King of Hollywood
Chapter 645 - 53 The General Election

Chapter 645: Chapter 53 The General Election

This matter dates back to 1998. Before that, MCM was still a second-tier record company even though it had already launched some decent singers and groups. But when Britney and Christina emerged, it suddenly caught everyone’s attention, becoming a place many young singers aspired to be. So, one day in 1998, 21-year-old Allen Kemi, who was supposed to form a band with a few friends to be the guitarist and to handle most of the songwriting, joined MCM as an intern.

After about half a year of interning, since his performance was fairly good, he became a formal employee. He then participated in the production of several albums for Britney and Christina, and he started to write songs. The first one he wrote was "Wherever You Will Go". To be precise, it was the prototype of "Wherever You Will Go". Norton thought it was pretty good after listening to it. As Adrian was looking for new songs for Avril, he recommended it.

Though parts of the melody and lyrics were different from the original, it still easily evoked Adrian’s memories of "Wherever You Will Go". That song had also been widely circulated. If it weren’t for the band’s low profile and the lack of a good record company to push it, it wouldn’t have taken nearly two years post-release to start charting, and its achievement wouldn’t have been so modest.

Naturally, Adrian bought the song, and under his advice, Norton and Kemi polished it. The final product was almost identical to the original. However, since it was prepared for Avril, part of the lyrics was modified to fit the identity of a female singer better. With Adrian’s approval, Kemi thus secured a stable position at MCM. As for The Calling... Well, it wasn’t the only "debt of blood" in Adrian’s hands, so there was no need to care too much.

The song was ready by the end of 1999, but for various reasons—mainly Avril’s birthday—it was delayed until the end of September this year to be released. That didn’t matter, as the song was already in hand, ready to be recorded and released at any time.

Although Avril really wanted her debut to be a collaboration between Adrian and Norton, she still loved this song, especially the chorus.

"This feeling is so great, I love the sensation of belting it out!" the young girl excitedly said to Adrian more than once during recording.

In both her past and present life, her singing had one particular attribute – she loved to belt out the chorus with a powerful voice. That roaring, cathartic sensation could easily resonate with the audience. It was both her strength and her weakness. The advantage was that such passionate expression could easily attract young music fans. The downside was that if she never changed her style, she might quickly lose popularity.

But there was no rush; she was far from that stage yet. She could sing joyfully in her own way without any reservations, and she could slowly adjust according to market feedback later. Besides, she still had Adrian. If he hadn’t been somewhat familiar with Avril’s style, he wouldn’t have decided to use "Wherever You Will Go" as her debut single. In fact, his decision proved correct – the girl and the song matched perfectly, and upon release, it quickly broke into the top ten of Billboard’s top 100.

This was an impressive achievement now – right after Christina released her new album at the beginning of the previous month, the top ten of the Billboard top 100 became the domain of her and Britney. Adrian "borrowed" some famous songs by Norah Jones for her, added some good songs from memory that were similar to her style, and with the backing music team tailoring it, Christina’s new album released this year also became popular.

Of course, in terms of sales and popularity, she still lagged behind Britney. To date, Britney’s new album had sold 25 million copies worldwide, and breaking 30 million sales was only a matter of time. Even with the East Asian market also opening up for Christina, her new album’s sales had just crossed the 10-million threshold, though it began its release later.

Regardless, both were fiercely competing at the top 100, and Adrian, who had originally decided to make sure all of Britney’s songs reached the top spot on the Billboard charts and had racked his brains to gather so many hits, would not tolerate failure. Aside from three light rock songs that had to wait to hit the top of their specific charts, the rest of the seven songs had each taken a turn at the top spot on the top 100. The songs prepared for Christina might not have been as classic, but they were of quite high quality too, which led to the present situation: Britney and Christina occupied seven or eight spots in the top ten of the Billboard top 100 for a long time.

Even, during a certain week last month, the entire top ten was taken up by the two, with Britney holding six spots and Christina four, causing many in the music industry to marvel. Many music critics published their views – some purely analyzing the music, some dissecting the two female singers, and some doubting data manipulation, given that MCM Records, or now Universal Music, and ABC shared the same parent company.

However, Adrian had anticipated this situation and made the numbers as transparent as possible, increasing public relations efforts outside of the rules – so finding faults was not so easy.

Overall, this summer, Britney and Christina became the most dazzling female singers in the music industry. Their competition across various platforms continued to be a hot topic for tabloids and the public, and their fans also hurled abuse at each other in various situations to defend their idols. No one was happier than Pepsi and Coca-Cola, with data showing significant growth in beverage sales over the summer, especially for Pepsi, which found its $8 million expenditure to have Britney as a spokesperson to be incredibly worthwhile.

Aside from that, Eric Norton was also pleased. With the success of these two albums, the new position of Artistic Director at Universal Music was his for the taking.

Although Britney and Christina had reached a point in the record company where they didn’t even greet each other, the scale of their competition was still within a certain range. In various programs, they would still praise the other or recall their days at the Mickey Mouse Club. They’d even appear affectionate when attending events together, without a hint of discord. Women were naturally good actresses.

Of course, such scenarios would never occur in bed, especially when they’re playing wildly—neither woman would stop until they’ve thoroughly overwhelmed the other.

Oops, I’ve digressed again. During the two months before Britney and Christina dominated the top 10 of the Billboard Top 100, other singers either steered clear or lacked any competitive edge. Even if they managed to break into the top 10, they could at best only reach seventh place. Now, the debut single of a newcomer breaking through this barrier and securing the fifth spot in such a short time, how could that not be exhilarating?

Naturally, to the more experienced singers and music producers, this wasn’t exactly good news. This newcomer belonged to the same record label as Britney and Christina.

Avril, on the other hand, wasn’t concerned about these things. Her sole response to the success of her debut single was joy and excitement; it was only after Kristen reminded her that she remembered to throw a celebratory party. Consequently, she decided to host it at the Stuarts’, where she had been staying.

"I think you should rent a bar or something outside. Don’t you think it’s a bit too crowded and troublesome here?" Adrian, who never missed an opportunity, asked Avril upon his arrival.

The girl was dressed with a stylish flair today. Thanks to the good results of her single, the plans for her music video were also about to begin, so the various outfits designed for her initially could now be utilized. That’s why she was now in her current attire: long hair flowing, wearing a short-sleeved tee, denim jeans, canvas shoes, and her eyes adorned with moderate makeup.

However, it wasn’t Avril who answered Adrian; it was the ten-year-old Kristen Stewart.

"Are you implying that our house is too narrow and shabby to host a party?" Kristen Stewart stood with her hands on her hips, striking a lazy pose. But with her short hair and androgynous look, she had quite the delinquent vibe, which was amusing.

"Of course not, I just think since this is your home, it wouldn’t be appropriate if something got damaged or dirty," Adrian quickly waved his hands and said.

"It’s fine, there aren’t too many people coming anyway," Avril chimed in, playing peacemaker.

"Alright, alright. Let’s change the subject—Kristen, if you keep dressing like this, be careful, or you may never get married," Adrian laughed heartily.

"Uncle ED!" Avril couldn’t help but raise her voice.

"Alright, let’s drop it," Adrian raised his hands in surrender under Kristen’s glare and then patted the girl’s arm, "Congratulations, Vini, truly impressive. Your passion is so intense, it could almost melt someone."

"Thanks." Avril smiled sweetly for a change, then seemed to remember something and cleared her throat softly.

Adrian didn’t seem to notice and continued: "I’ve already got an outline for the second single. As long as I have a talk with Eric, I believe we can finish the first draft quite soon. I think this song suits you too. If it does well, then we can start preparing your first album."

"Really?" Avril’s face lit up with surprise.

"I think I still have that much credibility," Adrian arched an eyebrow, feigning displeasure.

"No, I just..." The girl gestured frantically, trying to explain.

"Okay, okay, I was just kidding," Adrian laughed, "But there are two things I want to remind you, Vini. First, when you have time, practice the piano more since you’ll need to play it yourself for the second single; second, get ready to write some songs, as your first album should definitely include songs written by you."

Although Avril’s face turned a shade paler at the mention of piano practice, the latter statement lifted her spirits: "No problem!"

"Aren’t you going to show some gratitude for the good news?" Adrian winked at that moment.

Avril immediately pulled a funny face: "This is it."

After they finished, she ran off with Kristen, who even threw in, "Goodbye, Uncle ED."

From her mischievous smile, it was easy to tell she probably knew this wasn’t exactly a term of endearment. Adrian simply shrugged; he didn’t take it to heart. As for Avril... although it was only a moment, he still noticed the quick flash of discomfort across her face. This kind of reaction had been there since the last trip to Napanee. Adrian could roughly guess what was on Avril’s mind, but for this girl known for her personality, even if he could catch a glimpse into her thoughts, it was difficult to turn that into an advantage.

Adrian would never overlook certain things just because they got along well, especially after last year’s lesson. Avril was neither Kate nor Sarah. Despite having weaknesses and flaws, she still had a very independent character. Don’t assume the lively persona she shows in front of Adrian is all there is to her. She’s had her fair share of arguments with the teachers during training.

It was also because Adrian took a liking to her from the start and even personally visited to extend an invitation that it was nearly impossible for her to treat him this way otherwise.

But that’s okay, there’s always time, and with memories from his previous life to draw upon, Adrian believed there could be no problem in this world that couldn’t be solved.

That was September’s business, and then, shortly after entering October, a challenging issue presented itself.

"Accused of monopolizing?" Adrian raised his eyebrows as he listened to Claude’s briefing.

"Yes, accused of monopolizing. The FCC needs to carry out a series of reviews on this deal," Claude sighed.

"Damn, why don’t they investigate Time Warner based on this?" Although Adrian had anticipated such a scenario, he still complained.

"Because AT&T Broadband’s coverage reaches 38 states, and Warner doesn’t have ABC," Claude replied simply, then added, "But this time, Warner is on our side."

"Of course." Adrian waved his hand dismissively. If Warner wasn’t on their side, what would they do if someone used the same excuse against them in the future?

From this perspective, choosing AT&T Broadband over Comcast was a very wise decision. If he tried to acquire both companies simultaneously, there was no question that the antitrust regulatory agencies would intervene. As a group lacking history, it would be easy to fall prey to collective opposition in such situations.

"Has the FCC given a deadline for the review?" Adrian immediately asked.

"No, not even an informal deadline," Claude spread his hands, causing Adrian to frown—it was not good news.

In mid-last month, Hasbro eventually couldn’t escape their grasp and became a member of AC Media, and then after nearly half a month, Claude formally submitted an acquisition proposal to AT&T Broadband. The move shocked many: first, because they had just completed the acquisition of Hasbro and were immediately targeting a much bigger prospect that toy companies couldn’t compare with; and second, because most people working in the media industry knew what AT&T Broadband meant.

"They’re taking too much risk, I don’t think acquiring AT&T Broadband is a wise choice," Murdoch said during an interview about AC Media’s move.

Although Redstone didn’t make his stance explicit, there were rumors that he complained in private about those two arrogant youngsters at AC Media.

In general, most people were skeptical about the acquisition. While AC Media always appeared to be flush with cash, acquiring TBS, ABC, Universal — seeming never to worry about funding, and while they also created many miracles and always managed quite well— the loss reported in the first quarter of the year made it evident to discerning eyes what was going on. However, some things weren’t so easily accomplished, and the FCC’s subsequent halt seemed to prove their point.

"Even Redstone is slightly biased towards others," Claude explained, "While he always had faith in us, he wishes we peruse stable development. Therefore, if there is a serious setback, he would not hesitate to reveal his claws immediately. On top of that, Comcast seems eager to wrestle the ownership of AT&T Broadband from us."

"So, are we ’besieged on all sides’ now?" Adrian suddenly laughed.

"I hate Chinese," Claude rolled his eyes.

"It translates to ’Besieged on all sides’; I think it’s quite descriptive," Adrian calmly said.

"Besieged from all sides? Indeed, it’s quite descriptive," Claude cocked his head and pondered, "Everyone doesn’t want us to get AT&T Broadband, even Warner who is on our side."

"What does dear Mr. McDonald say?" Adrian suddenly asked.

"What else can he say, the old fox, just like Mr. Garcia, they will not make their stance clear until the situation is definite," Claude shrugged again.

According to United States law, there are two senators per state, and both senators from California have received substantial political contributions from AC Media. In general, investing in senators is more cost-effective than investing in the president; senators have longer terms, re-election is relatively more manageable, and they hold considerable power—every major conglomerate has its spokesperson in Congress.

However, senators will not accept political contributions from a single conglomerate alone, not because the law limits political contributions—that’s too easy to circumvent—but for their own political future and to command a higher price. There are congressmen who are tied to a particular conglomerate, but such senators are few and far between, so getting such an answer is not surprising at all.

"What’s your take on this year’s election, Crow?" Tapping his fingers back and forth on the armrest, Adrian suddenly asked.

"The election?" Claude raised an eyebrow, "Specific details require checking the records, and the election day hasn’t arrived yet, the situation is not so clear. However, Gore is not doing well in traditional Republican strongholds like New Mexico, Colorado, while Junior Bush has certain advantages in states like Oregon, Idaho,"

"Perhaps..." Adrian slowly said, resting his chin on his hand, "you could send a private representative to have a discreet meeting with Senior Bush." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)