David Geffen has been thinking of being a big newspaper owner for a few years, and he wants the Los Angeles Times more than anything else.

This is one of the most influential and best-selling newspapers on the West Coast of the United States. It can be said that on the West Coast, it is the boss of the newspapers, and it is a very influential media.

With David Geffen's current net worth, he has the financial resources to buy this top five newspaper in the United States.

Unlike what many people imagine, those big newspapers in the United States, except for the "Wall Street Journal", which is somewhat over-spec.

The market value of other newspapers is not particularly expensive.

Especially now, after experiencing the impact of the Internet, the print media is no longer as powerful as it used to be.

At its peak, the Los Angeles Times, for example, had a market capitalization of more than $2 billion.

But by now, its market capitalization has only about $1 billion left. However, this market value has made it one of the most valuable single newspapers in the industry.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that with the continuous development of the Internet, the paper media that used to call for wind and rain will either transform or can only accept the decline.

Therefore, in the eyes of many people, the newspaper industry has long been a sunset industry, and it will only become less and less worthwhile.

It was probably for this reason that David Geffen had the idea of buying the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Times, which is not in decline, is not qualified to have ......

The current owner of the Los Angeles Times is Tribune, the second-largest newspaper group in the United States.

In August 2000, Forum acquired The Times-Mirror for $8.3 billion, and the Los Angeles Times became the property of Tribune.

"Okay. It seems that you are very resolute. ”

Looking at the other side, David Geffen still plans to chase his dream after some persuasion.

Abel also gave up the idea of continuing to persuade him.

Everyone has their own ambitions, not to mention that now that DreamWorks Music has begun to mature, even without David Geffen, it can still develop well.

Besides, David Geffen has agreed to continue to work as an executive producer and consultant, and he can still be allowed to return to work if needed.

"I'm sorry, but it's been a dream I've had since I was a kid. From a very young age, I always wanted to have my own newspaper. ”

David Geffin said apologetically, he didn't dare to really make Abel angry.

The current Abel is no longer the Abel who talked and laughed with him on Ovitz's yacht.

Nor is it the Wall Street tycoon who just entered the media field when he first bought DreamWorks.

Now Abel is already one of the few people in the kingdom.

Even if he is as rich as David Geffen, in the face of such a behemoth, he actually has no backhand power if he is targeted.

David Geffen thought clearly, "I just want to own a newspaper, and the specific work will be done by professional people." And I'm going to continue to do my job, such as film and music. Dear BOSS, this is what we said in the beginning. ”

Seeing that his attitude is okay and his statement is very clear, Abel nodded with satisfaction, "But it's not so easy for you to get the Los Angeles Times." Although Tribune Group has continued to lose money in recent years, the losses are not large. Well, I can get people to contact Steve Case, but I don't think things will go well. ”

Hearing Abel's words, David Geffen nodded happily.

Steve Keyes is the founder and current CEO of Tribune Group and has a high profile in the American media community.

If David Geffen had gone to him and said he was going to buy the Los Angeles Times, a part of the Tribune Group.

There is a good chance that David Geffen will be reprimanded by Steve Keys and kicked out of the office.

The same thing, if Abel does it instead, even Abel doesn't need to go there in person. Just send someone to Chicago with his fame and discuss it with Steve Case.

Steve Keys will deal with it very seriously, even if the hope of getting the Los Angeles Times from the other side is not high, but it is much better than David Geffen going himself.

It's a difference in status.

At this point, David Geffen is finally satisfied.

The general manager of DreamWorks Music actually knows that he wants to get the Los Angeles Times right now, which is a bit unrealistic.

Although Tribune has been doing a bad job lately, it can continue to survive.

The Los Angeles Times is also very important, and Tribune cannot easily part with it.

Geffen did this, in fact, he was a little afraid that Abel would forget about it, or deliberately forget it.

He just wanted to remind Abel that Abel was willing to help now and hadn't really forgotten about it.

David Geffen was satisfied.

The two chatted a few more words, and David Geffen invited Abel to visit DreamWorks Music.

"Dear boss, this is your second time at DreamWorks Music. You can't just sit and walk around the office, maybe you should show up in the company and let our singers know who their boss is. ”

"So what are you waiting for?" Abel looked at the time, and around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, he said with a smile: "I actually want to know how the singers make those songs in the recording studio." ”

David Geffen laughed and led Abel out of the office to make his rounds around DreamWorks Music's West Coast headquarters.

The real headquarters of Music DreamWorks is in New York, but that headquarters is actually primarily used as a broker center, an administrative center, and a business center.

Although the entire Smith Building is Abel's, there are too many companies under his umbrella.

As an office space, the entire Smith Building is assigned to its companies, and the office area that each company can allocate is relatively fixed.

Important companies such as Smith Capital, Smith Bank, etc., of course, have a wider and larger venue.

The entire Smith Media is not small, but when it comes to DreamWorks Music, it is only enough for 200 people to work.

So apart from a couple of recording studios in Brooklyn and Queens, the headquarters was more of a hub.

Instead of playing a more important role in the company's operations, it is this branch here in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles branch's main office space and recording studio is not in the MGM Building, but in the Arts District of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles' Arts District, similar to Manhattan's Chelsea district. In the early days, it was a gathering place for a group of painters and artists who came to Los Angeles to make a living, and now it has developed into an art district in Los Angeles.

The entire Arts District is located on the east side of downtown Los Angeles and is one of the cheapest in the city.

This is also the reason why most of the world's so-called art districts were able to take shape in the first place.

Generally speaking, those who engage in art are very extreme in terms of income.

The top class is rich in flowing oil, but the middle and lower classes are living in poverty. If you don't have money, of course, the rent is cheaper.

Like Manhattan's Chelsea district and Los Angeles' arts district, this is how they were formed in the early years.

Not far from the Bradbury Building, an iconic building in the Arts District, the company bought a twenty-storey building that serves as the West Coast headquarters for the entire DreamWorks Music, the headquarters of another music giant, Warner Music Group, on the same street.

"The company has four recording studios in Los Angeles, and one of them is inside the building."

David Geffen walked in front, followed by Abel and a group of company executives.

You can see that the expressions on everyone's faces are very excited, and they all surround Abel.

There are not many opportunities to see the living American legend of the world's richest man so closely.

"Is there anyone recording right now?" Abel casually mentioned.

David Geffen immediately replied: "Yes, Faith Hill is working on her latest album, Cry, which is also her fifth solo studio album. ”

Faith Hill...... The country music singer who sang "Faith"? Abel was impressed.

Faith Hill is probably the most famous country music singer in the United States at present. She has many songs that are very popular in the United States.

The music that Abel liked to listen to in his predecessor was mainly country music.

This makes the current Abel know and understand the female singer Faith Hill.

"Yes." David Geffen laughs, "It was one of Fest's most successful songs, and that album has sold more than 8 million copies. It also earned Faith the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocalist for the second year. ”

Abel nodded, he remembered that this Faith Hill was quite pretty.

made his debut very early, and he has been famous for at least 10 years now, and his estimated age is not low.

"Let's go check it out, I'm curious how the singers make albums in the studio." Abel said casually.

David Geffing, along with the rest of the executives, took Abel to the recording studio.

At this time, most of the employees and singers of the Los Angeles branch of Music DreamWorks already knew their real bosses and were patrolling the company.

This kind of thing can't deceive people, and you can guess from the fact that there are suddenly a lot of mysterious people in black suits and serious expressions in the company.

As soon as these mysterious people entered, they patrolled everywhere, guarding important places such as doorways, aisles, etc. There were even some metal-exploring devices in their hands to check if they were carrying anything they shouldn't be carrying.

This is obviously the bodyguard of the big boss, and everyone is more and more sure that Abel Smith must be in the company now.

DreamWorks Music, Los Angeles Branch, Singer Lounge.

Kanye West, one of the hottest rap singers in the United States who is chatting with Celine Dion, received this message.

"Wow, Mr. Smith is here?! Is this true?! ”

Kanye West, who released two albums in a year and a half, both of which sold hot in the hip-hop circle, is now one of the superstars among black singers.

But Kanye West will never forget that he was able to have this moment because of his adventure in Madison Square Gardens in New York.

Without that brave attack, God knows how long it will take for JAY-Z to release an album for himself, and he may even fool himself, drag himself, and not give himself money to release an album.

So after becoming famous, Kanye West was proud of his bravery and decisiveness at that time, and he was also grateful to the big boss for his appreciation at that time.

This makes him famous after he can be said to talk about his glorious deeds when he meets people.

His approach made this matter spread, and let people in the United States know that Kanye West, who is now popular in the hip-hop circle, was personally excavated by Abel, Bole.

In fact, this can also be regarded as Kanye West's practice of increasing his own value.

The singer drawn out by Abel Smith Jane also proves that Smith has an impression of this person. This made Kanye West's status in the American music circle suddenly a little higher.

Of course, it can't be compared to Britney and innocent punk.

It's different from Kanye West, which DreamWorks Music cultivated itself. Celine Dion is similar to Faith Hill, both singers who have become famous and were later attracted by David Geffen with lucrative conditions.

Hearing this news at this moment, Kanye West, who was excited and happy when he saw it, Celine Dion was also full of curiosity:

"Oh! Our boss is here, and I haven't seen him in person until now. Hey, it seems like once, on top of the Grammys. But I was far away from him at the time, and it would have been nice to see him up close this time. ”

Kanye West smiled and said, "Celine, believe me, our boss is very easy-going. We should all be able to see him today, let's go outside and see how it goes. ”

Celine Dion thought about it and agreed.

The two men exited the lounge door and each got into the elevator with an assistant.

The assistant inquired about the good news, and the two already knew that the boss was now in the recording studio and was watching Faith Hill record an album.

"I knew I should have recorded my second album now!" Kanye West immediately said with some regret.

"So what the boss is watching is that I'm recording an album."

His second album, which started recording three months ago, went on sale half a month ago, and sold very well.

This completely established Kanye's position in the hip-hop circle.

Celine Dion took a second look at the black man, and felt that this black man was too good at sycophancy.

But she was actually very envious in her heart, she knew that Kanye West was indeed in the company and received some preferential treatment from David Geffen.

This can be seen from Kanye West's two albums in a year and a half, as well as the degree of publicity of the album.

And the reason why Kanye West is valued by David Geffen, Celine Dion feels that part of it is because this black man probably really had a little relationship with Abel Smith at the beginning.

Thinking of Abel Smith again, now watching Faith Hill record an album in the studio, she is wondering if Faith Hill has a month to retire from the big boss.

Because compared to herself, Faith Hill, who is the same age as her, can indeed be called a beauty.

Just as he was thinking this, the elevator door that had not yet reached the target floor was opened.

Celine Dion saw a group of young men and women standing outside and wanted to come in, but was slightly stunned because she saw two big-name singers inside.

Soon, the group of young men and women greeted her and Kanye and squeezed in.

At this time, Celine Dion had already recognized that these young men and women, who looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, and only eleven or twelve years old, were a group of good seedlings dug up by the company's scouts.

David Geffen is a man who works in a music company and has two well-known hobbies.

One is that he likes to poach famous singers, and the other is that he likes to tune and cultivate those seedlings with potential.

Like Kanye West and Avril Lavigne, these two singers who are now very popular in the European and American music scenes, are both works by David Geffen.

Of course, everyone knows why David Geffen chose these two expensive ways of doing business.

David Geffen has a money owner.

You must know that excavating famous singers and cultivating a large number of new talents, these are all costly and laborious practices.

There's no money to play.

Thinking of this, Celine Dion's gaze swept over the group of young men and women.

She wondered if there might be a new Kanye West or Avril Lavigne in the future.

Who could it be?

Celine Dion is a little bored and wants to pick out the possible future emperor superstars among these people.

But she didn't know these young men and women, and she could only judge by their looks, there were blacks and whites, men and women, and it was difficult to judge.

However, there was a young girl inside, which caught Celine Dion's attention.

It's not that this girl is particularly beautiful, but she looks very young, but she is very tall, with small golden curly hair, and eyes like foxes, which are very distinctive.

And perhaps because Celine Dion and Kanye were there, the young men and women who were chattering outside did not dare to speak after entering the elevator.

The atmosphere was a little dreary, and everyone squeezed out until they reached the elevator door.

Well, the purpose is the same, it's all to get off the elevator on the floor of the recording studio.

Stepping out of the elevator, Celine Dion heard a little black girl and said to the little fox-eyed blonde girl, "Wow, Taylor, that's a lot of people!" ”

There are indeed a lot of people, and everyone wants to come and see the boss up close.

The man wanted to be like Kanye West, to be valued by the boss, and then the journey was very smooth.

The woman wants to be like Britney and pure punk, being favored by the boss, and then soaring into the sky.

Like Hollywood, they are no different from Grammys.

For music, for art? Let's talk about it.

There are too many people in the corridors, and they have to undergo security checks, and the elevators have been restricted from coming out.

Kanye West and Celine Dion found out for a moment that they couldn't squeeze in front.

In fact, it is not completely impossible to squeeze, among those young men and women, Celine Dion saw that the little black girl and the little girl with fox eyes that she had just noticed were petite and bold by their bodies, and the two of them had already squeezed to the front.

Celine Dion and Kanye West have both become famous, and they have some idol baggage, so it's not good to do this kind of thing.

Soon, when Celine Dion wanted to complain to Kanye about too many people.

The two heard cheers from the front, and then heard Abel Smith's voice.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the Kingdom of Music. I'm Abel Smith, and it's a pleasure to see you all today. ”