George Slander.

Lanly knew very little about him. He never asked about George's personal situation and never knew about George's past deeds. It was just that George was a producer who had created a lot of brilliance, but then he was discouraged and chose to retire. ; George’s persistence and focus on music have a moth-to-fire-like heat and surging blessings.

　　 I admire George Ranley. Because in him, Lan Li saw the madness and enthusiasm that spent his entire life devoted to the supremacy of his dream career.

　　George is not a young man who has just stepped out of society and only relies on his passion to realize his self-worth and desire to pursue his dream of freedom; he has gone through countless trials and vicissitudes in his sixties but still maintains a heart of innocence. Completely burned his own life and dedicated all his life to the music career he loves.

　　A craftsman like this is awe-inspiring.

　　 Even Lan Li dare not say that thirty years later, he can still maintain his passion for acting like he is now. The promise of a lifetime is too remote and too heavy.

　　 Renly had already felt George's sincerity when he decided to make this album. "Everything is only about music" This is George's promise to put aside commercial considerations, put aside market demands and truly return to the music itself to produce a pure, simple and sincere album.

　　 But when Matthew really heard the terms of the contract, Lan Li's heart still set off a stormy sea. George almost gave Lan Li the power to decide on artistic creation; or to give Lan Li enough rights to defend his creation. This is equivalent to giving Lan Li the ability to create an album completely according to his own ideas. right.

This is completely impossible in the field of film because the production talent is the supreme existence of the entire crew and has the decisive veto power; but in the field of music, the singer is the soul of the entire album, which gives the singer the ultimate The right to make a decision, but this right is not something that everyone can have.

Even singers such as Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Madonna, and Mariah Carey have a solid fan base after years of rolling in the industry. At the same time, their artistic style has been affirmed by the record company. Willing to delegate power. Otherwise, the record company still holds the right to make the decision.

　　 Now George has resolutely handed over all the rights to the fledgling Lan Li, so courageous, so decisive, so determined is not only amazing but also admirable. It's hard not to be moved even more powerful than the "crazy" Drake Doremus George's desperate move.

　　 Lan Li recalled today's communication. The two people just had a brief conversation and didn't discuss the details too much. Who would have thought of the earth-shattering content hidden behind the understatement.

　　 The lemonade blue gift in his hand was a little lost for a while.

Matthew’s understanding of the entertainment industry is infinitely close to zero, but as a lawyer, as an ordinary person, he also understands the meaning of this contract. The unspoken rule is the one that got this contract and the sweet daddy."

　　 Lan Li's eyes also showed a smile and calmly returned to "A sweetheart daddy can get such a contract. This deal is really a bargain."

　　 Matthew laughed blankly and had to admit that what Lan Li said made sense because it was not the whole of the contract.

"George also stated in black and white in the contract that the royalties you can receive through this album are 15% and his income is 25% of the royalties you receive. In addition, the budget for the album is 10. Fifty thousand dollars." Matthew put the contract on the table with a hint of surprise in his eyes. "I don't know where this level is in the industry, but I know if he is not your sweetheart daddy, then he is a lunatic. "

　　 Lan Li did not immediately respond, took a sip of the lemonade, calmed down his turbulent mood, and said with a smile, "He is indeed a lunatic who broke his family for music."

　　 Regarding the album's bonus model, Lan Li is not surprised. George had already talked to Andy Rogers before that Andy is a professional film agent who only understands the music part. But before the negotiation, Andy had a deep understanding of the current market and then completed all the negotiations.

　　 Lan Li remembers Andy’s evaluation at the time: "He is too honest and I am embarrassed to continue raising the price. If every job is so easy, then I will be useless. You can complete all the signing work yourself."

　　The process of making an album is actually the same as that of a movie to some extent.

　　 In the first phase, the production company allocated a budget to set up a project and hand it over to a producer to start production.

　　 The second-stage producer looks for directors, actors, screenwriters, and the entire production team with the budget to start shooting the work until the work is completed.

　　 The third-stage production company looks for a distribution company to sign a contract. The distribution company contacts the theaters to formulate a promotion and distribution strategy and then the movie is released.

　　 In the fourth stage, the box office is released. The production company, production team, distribution company, and theaters divide the income from four parties.

　　 The fifth-stage production company explores the peripheral value of the work.

　　 Generally speaking, the album produced in this way is just the same as changing the production company to a record company. It's just that the "second stage" album is different from the movie.

　　 The record company will allocate a budget after signing the contract and before producing the record, but the budget is not for the producer but for the artist.

　　 This money is not a contract gold jargon called an advance payment, in fact, it can be regarded as part of the contract money. This is the income that belongs to the artist completely. The artist can freely control this fee.

　　 But in fact the so-called "freedom" still has a prerequisite. Because this advance payment is not only the living expenses of the artist before earning income through the album, but also the cost of making the album. In other words, the entire team that produced the album was formed by the artists themselves and paid for them.

In the process of making albums, artists first need to find suitable producers; then set up a recording team including sound engineers, orchestrators, arrangers, etc.; then rent a recording studio to invest in formal recording work; finally, it needs to be completed Mixing and post-production.

　　 All costs of the whole process are paid out by this advance payment. Of course, if it is a rookie singer, the record company will arrange the entire production team but the cost is still paid by the artist himself.

　　 Generally speaking, it costs about 200,000 to 300,000 US dollars to make an ordinary pop music album. This is just the most basic cost. It does not include the cost of hiring a big-name singer to cooperate with. It does not include the cost of filming music videos, nor does it include insurance and unexpected circumstances.

　　 The current music market is in a downturn, and record companies have not used the big money they used to pay the artist upfront. For newcomers, it is generally below 350,000 US dollars, and the middle artist is 350,000 to 500,000 or so, while the top superstars can get 500,000.

　　 In the current market environment, the cost of an album is almost impossible to be higher. But there are exceptions to everything. If a superstar like Beyoncé plans to produce a burning album of more than half a million dollars, the record company deliberately chooses to nod and agree, but they will not pay in one go, but choose to pay in batches. After the first batch is used up, funds will continue.

　　 But what if the production cost of the album exceeds the prepayment amount agreed by the record company?

Then the record company will pay the second and even the third advance payment until the album production is completed. The difference is that the first one is entirely for the artist, that is to say, there is no need to repay in the future; but after that, the record company will not pay after the album is released. The corresponding amount is deducted from the artist’s income~lightnovelpub.net~ So many newcomer singers after signing the first record contract, they spend a lot of money on luxury cars or drink alcohol, take drugs/drugs, and party squandered so they will soon Will fall into the dilemma of "debt".

　　 Lan Li is currently working on the album "Don Quixote" but the situation is slightly different. Because of the special nature of the album, George didn't look for a record company for Renly, so they not only don't have the support of the record company's contacts, but also no upfront cost support.

　　 Instead, George completely invested his own money in the production of this album.

But what is certain is that after the album is recorded, George will still find the right record company and distribution company. After all, as an independent individual, they have no packaging channels, distribution channels, or promotional channels, so the album can only be locked in the computer and never made public. day.

　　 When the record company agrees to sign, they will pay a prepayment to Lan Li, which can be regarded as the signing money or the cost of making the album. Lan Li can then pay the prepayment to George to repay the production cost of the album.

　　The problem is that the unique style of this album is that the reason why I chose to separate from the record company and complete the production independently is because I am worried that the mainstream market will not appreciate it. If there is no record company willing to sign, then the album will have to dust the warehouse, which means that George's investment will be completely wiped out.

　　 Even if "Don Quixote" successfully signed with the record company, the risk that George took was far more than that. The production cost of the album is only a part of before the third stage. In addition, it also involves the issue of royalties. The contract also continues the same pattern, putting all the risks on George alone!