Chapter 257 Hanging out in the recording studio

It was almost afternoon, and the sun in Los Angeles rose to the middle of the sky. The sky was clear and the sun was particularly warm.

Link drove a Ferrari convertible along West Coast Boulevard, and came to the Big Guitar Music Studio under Big Machine Records.

When he walked into the music studio, Taylor was sitting on the mixing desk with her long blond hair disheveled and wearing headphones.

Her head beat the beat little by little.

There was also a piece of manuscript paper on the mixing desk.

She took a pen and wrote and drew on it.

The other staff in the recording studio were also busy, including composers, composers, production assistants, etc., fifteen or sixteen people, which looked more lively than Link's music studio.

Link did not disturb her, and asked Emily to pass the drinks to the staff. He took a cup of coffee and put it on the mixing desk.

"Emily, I told you not to put coffee here, and don't bother me. I don't need anything."

Taylor said without raising his head.

Link quickly picked up the coffee and wiped his forehead. When Taylor lost his temper, his voice would become cold and his expression would become serious, which looked a bit scary.

He did not move closer. He gave the coffee to Emily to keep warm. He sat on the sofa and picked up this week's "Billboard" magazine to read.

Like the film industry, the end of each year and the beginning of each year are the peak periods for the release of new works.

In January alone, 63 new albums were released in the music industry.

Including the first studio album "Animal" released by Kesha on January 5, the second studio album "Need You Now" by the famous country music group Antebellum, and the sixth album "Still Standing" released by the famous black blues singer Monica Arnold.

After Kesha's "Animal" topped the album chart for two consecutive weeks, it was pulled off the chart by Antebellum's album, but Monica's new album sales increased significantly, and there is also hope to hit the championship.

Judging from the sales data in January, the competition in the music industry is very fierce.

In addition, many singers released new album promotional singles in January. The three most popular singers are:

After releasing his first album in November last year, Justin Bieber also plans to release his second album "My World 2.0" in March. The first single is "Baby".

This single was released on January 1 and entered the top ten of the singles chart in three weeks. It is currently ranked fifth.

It is also a current hot song.

The second singer is Wiz Khalifa, a rapper under Link Music. He plans to release a new album "Deal Or No Deal" at the end of February. The first promotional single is "Black and Yellow".

This single was originally Wiz Khalifa's champion single. Last year, Link gave some ideas to Wiz, and the rest was completed by Wiz.

During this process, Link also gave some of his own modification suggestions.

The song is similar to the original version.

This single was released on January 5, with sales of 35,000 copies in the first week, ranking 42nd on the singles chart and fifth on the rap chart.

Breaking into the top ten this week, ranked sixth, and the first on the rap list.

The third singer is Justin's mentor Usher, who plans to release a new album "Raymond v. Raymond" in March.

The production lineup of this album is super strong.

The producers include the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, Redone, the famous producer who created Lady Gaga's famous album "The Fame", and Mariah Carey's exclusive producer Jermaine Dupri, and 12 other gold medal producers.

He also released his first single "Hey Daddy (Daddys Home)" this week.

It landed on the singles chart at No. 32 in the first week of release, which is a good start.

The albums of these three people represent three types of pop music, rap music, and R\u0026B rhythm and blues. Counting the country music album released by Antebellum, several mainstream musicians in the music industry released new songs at the beginning of the year.

The competition was fierce at the beginning, which also put some pressure on Link to release an album in March.

Link looked at the other rankings on the album chart.

His first album "The Fighter" fell out of the top 200 album chart a year after its release, but its overseas sales are still impressive, with a total global sales of 6.83 million copies.

The second album "Go Forward" is still stubbornly ranked in the top 100 of the album chart, with sales of 4,053 copies this week, ranking 73rd, and cumulative sales in the United States of 3.223 million copies, which is expected to catch up with Taylor's second album "Fearless" in the United States.

The overseas sales of "Go Forward" have already exceeded 10 million copies, reaching a total of 12.25 million copies. As the tour progresses, the album sales are also slowly increasing.

This album also became Link's first diamond record.

There are also two singers under Link Music. Lana's first album sold 8,229 copies this week, ranking 28th on the album chart, and a total sales of 682,000 copies in the United States.

This album sold well in the UK, selling 150,000 copies in more than two months, and the total overseas sales reached 1.35 million copies.

Bruno Mars' first album has been released for 8 weeks, with sales of 21,000 copies this week and cumulative sales in the United States of 787,000 copies, surpassing Lana and having a great chance of breaking through one million copies.

This album has average sales overseas, with only 350,000 copies released in more than a month.

But it has also passed the one million mark.

Link Music launched three singers this year and released four albums, including one diamond album, one six-times platinum album, and two platinum albums.

All are platinum or above.

The news also caused a stir in the music world.

Although singers from the five major record companies also sold platinum albums last year, they have to sell dozens or hundreds of records a year before one becomes platinum.

And Link Music went platinum as soon as it was released, with four consecutive platinum albums or more.

This result is so impressive.

This shows that Link Music has found a magic weapon for record sales and can continuously release platinum records.

It has also led to the continued rise in the market value of Link Music, from US$120 million to US$150 million at the end of last year to US$160 million to US$180 million now.

The five major record labels have all sent acquisition invitations, hoping to become the parent company of Link Music and seize this golden goose that lays eggs.

However, Link and Iwaka have no plans to sell their shares for the time being.

He plans to sell some shares to the Big Five after releasing four albums. On the one hand, he can strengthen cooperation and cash out part of the funds.

Selena's debut album "Come And Get It" is in its 13th week of release. It has sold 1,027 copies this week, ranked 151 on the album chart, and has sold a total of 887,000 copies in the United States.

The reason why Selena's album has sold nearly 900,000 copies is not only because she has a few hit songs, but also because she is a popular actor, has her own traffic, and because Disney's company has strong publicity and distribution skills and is willing to spend money. money publicity.

At this point, several singers under Link Music cannot compare to her.

It is also because of this that Link did not sign Selena to link music.

On the last few pages of "Billboard" magazine is a survey report on the music industry in 2009.

From January 5, 2009 to January 3, 2010, the total sales of the US record market reached 373.9 million, a decrease of 12.7% from the 428.4 million in the same period in 2008.

Meanwhile, digital download sales increased 16.1% from last year to an all-time high of 76.4 million.

This data also shows that physical records will be on a downward trend in the future, and digital sales channels on online platforms will become more important.

Link decided to strengthen promotion on online platforms in the future, communicate more with fans online, and strive to sell more albums.

"when did you come?"

Suddenly someone in front asked.

Link raised his head and saw Taylor blinking his blue eyes and looking at him in surprise.

"Almost forty minutes."

Link said while looking at his watch.

"Why didn't you tell me? It would make me look very stupid."

Taylor curled his lips and said dissatisfied.

"You're stupid to begin with!"

Link reached out and pinched the tip of her nose.

Emily came in with a cup of coffee and said with a smile: "Link just came over to deliver the coffee, and you scolded him for putting it on the table."

"Really?"

Taylor patted his forehead, looked embarrassed, held his arm and said, "Are you not angry? You know, I often forget everything when I am busy."

"Is it necessary to apologize? It's not the first time this has happened. I'm used to it."

Link shrugged and smiled.

"What are you used to? You say this as if I have a bad temper. I only act like this when I'm working. I'm very gentle at other times, right?"

Taylor asked with a serious expression, looking up at his delicate and fair face.

"Of course! You have always been gentle, and this is true."

"That's pretty much it!"

Tyler wrinkled his nose and smiled, his fingers loosening the skin on his waist.

Link smiled softly, held her in his arms and asked about her preparations for the new album.

Taylor's third album is also a love album.

She has prepared more than a hundred songs, and plans to select more than ten of them with good quality to be included in the new album.

She wrote and composed all these songs by herself, and served as the music director and producer of the new album, which means that she will handle the main work of this album alone.

After hearing this, Link was filled with admiration. Compared to an all-around musical talent like Taylor, he could only be considered a singer.

"Our third album is all about love songs. Do you want to have a competition to see whose album sells more?"

Taylor asked leaning on his shoulder.

"No comparison! I am a pop singer, a boxing champion, and a movie star. I have more fans than you. Comparing with you is bullying you."

"What do you mean? You mean you're sure to win?"

Taylor put her finger on his chin, making it look like a pistol.

"Are you still doubtful?"

Link put his hand into her clothes, touched her smooth waist and smiled.

"Hmph! It's too early for you to say that. Whether the album sells well or not mainly depends on the quality of the songs, not the hype. Every song in my new album is carefully selected. I don't think I will lose to you. How about making a bet, if I lose, I’ll cook breakfast for you for ten days, if you lose, hey, don’t touch your hands.”

Taylor pressed his hand on his waist and rolled his eyes at him.

Link smiled softly, kissed her and said: "If you lose, I will make you ten breakfasts. No matter what you do, you must finish them. If I lose. How about we try a few new positions?" "

"Hey! Bad guy, I'm talking seriously, can you stop being so perverted."

Taylor sat on his lap, pinched his face dissatisfied, and bumped the tip of his nose with his nose.

"Be direct, do you dare to bet?"

Link held her hips and smiled.

Taylor frowned, blinked his blue eyes, thought for a while, and kissed him.

"Deal! I will never lose."

"That's not necessarily true!"

Link smiled gently, put Taylor on the sofa, and lowered his head to kiss her red lips.

——

When Mrs. Andrea came to the Big Guitar Recording Studio, it was more than three o'clock in the afternoon. The weather in Los Angeles was getting hot. She was wearing a knitted coat and felt sweat on her forehead after walking a few dozen meters in the sun.

In the past few years, she has been running around with Taylor and lacks exercise. Maybe she should listen to Link's advice, strengthen exercise, and do yoga every day like Taylor.

When she came to the recording studio, she found that Taylor's recording studio was closed, and only Emily was sitting on the sofa in front of the door drinking coffee and reading magazines.

"Where is Taylor? Left early?"

Mrs. Andrea took off her sunglasses and asked.

"No!"

Emily held back her laughter and pointed to the closed door.

"Link is in there!"

"Link? When did he come? What are they doing in there?"

Mrs. Andrea asked in confusion.

Before Emily could answer, she saw the strange expression on her face. Andrea seemed to understand something, and her round face showed some expressions of not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Logically speaking, Link and Taylor have been dating for more than a year and can still maintain such an intimate and romantic relationship. She was quite relieved.

No one knew Taylor's personality better than her. She was willful, strong, stubborn, and a little selfish.

Andrea used to be very worried about Taylor's emotional problems. She didn't think any boy could tolerate her for too long.

But Link and Taylor have been together for more than a year. Although they occasionally had some small conflicts, they never had a big fight.

She was also happy for the two of them.

It's just that these two young people are too naughty. It's still broad daylight now, and there are staff outside. The two of them are locked in the recording studio to hang out. It's too shameless to spread it out.

"How long have they been in there?"

"Almost an hour."

Emily glanced at her watch and couldn't help laughing.

Andrea shook her head helplessly. Since the studio was soundproofed, she couldn't hear any noise from outside. She took out her phone and checked the time.

It was time for the Grammy Awards rehearsal.

Both Link and Taylor were going to go, and she didn't care about breaking up the couple. She called Link directly.

Because Taylor often didn't bring her phone into the studio, it was useless to call her.

After three or four minutes, the door of the studio slowly opened, and Link came out holding Taylor.

"Hi, Annie!"

Link smiled and greeted Andrea.

Taylor bowed his head and called her mom, and patted him on the back twice.

The two of them were dressed neatly.

Except for a few reddish scratches on Link's neck, Taylor's long golden hair was a little messy, her oval face became pink and rosy, her blue eyes were watery, her blue jeans were a little wrinkled, and she didn't wear a bra under her T-shirt.

Nothing else could be seen.

"It's time to rehearse. Get ready. We'll go to Staples."

Andrea glanced at the two of them and left with her bag.

"Okay, Annie, we'll be there soon."

Link responded.

"It's all your fault!"

Taylor punched Link's shoulder with his fist and complained with a red face, "Every time you come to the studio, you disturb me and make me unable to record songs at ease. Emily, put a notice outside my studio door in the future. Link and the cat are not allowed to come in."

"Okay!"

Emily smiled slightly and walked away on her own initiative.

Link reached out and brushed Taylor's hair, letting them fall naturally on her shoulders, and smiled, "Don't be shy, Annie and Emily are adults, they won't say anything."

"But you distracted me. I could have written a great song, but it's all your fault. The inspiration for that song suddenly disappeared."

"Okay, it's my fault. I'll pay attention next time."

Link smiled softly.

The two put on their clothes again, left the recording studio together, drove back home, changed into their performance clothes, and went to the Staples Center together to attend the rehearsal for the 52nd Grammy Awards.