Chapter 481

George strand.

He never inquired about George's personal situation or his past deeds. He just knew that George was a producer who had created a lot of brilliance, but later he chose to retire; George's persistence and focus on music, with moth like heat and surging, Langley is willing to bow down.

For George, Langley was admirable. Because in his body, Lan Li saw the crazy and hot blood that exhausted his whole life and devoted himself to the supremacy of his dream career.

George is not a young man who has just stepped out of society. He is eager to realize his self-worth and pursue his dream of freedom; He is over sixty years old, has experienced countless trials and vicissitudes, but still maintains a pure heart. Burning his life thoroughly, he devoted his whole life to his music career.

Such a craftsman makes people respect him.

Even Lan Li didn't dare to say that after 30 years, he could still be as enthusiastic as he is now. Life commitment, too far away, too heavy.

When he decided to make this album, Langley had already felt George's sincerity“ It's all about music. "This is George's promise. Regardless of commercial considerations and market demand, he will really return to the music itself and make a pure, simple and sincere album.

Can really hear Matthew say the terms of the contract, blue Li's heart or set off a storm. George almost gave all the decision-making power of artistic creation to Langley; In other words, to give Lan Li enough rights to protect his own creation is to give Lan Li the right to create an album completely according to his own ideas.

This is totally impossible in the field of film, because the producer is the supreme existence of the whole crew, with a decisive veto; However, in the field of music, the singer is the soul of the whole album, which gives the singer the right to make the final decision, but not everyone can have this right.

Even singers like Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Madonna, Mariah Carey and Bruno Mars, who have been in the industry for many years, have a solid foundation of fans. At the same time, their artistic style has been affirmed, and record companies will be willing to delegate power. Otherwise, it's still the record company that holds the right to make the film.

Now, George has handed over all the rights to the fledgling Lan Li with such boldness, determination and firmness, which is not only amazing but also more admirable. Compared with "crazy love" Drake doremus, George's gamble is even more powerful, which makes it hard not to be moved.

Lan Li recalled today's exchange. They just had a simple conversation. They didn't discuss the details too much. Who would have thought that hidden behind the understatement was such an earth shaking content.

With the lemonade in his hand, Lan Li was a little distracted for a moment.

Matthew's unspoken rule of entertainment industry is almost zero. But as a lawyer, as an ordinary person, he knows the meaning of this contract, not to make complaints about it. "If I hadn't known you, I would have thought you would get the contract through the hidden rules, and the one of Sugar-Daddy."

Lan Li also showed a smile at the bottom of his eyes and calmly returned, "a sweet dad can get such a contract. This deal is really worth it."

Matthew was dumbfounded and had to admit that what Langley said was very reasonable, because it was not the whole contract.

"George also wrote in black and white in his contract that through this album, you can receive 15% of the royalty, and his income is 25% of the royalty you get. In addition, the budget for the album is 150000 dollars. " Matthew put the contract on the table, his eyes showed a little surprise, "I don't know what position this level is in the industry, but I know that if he is not your sweet dad, then he is a madman."

Lan Li didn't respond immediately. He took a sip of lemonade and calmed down his turbulent mood. Then he said with a smile, "he is really a madman who lost his family for music."

As for the bonus mode of the album, lanli was not surprised. George has talked with Andy Rogers before. Andy is a professional film agent. He only knows about the music part. But before the negotiation, Andy still has a deep understanding of the current market, and then completes all the negotiations.

Lanli remembers that Andy's comment at that time was, "he's so sincere that I'm embarrassed to continue to raise the price. If every job is so easy, I will not be able to use it. You can finish all the signing work yourself. "

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

In the first stage, the production company allocated a budget, set up a project, and gave it to a producer to start production.

In the second stage, the producer looks for the director, actor, screenwriter and the whole production team, takes the budget and starts shooting until the work is completed.

In the third stage, the production company looks for the distribution company, signs the contract, the distribution company contacts with the cinema, formulates the publicity and distribution strategy, and then the film is released.

In the fourth stage, the box office comes out, and the production company, production team, distribution company and cinema line divide the revenue.

In the fifth stage, the production company excavates the peripheral value of the works.

Generally speaking, movies are made in this way, and albums are made in the same way, just changing the production company into a record company. It's just that in "phase two," the album and the movie are different.

After signing the contract and before making the record, the record company will allocate a budget, but the budget is not for the producers, but for the artists.

This money is not a contract payment, which is called advance payment in jargon. In fact, it can be regarded as a part of the contract payment. This is the income of the artist, and the artist can freely control the cost.

But in fact, the so-called "freedom" still has its premise. Because this advance payment is not only the living expenses of the artists before they get income through the album, but also the expenses of making the album. In other words, the whole team that makes the album is set up by the artists themselves, and they pay for it.

In the process of making an album, artists first need to find suitable producers; Then we set up a recording team, including recording engineers, orchestrators, composers and so on; Then rent the recording room and put into the formal recording work; Finally, we need to complete the mixing and post production.

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

Generally speaking, it costs about 200000 to 300000 dollars to make an ordinary pop album. It's just the most basic cost, not including the cost of hiring big name singers to cooperate, not including the cost of shooting music videos, not including insurance and accidents.

Now the music market is in a downturn, record companies in the payment of artists in advance, there is no previous extravagance. For newcomers, it's usually less than $350000, for middle performers, it's about $350000 to $500000, and for top superstars, it's only $500000.

In the current market environment, the cost of an album can hardly be higher. But there are exceptions to everything. If a superstar like Beyonce plans to make a money burning album worth more than 500000 yuan, the record company will nod its head after careful consideration. However, they will not pay it all at once, but choose to pay in batches. After the first batch is used up, the funding will continue.

However, if the production cost of the album exceeds the amount of advance payment agreed by the record company, what should we do?

Then, the record company will pay the second, or even the third, advance payment until the album is finished. The difference is that the first one belongs to the artist, that is, there is no need to repay it in the future; After the release of the album, the record company will deduct the corresponding amount from the artist's income.

Therefore, after signing the first record contract, many new singers spend a lot of money on buying luxury cars, drinking, taking drugs, partying and squandering. Then they will soon fall into the dilemma of "debt".

Langley is now working on Don Quixote, but the situation is slightly different. Because of the particularity of the album, George didn't find a record company for lanli, so they don't have the support of the record company's contacts, and they don't have the cost support of prepayment.

Instead, George put all his money into the production of the album.

But what is certain is that after the recording of the album, George will still find a suitable record company and distribution company. After all, as an independent individual, they have no packaging channel, distribution channel or publicity channel, so the album can only be locked in the computer and will never be made public.

At that time, if the record company agrees to sign the contract, they will pay an advance payment to lanli, which can be regarded as the signing fee or the cost of making the album. Langley will be able to pay the advance to George to repay the production costs of the album.

But the problem is that this album has a unique style. The reason why we chose to leave the record company and complete the production independently is because we are worried that the mainstream market will not appreciate it. If no record company is willing to sign a contract, then the album will only be a dusty warehouse, that is to say, George's investment will be completely wasted.

Even if Don Quixote successfully signed up with the record company, George's risk was far more than that. The production cost of the album is only a part before the third stage, in addition to the royalty issue, and the contract also continues the same pattern, putting all the risks on George alone!