Rebirth of America, this is my time

Whistler is a ski resort in Vancouver that has been in business since the 1960s and has good facilities.

Ski enthusiasts can take the cable car up the mountain, put on their equipment in the mountain hut, and sprint down the mountain on any ski slope according to their needs. If you are tired from playing, you can take a rest at a restaurant on the mountain, or just rest in a hotel on the mountain and wait for the sunrise the next day.

Perhaps it is because the layout here is very user-friendly, and the fact that you can ski all year round can meet the needs of most people, so the only drawback here is that there are too many people. Thomas and Linda brought them here before When skiing, the six ski trails are crowded with people.

But this time, after Ethan spent 250,000 for the two-day booking fee, the snow-capped mountains that could be seen at a glance and the white caps that could be touched by raising his hand were really refreshing.

In the early morning of the next day, when the orange-red sunlight spread across the land and illuminated the snow-capped mountains, it seemed like the golden light of a fairy tale world was shining on the golden mountains.

The two went to Whistler on March 31st. After watching the sunrise on April Fool's Day, they went down the mountain at noon on April 1st. Even though the next day was Monday again, they had no intention of going back to work. , after a brief summary, both parties decided to stay in Vancouver for a few more days.

So, that afternoon, they took the ferry to Bowen Island.

The next day, I took a shotgun and chased wild ducks and reindeer in the hunting area of ​​​​local residents.

For dinner, we had roasted venison legs and wild duck soup.

And just as they were thinking that if they were lucky in the next few days, they would be able to see the grand migration of whales from south to north, at noon on the 2nd, Ethan received a call from the company.

"Boss, Gary Kurtz is calling for you."

On the other end of the phone, Steve Ballmer, who stayed behind in the company, reported: "Gary Kurtz said that those people have offered new trading chips and they are willing to help us get Michael Jackson."

"As long as you are willing to show up with them smiling, they will send Michael Jackson's contract to the Destiny Game. The time and place are up to you."

"..." The simple and clear quotation made Ethan stunned for a moment.

The next second, he laughed.

To be honest, he never expected that these people would be so crazy in order to protect the stock price.

In order to show the family situation in Hollywood, they would rather give away Michael Jackson?

oh--

From the perspective of a time traveler, this is like being kicked in the head by a donkey!

What?

Are they all indigenous?

That’s okay!

While Ethan was sighing with emotion, Evelin, who was listening carefully while enjoying lunch, suddenly spoke and asked doubtfully: "Steve, are you sure that the deal they proposed is to help us get Michael Jackson? Michael... Isn't Jackson an artist of Epic Records? Epic Records is a subsidiary of Columbia Records, right? And Columbia Records has nothing to do with Columbia Pictures, so..."

"Please tell me, how did these people convince Columbia to sell records?"

His sister's words made Ethan put away his joy.

While looking at the girl, confusion was written on her face.

yes!

When he learned about the layout of Hollywood before, he already knew that Columbia Pictures and Columbia Records only had similar names, but in fact they had nothing to do with each other.

Columbia Pictures is owned by the Coen brothers.

Columbia Records' majority shareholder is Columbia Broadcasting Network.

In this case, the Hollywood Seven sold Columbia Records in order to maintain their stock prices?

Are the hands of these people too long?

Ballmer also understood this issue. He explained directly on the other end of the phone: "In the early 1970s, when Columbia Pictures encountered major financial problems, they went to the market to raise funds. They looked for independent investors. We also looked for partners, and CBS was one of them."

"Although CBS did not have a large stake in Columbia Pictures, and they were unwilling to sell Michael Jackson for a full price to the studio, several other studios were willing to compensate CBS. However, they still agreed to the deal."

"As far as I know, as long as the cooperation is reached, other companies will modify their film copyright contracts with CBS, so that CBS can obtain the TV broadcast rights of their films at a lower price. As for how many years this permission will be ? I didn’t find out about this.”

"Oh..." Ethan and Evelin both understood.

It turns out that those people in Hollywood want to exchange future earnings for the current stock price!

Although this deal has the meaning of a good deal, but why do so many of them be professional managers? The purpose of companies hiring them is indeed to make the company better, but often all they can do is satisfy shareholders, because only in this way can they keep their jobs.

For example, right now, if the stock price drops again, their bottom position will explode.

Since that's the case...

Then he would reluctantly accept it!

Ethan, who understood the truth, picked up the steak in front of him with his fork and stuffed it into his mouth, and asked Ballmer: "How many years is Michael Jackson's contract with Epic Records?"

"Seven years started in March of 1976 and ended in March of 1983."

"How many solo albums?"

"Four."

"What is the royalty rate agreed upon when signing the contract?"

“On the album side it’s 20 percent of the profit.”

"Does he himself want to come to Destiny Music?"

"Well - according to David Geffen, Michael Jackson was more than happy for Epic Records to trade him to Destiny Music because Michael Jackson is now interested in movies."

Ballmer said: "Last year he participated in the filming of "The Wizard of Oz". Although the results were not good, he still wanted to continue to join the film industry. So, when he learned that you, Steven Spielberg and George ·Since Lucas became a good friend, he hopes that Destiny Music can create some movies for him. If this is more troublesome, it can also start with cooperation, because he believes in professionalism."

This answer reassured Ethan, "What is the price of Columbia Records?"

"With five million, we can take away Michael Jackson. With ten million, we can also take away his "Off the Wall" that has been produced and will be released this year. If we choose the latter, we will also have to satisfy Columbia Records One of the requirements is that since the announcement has been made, they need to continue to sell "Off the Wall" to the market as planned, which means they will continue to retain the distribution rights of "Off the Wall", but the copyright of "Off the Wall" belongs to us. "

Perhaps Ballmer himself found this explanation difficult to understand, so he added: "In other words, if we spend 10 million, then we can take away everything Michael Jackson has in Columbia Records, Columbia Records We will only retain the distribution rights for "Off the Wall" and take away the distribution profits in accordance with industry standards. The remaining copyright profits are still ours."

"??? So cheap?" Ethan paused.

Although Michael Jackson has not yet become the real king of pop music, the price of 10 million is a bit ridiculous, right? After all, Epic Records offered him a 20% commission on the profits! When the revenue from personal albums is so high, the remaining four years of the contract are worth 10 million?

this--

Even thinking about it with the bottom of your feet feels wrong!

"Uh, boss, the situation is like this..." Ethan's doubts prompted Ballmer to quickly explain, "Previously, when the Jackson brothers signed a contract with Motown Records, their royalties were only 2.7%, and they were still They were very dissatisfied with not being able to release a record independently, so when signing a contract with Epic Records, Michael Jackson paid great attention to his own interests."

"For example, Michael Jackson's album commission is actually floating. The number will continue to rise according to the sales volume of the album, and can reach a maximum of 37% of the profit."

"In this case, the price of five million for four years is not cheap anymore. You must know that the full signing fee given to him by Epic Records is only a few million. Moreover, so far, Michael Jackson has not made any music. A huge breakthrough. As for 10 million for a single album? This price is even more sky-high, because Michael Jackson is different from other singers. The more albums he sells, the more the music copyright party who signed him has to give. It’s far less profitable than representing other singers.”

"..." Ethan was speechless.

He never expected that Michael Jackson's business talent would appear so early.

If Ethan remembers correctly, in his previous life, Michael Jackson immediately purchased a bunch of music copyrights after making money, making him the first pop king in the music industry to be able to make money on his own. In this way, even if he died due to an accident, the copyright library left behind would make Sony salivate and try every means to get it.

This feat has inspired countless musicians.

Hey wait!

Michael Jackson bought a bunch of music rights after making money?

He can do this too!

What's the name of this guy's company?

It seems like a Sony ATV?

That--

"Do you know about ATV Music Company?" Ethan asked, suddenly inspired.

"Uh, boss, I don't know about this." Ballmer is not omnipotent.

He also has his own knowledge blind spots.

Ethan didn't care and said: "Go and check. If they are in the hands of a local music company, then put them in the transaction. If not, then we will trade at a lower price, Okay?"

"I know." Ballmer understood what his boss meant.

As the phone hung up, Ethan continued to enjoy his lunch.

But before he could even take two bites, he felt like he was being watched by something.

When he looked up, good guy, it turned out to be Evelin looking directly at him.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked with a smile: "Why are you looking at me with such strange eyes?"

"snort--"

The girl snorted coldly, "Who told me last time that he had never made any large-scale purchases?"

"?" Ethan frowned after hearing the words without beginning or end.

The next second, he understood that Evelin was settling an old score!

"It is true that I have not made any large-scale purchases. I bought Michael Jackson just so that the company can run better..." Ethan explained instinctively, but before he could finish what he wanted to say, he just stopped. mouth, picked up the receiver again, and called Ballmer back.

When the other party picked up, he added, "Oh, by the way, Barbra Streisand is being added to the deal."

"I bought everything I could, that's all."

"Crack."

After the explanation, Ethan hung up the phone.

Then, he cast a proud look at his sister, "Is it even?"

"Hey -" the girl was too lazy to pay attention to him and said arrogantly: "This is obviously what you want to buy, right?"

"Just open your mouth and spend tens of millions?"

"Ouch - I've never had any big purchases -"

"Then I'll cancel Barbra Streisand." Ethan picked up the landline receiver again.

"Huh???" Before he could dial the number, a cow crowed from the ground.

Evelin's eyes were as wide as copper bells, and she raised the knife and fork with both hands, almost shouting 'How dare you——'.

The anxious look made Ethan chuckle.

And at the same time that he laughed out loud, Evelin also waved her fist up.

Perhaps it is because the hidden value of Hollywood studios has soared very quickly, but it is more like a hostile takeover that will cause heavy losses to Hollywood studios. Therefore, when Ethan showed that everything was negotiable, it was related to The transaction was progressing very quickly.

After everyone's urgent negotiations, Columbia Records lowered the price of Michael Jackson's four-year contract and new album rights to eight million. As long as Destiny Music can come up with so much cash within seven days, Columbia Records will reluctantly sell Michael Jackson.

The price made Ethan very satisfied.

After all, that is Michael Jackson who is about to step onto the altar!

Eight million to buy a four-year, four-year college?

This special code is so profitable!

Unlike Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand's contract is difficult to get. As the current music diva, an evergreen figure who has been popular in the music industry for twenty years, no company will be willing to sell her contract. This is not a question of more money and less money, but a question of inability to negotiate.

More importantly, Barbra Streisand's contract was also in the hands of Columbia Records. Columbia Records has released all of Barbra Streisand's albums since 1960.

When this fact emerges, things get a little tricky.

When Steve Ballmer said that his boss still wanted Barbra Streisand, no matter if it was Columbia Records or Big Seven, did he think Ethan Jones was interested in Columbia Records? It's not enough to have a hot newcomer, but you also want to poach Colombia's pillars? If he keeps going like this, then what the hell is Columbia Records doing? Forget it!

Therefore, Columbia Records directly announced that if Ethan Jones was interested in them, he would directly acquire them, and the price was not expensive, 900 million in cash.

If Ethan Jones really wants to buy it, then everyone should sign the contract immediately.

If you can't accept it, then don't mention poaching people again.

Although the Big Seven also want to stabilize the stock price, it is difficult for them to participate in such strange things.

When Ethan heard Ballmer's report, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

He really didn't know that Barbra Streisand was also in Colombia.

Since she and Michael Jackson were colleagues, the deal couldn't be done.

Because those poaching people again and again do have some evil intentions.

This decision was also approved by Evelin, "If they don't sell it, then they won't buy it."

But at the same time, she also said: "When we have money, we will buy Columbia records directly!"

Evelin's understanding made Ethan relieved, and he immediately made a decision to ask Ballmer to make a deal with them. Not only that, he also asked Ballmer to release his address and invite the bosses of Big Seven to come to Vancouver for vacation.

When the emperor Ethan Jones issued a request to the surrounding vassals to come to Beijing to meet the saint, these guys received the notice in the morning and flew to Vancouver in the afternoon, and in the evening...

Everyone gathered around the oven and held candles and had a long talk.

There was just a click, and the harmonious scene was faithfully recorded on film.

Early the next morning, all insiders got the latest news.

When people saw that Warner boss Steve Ross, MGM boss Kirk Kerkorian, Walt Disney’s actual controller Ron Miller, and Walt Disney’s largest shareholder Roy Disney and arch-nemesis Ethan Jones sitting at a table after eating...

Almost everyone exclaimed, is this Ethan Jones not an alien in disguise?

Because this scene is even weirder than "The Last Supper"!

What’s even weirder is the reports from major media outlets, which read: [Hollywood veterans welcome new Hollywood forces—Ethan Jones officially joins the Hollywood family]

"Oh Sxxt? Why does this title sound like a Hollywood finale?"

Everyone found it strange.

But everyone's doubts are useless at this moment, because on the day the news came out, the market responded most faithfully, and the stocks of each company rose to varying degrees, although they were still far from the prices a month ago. It’s far away, but at least it’s showing signs of recovery.

I won’t go straight to 800 miles.

Not only that, Columbia Pictures also took the initiative to set the price they wanted.

600 million, quadrupling the previous purchase price of MGM.

In Colombia's words, their film library is now the most valuable thing in Hollywood. "On the Waterfront", "Bridge on the River Kwai", "Taxi Driver" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" are all valuable films. They will The explosion of the video tape market today has unleashed unlimited vitality and possibilities.

When this price appeared, the hint of selling immediately caused Columbia Pictures' stock to plummet. But soon, with the joint announcement of Goldman Sachs and Columbia Pictures, the former stated that it would represent Columbia Pictures in the transaction, and the latter stated that it had When the contract was signed, the stock price of Columbia Pictures immediately rose. Immediately afterwards, the stock prices of other Hollywood companies also rose crazily, as if they had taken aphrodisiacs.

Such a fact made Ethan laugh without saying a word.

In fact, he had already guessed that these people would cause some trouble.

If not, these people would not be eager to 'reconcile' with him.

But joining forces with Goldman Sachs to speculate on stock prices?

this--

Well, this kind of thing is also reasonable.

After all, it was Goldman Sachs!

Goldman Sachs eats people without spitting out their bones!

It's just that these things have nothing to do with Ethan anymore. While taking pictures, Michael Jackson also officially changed his career and became the first signed artist of Destiny Music.

Although Disney's stock price has also risen, compared with Michael Jackson...

Those increases are just drizzle.

At the same time, Ethan Jones also got good news.

ATV responded.

Note: ① The commission in music is different from that in other industries. Generally speaking, it is the royalty rate. For example, if an album is US$10 and the royalty rate is 15%, then for every album sold, the musician will get US$1.50. . But there is another algorithm, which is to take a commission from the album profits. This is actually very easy to do accounting. ②The contract MJ signed with Epic Records in 1975 has never been made public, so the exact royalty rate is unclear. But one thing is certain, he must have signed a floating contract for profit sharing, because "Off The Wall" allowed MJ to get 37% share of album profits. As for why MJ signed this kind of contract? I don't know either. ③Although Epic Records signed MJ, they were not very optimistic about him. It was not until "Off The Wall" became a big hit that Epic Records focused on promoting him. Before that, they didn't even do any large-scale advertising and there was no explosion. When there is fire, everyone is the same. ④ Video tapes have caused the value of Hollywood companies to skyrocket. MGM's offer for Columbia was only over 200 million, but when Coca-Cola came into contact with Columbia, Columbia had already doubled its price. Not only that, after the news of Coca-Cola's contact was released, Columbia's share price soared from 41.75 to 62.5 It only took one day. The capital game is crazy.

PS, it turns out that now there is a mechanism for limited exemptions and weekend benefits. I haven’t written the rules for a long time and I can’t understand them.