Bluffing

After closing the door, Song Ya tidied up the sofa and the remaining mess before heading out to find Eric.

"Where's Joe?" he asked.

Coming over last night was only part of the plan; he needed an excuse to visit Joe Music and "accidentally" run into Joe after he finished his promotional tour.

"He's not coming back this week. He went to Los Angeles."

He hadn't expected to receive such bad news.

Song Ya had no choice but to ask Eric to drive him and Allie home, using the ride to fish for information. Eric didn't have much guard up against him and spilled everything that had happened during the promotional tour.

In Atlanta, Joe had listened to someone's suggestion and planned to hire a Hollywood PR firm to intervene in the album's promotion. Pablo, who favored a partnership with Warner Bros, naturally opposed it fiercely, and the two had another massive argument. Afterward, Pablo left suddenly with Little Lowry, AK, Tony, and Silencer. They didn't even tell Joe where they were going, and Joe, too lazy to deal with them, boarded a flight to Los Angeles alone.

"A Hollywood PR firm?"

Song Ya's heart sank. He didn't know what a PR firm did, but since they could also handle album promotion, it was clear Joe wanted to completely cut off the possibility of working with a major record label. What would happen to his agreement with Daniel? Wouldn't the ten-thousand-dollar referral fee and the fifteen-percent commission all go down the drain?

After dropping Allie off at home, the sound of a woman arguing could be heard from inside almost immediately.

Well, the home environments in the slums were all about the same; even the words Allie's mother used to scold her were identical to those Aunt Susie used on Connie.

Song Ya quickly told Eric to start the car and get out of there. Once he got home, he immediately dialed Daniel's number.

"PR firms are like mercenaries. They're usually used for short-term cooperation. They prefer to take unconventional paths, and creating a big news story for the client to grab media attention is their specialty."

Daniel was a veteran and quickly made his assessment. "Good Hollywood PR firms are very expensive. Based on current album sales, the money Joe has earned isn't enough to pay their bills! I feel like Joe is losing his mind. We need to get to Los Angeles immediately, racing against time to intervene before he reaches an agreement with the PR firm!"

Song Ya felt helpless but dialed Joe's cell phone anyway. The "accidental encounter" script had failed, so he had to lay his cards on the table. At the very least, he had to earn that ten-thousand-dollar referral fee from Daniel.

"Hey, APLUS, what's up?" Joe's voice sounded exhausted.

Song Ya didn't beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly. "Daniel Glass, the vice president of SBK, found me and said he wants to meet you. What do you think..."

"FXXX! You son of a bitch!"

As expected, Joe started cursing immediately. "Why don't you all just betray me!" After cursing, he prepared to hang up the phone.

"Hey! Hey! Wait! Don't hang up! Boss, for the sake of the song I wrote for you! Okay?" Song Ya quickly played the emotional card.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. "Maybe we would be happier now without that song..." Joe said slowly. "Once the seven thousand cassettes are sold, I'll accept the loss and leave. Pablo would still be my friend, and Lowry would still be that obedient kid... Money, it's all about money. Money is the root of all problems..."

Wasn't the move you made to push Al out of the picture pretty ruthless too? Song Ya silently retorted.

However, he still had to persuade him. "Then you need to talk to Daniel properly even more. He's a man with ideas about record distribution. He convinced me, and I believe he can convince you too. Money is the problem, and that song is the problem, so we need to find professionals to solve the problems. One meeting, just one meeting, okay?"

Joe took a deep breath, and his attitude finally softened. "One meeting?"

"One meeting!"

"Fine, I'll give you this face." Joe gave him the name of a hotel.

"Thank you, boss!"

Song Ya made an appointment with Daniel, and the two took the next available flight straight to the City of Angels on the West Coast.

It was his first time flying since transmigrating and his first time in Los Angeles. Song Ya had no mood to appreciate the scenery along the way. He led Daniel to take a taxi to the hotel where Joe was staying and knocked on the door.

The moment Daniel and Joe met, it felt like the sound of a supermarket cash register dinging in his mind. Ten thousand dollars secured, beautiful!

There were two other guests, a combination of a short Black man and a chubby white man, who were saying goodbye to Joe.

After a brief self-introduction, "Was that EAZY-E from N.W.A just now?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, sit down. Big E also came to talk to me about a collaboration," Joe replied. He opened a bottle of wine, took glasses from the cabinet, and poured for both of them.

"Thanks, Big E's reputation..." Daniel hesitated.

"I know what you want to say. Big E is dangerous and greedy, but his approach to music is beyond reproach. N.W.A was built on the money he earned." Joe leaned back on the sofa and raised his glass to Daniel in a toast. "And he has extensive experience in how to deal with major record labels."

Hearing the thorn in Joe's words, Daniel smiled. "I've heard Pablo's theories about major record labels from APLUS. It's a pity he's just an outsider in this industry. A simple fact is that major record labels cannot control everything. For example..." He gestured toward Joe. "You can listen to music produced by any company or individual at almost any time, any place. Major record labels can't control you at all, so how can they monopolize? Distribution? Aren't you distributing records right now? No one can stop you. Of course, I won't deny the advantages of major record labels; they can control some channels, some awards, and some media, but that's all. Many major record labels have hundreds of sub-labels under them, and they fight each other to the death, so how can they monopolize? We at SBK didn't belong to EMI before, and didn't we live just fine? In fact, the giants that can truly control an industry aren't in the record business; they are right here, in Los Angeles, in Hollywood..."

Daniel was a... marketing master. "Continue." Joe was indeed piqued by his words.

"Unlike the record industry, the number of movie theaters and screens nationwide is capped. If you want to see a new movie, you have to go to a theater; you can't see it anywhere else. This is the true soil for monopolies. That's why the seven major film studios here—Universal, Warner Bros, MGM, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Disney, and Columbia—oh, wait, it should be called Sony Columbia now—they are the ones that can truly monopolize an industry," Daniel said. "Joe, work with us. We aren't Warner. We are better suited for distributing rap music. Have you heard Ice Ice Baby?"

Joe smiled disdainfully. "A white guy."

"Yes! Vanilla Ice is a white guy! A white guy who sings hardcore rap! The single still sold like crazy for us!"

Daniel's words had immense impact, and Joe fell into deep thought.

Song Ya, standing to the side, could absolutely empathize; the last time Daniel had sweet-talked him, he had been left completely disoriented.

"Guess what." Daniel would never give his target a chance to catch their breath. "We plan to push APLUS's single as the main focus, and we'll elevate you to the same status as Little Lowry. People in the industry know that your chorus is far better than his rap parts! He is the lead singer of this song, and so are you! If you're willing, we at SBK can even sign a singer's contract with you. From now on, every concert, every commercial performance, every awards show—as long as you're willing, Little Lowry will never be able to shake you off and go solo! Never..."