George Sland.

Lan Li knew very little about him, he never asked George's personal situation, and never knew about George's past deeds, but only knew that George was a producer, and had created a lot of brilliance, but then he was disheartened and chose to retire;

For George, Lan Li is admirable. Because in him, Lan Li saw the madness and enthusiasm that had exhausted his life's hard work and poured into his dream and career.

George is not a young man who has just stepped out of society, just with enthusiasm, eager to realize self-worth, eager to chase the dream of freedom, he is over sixty years old, has experienced countless trials and vicissitudes, but still maintains a pure heart. Completely burned his life, and dedicated his life to the music career he loved.

Such a craftsman is awe-inspiring.

Even Lan Li didn't dare to say that thirty years later, he could still maintain his passion for acting as he is now. The promise of a lifetime is too far away and too heavy.

When the decision was made to make this album, Lan Li already felt George's sincerity. "It's all about music", this is George's promise, put aside commercial considerations, put aside the needs of the market, and truly return to music itself, to produce a pure, rustic, and sincere album.

But when he really heard Matthew say the terms of the contract, Lan Li's heart still set off turbulent waves. George almost gave Lan Li all the right to make decisions about artistic creation, or gave Lan Li enough rights to maintain his own creation, which is equivalent to giving Lan Li the right to create an album completely according to his own ideas.

In the field of film, this is completely impossible, because the producer is the supreme existence of the entire crew, with the decisive veto power, but in the field of music, the singer is the soul of the whole album, which gives the singer the final decision, but this right is not available to everyone.

Even singers like Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Madonna, Mariah-Carey, and Bruno-Mars are willing to let go of power after years in the industry, with a solid fan base and an affirmation of their art style. Otherwise, it is still the record company that holds the right to make the decision.

Now, George has drastically handed over all his rights to the fledgling Lan Li, so bold, so decisive, so determined, so determined, not only amazing, but even more admirable. Compared to the "crazy love" Drake Doremus, George's desperate gamble is even stronger, and it is hard not to be moved.

Lan Li recalled today's exchange, the two of them just talked briefly, and did not discuss the details too much, who would have thought that behind the understatement, it was such an earth-shattering content.

Holding the lemonade in his hand, Lan Li was a little distracted 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, and he can't help but gently tug the corners of his mouth, complaining and teasing, "If I didn't know you, I would think that you must have obtained this contract through unspoken rules, and Sugar-Daddy's kind of thing." ”

Lan Li also showed a smile in his eyes, and returned indifferently, "A sweetheart dad can get such a contract, this deal is really cost-effective." ”

Matthew laughed dumbly, and had to admit that what Lan Li said made a lot of sense, because this was not all there was to the contract.

George also wrote in black and white in the contract that you would receive 15 percent in royalties on this album and 25 percent of what you would earn. In addition, the budget for the album is $150,000. Matthew put the contract on the table, a hint of surprise in his eyes, "I don't know where this level is in the industry, but I do know that if he's not your sweetheart, then he's a lunatic." ”

Lan Li didn't respond immediately, picked up the lemonade, took a sip, calmed down his turbulent thoughts a little, and then said with a light smile, "He is indeed a madman who goes bankrupt for music." ”

Regarding the dividend model of the album, Lan Li is not surprised. George had already spoken to Andy Rogers, a professional film agent who only scratched the surface of the music part, but before the negotiations, Andy had an in-depth look at the current market and then completed all the negotiations.

Lan Li remembered that Andy's evaluation at the time was, "He is so sincere, I am embarrassed to continue to raise the price." If every job is so easy, I won't be able to do it, and you can do all the signing work yourself. ”

The process of making an album is, in a way, the same as a movie.

In the first stage, the production company allocates a budget, sets up a project, hands it over to a producer, and starts production.

In the second stage, the producer looks for the director, actors, screenwriters, and the entire production team, and starts 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, and the distribution company contacts the theater chain to develop a publicity and distribution strategy, and then the film is released.

In the fourth stage, the box office is released, and the production company, production team, distribution company, and theater chain divide the income.

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

Basically, that's how movies are made, and it's the same with albums, just changing the production company to a record label. It's just that in the "second stage", the album and the movie are different.

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

This money is not a signing fee, it is called an advance payment in the jargon, but it can actually be regarded as part of the signing fee, which is completely the income of the artist, and the artist can freely dispose of this fee.

But in fact, there are still prerequisites for the so-called "freedom". Because this advance payment is not only the artist's living expenses before he earns income from the album, but also the cost of producing the album. In other words, the entire team that produced the album was formed by the artists themselves and paid for by themselves.

In the process of making an album, the artist first needs to find the right producer, then assemble a recording team that includes recording engineers, instrumentalists, arrangers, etc., then rent a recording studio and start the recording work, and finally complete the mixing and post-production.

All costs for the entire process are covered by this advance payment. Of course, if it is a new 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 to make an average pop album. This is just the most basic cost, not including the cost of hiring a big name singer, not including the cost of shooting music videos, not including insurance and the cost of unexpected circumstances.

The music market is in a slump now, and record companies don't have the lavish money they used to have when it comes to paying artists upfront. For newcomers, it is generally less than $350,000, and for intermediate artists, it is about $350,000 to 500,000, while 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 it is a superstar like Beyoncé who intends to make a burning album of more than 500,000 yuan, the record company chooses to nod and agree after careful consideration, but they will not pay it all in one go, but choose to pay in batches. After the first batch is spent, the allocation will be continued.

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

Then, the record company will pay a second or even a third advance payment until the album is finished, the difference is that the first payment belongs entirely to the artist, that is, it does not need to be repaid in the future, but not after the album is released, the record company will deduct the corresponding amount from the artist's income.

Therefore, after signing their first record contract, many rookie singers spend a lot of money on luxury cars, or drinking/drugs/drugs, parties, and squandering them, then they will soon fall into the dilemma of "debt".

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

Instead, George paid entirely out of his own pocket and threw himself into the production of the album.

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

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

But the problem is that this album has a unique style, and the reason why it chose to leave the record company and complete the production independently is because it is worried that the mainstream market will not appreciate it. If no record company is willing to sign a contract, then the album can only be sealed in the warehouse, which means that George's investment is completely lost.

Even if Don Quixote successfully signed with the record label, George took much more risks than that. The cost of making the album was only a part of the process before the third phase, and there were royalties involved, and the contract continued the same pattern, putting all the risk on George alone!