With the 1997 fiscal year ending in September, early October was the busiest time for Daenerys Entertainment. Not only was the company preparing to release its annual financial report in mid-October, but various departments were also conducting year-end reviews and holding tightly scheduled meetings.
Today's meeting, chaired by Simon himself, focused on the music division. Amy Pascal was also in attendance, along with Richard Palmese, CEO of Daenerys Records, and Barry Weiss, president of Infinity Records, which specialized in cultivating teen pop stars.
As Daenerys Entertainment's film and television business approached a bottleneck, Simon had increasingly focused on the company's music and gaming divisions in recent years. However, despite Daenerys Records boasting top-tier artists like Guns N' Roses, Backstreet Boys, and Cher, and thriving in film soundtracks thanks to Daenerys Entertainment's dominance in that area, the traditional music industry was still in decline due to the impact of the internet.
Even though Daenerys Records was one of the most proactive companies in embracing the internet, its growth had slowed significantly in recent years.
Still, compared to industry stalwarts like Sony, EMI, and PolyGram, which had seen negative growth or even losses, Daenerys Records' ability to maintain positive growth was impressive.
The relatively strong performance of Daenerys Records after embracing the internet had also forced other traditional music giants, even Sony, to gradually compromise and provide content to Tingke Bair's Broadcast Music Store while promoting their own digital music players.
After all, failing to do so would only allow pirated content to dominate the market.
In fact, this was why Simon had pushed Daenerys Records to embrace the internet despite internal resistance.
He wanted to set an example for others to follow.
Today's meeting, however, had little to do with the internet. The main topics were the music division's revenue and profit for the past year, as well as a shift in the division's overall strategy.
In one word: fast food culture.
With the advent of the internet and the explosion of information, people would find it increasingly difficult to focus on certain individuals or events for long periods.
The music industry was no exception.
Therefore, Daenerys Records needed to accelerate the creation and iteration of its stars.
In fact, Daenerys Records had already been moving in this direction in recent years, as evidenced by the stars created by American Idol. By the time the third season aired, many of the top contestants from the first season had already been forgotten.
Like the internet, since the trend was inevitable, the company needed to adapt proactively.
Additionally, the dramatic changes in the traditional music industry due to the internet's impact were also influencing consumer habits. While the music industry's audience, like that of movies, spanned all age groups, the core consumer base would increasingly focus on young people.
These changes required adjustments.
Finally, the last topic of the meeting was expansion.
This wasn't about geographic expansion—Daenerys Records had already extended its reach to major music markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Instead, the focus was on mergers and acquisitions.
The targets were both artists and, more importantly, content.
Under strict copyright protection laws, the millions of music tracks accumulated by traditional music giants over decades, or even a century, remained valuable assets.
Daenerys Records was at a significant disadvantage in this regard.
Compared to industry giants like Sony and EMI, which had millions of music tracks in their catalogs, Daenerys Records, despite its rapid growth and the acquisition of Universal Music Group, still lacked depth. Universal Music, after all, had been at the bottom of the major record labels before its expansion in the late 1990s under Seagram's ownership.
Now, with Seagram controlling Paramount instead of Universal and struggling to digest its current holdings due to changes in Hollywood's landscape, Daenerys Entertainment was in a prime position to step in.
The primary target, as it had been for Seagram, was PolyGram.
Headquartered in London, PolyGram was another major record label formed through years of mergers and acquisitions. If not for Simon's influence, PolyGram would have thrived in the 1990s by partnering with the team behind hits like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill.
Unfortunately, things had changed.
Simon had secured the core team behind those films early on, and the internet's rapid rise had further disrupted the music industry, leaving PolyGram in a precarious position.
With the Asian financial crisis spreading globally and the economy entering a brief downturn, the already struggling music industry would face even greater challenges, making it the perfect time for Daenerys Entertainment to strike.
The meeting lasted all morning.
Afterward, everyone left the conference room. Since the music division was based at Universal Studios in Burbank, meetings like this were rare, so a simple lunch gathering was arranged.
In a management dining area within the administrative building.
The buffet-style lunch allowed for easy mingling and conversation. Simon discussed the details of the planned PolyGram acquisition with Richard Palmese before seeking out Barry Weiss.
Barry Weiss, the teen pop guru who had launched stars like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys in the 1990s, had also achieved remarkable success after being recruited by Simon. Not only had he rediscovered the Backstreet Boys under Simon's guidance, but he had also introduced several other popular teen pop stars in recent years.
Weiss's current focus was on promoting the group of teenagers Simon had taken in after Disney disbanded the Mickey Mouse Club, including Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera.
However, the topic of conversation wasn't about Britney and the others.
Simon's decision to take in these youngsters had been driven more by memories of their past fame.
As his wealth, status, and mindset evolved, Simon had grown increasingly indifferent to many celebrities from his memories.
The topic Simon discussed with Barry Weiss was fast food culture: "Barry, we didn't have time to delve into this during the meeting, but what do you think is the hardest part of fast food culture?"
Weiss thought for a moment. "Catching the public's attention—I mean, attracting as much attention as possible in the shortest time."
"Exactly," Simon nodded with a smile. "So, how do you think we should do that?"
Weiss admitted honestly, "Simon, within a reasonable budget, I don't have an answer yet. But with Daenerys Entertainment's media resources, we're certainly in the best position to package and promote artists."
"But that doesn't fundamentally solve the problem."
"True," Weiss agreed, looking at his boss. "Simon, you must have an answer, right?"
"I created a singing group in Ukraine. You know about that, right?"
"Yes, Nu Virgos. They performed in Atlantic City earlier this year with our help, and the response was decent. But since they don't have English songs yet, their influence is limited. If you're willing, I could help them produce an English album."
Simon chuckled. "No need. Their style is too formal. What I mean is, think about Nu Virgos. Does that give you any ideas?"
Weiss pondered, feeling both uncertain and enlightened. "Simon, are you talking about a group model?"
That didn't seem new.
"To be precise, a uniform group model," Simon elaborated. "Imagine a row of pretty, slim-waisted, long-legged girls standing together in perfect sync on stage. What kind of effect would that have?"
Weiss immediately understood but couldn't help voicing a concern. "Simon, in that case, individual singers would be even harder to remember. Isn't that too much like fast food culture?"
"Let's try it first," Simon said. "I had an idea a while ago for a group called the Spice Girls. Find five girls with similar looks and, most importantly, the same height to make them appear more uniform. But they shouldn't be identical—each girl should have her own style, like the Fashion Spice, Sporty Spice, or Crazy Spice. You pick the members, and I'll provide a single for the debut."
In truth, Simon's "a while ago" was several months back.
During a trip to the UK earlier in the year, he had noticed that the Spice Girls, like Harry Potter, had been erased from this timeline. He had briefly considered reviving them but ultimately set the idea aside.
Mainly because he wasn't impressed.
While the Spice Girls had been a global phenomenon in the 1990s and sparked a wave of girl groups worldwide, Simon, with his future perspective, found their style unappealing.
In contrast, he thought the Korean girl group model was more refined.
What made it successful, aside from Korea's systematic trainee system, was the uniformity.
Even as groups came and went in rapid succession, their visual appeal made it easy to capture the public's attention quickly. While girl groups in the West, Japan, and Taiwan had declined, Korea's model had thrived and even exported globally. The key to its success was undoubtedly the ability to attract attention quickly through uniformity.
Since Simon wasn't fond of the Spice Girls' colorful style, he decided to adapt the more polished Korean girl group model.
As for whether it would work?
Many of the ideas Simon had provided to his team had been proven successful in the past, giving them a higher chance of success than original concepts. Moreover, even if it failed, Daenerys Entertainment had the resources to experiment.
Weiss, on the other hand, felt confident after hearing that Simon would personally provide a single.
Over the years, Simon had contributed several singles, each of which could easily serve as the lead track for an album.
Determined, Weiss said, "Simon, putting together a group will take me about three months. Add in training and producing an MV, and we could debut around Easter next year—a great timing."
Simon had no intention of rushing Weiss and nodded. "Sounds good."
With the plan set, Weiss immediately switched to a more casual tone. "Simon, about that single—could you share it soon? The two singles you gave Britney and Christina recently were fantastic. I'm always eager to hear your music."
Simon smiled. "I'll get it to you when I have time."
Weiss nodded, then added, "By the way, boss, any special instructions for Britney and Christina?"
It was already Thursday, October 9th.
Simon had returned from Mexico on Monday and promptly provided two singles—originally Britney's and Christina's hits—for Weiss to work on. Weiss, being no fool, had also done some digging and figured out the situation, paying extra attention to the two girls.
Simon shrugged. "No, just let them follow the usual process."
Weiss didn't press further.
Of course, he wouldn't strictly follow Simon's words. Some instructions were meant to be taken literally, while others required discretion. Failing to read between the lines would show a lack of emotional intelligence.
After lunch, the music division's executives returned to Burbank.
Weiss headed back to Universal Studios, reviewed the morning's meeting, and swiftly set the Spice Girls project in motion. He worked tirelessly until nearly the end of the workday, then made a special trip to the music division's training rooms.
The former Mickey Mouse Club members trained here, and with their debuts approaching, the teens had been working even harder.
Weiss stood at the door of the girls' training room, watching Christina and Britney practice their dance routines. While Christina seemed fine, Britney appeared listless, which puzzled and concerned Weiss. He called over the well-built dance instructor, Lisa, and asked, "What's wrong with Britney?"
Lisa shook her head. "I'm not sure, Mr. Weiss. She's been like this for the past couple of days—seems sick, but she insists she's fine. We had a doctor check her, and she doesn't have a cold or fever. I think she might just be tired from lack of sleep."
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PS: I wrote this chapter while watching the Spring Festival Gala. It's been years since I last watched it, and it's quite dazzling now—they even used the spinning bullet-time effect from The Matrix. The lip-syncing was a bit obvious, though. Anyway, I'll aim for at least 4,000 words in the coming days, and if I have time, I'll write more. Lastly, happy New Year to everyone!
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