooperation" was mentioned.

The stingy Lionsgate did not invest any resources in "Straight Outta Compton".

Li Ang personally took care of the filming and promotion.

"Great, can I have the honor of attending the premiere of this movie?"

"Of course, it's my honor." Li Ang was full of questions.

Why is an executive from a streaming giant being so attentive to me?

After a few pleasantries, the other party quickly gave an answer.

Scooper took a sip of champagne elegantly. "I heard that this film encountered financial difficulties when it was first launched?"

"That's true, but these minor problems have already been solved." Li Ang answered while cursing in his heart. This kind of thing should be unknown to many people.

"What a pity. A script written by a musical genius like you would be very interesting." Scooper shook his head.

"Thank you for the compliment." Li Ang was confused and could only deal with it.

"What I want to say is that a budget of over 1000 million is too little," Scooper said with a look of regret. "It's hard to even achieve the desired publicity effect with this amount of money."

The Versailles-style speech left Li Ang stunned.

This attitude of treating money as dirt was beyond his imagination.

Scooper continued, "If you have plans to make a movie again, feel free to contact me."

Scooper took out his business card and said, "There's no upper limit on the budget until you achieve the effect you are satisfied with."

Li Ang took the business card solemnly.

He has dealt with many so-called traditional giants, but only Netflix has shown him the style of a financial sponsor.

Ever since Netflix announced its entry into original film and television content, spending money seems to have become a hard indicator.

Whether the project can make money or not is put aside for now, the money must be spent.

Soon, Scott turned and left, walking towards action star Vin Diesel.

"Is what this guy said true?" Leon asked David in a low voice.

"Of course." David nodded. "When I proposed a budget of $4000 million, Netflix's top management agreed without much hesitation and promised to increase the budget at any time."

Hearing this, Li Ang fell completely silent.

According to David's plan to shoot a 13-episode TV series, the production cost of each episode would be more than 350 million US dollars.

The point is that this is a politically themed TV series without grand scenes or expensive digital effects.

"These internet bastards are so damn rich." Li Ang muttered to himself.

The awards ceremony continued, and Li Ang won the Best Rock Album award again with "Demons".

I had said everything I wanted to say the first time I went on stage, and the desired effect was achieved.

After standing on the podium for the second time, he simply said, "Thank you, I deserve it."

He then turned around and left gracefully, leaving the award presenter disheveled in the wind.

In the end, Justin Bieber became the biggest winner of the award ceremony with 7 awards, followed by Eminem who won 6 awards.

Rihanna, who was nominated for 18 awards, only took home three trophies.

The guests left the venue one after another. Under Mars's continuous temptation, Leon was worried about where to go tonight.

Should he go back to the hotel with Ariana and make love, or should he go to the poker table and squeeze out the value of Mars?
Then dive into the world-famous luxury nightclubs here and fall in love with Las Vegas.

After careful consideration, and based on the principle that since he was already here, Leon decided to go to the casino next door with Mars.

Just as he was about to leave, ROC Vice President Lenny walked towards him.

He said solemnly: "Li Ang, the boss wants to talk to you about something."

"Let's do it another day. I have some things to do." Li Ang refused without thinking.

He has been deliberately playing Tai Chi with JAY-Z, and it is even more impossible for him to agree in Las Vegas.

Dozens of unidentified skeletons are discovered every year in the Nevada desert.

"No, JAY-Z wants to see you now." Lenny said in a deep voice.

"Are you threatening me?" Li Ang narrowed his eyes and stared at the other person.

Jorge and his team of armed gunmen were guarding the entrance of the venue, which was enough to ensure his safety.

"No, no." Lenny waved his hands repeatedly. "He just wants to have a quick chat with you. It's not as complicated as you think."

"Many things always have to have a result. Besides, Ms. Beyoncé is here, so you can rest assured."

Li Ang thought about it for a full minute and reluctantly agreed.

The contract between the two parties will expire in two months, and this matter cannot be avoided by simply avoiding it.

He sent a message to let Jorge and his group enter the venue.

Then he followed Lenny into the private meeting room of the MGM Hotel.

In the box, JAY-Z was standing with his feet up.

With his left arm around Beyoncé and a cigar in his right.

This made Leon breathe a sigh of relief. At least there wasn't a large group of black-clad bodyguards in the room as he had imagined.

The only surprise was that Leonard from Warner Records also appeared here for some reason.

"Congratulations on winning two major awards today." JAY-Z said as he asked Lenny to hand Leon a cigar.

"I seem to have forgotten to thank you on stage," Li Ang joked.

"It's nothing. As a bro, you just have to keep some of the things you say in your heart." JAY-Z stared at me and said in a deep voice, "Even if you don't say anything, I can feel your loyalty and respect for me."

Li Ang spread his hands and lit a cigar without responding.

"Let's get this straight. You've been hesitant about renewing your contract, which I understand. An ambitious guy like you doesn't want to be underdogs," Jay-Z said. "Kanye was like that before. I nurtured him, but he chose to stay with Dave Jim."

"I don't quite understand what you mean." Li Ang said one thing and thought another, and tried not to express his opinion before the other party revealed his cards.

"You're truly an ambitious bastard with an astonishing appetite." JAY-Z spread his hands. "What I mean is, if you think Roc Kingdom isn't big enough, then Leonard is here today too, and you two are no strangers."

The more Li Ang listened, the more confused he became.

The current situation looks like JAY-Z is about to sell himself to Warner.

This is completely different from the other party's previous attitude.

Leonard stood up and paced around the room while explaining: "Mr. JAY-Z and I talked a lot tonight, and we came up with a win-win cooperation method."

"Tell me, how can we win together?"

"Everyone knows you like money."

"Everyone doesn't like money, don't you?"

Leonard shook his head after being rebuked. "The signing bonus of $3000 million will be deposited into your account tomorrow if you agree."

"This money is jointly funded by Warner and Roc. In the future, you will become a co-managed artist of the two companies and enjoy the resources of both companies."

Li Ang was a little overwhelmed for a moment. He had imagined many complicated situations, but he never expected the other party to throw out such a sugar-coated bullet.

A signing bonus of $3000 million and production and promotional resources from two top record companies.
This is something that is hard for any singer to refuse.

After a long silence, Leon took a deep drag on his cigar and asked, "So, what's the price?"

Leonard had a gloomy smile on his face and avoided answering Leon's questions.

"Besides that, we hope that Apocalypse Music can be integrated into the Warner and ROC systems. We can only charge management fees. Of course, you will still be the main manager of this label."

Li Ang's expression was uncertain.

It sounds good, but it’s another matter once the contract is signed.

Given the nature of Leonard and JAY-Z, it's not hard to guess that this is just a long-term strategy for them to appropriate apocalyptic music.

Leonard continued, "To get all of this, you just need to give the copyright of the work to be jointly held by Warner and ROC. We have the third largest music copyright library in the world, you know, and you can still get the copyright income you deserve. This can be written into the contract."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ang understood everything.

After going around in circles, I found that the pit I dug was here.

The three major music giants each own a huge library of music copyrights, which is the cornerstone of their status as giants.

The huge copyright library can ensure that they maintain their position in the market's updates and iterations, and even the powerful streaming platforms have to bow to them.

Among these three giants, Warner is the most greedy for copyright.

Its Atlantic Records subsidiary forces signed singers to hand over part of the copyright of their works.

This is also the fundamental reason why the job-hopping rate of singers under Atlantic Records is extremely low.

Transferring the copyright and getting paid doesn't sound like much of a loss.

But if you think about it carefully, there is something fishy going on.

First of all, such a thing is not tenable from a legal perspective. Even if it is written into the contract, there will inevitably be a fight in court.

The terrifying thing to think about is that if Li Ang disappears from this world one day, the copyrights of these works will only belong to Warner and ROC.

Even if you write a will, it will be of no use.

Thinking of this, Li Ang couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

There are endless dirty tricks in this circle, and countless superstars in history have died suddenly or suffered accidents.

For him, less money is acceptable, but transferring copyright is impossible.

Only a fool would give up his fishing gear for a few fish.

After a long silence, he decided to adopt a roundabout tactic, "Your proposal is very tempting."

Leonard looked back at JAY-Z, and they both grinned.

The smug expression seemed as if he had succeeded.

"Since you are satisfied, when can we get a written contract?" JAY-Z got straight to the point.

"This will take some time," Leon said. "I have to commend you two for coming up with such a brilliant idea. You are geniuses!"

JAY-Z originally wanted to continue to put pressure on him, but after hearing what Li Ang said, he felt relieved.

He motioned for Lenny to fetch a bottle of expensive red wine from the tavern and continued, "Stay here. You are still the young king."

"Money, fame, women. You can continue to enjoy it all."

"You can imagine how dangerous it would be to leave here. There are hungry beasts everywhere..."

Another iconic street PUA tactic.

Those fledgling rappers would easily be intimidated by such words, but Li Ang was extremely disgusted by it.

From the beginning, JAY-Z always kept personal threats on his lips, which was the trigger for his decision to leave the company.

"Damn. My flight's going to be delayed." JAY-Z glanced at his watch and immediately stood up. "I'm waiting for you to give me a wonderful answer. That day shouldn't be too far away."

The moment he walked out of the box, he didn't forget to look back and pretend, "Remember, we are lumberjacks."

"Damn it!"

As soon as JAY-Z left, Leon followed him and kept cursing in the corridor.

"Leon~" Behind him, Beyoncé rushed out of the private room and caught up.

"Please leave me alone for a while." Li Ang rubbed his head.

"Wouldn't it be nice to just stay in Roc's Kingdom?" Beyoncé asked. "I mean, don't we get along great?"

"It's great here, but I have the right to decide where I want to go." Li Ang said in a deep voice, "This is my freedom!"

Beyoncé stood there, not knowing what to say.

She also advised JAY-Z that it would be better to treat him just like she did with Kanye West, and there was no need to seek contract renewal in such a tough manner.

But these two things cannot be compared at all.

Even if Kanye leaves Dave Jim, JAY-Z can still reap some of the benefits.

Because he holds shares in Dave Jim.

But Li Ang didn't gain any benefit from changing his team.

This was intolerable for the savvy JAY-Z.

"Sorry." Beyoncé muttered softly.

Seeing that the other person still had a grim expression, he looked around and saw no one.

His lips pressed hard against hers.

This action completely ignited Li Ang's anger.

"Give it to me, please." Beyoncé's eyes were about to burst into tears.

"No problem." Leon laughed strangely, "I can't wait any longer."

That night, two mysterious guests, wrapped tightly in blankets, checked into the MGM Hotel.