The idea was wonderful, but reality was harsh.
Even if Michael were truly willing to abandon all his current advantages and wholeheartedly follow Lin Lixin to cultivate a new field that was still unclear.
He couldn't possibly take all of his copyrights with him.
Admittedly, Michael owns his own independent music label.
However, MJJ Music originally came from ATV, which only included copyrights for the Beatles and Elvis.
But there's nothing that can be done about Michael's own master tapes, such as "Bad" and "Thriller".
Sony must be insane to sell its own cash cow.
In other words, if Michael really intends to completely align himself with Gamenova, then he must distance himself from his older titles...
... or so?
An hour later, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie arrived at Neverland Ranch without anyone noticing.
"Seeing is believing, Mr. Lin."
"Ha, I've also wanted to meet you, the 'man behind MJ,' for a long time. To be honest, I really envy him for having such a powerful strategist like you. This is something Gamenova has never had." Lin Lixin smiled and nodded, gesturing for the other person to sit down.
John Branca, the man behind Michael, is a top-tier capital operations lawyer in the entertainment industry and a core strategist for MJ.
He was the one who facilitated the acquisition of the ATV copyright library into MJJ Music.
Besides negotiating top-tier copyrights and superstar artists, he is also a seasoned veteran in California's entertainment circles, wielding considerable influence in both Los Angeles' Hollywood scene and the Bay Area.
The only problem is that this guy isn't exactly a "righteous and noble" character.
In no sense whatsoever.
Lin Lixin's eyes flashed, and the panel popped up silently.
As expected, her unparalleled legal abilities easily surpassed the three-digit mark, and her growth value was definitely at the S+ level.
Judging solely by his abilities, he is undoubtedly a very crucial figure.
But here's the problem.
Unlike the gaming world, where these adorable geeks are all like pure, innocent white Lotus, other entertainment circles are quite different.
Besides Michael Jackson, this guy was also very close to another group of people: Wolt Yetnikov, CEO of CBS Records and advisor to Sony.
This was also the root cause of Michael's several subsequent breakups with Branca.
In Branca's eyes, Michael might simply be considered a very valuable asset.
Sony, the true behemoth, is the entity he truly hopes to win over.
Loyalty that is not absolute is absolute disloyalty.
Branca was never the type of person who would do whatever MJ told him to do.
He is only driven by the purest form of self-interest.
But this is also the reason why Lin Lixin and Michael decided to invite him to the meeting after careful consideration.
Benefit?
Gamenova is all about profit.
Branca surely knows the answer to the question of whether to choose between Sony and Gamenova.
After several hours of in-depth discussion, the three finally reached a preliminary consensus on the final plan.
Branca leaned slightly forward and sat on the single sofa, listening quietly to Lin Lixin and Michael's discussion.
His inner world was far less calm than it appeared on the surface.
Faced with the impending emergence of a triple-threat giant spanning film, music, and video games, it would be difficult for anyone to remain calm.
After a long pause, when he heard the two sides discussing the copyright of "Bad" again, he finally spoke up:
"Mr. Lin, solving this problem is actually much easier than you think."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
The two turned to look at Branca in surprise, waiting for him to continue.
"Although Sony owns the copyright to the master tapes of 'Bad,' there's one thing they don't have."
Branca paused for a moment, recalling the contract details for those albums.
"The song copyrights are Michael's own property. Sony only owns the recording rights."
Upon hearing this, Michael was slightly taken aback. Branca was indeed right; he had written the song himself, and he could easily re-sing and release a new version.
But there are still pitfalls.
Because Sony has a clause restricting re-recording, re-recording within a few years after the contract is terminated is also illegal.
Branca clearly saw what Michael was worried about and gently shook her head, saying:
"A direct re-recording is obviously not feasible, but we can record a new version and make some minor adjustments, such as 'Billie Jean Live'."
This plan is far more feasible than the previous one.
This is also what lawyers love to do most.
As long as the extent of the changes is sufficient, legal risks can be minimized.
The problem lies in... how exactly do we define this "degree of change"?
Lin Lixin sat to the side, his chin resting on his hand, a smile in his eyes.
"Other companies might not be able to do this, and even if they did, it would destroy the soul of the music, but we are Gamenova, Branca."
He has plenty of ways to circumvent this problem. Wait a few more years, until Sony's re-recording restrictions expire completely, or even until the copyright reversion clause takes effect...
By then, Michael will have truly reclaimed all the copyrights he owns.
The loss of Michael is undoubtedly a major blow to Sony Music.
"Micronova has a large batch of audio chips. With a few modifications, we can burn Michael's music into flash memory and use it in conjunction with the chips."
Before Michael could even figure out why, Branca was already excited after hearing Lin Lixin's words.
"Release a dynamic version of a video game? It's somewhere between software and physical media, hard to define..."
"Hehe... Besides that, Zimmer also has a whole bunch of our self-developed audio equipment. If you're willing, Michael, we can come up with a lot of interesting new ideas."
At this point, everything seems quite obvious.
In the best-case scenario, we could start preparing right today.
However, there is one last, and most important, issue in this whole matter.
"Lin, have you thought this through? Once we start, there will be no turning back for us with Sony."
Yes, this is undoubtedly a blatant declaration of war. Once this begins, it will be a fight to the death.
The thin veil that both sides have deliberately maintained until now will also disappear.
An enraged Sony will undoubtedly unleash its most insane and largest-scale retaliation ever.
Even a giant like Gamenova can hardly remain unaffected.
"What? They're allowed to make games, but we're not allowed to make music?"
Lin Lixin smiled and stood up.
PlayStation is still in its infancy, and Nintendo is still flirting with Sony.
3do is still lying low, and Atari is also hanging on by a thread, gathering strength to prepare for the final dance of its career.
The real cash monster is still sitting on the sidelines, steadily making its own money.
No matter how you look at it, now is the best time to enter the market.
"It's not a matter of whether I've thought it through, Michael; it's about whether you've thought it through. Frankly, even if you rejected me today, I would still continue to push this plan forward."
"Me? What are you talking about? Of course I agree." Michael also stood up.
Lin Lixin has never made a mistake before, and he believes he will be the same this time.
Should I gamble my future career and go crazy with Lin Lixin?
Is there even a question?
Having received Michael's affirmation, Lin Lixin laughed heartily.
"That's good. I'll have Sam take over the rest later. I need to get back to work on the game."
After saying that, Lin Lixin seemed to remember something, and slapped his forehead.
"I almost forgot about the important thing, Branca. I'd like to ask you to help us buy some things."
"Buying things?"
"Yes, for our new Gamenova game, I want... Metallica, or more precisely, the entire Elektra Records. Warner doesn't really need it, so I might as well have it."
Metallica is a familiar name to Gamenova.
Back in the Rocksmith era, they were ranked number one in the booster pack selection. Later, they were even directly recruited by Lin Lixin to compose the soundtrack for Blizzard's arcade game Rock N' Roll Racing.
I'm eating meat here, so I should at least share some soup with my brothers.
Of course, more importantly, Metallica was far from reaching its peak of popularity in 1991 and 1992.
Buying them now is like securing the championship trophy a year in advance.
That was the world's first metal album to reach number one.
"Elektra..."
Branca nodded.
"Although the valuation won't be too high, Warner. should be willing to let go if you add a little more money, but... they're not exactly cheap, no-name labels."
"What do you mean by 'not cheap'? Oh, and I want guns and roses too."
"Hello?... Pfft! Yes, yes, okay, I understand..."
Drummer Lars hung up the phone, his eyes trembling as he looked at his teammates in the recording studio. "Guess what?"
"How?"
" Elektra Records has been sold by Warner..."
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, the group was all taken aback.
This is truly an undeserved disaster.
Isn't this like the sky falling?
Just when my brothers and I were on the rise, why did our old employer suddenly run away?
Even if metallica is worthless, it shouldn't be worth this much, right?
"What happened? Metals were defined as illegal without our knowledge?"
"No..."
Lars shook his head, his voice trembling uncontrollably, "Aren't you curious about who we were sold to?"
Judging from Lars's words, it seems that it wasn't the exile they had imagined, but rather a promotion?
But where else can I go besides Warner?
"Could it be... Sony? Or EMI MCA?"
"Neither..."
Lars shook his head.
"It's a game..."
What the heck is "game"?
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
I've never heard of any record company with a name like "game".
"Gamenova and Michael Jackson Entertainment. The new record label founded by Lin Lixin and Michael Jack has already acquired Enigma and Elektra..." "... So we are now..."
"That's right, just as you think."
After a long silence, there was a sudden outburst.
The entire recording studio erupted in a deafening cheer.