Once the songs were selected, the next step was to consider how to promote them. This was 1990s America, where copyright laws were very comprehensive, and the entertainment industry was highly developed.
Major record companies included Universal, Warner, Sony Columbia, EMI, PolyGram, and BMG. They had countless subsidiary record labels, and signing with different record companies meant vastly different promotion capabilities, artist royalty splits, and bargaining power.
Linton's primary goal was song promotion to help him quickly gain fame; other considerations could come later. Therefore, his targets were the six major labels, with no other subsidiary labels considered. Also, keeping future film production in mind, Universal, Warner, and Sony Columbia were his top priorities among the six giants.
Of course, as a newcomer, whether they would even consider him was another matter. However, Linton believed that with the three songs he provided, he could secure a relatively good contract with a record company.
This required an agent to make introductions. As a senior student at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, he had already received contact from several talent agencies regarding representation contracts, including the WMA Company (William Morris Agency), CAA (Creative Artists Agency), and ICM (International Creative Management)—the three major agencies.
Among these, CAA was the most famous and controlled the most resources, but it also had the strongest desire to control its artists. Especially with the 'packaging services' introduced in recent years, this would be extremely unfavorable for him to produce his own films and promote himself in the future. In other words, given Linton's conditions, an agent could only be in the most basic service provider position, which was inconsistent with CAA's usual philosophy.
In comparison, the WMA Company had much less desire to control artists, focusing more on a service provider role. It also improved its packaging services, offering full and partial packaging. ICM was relatively a bit weaker.
Of course, it still depended on the specific terms. Under similar circumstances, the WMA Company was the first choice. Anyway, according to American law, the maximum term for a newcomer's first agency contract was only one year, so he could always switch after a year.
Driving his used Ford car, he returned to the University of Southern California (USC), found the business card of Mira Kage, an agent from the WMA Company, and arranged to meet at a coffee shop next to the University of Southern California (USC).
He sat by the window at the coffee shop and ordered a cup of coffee from the waiter.
Soon, he saw a young woman enter, dressed in a professional suit, a hip-hugging skirt with flesh-colored stockings and black ladies' leather shoes, with long dark brown hair and an above-average appearance, showing a typical Italian-American style. She walked over, ordered a soda from the waiter, and introduced herself:
"Hello, Mr. Anderson, I'm Mira Kage, an agent from the WMA Company."
She was a junior agent who had just come out of the WMA Company's mailroom and currently had no independent clients. She was quite optimistic about Linton.
With both parties interested, a cooperation agreement was quickly reached. It was based on newcomer terms, with a 10% commission rate and a contract duration of one year.
After discussing the basic terms, Mira solemnly told Linton that before becoming partners, some things had to be made clear to him.
"Every artist who strives in Los Angeles dreams of becoming a big star. But the Los Angeles big stars you see all have two faces. No matter who you actually are, the image presented to the public must be glamorous. If you join Los Angeles, you must be mentally prepared to live with falsehood for the rest of your life."
Linton, after all, had been in the entertainment industry in his previous life. He paused for a moment, then said, "I have no problem."
"Very good."
"There's also a second point. An agent, what is the definition of an agent? Every newcomer dreams of becoming a star, and an agent is the person who helps you build, promote, and package yourself, the person who helps you achieve your dreams.
In this process, the agent's management and service to you are comprehensive, from your food, clothing, housing, and transportation, to your dating, marriage, and having children. Are you sure you can accept this kind of management service?"
"Mira, I think I understand," Linton said. "I want to be a star, and I will follow your arrangements. Of course, sometimes I also hope you can respect my opinions."
"It seems we've reached a consensus."
"In addition, a special reminder: in Los Angeles, you can chase women, drink excessively, and even use drugs. Of course, it's best not to engage in these behaviors, but even if they happen, it's not a major problem.
However, there are three absolute no-go zones. One is sexual assault and child abuse.
Another is paying taxes on time and in full. You can hire an accountant to help you reasonably avoid taxes, but you absolutely cannot evade taxes.
The last one is racial discrimination. Even if you are truly a racist, and genuinely harbor racial prejudice internally, you must never express it in public. These three points must never be touched, otherwise, they will absolutely ruin you. Please remember this forever."
"Thank you for the reminder. I won't touch any of those."
The next morning, at the WMA Company in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Linton and the WMA Company formally signed the agency contract in the presence of a lawyer.
Before signing the contract, Mira also took Linton to meet Logan Donovan, the Vice President of the WMA Company. Logan was a kind old white man who didn't say much during the meeting, only encouraging Linton to work hard, assuring him that the WMA Company would fully support him and arrange work opportunities for him as soon as possible.
After signing the contract, Mira took him for a complete image redesign. It truly made him much more handsome. Afterward, she took him shopping for some clothes.
She also reminded him that his future attire could no longer be as casual as it was at the University of Southern California (USC); he had to maintain a basic image.
To facilitate his work, Mira suggested that Linton rent an apartment or a small villa near Los Angeles.
Linton thought about it: it was already February, and he had accumulated enough credits, just waiting to graduate and receive his degree certificate at the end of May. During this period, it didn't matter whether he was at the University of Southern California (USC) or not.
Considering he had a balance of 105,000 yuan on his credit card, and confident in his quick rise to fame, he simply asked Mira to help him find a small villa, specifically emphasizing security and privacy.
After discussing these matters, Linton told Mira that he had written three songs and asked her to contact a music studio to record demos and handle copyright registration.
Mira was dismissive, thinking that since he specialized in film and television production, he should be developing as a director, not thinking of becoming a singer.
However, she didn't object and quickly contacted a music studio called Deep Sea, arranging for him to go the next morning. They agreed on a price of $1500 per day, with the studio providing all related services.
The next morning, Linton and Mira arrived at the Deep Sea Music Studio. They first signed the contract at the price agreed upon yesterday, a necessary measure to prevent future legal disputes. He paid $1000 upfront, with the remaining balance to be paid after completion of services.
Fortunately, Linton had basic singing skills. He had practiced whenever he had free time in the days since his Rebirth, and after entering the first layer of Qi cultivation, his physical fitness greatly improved, which also enhanced his vocal range and timbre.
Additionally, the three songs were not particularly difficult to sing. After a day of effort, Linton recorded the demos for the three songs and paid the remaining balance. During the demo recording, Mira was incredibly impressed, and her confidence in Linton's path as a singer soared.
Leaving the Deep Sea Music Studio, they arranged for Mira to register the copyrights with BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) the next day.
Generally, the BMI association only provides services for the rights of its members, and newcomers need publicly released works to join the association.
This is where the advantage of established agencies became apparent. Mira leveraged the WMA Company's resources, and the next day, after paying the membership fee, his association membership was processed.
After careful song comparison, and confirming they were original compositions, the copyright registration for the three songs was completed. Next, Mira would take the three songs and demos to negotiate terms with record companies.
According to Linton's wishes, Mira took Linton to negotiate with Universal, Warner, and Sony Columbia respectively.
All three record companies were very interested after hearing the songs; they all recognized the songs' potential and were very satisfied with Linton's appearance. After the companies tested his fundamental skills, they all gave him an overall rating of A-, with his appearance at A+, vocal technique at B-, vocal range at A-, vocal distinctiveness at A, and stage presence at A-.
It could be said that he had great potential, and they all offered good signing conditions. Furthermore, Mira, an executive from Sony Columbia, privately contacted Linton and Mira, hoping to buy the copyright for "Believer" for $1 million, which made Mira's heart pound and made her even more optimistic about Linton.
Unexpectedly, Linton immediately blacklisted Sony Columbia. Mira, as a non-professional, didn't know, but how could a record company executive not know? They wanted to buy the copyright for $1 million? What were they thinking? This was clearly taking advantage of a newcomer's ignorance.
He turned around and told Mira to focus on negotiations with Universal and Warner, and not to consider Sony Columbia. Also, the contract could not exceed three years.
After seven days of communication and negotiation, Mira received the latest offers from both record companies: a three-year contract for two albums, a $500,000 signing bonus, and, in the record royalty split, a 6% share for composition and a 6% share for lyrics.
These two were industry standards. The crucial part was the vast difference in artist royalties. Generally, new artists in major companies received as little as 5%, while top artists could reach 20%. Of course, small record companies were different. Both companies offered a decent 10% royalty split.
Of course, there were also promises that the company would provide him with training, song recording conditions, and distribution and promotion resources, which were largely similar. Naturally, the penalty for early contract termination was exorbitant, with both companies offering a sky-high breach of contract fee of up to $30 million.
The contract did not restrict Linton from writing songs for artists from other companies. Considering Warner Bros.'s tendency to interfere with film production, Linton ultimately chose Universal.
Of course, choosing Universal for a singer contract now didn't mean he would choose Universal for film collaborations in the future; it was just a priority consideration.
Another consideration for signing with Universal was that, strictly speaking, Universal Records at this time still lagged behind Warner Music, mainly in terms of top artists and song copyright libraries. Universal didn't have true superstars at this point, but its promotion and distribution capabilities and channel penetration were not bad at all.
However, this was actually a good thing for Linton. As long as he demonstrated his strength and value, he could receive more resources from the company. If he were at Warner, the best resources would surely be prioritized for top stars like Madonna and Cher.
The next day, accompanied by Mira and a lawyer, Linton formally signed the singer contract with Universal Records. After signing the contract, Universal arranged for the $500,000 signing bonus to be transferred to Linton.