“Mr. Bolton, you really know a lot about record companies!” A trace of astonishment flashed in Helen Reed’s eyes. He hadn’t expected Michael Bolton to be so hard to fool—he knew so much, and showed no sign of embarrassment at being exposed. Helen Reed continued, “But since that’s the case, Mr. Bolton, you should know that while the songs are important for a deluxe album, isn’t it also necessary to create, package, and find the right singer? Don’t you agree?”

“But the songs are fundamental. I’m sure Rock Records has been able to remain glorious from the 80s to now, almost thirty years, because you understand how important good songs are to an album. All that creating and packaging is based on the quality of the album itself. If the album isn’t good, no matter how well you package it, the public will abandon it—especially now, with the record market shrinking so much. The quality of an album depends entirely on the songs, am I right? I’m confident that this one song of mine can bring in 200,000 album sales. I’m very sure of that, and I believe President Reed knows it too!” Michael Bolton remained unfazed, speaking calmly and confidently.

“And besides, President Reed, don’t think I don’t know—nowadays, the top musicians charge over 200,000 just for writing lyrics or composing. I’m only asking for 50,000!” Michael Bolton said with a smile.

“But right now, Mr. Bolton, you’re not a top musician yet. You’re not even considered a newcomer!” Helen Reed immediately pointed out Michael Bolton’s weak spot—his lack of fame.

“That’s true, I’m not a top musician yet. But President Reed, do you think if I were a top musician, you’d be able to get this song from me at a wholesale price of 50,000?” Michael Bolton replied unhurriedly, completely unfazed by the jab.

That was the truth. If Michael Bolton were a top musician, there’s no way he’d sell “The Pain That Breathes” for so little. In his eyes, the value of “The Pain That Breathes” was far more than that—50,000 was definitely a bargain. But there was nothing he could do; after all, he wasn’t famous. Faced with this reality, he could only accept it.

“Mr. Bolton, you’re really funny!” Helen Reed said with a smile.

“If Rock Records isn’t satisfied with our song, I think EMI and Sony would also be interested!” Michael Bolton wasn’t anxious at all. After all, the current music market’s demand for good songs was unprecedented.

Helen Reed’s expression immediately changed.

It was said that the record market was in a slump. Besides the hard fact that Sony’s launch of the MP3 had directly broken through the record companies’ defenses, the more important reason was the growing lack of good songs.

Chapter 15: Passing Notes

As time entered the new century, the entire Asian music scene began to enter a period of transition, especially for Rock Records, which had once been incredibly glorious.

Sony’s MP3 dealt a heavy blow to all the major record companies, but at the root of it, the quality of records kept declining, and the gold content of albums kept dropping.

Since the new century, the idol trend represented by F4 swept rapidly through the entertainment industry, and the music scene was inevitably hit as well. Idol groups and idol singers emerged in droves, and record companies became restless, no longer caring about the quality of the songs or albums themselves, but focusing on packaging, good-looking men and women, and even setting records for idol groups holding concerts just a month after debut.

Under this trend, all the major record companies became frivolous, but in the past two years, they’ve suffered the consequences. The flood of idol groups at the time—like Comic Boyz and 5566—all tried to replicate F4’s former glory, but ended up failing miserably. Consumers were fooled by the record companies, and became increasingly reluctant to buy albums. Except for die-hard fans or very wealthy fans, most people wouldn’t buy them, and even if they did, they’d just end up with a terrible album with not a single listenable song.

So in the end, albums became harder and harder to sell—this was the record companies reaping what they’d sown.

Eventually, many companies simply stopped treating records as their main source of income, and instead started selling artist merchandise, endorsements, or even crossing over into film and TV to make money.

In this environment, every good song naturally became the focus of competition among the major companies. Now that information spreads so quickly, with the right operation, even a single good song can make someone famous.

That’s why Michael Bolton could speak so confidently—having a good song was his greatest advantage, and he could pick whichever company he wanted!

The older generation sat on top, while newcomers never had a chance to rise!

In the entertainment industry, where seniority is everything, it’s extremely hard for newcomers to make it. Michael Bolton knew this all too well. But if you have talent, it’s different. With outstanding talent and a bit of luck, you can still carve out a good position in the industry.

Take Jay Chou, Leehom Wang, and JJ Lin, for example—they’re all outstanding in this regard. Except for Leehom Wang, the other two are quite average in looks, which shows that in the entertainment industry, ability is what matters most.

“Heh, Mr. Bolton, you really are impressive. I’ll make the decision—this song, ‘The Pain That Breathes,’ we’ll buy the copyright for 50,000!” Helen Reed said.