America: My Time

Chapter 13 Legendary Records
Chapter Thirteen: Legendary Records
Dream World has no shortage of money. This is a big problem for venture capital firms, but not for investment banks at all. As long as a company wants to develop rapidly, financing is a must. Dream World also needs financial support to develop, which is precisely their strength.

The success of Dreamworld has made everyone forget that John is also an author, a bestselling author, and the owner of a small entertainment company! In the eyes of investment banks, John has completely changed! They believe that Dreamworld Software Company has significantly greater development potential than Legendary Entertainment Company and deserves their attention!

While many sought information about the Dream World, John had already quietly disappeared. The Dream World no longer needed his interference. What he needed now was to accumulate knowledge and understand the current environment, to avoid repeating the same basic mistakes!

Having a good mother allowed John to thrive at Stanford University, where he learned more and increased his knowledge.

Although John himself is very low-key, and Dream World Company has not revealed much, the whirlwind that swept through the country before, with his fame soaring and his novels and records achieving great success, naturally influenced many people. Now, this whirlwind is gradually spreading from the United States across the ocean to Japan, giving the comic book publisher, which is in the midst of intensive preparations, a little bit of fame and attracting a lot of attention. Everyone wants to see what kind of comics this American genius will create.

Compared to the huge sensation Dreamworld caused in Silicon Valley, Legendary Entertainment was insignificant in the eyes of Hollywood entertainment giants. To giants like Warner and Marvel, whether it was records or publishing, it was no match for them! In their eyes, a child could not support a company, especially since this child was multitasking, trying to make a name for himself in novels, comics, records, and films all at once. At best, he could only achieve temporary success. In the long run, he would lose his inspiration, and the company would naturally decline, becoming a shooting star that streaked across the sky.

It's not fair to say that the Hollywood moguls were wrong. John's Legendary Entertainment was indeed supported by him alone. If something went wrong, the company would inevitably suffer an unprecedented disaster and fall into operational difficulties. One person's creative ability is limited, at least in the eyes of these moguls! Unfortunately, the Hollywood moguls didn't know that John was never lacking in creative ability. How could a plagiarist not have works?
Because of the Hollywood giants' disregard, John's small Legendary Entertainment initially escaped external resistance, allowing it to weather its most dangerous period. Had it faced suppression from industry giants from the outset, Legendary Entertainment would inevitably have failed.

Reporters inquired with industry giants about their opinions on John and Legendary Entertainment. Their disdainful remarks then spread, leading many to believe that Legendary Entertainment was utterly insignificant. As these industry giants mocked, everyone believed that no matter how capable an individual was, they couldn't possibly support a large entertainment company; individual creative ability is limited, and a company relying on individual ability has no future.

Is that really the case? No, not at all. While individual power is limited, everyone has consciously overlooked a crucial issue! Legendary Entertainment can certainly grow by attracting talent, and this is precisely the scheme orchestrated by industry giants—using the power of public opinion to undermine John and his Legendary Entertainment!

In the local industry, newcomers like John were generally looked down upon, ignored, and ridiculed. But these giants forgot that John's reputation as a genius was well-deserved. With fame came attention and vitality to Legendary Entertainment's record label and film studio, which were no longer stagnant and devoid of any ripples. Even if the entire record label and film studio relied on John's creative abilities, they could still recruit talent and bolster the company.

No matter how much people look down on Legendary Entertainment and consider it a joke, there's one thing they can't deny: the company did make money. Six novels became bestsellers in a single month, greatly boosting John's reputation as a genius. An eighteen-year-old publishing six novels, all bestsellers and in the top ten of the bestseller list—who would dare say John wasn't a genius? They'd only be seen as jealous.

Although singles were not popular in Europe and America, John's reputation as a genius, coupled with the high quality of his records, resulted in excellent sales, allowing the record company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, to successfully recover.

With such outstanding results, people's opinions of John have changed. If John publishes a brilliant novel every year, Legendary Entertainment's publishing house will not be at risk of going bankrupt, and a best-selling record can support this small record company. Neither the publishing house nor the record company has many people, not to mention the film industry, which is not yet fully developed.

Of course, the revenue of small companies like Legendary Entertainment is insignificant in the eyes of industry giants, and some of it even ends up in the hands of the giants. The two sides are completely different in size!
Before he became famous, John struggled to recruit qualified talent for his entertainment company. But after gaining a reputation as a genius, more and more people believed in his abilities, a fact directly reflected in his company, Elite Talent. Under John's guidance, although it took longer, they successfully recruited two divas, Madonna Ciccone and Whitney Houston—all thanks to John's fame. Everyone knew that Legendary Entertainment had a record label, and signing a record deal meant the opportunity to release an album—a golden opportunity for any aspiring singer.

With fame and resources, Legendary Entertainment's development was crucial. Although he only controlled a small entertainment company that was looked down upon by industry giants, the company had capabilities in various aspects, including record production, publishing, and film production. Coupled with his reputation as a genius, he had the opportunity to attract the talent the company needed.

Legendary Entertainment is still too small and has limited resources to cultivate a large number of singers. Two people are already the limit of what a record company can handle. Releasing records requires promotion and resources, and a small record company has very few resources at its disposal. It will take time to achieve greater development.

Having such talent, it would be dereliction of duty and even a crime not to make good use of it! Although the record company only has two singers, their talent is undeniable; they are both top-tier artists. As long as they are given enough resources, success is inevitable. As for their work, it goes without saying that they have countless songs in their minds.

John was extremely concerned about the development of these two divas, as it was crucial to the future of Legendary Records for the next twenty years. Indeed, Legendary Records signed the two divas to twenty-year contracts, essentially sparing no effort to promote them. A twenty-year contract is twice the length of a typical contract, which would be unacceptable for any singer, but Legendary Entertainment persuaded these two divas. The reason was simple: the terms Legendary Entertainment offered them were exceptionally good, something no other record company could match!
Of course, they also paid a price. This price was not a signing bonus, but rather the quality of their work and the level of support the company provided. It can be said that in the early stages, they would devote all their resources to developing the two of them, which is something other record companies cannot do.

Any record company that wants to promote new artists needs to invest a lot of money and resources. Generally, the first three years are the investment period, the next three years are the profit period, and the last one is the sharing period! If the signed singers are not good, it will be difficult for the company to make money.

Having signed two superstars, John began preparing their respective singles! Yes, singles. Although single releases weren't particularly popular in the West at that time, they were the easiest way to test the abilities of two superstars! Another point is that releasing singles quickly allowed them to capitalize on their existing fame, since Madonna and Whitney were both newcomers with little existing fanbase; leveraging their popularity was the best option!

John provided top-notch songs, including "Moonlight Shadow," a classic tribute to John Lennon, and "What a Feeling," both of which are golden hits. As long as the singers are skilled, they definitely have the potential to be bestsellers.

John has no intention of releasing his own single. He doesn't have that much time right now. In the early stages of the company's development, he has more important work to do!
In any era, retail is a top priority for businesses. While Game World continues to accelerate game development, John must consider game promotion and distribution, and the significant impact a blockbuster game would have on his company. Currently, the North American game market is dominated by Atari. Once Game World's arcade and home consoles are released, they will inevitably face pressure from Atari. When Atari can no longer control Game World, its backer Warner Bros. will step in, requiring advance preparation!
The pressure from Hollywood giants is immense for John and Legendary Entertainment. In contrast, the game world is not in much trouble, but Legendary Entertainment is weak and has almost no power to fight back against the pressure from industry giants. If they do not prepare in advance, the consequences will be unimaginable once the crisis arrives!

Weakness is a crime, and there's no room for sentimentality in the capital market; strength determines everything! There's no sentimentality between John and Warner either. If Legendary Entertainment faces pressure from Warner, the family won't step in to help. He'll have to shoulder everything himself, withstand the pressure, and ensure the fledgling Legendary Entertainment doesn't collapse. Media and entertainment are his key projects; he can't afford any mistakes, and Warner can't stop him.

(End of this chapter)