hollywood billionaire

Chapter 94 Mark of the Times
To say that the dish in front of Xu Yiru looks like a Chinese cabbage in full bloom is actually biased.

Wrapping the entire salad in the shape of a bowl is a fried golden and crispy Mexican tortilla.The bottom is covered with black beans and romaine lettuce, topped with Madison-Bill's favorite grilled chicken, served with salsa, avocado, Monterey Jack cheese and sour cream, and finally tossed in Urth Caffé's special lime-cilantro vinaigrette...

“It tasted great!”

The grilled chicken came in with the fresh smell of vegetables and sauce, Xu Yiru gave a sincere admiration.

"Right? This is the most characteristic classic dish of Urth Caffé, without... Yujin, what's wrong with you?"

Madison Bill stopped abruptly in the middle of her words. She looked at Zhao Youzhen who was sitting next to her, looked away, pressed her chest, and tried hard not to open her mouth, and said softly.

"It's nothing."

Zhao Youzhen quickly turned his head and smiled at her.

Ever since she found out that she doesn't gain weight no matter what she eats, Zhao Youzhen's recipes have gradually become rampant. She hasn't touched salads for a long time.At present, seeing this green mixture is a bit physiologically repulsive.

Also, and more importantly...

Who would squeeze coriander into juice!
Something that tastes like soap, made into a paste, isn't that suds?

Thinking of this, Yuzhen quickly lowered her head, stuffed a mouthful of waffles into her mouth, and diverted her attention.

During the next half-hour brunch time, Madison, Xu Yiru, Zhao Youzhen, and Tracy, who is always young at heart, comfortably and comfortably bathed in the bright sunshine of Los Angeles, and under the gentle breeze, they unfolded layer by layer. topic.At first, they talked about the Syrian refugees fleeing from Aleppo to Europe and even California, and how ridiculous and terrible it would be if the real estate tycoon really became president.

At this stage, Han Yi was still able to answer the conversation, but when the conversation at the dinner table began that Comcast would spend $38 billion to buy DreamWorks, the topic of the conversation gradually slipped to the half of the spectrum that he was completely unfamiliar with.

Dreamworks - The Help 2011 - Emma Stone, one of the leading actresses - How she dyed her hair black - Which vegetable hair dye is the least damaging to the roots...

Very clear progression relationship, isn't it?

Han Yi listened for a few minutes with a dazed expression. It wasn't until they began to comment on Kylie Cosmetics' new lipstick set that he was sure that he was completely out of touch.

Therefore, Han Yi, who was excluded from the brunch social circle due to lack of knowledge about beauty makeup, began to look at all kinds of customers in this shop.

Urth Caffé is the most well-known European-style restaurant in Los Angeles, with branches in Melrose, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Downtown, Pasadena, Laguna Beach, and even Orange County and the South Bay.The one that Han Yi and the others visited was the Santa Monica store with the most Mediterranean decoration style and the most popular location because of its location.

Urth Caffé is located on the main street, only two narrow roads away from the beach.Sunbathe on the beach for half a day, then take a leisurely afternoon tea here with slippers on, and finally drive home before the sunset on I-10E, which has not yet started to be congested. This is the most ideal weekend time for many girls in Los Angeles. .

Saturday, April 4th, at 30:03 pm, is the time when Urth Caffé is full of people.Those who sit on the terrace to kill time, those who gossip indoors, those who bring drinks to the beach, and those who stand chatting at the door and wait for a seat... As far as the eye can see, almost all of them are a pair of denim shorts on the lower body and a pair of upper body Pretty girls in bikinis, mixed with a few Fuck Boys proudly showing off their chest muscles, and gay honey whose eyebrows are drawn more carefully than Michelangelo's zenith.There are all kinds of ethnic groups, but the aesthetic style is extremely unified.

They wear whatever is trending on Instagram.

This is the Basic culture that became popular in the United States in 2016.

Ever since stand-up comedian Lil' Duval coined the term "basic bitch" in 2009, and later popularized by rapper Kreayshawn in her work "Gucci Gucci," making it a hot topic among American teens, " basic” has become a generalization used to describe a whole group.

Which group?
Those who are perceived to be more into mainstream products, trends and music.

The Chinese description is, follow the trend of the dog.

Han Yi, who is a double major in communication studies and music industry, has carefully studied this cultural cluster.After all, if one wants to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry, this sociological phenomenon related to consumer preferences must be deeply understood.

In his opinion, the so-called basic culture can never be summed up by the word "follow the trend".

The trait of "like mainstream products, trends and music" can actually prove in reverse that these people are the main force that pushes the world's popular culture and music forward.

In his classic communication work "Innovation Diffusion", Everett Rogers divided consumers into five groups according to their adaptability to technology, innovation and trends.

The first group is the innovators who account for about 2.5% of the population. They are enthusiastic about new things, willing to take risks, and are not afraid of possible failures.

The second group, called early adopters, accounted for 13.5% of the population.They are a trendsetting bunch who are willing to take risks and want to try out a product or trend before they endorse it.They care about public reputation and hope to show their profound knowledge and forward fashion taste in front of others.

A third group, the early masses, accounted for 34 percent of the total.They are interested in new trends, but want others to help them prove the reliability and validity of new things.They are more pragmatic than early adopters, but are still willing to make quick bets when a product catches on.

As for the last two groups, the late masses and the so-called laggards, they make up half of human society, 34% and 16%.They need to wait until trendy products become the absolute mainstream in their lives, or even an irreplaceable part, before they choose to buy and use them belatedly.

Therefore, from Rogers' theory, it is not difficult to find that the so-called "follower dog" or "Basic Bitch" plays a vital role in the entertainment industry.They may not be innovators, but they must be early adopters and early public. Whether it is movies, music or other art forms, after passing the initial tasting of innovators, they need the support of these two types of people in order to develop from the niche. Culture metamorphoses into mass popularity.

History has proved countless times that there is no way to fully enjoy the dividends of the times if you walk too far ahead or too far behind the wave.Little Richard is considered the founder of rock music, but it was Elvis Presley, who started by imitating black works, who really pushed himself and this genre to the peak of the mainstream.

New Jack Swing, Pop Funk, Funk Rock, none of these genres will regard Michael Jackson as a pioneer, but he is the only "King of Pop" in the history of pop music.

They are all trying, imitating, and following the trend, but this imitation is necessary and indispensable. Only through these early adopters and representatives of the early public can a cultural phenomenon that truly changes an era be born.

Among the signed artists of HMG, which one can be regarded as the one who really stood at the center of the early public, or the "basic" culture?

Thinking of this, Han Yi couldn't help turning his eyes to Madison Bill, who was beaming and introducing her purple eyeshadow palette design concept to everyone.

Bi Li also likes pop culture and is also a girl with severe Internet addiction, but when it comes to music, she has a strong personal aesthetic and advanced aesthetic consciousness.

Among other things, from 2016 to 2023, each of her singles can be labeled as "indie pop".

The expression that can be understood by people is-Yade Yibi.Her popularity, like the popularity of XXXTentacion, is the product of the rise of Emo culture around the world.In other words, their originally niche music styles have intersected with mainstream culture because of the evolution of the tastes of early adopters and early public.

But Madison Bill is different. Her love for pop culture is not like Billy, who stays at the level of "crazy love for Justin Bieber".Madison has fully absorbed and accepted the mainstream culture of Europe and America, and continuously integrated them in her body, giving birth to a set of aesthetic system and popular system with her as the origin of coordinates.

This is the core factor for her to gain more than 3500 million Instagram followers in the future. She comes from this era, blends into this era, and leads this era to a certain extent.

"Eat like Madison Bill", "Wear like Madison Bill", "Make up like Madison Bill"... In 2023, she will stand at the core of the gradually moving cultural wave Location.

Don't forget, this achievement was achieved when her music career was abruptly delayed for three years, and she did not start to recover until Han Yi was born again.

This time, she signed a long-term contract with Han Yi in 2016. With her dual identities as a musician and a social media expert, can she become a mark of the times comparable to Selena Gomez, or even surpass her?
This is the core driving force behind Han Yi's $800 million offer, and also the source of his confidence in choosing to sign the Long Island girl.

It's only a matter of time before she gets a hit single with enough volume to take off.

"Won't the song 'Cold Water'... be a problem?"

After the brunch, Madison Beal invited the crowd to her residence at 1221 Ocean Drive.Her room 1606 sits on the 16th floor of the condominium, the highest floor below the penthouse.Standing on the balcony and looking out, you can have a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean stretching from Palos Verdes to Malibu.

Han Yi, who lives in Bel-Air, is no stranger to this scenery, but anyway, No. 864 Stella Della Road is still a certain distance from the sea, and it is nothing more than a piece of blue as far as the eye can see. what details.

Standing on the balcony of the Madison-Bill luxury two-bedroom apartment, Han Yi could even count the sparkling waves.Surfers doing all kinds of fancy moves on the board, couples, friends and families lying on the pure beach enjoying the afternoon sun, street singers full of Latin style, and the Pacific Park Ferris Wheel spinning slowly not far away .

Half of the so-called California life that local residents are unwilling to replace with anything comes from this blue sea.

Walking to the balcony, Madison Bill handed Han Yi a glass of iced orange juice to Han Yi, who was enjoying the beautiful scenery alone, stood beside him leaning on the railing, and asked these words that did not hide his worry at all.

Naturally, the Long Island girl had her reasons for worrying.Karen Guo listened to the demo sent by Mad Decent, a popular electronic dance music with rich Moombahton style, and she knew it was written by Diplo and Major Lazer as soon as she heard it.From the arrangement, to the bass line to the vocal melody, Madison Beal can't fault it.

It’s not that the song is artistically flawless, but from a commercial standpoint, it’s almost a sibling to “Lean On.”

The chords, direction, and train of thought are all pretty much the same.

In the middle of 2016, when "Lean On" is still at the top of Spotify's historical play list, what kind of commercial achievements can be achieved by releasing a sequel?
Maybe there is no way to surpass "Lean On", but the performance is definitely not too bad.

Not only Madison Beal, Han Music is full of confidence in the latest masterpiece that is being prepared by this affiliated label.In fact, an important reason driving Karen Guo to accept this position is the agreement reached between Han Yi and Mad Decent.

Regardless of whether the record company itself has signed capable artists or not, as long as there is a prestigious electronic music label like Mad Decent as a subsidiary organization, Karen has the confidence to make Han Music a success.

Therefore, Madison's worry is not the song itself, but another singer in the single besides her.

"The question you are talking about is Justin Bieber, right?" Han Yi glanced at Madison beside him. Although it was a question, he already had the answer in his heart.

Faced with such perfect commercial pop electronic music, what else could Madison Beal worry about?
Of course it was the Bole who discovered him... and the most famous representative artist under Scooter Braun who gave up her by himself.

Scooter has always been strong. Will he be willing to let Justin Bieber and Madison Beal appear in the same work to help the latter boost his popularity?

"...Yes." Not wanting to make Han Yi, who had just become her boss, look down upon her, Madison struggled for a long time before uttering a word.

"What exactly are you worried about?"

"He's not one of those guys who, if he doesn't get it, ruins it. I say Scooter Braun."

Madison bent down and rested her chin on the balcony railing.The sun was burning the metal railings, but Madison didn't move his skin away. Instead, he seemed to want to use this method to keep himself emotionally stable and vigilant in the ensuing conversation.

"But he's the kind of guy who will do anything to prove his point."

Madison's amber eyes squinted at Han Yi, like a little fox licking its wounds alone after being injured.

"I'm what he thought was wrong, impossible, hopeless. Before you, Yi, I was approached by other labels, but they were more or less the same as Scooter Braun. There's an intersection. I only have Twitter and Instagram followers, but he owns the entire music industry. Who knows which one is less offending."

"I sang cheesy teen pop, and he did Billboard No. [-]."

"But those vulgar teenagers are popular, he stuffed them for you." Han Yi reminded softly.

"Yes." Madison lowered his eyes and looked at the bustling crowd downstairs, "This is his ability, isn't it?"

"Do you think he can influence me?" Han Yi looked at Madison Bill with a half-smile and asked a question that didn't need an answer.

"Of course I know he can't influence you." Madison also had a smile on his lips.It's hard to say whether Han Yi can overwhelm Scooter Braun.Although Han Yi is currently the largest institutional shareholder of UTA, one of the four major Hollywood brokerage companies, and has been going around in the past month, searching for many valuable artistic assets and potential newcomers, but in terms of wider public voice , Undoubtedly Scooter Braun is even better.

Of course, looking at this issue from another angle, Scooter Braun couldn't put any pressure on Han Yi.Although the former received a venture capital investment of US$2010 million in 1.2 and invested in Uber, Spotify, Editorialist and other potential digital technology stocks in the name of Ithaca Holdings, the assets under management are currently close to US$4 million. , but there is still a considerable gap compared with Han Yi's assets.

Among other things, there is still $12 billion lying in David Rubinstein waiting to be activated.

This amount of money is enough for Han Yi to buy all the assets, potential energy and artist lineup that Scooter Braun has accumulated so far in his life.

After all, in April 2021 in the previous life, the price Hybe acquired Ithaca Holdings from Braun and Carlyle Group was only US$4 billion.

In this life, buying Scooter Braun's assets and making both parties happy is Han Yi's mid-to-long-term plan that has been haunting him for a long time.

Will big capitalists be afraid of an acquisition target?

"I don't want my previous partnership with him to affect this song, Mad Decent, and you."

"Not worth it."

Madison Bill even began to comfort Han Yi in a low voice.

"The song "Cold Water" is great, and I am very optimistic about its commercial prospects. But no matter how good the song is, it needs the blessing of superstars to exert its full energy."

"So, if my joining will affect Justin...or Scooter's interest in this song, then I think...in fact, someone else can sing it. Halsey and Billie are both very good. What's more, there is another There's a great song waiting for me, isn't it? The song you played to me in the Hamptons, "Stay", I really like it, and I've been looking for a vocal coach every day lately."

"Your joining will not affect any cooperation progress. Don't worry, McGrady." Han Yi put the unmoved orange juice on the low tea table beside him, and sat on the edge of the recliner himself, and said seriously, "Justin is very happy." I like this song, and I have been urging Thomas to send it out as soon as possible. He likes it himself, and Scooter will not let him withdraw from the cooperation at will, so there is no need to worry about it.”

"So, what you need to do now is to practice your part well and wait for the official recording next Friday."

"The recording location is at Thomas's new home, 2675 Rutherford Road. He has already sent me the address. On Friday, Yujin and I will pick you up and go there with you... Yes, as you think, Justin will also There, Scooter should show up too."

"But don't worry, you're in charge of doing the art work, and I'll take care of everything else."

The strong self-confidence and irrefutable domineering in Han Yi's tone made Madison's heart a little calmer when he learned that he would reunite with Braun and Bieber.

"No one can bully my artistes."

(End of this chapter)