Mysterious Guest

"She's dancing, she's dancing

You're about to see

The hottie going lower and lower and lower and lower and lower and lower..."

With the mysterious guest's appearance, the anniversary celebration reached its climax, and countless glittering paper flowers drifted down over the venue.

Standing among several particularly gorgeous backup dancers was a burly Black man dressed in a tight black tank top. He had a buzz cut, large diamond earrings, a necklace, and rings that glittered brilliantly under the lights.

No one had expected the mysterious guest at this celebration to be the red-hot Flo Rida.

His collaboration with T-Pain, LOW, had topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on December 30, 2007, and remained at number one for ten consecutive weeks. It was still in the Hot 100's top ten. It had sold more than 400,000 copies online during its first week, and it was with this song that pop music had gradually begun relying on online sales.

On the latest Hot 100, Mariah Carey's Touch My Body was number one, followed by British super-rookie Leona Lewis's Bleeding Love. Madonna, Justin Timberlake, and Timbaland's collaboration 4 Minutes took third, while Lil Wayne and Usher ranked fourth and fifth.

The new generation was also beginning to emerge. Rihanna's Don't Stop the Music and Miley's See You Again occupied eleventh and twelfth place.

As for Taylor, her previous number-one hits had only topped the country music chart. Her highest-ranked song on the Hot 100 singles chart, "Teardrops on My Guitar," had reached only number sixteen and stayed there for just one week. At present, her two singles ranked twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth. "Teardrops on My Guitar" had remained on the chart for more than forty weeks, indirectly proving how widely her songs had spread.

Ryan was standing toward the back when he heard Joel discussing the current chart rankings. It seemed the industry was benefiting from the dividends of online distribution. Although the recording industry was slowly shrinking in terms of output value, its internal development was showing a scene of "vitality everywhere, with all things competing to flourish."

"Ryan, when are you going to reach number one on the Billboard charts?" Joel couldn't help asking the question that struck at the soul.

For Ryan at present, the question had no answer. Without a record company, there were no promotional slots. Without promotional slots, he could never get onto the Billboard charts. Without getting onto the Billboard charts, he could never become popular. Without popularity, he would have even fewer promotional slots. It was a vicious cycle.

Ryan had yet to respond when Joel's phone rang. He walked off to a quiet place to answer it.

That was when Ryan noticed Marvin chatting with a woman. From time to time, the two of them glanced over at him.

Then Marvin waved Ryan over.

"Let me introduce you. This is a representative from Atlantic Records' A&R department," Marvin said.

Ryan knew Atlantic Records. It was a golden brand under the Warner Music Group.

"The creator of 'Harlem shake' and Tremor, it's a pleasure to meet you." She took the initiative to shake Ryan's hand.

"Atlantic Records has been laying out its plans in the electronic music field for several years. You've met David Guetta, right? He also performed at Ultra Music. At present, the only electronic music song to reach the Billboard charts is David Guetta's single 'Love Is Gone,' released last year. Of course, that wouldn't have been possible without Atlantic Records' promotional work behind the scenes. Kid, if you want to develop a DJ career in the United States, Atlantic is your best choice. Bar none." Marvin spoke with absolute certainty. Ryan had no idea what kind of under-the-table deal he had with Atlantic Records.

The female Atlantic A&R representative took the opportunity to say that she could offer Ryan the same contract terms as David Guetta. Clearly, she had seen his potential after his two songs spread so quickly.

But when Ryan brought up a key condition like the contract's duration, she merely smiled faintly and said there was no room for negotiation.

In a sense, Ryan had encountered a situation similar to the one at the Winter Music Festival.

The difference was that, after all this time for the buzz to build, the major record company that had come to negotiate with Ryan was now at the very top of the industry.

The other side had not completely refused to budge, either. Details such as the division of revenue from music videos could still be discussed.

Ryan noted down her contact information and prepared to discuss the matter with Trey after he returned. Then he parted ways with the two of them.

Less than a minute later, a nightclub server came to Ryan and said that someone had invited him to have a private chat in a VIP room. Ryan didn't dare enter such a room, and only after questioning the server repeatedly did he learn that DJ Khaled was the one who had invited him.

Ryan immediately thought of the man named Scooter whom he had met the day before. Just then, Joel returned after finishing his phone call.

"Ryan, is everything all right?" Joel asked with an awkward smile, trying to make small talk. Ryan didn't know whose orders he had received.

"Not at all. You have to go in my place." Ryan suddenly came up with an idea.

Ryan had Joel attend the meeting in his place. As his partner, Joel could fully represent him. When Joel heard that someone from the Def Jam camp had invited him, he immediately agreed and followed the server away in high spirits.

Ryan wasn't worried that anything would happen to Joel. Those people were surrounded by beautiful women day and night. No matter what, they wouldn't be interested in a short, fat man with a potato face like him.

·

Late that night, Joel returned to the room, brimming with excitement.

"Ryan, Khalid said he hopes you'll join Def Jam South! He also revealed some details. Next year, he'll become the president of Def Jam South, and he plans to enter the electronic music field. You're going to be famous!" Joel grabbed Ryan by the shoulders.

"When you say famous, do you mean my ass is on fire?" Ryan couldn't help laughing.

"What do you mean? Def Jam is an industry giant. Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Kanye West, Ludacris, Fall Out Boy, Bon Jovi—those are all platinum-level singers!" Joel looked baffled. He had clearly been thoroughly persuaded in the private room.

Ryan went straight to the computer. He had returned early and looked up a great deal of information online.

"A few years ago, Universal merged Island and Def Jam into a new group. Do you know who the group's chairman is now? L.A. Reid—the same person Marvin mentioned yesterday, the shareholder of this nightclub, and Puff Daddy's daddy."

"JAY-Z oversees Def Jam's business. He was the one who built Rihanna up. At the beginning of this year, JAY-Z officially announced that he was leaving Def Jam and teaming up with Live Nation to establish his own entertainment company, Roc Nation. Rihanna will obviously be leaving with him."

"L.A. Reid?" Joel froze, then slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Then forget it. You're young and delicate. If someone else doesn't become famous, something else might become famous first." Joel shook his head repeatedly.

"But I have another option... You can join Big Machine!" Joel suddenly brought it up.

"Is this your plan, or Taylor's plan?" Ryan smiled. He had seen through Joel's little scheme long ago.

Joel smiled sheepishly. "She called me just now and said she could introduce me to a new recording studio. I just..."

He'd been bought off, and had conveniently told her all about his current situation.

"Don't talk about her. Marvin just introduced me to an A&R representative from Atlantic Records," Ryan said.

Joel was puzzled. The shareholders here were from L.A. Reid's camp, and the artists who came were all connected to him. Why would Atlantic Records be here?

"Because of Flo Rida. He's signed to a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and Khalid helped him early in his career. His first singing opportunity was given to him by Khalid," Ryan explained. He had found all of this online. It was public information.

Collaborations between singers in the American music scene were extremely common, such as jointly releasing singles. In principle, as long as there was no serious conflict of interest, singers under different groups could collaborate. Of course, the prerequisite was that the singers themselves were willing.

"So, right now, your only target is Atlantic Records?" Joel ventured.

"Not necessarily." Ryan thought of Tiesto, who had put his music on the Club Life program.

·

At the same time, a plane flying directly from Amsterdam to Nashville had just landed. At the airport, a man carrying only simple luggage took out his phone and reported the situation to his family and colleagues in Dutch...

Unless something unexpected happened, there should be three updates tomorrow. Please follow the book!