Chapter 22: Song Royalties, Millionaire

[Chapter 22: Song Royalties, Millionaire]

On July 25, Linton received an exciting notification that Universal Music would settle the first round of song royalties the next day.

The following morning, Linton, Mira, and Henry Zhou walked into Daniel's office, laughing. They found Lisa there smiling brightly with her accountant. Daniel's secretary placed several thick folders in front of them.

Linton flipped through the files. They contained Universal's settlement documents for the North American sales of three singles up to the end of June. Given the different pricing from discounts, promotions, and other sales strategies, the accounting became quite complicated. To completely eliminate any potential underreporting by Universal, more thorough auditing would be necessary, which couldn't be done without professionals.

Of course, since Linton was Universal's own top artist, so to speak their favored son, Universal wasn't likely to try anything too underhanded.

The real issue was how to handle those collaborative music production companies, especially the new ones just entering the business. Dealing with them could be significantly more aggressive, which was why many of these companies often sought big accounting firms for audits.

The sales numbers for the three singles as of June 30 were: Baby had accumulated 5.3 million copies, Numb had 4.4 million copies, and Believer had 3.8 million copies, totaling 13.5 million copies.

According to the agreement, Linton would receive twenty-two percent of the single sales revenue: six percent for composition, six percent for lyrics, and ten percent for being the artist. With the average price being about 6 dollars per single, Linton's personal share amounted to 17.8 million dollars.

[T/N: Average single price and MC's personal share amount was not provided by the author. If there is any issue with the numbers, please let me know.]

"Don't worry, boss, everything checked out fine," Henry said quietly to Linton after meticulously verifying the figures.

After Linton finished signing the various documents, Lisa started signing as well, confirming her earnings, which amounted to a three percent share translating to a substantial income for her too.

"Those figures are for song sales. Here are the royalty fees for Baby and Numb up to the end of June," Daniel added with a broad smile as he produced more documents.

Linton took a look at the totals. The licensing fees for Baby from various venues (TV stations, arenas, universities, nightclubs, competitions, shopping malls, advertisements, etc.) summed to 2.21 million dollars, while Numb brought in a total of 3.45 million dollars, bringing the grand total to 5.66 million dollars. With twenty-two percent royalties, he expected to earn about 1.24 million dollars.

Daniel explained, "With both songs gaining popularity, the royalty licensing took off. Numb did especially well, but the hottest was Believer. We haven't settled it yet, but I can tell you that, so far, Believer earned 4 million dollars in licensing fees, and of course, the fees for Baby and Numb are still on the rise."

Everyone felt naturally euphoric as, after confirmation, Linton and Lisa both signed their respective documents.

Daniel had poured some champagne, handing it out to everyone. "To our collaboration!"

"To our collaboration!" Linton took a sip. "Let's hope the next batch of royalties comes quickly."

"Rest assured, I'll keep an eye on it," Zhou replied.

"Has the company calculated the cumulative sales for these three singles?" Linton inquired.

"The marketing department already evaluated it. In North America, Baby is expected to surpass 6 million, Numb should reach just over 6.4 million, and Believer is likely to go over 7 million. In the overseas market, all three songs are expected to exceed 5 million copies. Ha-ha, we have a lot of income still coming, so let's raise our glasses!"

"Cheers!" They raised their glasses and cheered loudly.

"Plus, Believer has topped the Billboard charts for five consecutive weeks, and it could very well become the Billboard song of the year. Congratulations, Linton!"

"Congratulations!" They all raised their glasses in celebration.

Universal benefitted immensely from Linton's three songs, and Daniel, as Linton's manager, would certainly see a nice cut, likely more than Lisa's. He felt excited.

"Next, let's keep this momentum going and fully dedicate ourselves to producing Linton's album. The company will match this with the highest standards of distribution resources to aim for record-breaking sales; there are more earnings ahead. Cheers!" He downed his drink in one go.

"Cheers!" They all chimed in unison.

"Also, Linton, your songwriting ability is remarkable. The seven songs you provided have been assessed by the company, and their quality is on par with the first three singles. Each one could completely serve as a lead track for its own album, gathered into one album, this will definitely blow up! Honestly, I almost hesitate to put them all on a single album. Many older musicians had approached me to offer songs for you to perform, but now it's clear that their quality doesn't even compare. You, Linton, are truly gifted!"

"I'm just lucky to be in a creative peak right now," Linton humbly replied.

"You're really quite modest, which isn't typical for a young man! Young people should be fiery and full of personality; if you have the skill, you've got to flaunt it!"

"Oh, Lisa, have the arrangements for the seven songs been completed? Is everything ready for recording?" Daniel turned to Lisa.

"The arrangements are finished, and Linton made the final confirmations. The recording prep is good to go; we just need Linton's schedule to start," Lisa responded.

Linton confirmed that the arrangements were sound and mentioned that the last three songs were also nearly complete. He was finishing the final tweaks and planned to have copyright registration submitted by July 30 and to start recording officially on August 1.

"Great! We want to shoot music videos for all ten songs this time; planning for the music video has already started with the same crew. When the arrangements for the last three songs are done, we'll promptly submit it to them and get everything prepped for shooting."

They passionately discussed the album's production, all filled with confidence in Linton's upcoming release.

Finally, Daniel shared one last piece of information with Linton: Universal had submitted an application for certification to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).

Baby accumulated 5.3 million sales in North America and applied for a 5x Platinum single certification, Numb with 4.4 million for a 4x Platinum certification, and Believer with 3.8 million for a 3x Platinum certification.

However, the RIAA verification would take some time before the platinum certification awards were issued.

"That sounds great! I'll have Molly prepare a trophy display in my office for the awards," Linton said.

"Not just the platinum certification; your next target is to push your album towards diamond certification!"

"Got it; aiming for the diamond album!"

Universal moved quickly; everyone signed the royalty documents in the morning, and by afternoon the payout was credited. Linton saw more than 19 million dollars in earnings, and after paying WMA and Henry, he was left with 17.5 million dollars. Just like that, he became a bona fide millionaire.

[T/N: Original numbers were wonky: Linton earned a total of US$10.5 million, he paid US$50.5 million to WMA and US$20.5 million to Henry Zhou. He was left with US$17.5 million.]

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