As soon as Linton got into the car, Nick said, “Boss, you’re finally out.
Mira has been crazy these past few days, looking for you everywhere.
You should call her back.”
Linton turned on his phone, and before he could dial, it rang.
He pressed the answer button and heard Mira say on the phone, “My little ancestor, you finally answered.
Where have you been these past three days?
Where are you now?
I’ll come meet you right away.”
Mira actually wanted to curse.
As an agent, allowing her artist to lose contact for three days at a crucial time was simply a disgrace.
Under normal circumstances, such a situation means the cooperation between the agent and the artist has ended, which put Mira under immense pressure these past few days.
Fortunately, the news didn’t spread widely, but it still inevitably reached Logan’s ears.
Yesterday, Logan even asked her if there was a problem with her cooperation with Linton, which she brushed off.
However, she knew she had to put herself in her place; she could only be a service provider.
Linton had come this far, and she hadn’t provided critical help, so she could only do her best to suppress her temper and speak to Linton gently on the phone.
“30 minutes, we’ll meet at the Universal office.”
“Okay, see you in half an hour.
You should call Daniel first; he’s been looking for you like crazy.”
After hanging up, Linton dialed Daniel’s number.
“Hello, Daniel, this is Linton.”
“Linton, you bastard, you finally appeared!
Do you know we’ve been looking for you everywhere?
Even your agent couldn’t find you.
If you didn’t show up, I was going to call the police.
Where are you now?
Get to the company quickly—no, just tell me your address, and I’ll have someone pick you up.”
Before Linton could finish speaking, Daniel interrupted him with an urgent torrent of words, to which Linton quickly replied.
“I’m heading back to the company now and will be there within 30 minutes.”
“Hurry up, I’ll be waiting for you.”
After ending the call with Daniel, Linton told Nick, “Let’s go to Universal Records.”
Upon arriving at the Universal office, Daniel and Mira were waiting for him.
Seeing their haggard expressions, he asked in surprise, “What’s wrong with you two?
Why do you look so worn out?”
“What’s wrong?
It’s all because of you!
Right after the AMA Awards, you disappeared for three whole days without a word, and even Mira didn’t know where you went.
What were you doing?
Do you know that at the AMA Awards, you won an award, and your live performance was excellent?
It was the perfect time to strike while the iron was hot, ramp up publicity, and expand your influence.
I had already contacted a bunch of media outlets, but at the crucial moment, you, this bastard, disappeared!”
Daniel’s outburst was rare for him, usually a picture of politeness, as he let out a string of expletives.
“Oh, is that so?
Why didn’t you remind me earlier?
I didn’t know.
I felt too tired recently, so after the AMA Awards, I found a farm that night and completely relaxed for three days to de-stress.
I apologize for any inconvenience I caused.”
Listening to Linton’s obvious lie and insincere apology, Daniel and Mira gritted their teeth but couldn’t do anything about it.
“Okay, no matter who asks about your whereabouts these past few days, you must say that,” Mira said, trying to clean up the mess.
“Right, right, say exactly that,” Daniel echoed.
The paparazzi would certainly be interested in the news of Linton’s three-day disappearance, and no scandal could be exposed at this time.
“Also, this is the last time.
From now on, you must maintain contact with me at all times.
This situation must never happen again.
Even if, for argument’s sake, you encounter an emergency, you must inform me immediately so I can initiate crisis public relations to handle it.”
“Okay, it won’t happen again,” Linton quickly agreed, knowing he had acted improperly this time.
After criticizing and educating Linton, Daniel brought up the main topic.
“Now, let’s discuss the Grammy Awards public relations.
This year’s Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on March 12th.
According to the Grammy judging rules (evaluating works released in the United States from October of the year before last to the end of September last year), through initial public relations, you have already received four nominations.
These are: Best New Artist, Best Pop Male Vocalist, Record of the Year (for single artists), and Song of the Year (for songwriters).
Now, we must fully commit to public relations.
You see, the AMA voting method is based on audience preference, so we just need to mobilize fans to vote.
But the Grammy Awards are judged by professional critics, and there are over 1,500 of them, so we must have a clear public relations plan.
First, Linton, you shouldn’t expect to win all four nominations.
I think the focus should be on Best New Artist.
This is a major, comprehensive award with significant weight, most suitable for you, and winning it would greatly boost your album sales.
Record of the Year is also a major, comprehensive award, but you only had three songs before the end of September.
These three songs were well-liked by a wide audience, but their lyrics are too simplistic.
Currently, only ‘Numb’ is nominated, which doesn’t quite fit the style of the Grammy professional judges.
The chances of winning are low, and public relations efforts would not be very effective.
Actually, ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ would have been very much in line with the taste of the Grammy professional judges, but unfortunately, the timing was off, and it didn’t make the cut.
Song of the Year is also a major, comprehensive award, but you are only 21 years old, and you are the only one singing the songs you write.
The chances of winning are very low, and public relations efforts would not be very effective.
Best Pop Male Vocalist has less prestige, and since you already won Best R&B/Soul New Artist at the AMA, it wouldn’t add much to your profile.
So, considering everything, my suggestion is to focus on Best New Artist.
What do you two think?”
After listening to Daniel’s detailed analysis as a professional, Linton also nodded in agreement.
“Okay, we’ll do as you say.
What do you need me to do?”
“Next, Universal will mobilize various resources to lobby the Grammy judges, but that’s not enough.
I hope WMA will also participate, mobilizing your resources for synchronized lobbying to ensure Linton wins.”
“Yes, I will report back to the company, and I believe the company will agree,” Mira said after a moment of hesitation.
“What about me?
What should I do?” Linton asked.
“Do two things well.
First, maintain media exposure during this period.
You can participate in one or two charity events to enhance your image.
Second, in a few days, we will arrange for ‘American Music Magazine’ to do an exclusive interview with you.
Don’t look at its low sales; most Grammy judges are loyal readers, and a well-done interview can effectively influence some judges’ voting intentions.”
Linton nodded in understanding, and Daniel also excused himself and left.
“Linton, I will do my best to persuade WMA to mobilize its connections and resources to help with your Grammy Awards public relations, but your contract is about to expire, isn’t it?”
Facing Linton alone, Mira spoke frankly.
“Okay, you go back and discuss with WMA to quickly come up with contract terms that match my market value.
I can sign at any time.”
This was something he had promised her a long time ago, and he had no intention of firing Mira, so a contract renewal was no problem for him.
“Then there’s no problem.
WMA guarantees to invest the maximum connections and resources in this public relations campaign,” Mira said happily.
After discussing the contract, Mira handed Linton a document and said, “After confirming the three advertising endorsement intentions with you last time, I’ve been negotiating and finalizing them one by one these past few days.
Mercedes-Benz has arranged for senior executives from their headquarters’ planning and publicity department to come to Los Angeles on the 28th to meet with you.
This is the information I’ve compiled about Mercedes-Benz’s corporate culture and the G-Series off-road vehicle.
Prepare well during this time.”
Linton took the document, nodded with satisfaction, and said, “Okay, I will prepare well.”
“For the other two, Armani menswear and Timex watches, their willingness to cooperate is quite strong.
We are currently negotiating prices and should reach a cooperation agreement very soon.”
“Okay, just follow your pace.”
“Oh, pay attention to which charity events are happening in Los Angeles recently and pick one that’s suitable for me to attend.”
Linton recalled Daniel’s request and also remembered Daniel’s previous mention of the ‘points theory,’ feeling it was very necessary to participate in charity events, and it could also help with tax avoidance.
He picked up the phone and called Zhou Haisheng, asking him to calculate how much money he should donate to charity to maximize benefits, based on his income and investments from last year, and Zhou Haisheng’s tax avoidance methods.
Finally, he told Mira, “You come with me to the estate first.
I’ve written a new movie script; take it to the Writers Guild and the Library of Congress for registration.”
