Capítulo 292: Chapter 292: With Confidence?
Santa Monica Airport.
The date was September 18th, a Monday afternoon.
Nancy Brill stood alongside two other bodyguards who had driven here to pick someone up, waiting by the airport runway.
As the Gulfstream IV landed and stabilized, its cabin door opened, and Nancy saw Simon Westeros, along with two other impressively tall and beautiful women laughing and walking down the plane. One of the women, wearing a crop top and denim shorts and affectionately hooking her arm through Simon's, flashed her long legs that dazzled onlookers.
Approaching, Simon seemed somewhat surprised to see Nancy but introduced the women by his side, saying, "Nancy, this is Elara, and this is Jerry."
Elara McPherson was curious about the petite woman in high heels before her, wondering about Nancy's role, and politely let go of Simon to shake hands and introduce herself, as did Jerry Hall. After a brief exchange, Simon told Elara McPherson and Jerry Hall, "I've got work to do. How about I have someone drive you back first?"
"Sure," Elara McPherson responded with a smile, hugging Simon and pecking him on the cheek, "It was a delightful weekend, Simon. Hope we can do it again."
"Definitely."
Simon patted the irresistible slender waist of the woman, hugged Jerry Hall, and then instructed Neil Bennett to drive the two women away.
After seeing off the two women, Simon and Nancy got into another car.
In the luxury black Mercedes that drove out of the airport, Simon asked Nancy, who was still eyeing him curiously, "You hurried me back for what exactly? What's the deal with Alistair Records?"
Instead of answering directly, Nancy asked, "You and those two women, together?"
Simon, amused, gestured from the top of Nancy's head to his chest, chuckling, "Jealous?"
Seeing Simon dodging the question by joking about her height, Nancy sharply retorted, "Philanderer."
And she gave him a threatening glance.
Simon immediately 'surrendered', whispering, "Keep it a secret, and I'll raise your salary."
Nancy dismissed, "It's your personal life; I don't gossip. But Elara McPherson is one thing; that Jerry Hall, she seems... familiar?"
Simon cut off Nancy's contemplation with a laugh, upping the ante, "How about a double salary raise?"
Rolling her eyes, Nancy stopped pressing the issue but couldn't help adding, "Ridiculous man."
Simon then got serious, "Alright, let's talk business. I was actually planning to come back tomorrow morning."
After leaving a party at Jonathan's the night before with two women, Simon, having lived two lifetimes, never intended to shortchange himself in such matters and didn't care what others thought. He'd take his chances with women he was attracted to whenever possible.
Lately, paparazzi had been too close for comfort, so after some inquiries, he borrowed a villa on Lanai Island, Hawaii, from Steve Ross, complete with a private beach, and flew there with the two women for a day and night of fun.
Needless to say, entangling with four long legs was a memorable delight.
He had been tempted to stay until tomorrow, basking in the afterglow, but a series of urgent calls from Los Angeles made him return earlier.
Simon figured that if it were just company matters, there wouldn't be such a rush. There must be a 'hidden hand' at play.
Like a certain jealous female assistant.
Of course, Simon wouldn't share this with Jennifer, but women tend to have an instinct for these things.
Nancy, uninterested in Simon's private affairs, handed over a stack of documents, "According to the contract we signed with Alistair Records, the income from the 'Bodyguard' original soundtrack is settled every three months. The record was released on June 5th, and the first income settlement should have ended on September 3rd, a Sunday, marking exactly 13 weeks of sales. Excluding overseas, the domestic sales totaled 12.16 million copies."
As Simon browsed through the documents Nancy passed him, he inquired, "And then?"
"Our representative asked for settlement, but Clive Davis of Alistair Records kept stalling, even suggesting changing the contract terms to natural fiscal quarters for easier financial auditing on their part. Though it's still every three months, Alistair's stance clearly aims at delaying payment. I personally communicated with Clive Davis for two weeks, and only last Friday, close to closing time, did Alistair send over the accounting report, stating that the funds would take another week to transfer."
Nancy continued, flipping through the documents in front of Simon, "This is it. With 12.16 million copies sold, based on our agreement, we expected a share of over $30 million, yet Alistair only allocated us $23.19 million. This is outrageous. Clive Davis probably included all their expenses over these months into the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack costs."
Simon had already done his homework on the record industry.
For aspiring artists, production and distribution costs of records are indeed substantial. Some unknown artists are willing to do nearly anything to get a record label's support for their album.
But once an album succeeds, the profits can be very significant.
For a hit record, the record company's gross profit per album can exceed 50% of the selling price. In the case of a blockbuster album like the 'Bodyguard' original soundtrack, thanks to massive sales that dilute the cost, the profit margin is even higher.
The contract between Daenerys Entertainment and Alistair Records was a 50-50 split of the gross profits from the 'Bodyguard' original soundtrack, which precisely means dividing the remaining pre-tax profits after deducting expenses for production, marketing, distribution, and artist royalties.
With just three months of domestic sales, the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack reached 12.16 million copies, translating to over $120 million in revenue. Following industry norms, Daenerys Entertainment's expected share should indeed not be less than $30 million.
Simon wasn't surprised by Alistair's actions.
Hollywood is notorious for scenarios where a $5 million budget movie grosses $300 million worldwide yet is claimed by the movie company to be a loss to avoid paying the creators their due share. Alistair's method of inflating costs to dilute profits is a leftover Hollywood trick.
After flipping through a few pages, Simon closed the report, asking Nancy, "Have you talked to Clive Davis?"
"I visited Burbank this morning. Clive Davis insists there's no issue with this report. I demanded a financial audit, and he claimed that if we insist on doing so, it might affect the subsequent release of the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack. Simon, he's threatening us."
The 'Bodyguard' soundtrack's expected global sales ranged between 40 to 50 million copies. With current data, there's at least a potential for another 10 million sales in North America alone, and overseas sales have barely started in coordination with the movie's release.
The success of the 'Bodyguard' movie owes a great deal to the soundtrack's triumph, a fact well understood by all. Clive Davis's words are indeed a clear threat. Daenerys Entertainment lacks the capability to independently distribute a hit record, let alone on a global scale. In contrast, Alistair Records, backed by the German Bertelsmann Music Group, boasts a comprehensive global distribution network.
A standoff between the two could significantly impact the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack, affecting not only album sales but also the international box office performance of the movie.
Clive Davis dares to overtly skim Daenerys Entertainment's rightful share because he relies on the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack needing Alistair Records and the entire Bertelsmann Music Group's global distribution channels for its release.
However, Clive Davis may believe that Daenerys Entertainment, eager to ensure the international release of the 'Bodyguard' movie and the continued sales of its soundtrack, would have to swallow this bitter pill. But he overlooked one fact: While Daenerys Entertainment highly values the 'Bodyguard' in all aspects, the soundtrack is equally crucial for Alistair Records.
After all, Alistair Records currently has only Whitney Houston as a notable artist. The phenomenal success of the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack, even though Alistair only benefits from half of the earnings, is enough to support the record company's performance for the next year or two.
For Daenerys Entertainment, even without the 'Bodyguard' earnings, a plethora of other successful projects can still generate substantial profits.
Most importantly, Daenerys Entertainment is currently engaged in numerous projects with other Hollywood studios. If Simon were to back down on this issue, other studios would likely follow suit.
The Santa Monica Airport is not far from Daenerys Entertainment's headquarters, and they soon arrived.
Outside Simon's office, the female assistant was busy at her desk. Seeing Simon and Nancy arrive, she greeted them nonchalantly, though a hint of guilt lingered in her eyes.
Simon, pretending nothing was amiss, asked Jennifer to prepare two cups of coffee before sitting down with Nancy to discuss the situation.
"What do you plan to do?" he asked.
Nancy, sitting across from Simon, replied, "We share the copyright of the 'Bodyguard' original soundtrack with Alistair Records. If it were up to me, I'd immediately halt all promotion and sales activities for this album until our dispute is resolved. However, this action could significantly impact the album's future distribution and the movie's international release, especially since the next two months are crucial for the 'Bodyguard's' overseas premieres. Therefore, Simon, the final decision is yours."
"Then let's halt it," Simon said without hesitation. "Moreover, this issue isn't just about reclaiming the skimmed profits from Alistair Records. They need to pay back double what they took as a penalty. If the cost of making mistakes is too low, some people never learn and are bound to repeat them."
Nancy, inherently a strong-willed woman, stopped trying to persuade her boss further once he made up his mind.
Shortly after Nancy left, Jennifer brought in several documents for Simon's attention, including the marketing plan for 'Batman' with a preliminary budget of $25 million, a list of potential actors for 'Sleeping with the Enemy,' and selections from the Venice Film Festival.
Simon, appreciating Jennifer's efficiency, remarked, "I'm lucky to have Jennifer. Life in Westeros would be a mess without her."
Jennifer, slightly easing her professional demeanor, playfully asked, "Which Jennifer are you talking about?"
"Obviously, the Jennifer standing in front of me," Simon quickly replied.
With a snort, Jennifer no longer teased Simon and left the office after collecting their coffee cups.
In Burbank, after dismissing Nancy Brill in the morning, Clive Davis of Alistair Records was contemplating how to retain more profits from the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack's overseas release. He was caught off guard when Nancy reappeared, delivering news that almost made him leap from his chair.
"Mr. Davis, due to Alistair Records' prior breach of contract, Daenerys Entertainment has decided to suspend all promotional and sales activities for the 'Bodyguard' original soundtrack globally. We've notified the pressing plants to stop shipments, and all overseas promotion and sales activities for this album will be halted until our dispute is resolved. As co-owners of the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack copyright, Daenerys Entertainment has the right to take these actions. If Alistair Records continues any related work without resolution, Daenerys Entertainment will seek enforcement from the Recording Industry Association of America and the Federal Court in Los Angeles. Furthermore, Daenerys Entertainment will pursue compensation for Alistair Records' breach of contract."
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