Chapter 120: I Need Your Love
[Chapter 120: I Need Your Love]
"You've bought so much for Taylor, but you still haven't gotten me anything," Daddario grumbled from beneath the office desk.
Ryan was busy wrapping up the final touches on a new song and wasn't paying her any attention.
"You don't love me at all," Daddario huffed, continuing her work.
The vacuum cleaner in the room started up, but it sounded more like a soft whir than the typical noise, making it a bit peculiar.
After Taylor left, she took Erica with her, which meant Ryan felt completely liberated; he didn't have to sneak around anymore.
"Mission accomplished," Ryan said, finally propping his hands on the desk, marking the completion of the song's production.
"Ahem." Daddario's temporary work came to an end as she broke into a fit of coughing.
"It feels so uncomfortable." Daddario woke up and blew her nose. The tip of her nose was red and tears were in the corners of her eyes.
Ryan opened his drawer, where he had stashed the useless trinkets he'd been given when buying a bag from Hermes. Now, he handed them over to Daddario, to make good use of them.
"They're just useless junk. It's not much just with the Hermes logo on them," Daddario complained, still wanting a bag.
"Fine, if you don't want them," Ryan said, putting the items back.
"Of course I want them! You're not getting out of this that easily," Daddario said, snatching the trinkets back and putting them in her bag to take home.
"Am I not going to be able to come here anymore?" Daddario hesitated, touching an Hermes scarf.
"Try to come less often. And if you do, make sure to be undercover; no one should recognize you," Ryan warned as he passed a demo tape to a staff member at the record label. Next, they needed to prepare everything for the cover shoot, the music video, and finally, for the official release.
"Who's starring in the music video?" Daddario probed.
"There's no female lead in this one," Ryan shook his head.
"Forget it then." Daddario murmured, "I suddenly feel that... it's good to stay with you."
But Ryan certainly didn't plan on having her around all the time...
"What happened with the audition for The Vampire Diaries?" Ryan suddenly inquired.
"What do you think happened? I was cut. They already cast someone else as the lead; it's a 19-year-old named Nina Dobrev," Daddario replied, trying to sound casual.
"She's not that famous, is she?" Ryan attempted to say.
"It's just a trend piece, anyway. They couldn't exactly afford any big names," Daddario added.
Ryan nodded, seeming to have made some sort of plan in his mind.
"What are you thinking?" Daddario looked puzzled.
"I think you'd be a better fit for the series than Nina Dobrev," Ryan said, reaching out to brush her hair gently.
Vampire-themed series had become all the rage; HBO had launched a similar show called True Blood, which was doing quite well in ratings. Ryan felt this was an opportunity.
"But the two producers said I wasn't suited for a show mainly aimed at women. They thought I should stick to horror films," Daddario replied thoughtfully.
Horror films tended to attract male audience, and clearly, Daddario's "big rabbit" look was more appealing to that crowd. In comparison, female viewers often preferred a more delicate female image, like Kristen Stewart in Twilight, who embodied that type.
"Do you want to be in it or not?" Ryan asked.
"Of course I do..." Daddario admitted earnestly.
"Sure, the producers might reject you, but they won't turn down an investment," Ryan suggested.
The risk of a television show fell mainly on the production companies. The networks would participate in approving the project and would pay for the airing costs, but this funding typically wouldn't cover the full production costs. The gaps were the responsibility of the producers, making it a high-risk, high-reward scenario similar to the film industry. Some major hit shows could rake in hundreds of millions over a few years, such as the 90s sitcom Seinfeld, which has gathered over $2 billion in licensing fees to date, far exceeding the broadcast rights fees NBC originally paid.
For that show, Larry David, who was involved in the profit-sharing, ranked second on Forbes' 1998 list of entertainment earnings, surpassing Spielberg and Oprah. The profits were considerable. Moreover, since TV shows were filmed and aired simultaneously, even if a show was canceled mid-season, losses wouldn't be catastrophic. But there were pros and cons; the core of a TV series is its writers, who typically also serve as producers or at the very least hold a consulting producer role, directly sharing in the profits. So even if it turned a profit, Ryan's "investment returns" wouldn't be substantial.
"Where's the money coming from?" Daddario asked, though investing in a TV show was no cheap endeavor, often requiring hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In truth, Ryan had managed to keep some of his earlier investment profits, but he certainly wouldn't reveal that.
"Taylor sold 670,000 copies of her new album in its first week! So, there's a nice chunk of cash flow," Ryan said. The increase from the orginal 592,000 was mostly due to the scandal.
Last year, Miley's album sold over 350,000 copies in its first week. This time, Taylor had nearly doubled that, easily taking the top spot on the Billboard 200.
This marked a new high since the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden sold 711,000 copies in its first week back in 2007. According to Nielsen SoundScan stats, only five other country artists had debuted with first-week sales surpassing Taylor: Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, and Rascal Flatts.
And that doesn't even count her 129,000 digital album downloads in the first week, which was only surpassed by Coldplay, Ryan's EP, Jack Johnson, and Kanye West's Graduation.
Considering gross profits, the average price of a physical album was $12.99, and digital albums were around $9.99, bringing total gross profits well over $6 million.
Note that this was just the first-week sales!
If you estimated for the entire year... Ryan would nearly completely cover his investment costs in just over a year!
He remembered how Scott reported Taylor's performance with a hint of regret, clearly indicating that Big Machine sold to Ryan for too low a price, allowing him to chance upon a goldmine.
However, Scott thought Ryan was also taking a risk; if Taylor's new album tanked, Ryan would be out of pocket.
Scott was begrudgingly accepting the loss.
"Such high sales?" Daddario gaped.
Although she and Taylor had a complex relationship, she couldn't deny that Taylor had accomplished something impressive.
"I remember that country music albums don't usually have that high first-week sales... The upside is the sales curve is smoother, without sudden drops," Daddario remarked instinctively.
"That's where Taylor is different; she has a huge and fiercely loyal female fanbase," Ryan replied.
For many girls, that album perfectly captured the voice of a teenage girl, touching on friendship, love, family, failure, success, and struggle. These elements resonated deeply in Fearless, while the title track added the final touch.
Taylor was also a direct inspiration for Ryan's foray into the teenage idol genre.
They were mutually beneficial in their music careers.
Now they just needed to hit that peak moment together.
"But using the money Taylor earned to invest in me feels quite magical," Daddario smiled, then took the initiative to reach out and set up meetings with both series producers, who initially hesitated but didn't refuse once they realized it was Ryan wanting to meet.
She had previously placed Taylor's photo in front of her, perhaps revealing her own jealousy and psychological twists. Compared to Taylor, she was likely the one who needed to see a psychologist.
"So, do you still want to compete with her?" Ryan shifted into his habitual questioning mode.
"What could I possibly win against her? I'm about to get sent off to Los Angeles by you; I can only hope that... your love will spill over to me a bit." She hugged Ryan tightly. "I need your love too."
A flash of realization hit Ryan like a lightning bolt, making him feel a bit breathless as familiar feelings flooded his mind again.
♫I need your loveI need your timeWhen everything's wrongYou make it rightI feel so highI come aliveI need to be free with you tonightI need your love♫
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.