Chapter 507

Tennessee, the capital of Nashville.

A week had passed since the V awards ceremony, and Charles deliberately accompanied Taylor Swift to Nashville from New York to unwind.

Taylor Swift stayed in a high-rise villa in downtown Nashville, more than 4000 square feet in area, and decorated exquisitely.

In the evening, on the couch in the living room, Charles held Taylor Swift as they watched The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC.

Kanye West publicly apologized to Taylor Swift on the show: "I am ashamed of the harm my actions caused others, and I won't make any excuses because I was wrong!"

"This guy knows he's in trouble," Charles said as he stroked Taylor Swift's long legs.

Taylor Swift, who was tall and statuesque like Ivanka Trump, was wearing hot pants and a loose T-shirt, leaning on Charles' chest, and said dismissively, "Kanye West called me personally to apologize two days after the awards ceremony, but he hasn't come to apologize to me in person yet!"

"Forget about him; try to avoid this guy in the future. This time, we have to give Kanye West a harsh lesson, or else he'll definitely pull some other stunts," Charles said while staring at the TV, reminding Taylor Swift.

Regardless of whether Kanye West's act at the awards ceremony was arranged by MTV to boost ratings or not, Capet had managed to turn Kanye West into a public enemy, with a slew of scandals involving Kanye surfacing: vulgarity, hitting women, smoking marijuana, drunk driving, and making antisocial remarks. Kanye genuinely felt the special treatment within days.

Even Kanye West's collaboration sneakers with Nike, the Yeezy series, were affected, and Universal Music Group, which had a collaboration deal with Kanye West's label Good Music, expressed its disappointment in him.

Now wasn't the time for 'Black Lives Matter.' The divide between black and white always had a market, and people needed to understand the consequences of challenging capital. Even the world pop king Michael Jackson was quietly making a comeback with concerts to earn money and pay off debts. How could a hip-hop artist compare to Michael Jackson or other big-name pop singers for that matter?

"I know. I won't have any more dealings with him. MTV already announced he's persona non grata," Taylor Swift said, clearly furious with Kanye West but still maintaining her composure as a public figure.

Charles nodded. Judy McGrath's idea was right; it wasn't that big of a deal. However, given Capet's strained relationship with Viacom, such incidents between their subsidiaries were easy to exploit.

When buying streaming rights for movies, Netflix often ran into trouble with premium TV networks like HBO and Showtime. These networks loved to chase exclusive broadcast rights to attract more subscribers. Streaming wasn't just stealing TV audiences; it was also stealing subscribers. Netflix, charging monthly fees and pay-per-view, needed exclusive agreements to draw in users.

At the time, movie studios were quite accommodating about selling streaming rights because the more licenses they sold, the more income they got. Premium TV networks, however, demanded exclusivity, and their rights fees were the highest. Additionally, TV rights for movies were still a significant income stream for studios.

Netflix wasn't yet a match for those wealthy premium TV networks, but it competed for streaming rights from free-to-air and regular cable TV networks. Netflix focused on volume, acquiring as many licensed works as possible to expand its streaming library.

As technology advanced, mobile devices like phones would become more high-tech, and that's when Netflix would start producing original shows to capture users.

"Charles, how do you like the slower pace of life here in Nashville?" Taylor Swift asked while kissing his neck.

"The capital of country music. Capet Records' country music label, Big Machine Records, is based here. Nashville's a pretty nice place to live!" Charles said before passionately kissing the woman in his arms, his hands feeling the curves beneath her T-shirt.

Responding fervently, Taylor Swift found her T-shirt getting in the way and didn't hesitate to take it off. She then quickly unbuttoned Charles' shirt, pushing him back onto the sofa. "Charles, I'm going home to visit my parents. Are you heading back to New York or Los Angeles?"

"I'm going to Los Angeles. Capet's movies did great this year. I need to attend some wrap parties," Charles replied, also thinking about new upcoming projects Capet had to oversee. Capet started with movies, so they couldn't afford to fall behind in the industry.

"Is Twilight 2: New Moon done filming?" Taylor Swift asked.

"Yes, it's in post-production now and set for a global release in November. Capet will rake in the box office again," Charles laughed.

Though Charles watched The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on TV, his mind was on another blockbuster in post-production, the new Incredible Hulk.

Years ago, the Universal-distributed Hulk directed by Ang Lee was a critical and box office flop. This time, with Capet and Marvel Studios producing a popcorn version of the Hulk, Charles was uncertain of its success.

However, it surely would do better than Ang Lee's version at the box office. Zack Snyder's Watchmen proved that superhero movies couldn't focus on humanism. It's all about action and special effects. Even Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight was a commercial film!

*****

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