George Sland.

Lanley had a very lack of knowledge about him. He had never asked about George's personal situation, nor had he ever learned about George's past deeds. He only knew that George was a producer who had created many glory, but later he was discouraged and chose to retire. George's persistence and concentration in music were as hot and surging as a moth to the flame, Lanley was willing to give up the disadvantage.

Renli admired George. Because in him, Renli saw the madness and passion that had spent his whole life on his dreams and career.

George is not a young man who has just left society. He is eager to realize his own value and pursue his dream of freedom with his passion. He is over 60 years old and has experienced countless tempers and vicissitudes, but he still maintains a innocent heart. He completely burns his life and devotes his whole life to the music career he loves.

Such a craftsman is awe-inspiring.

Even Lan Li dared not say that thirty years later, he can still maintain his passion for acting like he is now. His lifelong commitment is too far and too heavy.

When Lanley decided to make this album, she already felt George's sincerity. "Everything is only about music." This is George's promise. Putting aside commercial considerations and market demands, it truly returns to the music itself and produces a pure, simple, and sincere album.

But when he actually heard Matthew tell the terms of the contract, Lanli's heart still stirred up storms. George almost gave Lanli all the decisions in artistic creation; or he gave Lanli enough rights to protect his own creation, which was equivalent to giving Lanli the right to create an album completely based on his own ideas.

This is completely impossible in the film field, because the producer is the supreme existence of the entire crew and has a decisive veto power; however, in the music field, the singer is the soul of the entire album, which gives the singer the final decision, but this right is not something that everyone can possess.

Even singers like Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Bruno-ma, who have had a solid fan base after many years of rolling in the industry, and their artistic style has been recognized, will be willing to delegate power. Otherwise, the record company will still be the record company.

Now, George has made great efforts to hand over all rights to the fledgling Lanli. He is so courageous, so decisive and firm, which is not only amazing, but also admirable. Compared to Drake Doremus, who is "crazy in love", George's desperate bets are even stronger, which makes it difficult not to be moved.

Lan Li recalled today's exchange. The two of them had just talked briefly and did not discuss too much about the details. Who would have thought that behind the understatement, there was such a shocking content.

Holding the lemonade in his hand, Renli was a little dazed for a moment.

Matthew's understanding of the entertainment industry is infinitely close to zero, but as a lawyer and an ordinary person, he also understands the significance of this contract. He couldn't help but gently tugging at the corner of his mouth and complaining and teasing, "If I hadn't known you, I would think that you must have obtained this contract through unspoken rules, and the kind of sugar-daddy."

Lan Li also smiled in her eyes and returned calmly, "A sweetheart father can get such a contract. This transaction is really worthwhile."

Matthew burst into laughter and had to admit that what Lan Li said made sense because this was not the whole of the contract.

"George is still in the contract, and he says that through this album, the royalties you can receive are 15% and his income is 25% of the royalties you receive. In addition, the budget for the album is 150,000 US dollars." Matthew put the contract on the table, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. "I don't know where this level is in the industry, but I know that if he is not your sweetheart dad, then he is a lunatic."

Lan Li didn't respond immediately, picked up the lemonade, took a sip, calmed down his surging mood, and then said with a smile, "He is indeed a lunatic who broke all his money for music."

Lan Li was not surprised about the album's dividend model. George had already talked with Andy Rogers before. Andy is a professional film agent and only knows the basics of the music part. However, before the negotiations, Andy still had an in-depth understanding of the current market and then completed all the negotiations.

Lanley remembers that Andy's comment at the time was, "He is so honest, I'm embarrassed to continue raising the price. If every job is so easy, I will have no place to use it, and you can complete all the contracts yourself."

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

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

In the second phase, the producers look for directors, actors, screenwriters and the entire production team, and start shooting the work with a budget until the work is completed.

In the third stage, the production company looks for a distribution company, signs a contract, the distribution company contacts theaters, formulates publicity and distribution strategies, and then the movie is released.

The fourth stage is that the box office is released, and the production company, production team, distribution company, and theaters divide the revenue from all sides.

In the fifth stage, the production company explores the peripheral value of the work.

Generally speaking, movies are made in this way, and the same applies to albums, just changing the production company to record companies. However, in the "second stage", albums and movies are different.

After signing the contract and before making the record, the record company will allocate a budget, but this budget is not for the producer, but for the artist.

This money is not a signing fee, but it is called advance payment in jargon. In fact, it can be regarded as part of the signing fee. This is entirely the income of the artist, and the artist can freely distribute the 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 from the album, but also the cost of producing the album. In other words, the entire team of the album is formed by the artist himself and paid out of his own pocket.

During the production of an album, the artist first needs to find a suitable producer; then form a recording team, including a recording engineer, instrumentalist, arranger, etc.; then rent a recording studio and devote himself to formal recording work; finally, mixing and post-production are required.

All the expenses of the entire process are paid by this advance payment. Of course, if you are a new singer, the record company will arrange the entire production team, but the expenses are still paid by the artist themselves.

Generally speaking, it costs about $200,000 to $300,000 to $200,000 to $200,000 to make an ordinary pop album. This is just the most basic expense, not including the cost of hiring big-name singers to cooperate, not including the cost of shooting music videos, not the cost of insurance or accidents.

The music market is now in a downturn, and record companies are no longer as big as before when paying artists' advance payments. For newcomers, they are usually less than 350,000 US dollars, while for middle artists, they are about 350,000 to 500,000, while only top superstars can get 500,000.

In the current market environment, the cost of an album is almost impossible to be higher. There are exceptions to everything. If a superstar like Beyoncé intends to produce a money-burning album of more than 500,000 yuan, the record company has carefully considered it and nodded in agreement. However, they will not pay in one go, but choose to pay in batches. After the first batch is used up, they will continue to allocate funds.

But what if the album's production cost exceeds the prepayment agreed by the record company?

Then, the record company will pay the second or even the third advance payment until the album is completed. The difference is that the first one belongs to the artist entirely, that is, there is no need to repay in the future; but it is not the case afterwards. After the album is released, the record company will deduct the corresponding amount from the artist's income.

Therefore, after many new singers sign their first record contract, they buy luxury cars, or drink, smoke/drug, party, and squander all of them, and they will soon fall into the dilemma of "debt".

Lanley is now producing the album "Don Quixote", but the situation is slightly different. Due to the particularity of the album, George did not look for a record company for Lanley, so they not only do not have the support of the record company's connections, but also have the cost support of the advance payment.

Instead, George paid out of his own pocket and devoted himself to the production of the album.

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

By then, if the record company agrees to sign the contract, they will pay a prepayment to Lanli, which can be regarded as a signing fee or as a fee for producing the album. Lanli can pay the prepayment to George to repay the album's production costs.

But the problem is that the album has a unique style. The reason why I chose to leave the record company and complete the production independently is because I was worried that the mainstream market would not be appreciated. If no record company was willing to sign a contract, the album would have to be covered in the warehouse, which means that George's investment would be completely wasted.
Chapter completed!