[Chapter 3: Crash Course Training and Song Recording]
At Universal Music, the Vice President Daniel Luman was handling Linton's business. He was very optimistic about Linton and was confident about the three songs, believing they all had the potential to hit the Billboard charts.
After signing the contract, he advised Linton that the company should arrange for the production team to finish the arrangents for the three songs as soon as possible and to prepare adequately for recording. Given Linton's relatively weaker singing skills, they decided to set up a 10-day intensive training with a professional coach to help improve his pitch, phrasing, pronunciation, and transition between head voice and chest voice.
...
It was February 19th, and the plan was to record the three songs in March, releasing one single each month to maintain maximum montum and improve sales, while also minimizing conflicts during the Billboard chart competition.
Linton took the professionals' advice seriously and noted that a music video for Baby still needed to be fild before the official release. The release schedule suggested by the distribution departnt was: Baby in April, Numb in May, and Believer in June. This arrangent was necessary because once the singles started releasing, the artist had to promote them across major cities in Arica.
Even though Linton originally considered himself an aspiring director, having worked diligently as a web series director before transitioning, he reconsidered whether he should take the lead role in directing the music video. After so reflection, he realized that as a newcor, Universal wouldn't give him complete trust. Recording three songs in a month plus a music video was a heavy workload, especially for soone still in the early stages of their career. He decided against directing the video for now, and would take it step by step with the upcoming songs.
...
Next, Daniel introduced the producers for the three songs.
"Co on, let introduce you; this is Lisa, one of our senior music producers at Universal, and she will be in charge of the production for the three songs."
"Lisa, this is Linton, and the floor is yours from here."
Lisa was a middle-aged white woman, attractive enough, dressed in the standard attire of a business professional. With a folder in hand, she nodded and smiled at Linton. "Hi Linton, I'm Lisa. I will be responsible for all arrangents, recording, and coordination during the single production. You'll train for a few days while I prepare things. We'll officially start recording on March 1st."
...
From then on, Mira wouldn't be involved in the work; Linton let her go ahead and focus on finding a little villa to rent. While waiting for that, he settled into a nearby hotel next to Universal Music, leaving all the arrangents to Mira.
At that mont, Mira was over the moon. The client she had just signed brought in a sudden $50,000 revenue boost, and Universal was quickly moving to set up Linton for single releases, promising a bright outlook that fueled her enthusiasm. She reassured Linton she'd do everything possible to expedite the housing arrangents. But she also reminded him not to forget about his taxes; tax season was approaching in April. Despite the last four months' inco being counted in the following year's taxes, if he had any paynts due from last year, he must not overlook them.
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The vocal coach assigned to Linton from Universal was Tina Nichols, from the training departnt. She designed a 10-day short-term improvent plan to address the areas Linton had weaknesses in.
After reviewing it, Linton was surprised at how many issues he had. He agreed with the training plan and, following ten days of intensive instruction, he felt a significant boost in his singing abilities. Tina was also pleased and told him to keep practicing; they both believed he could beco a top-tier artist.
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On March 1st, Linton t with Lisa, who presented a docunt. "This is my arrangent for Baby; let know if you have any suggestions for changes."
After reviewing it, Linton found that Lisa really was a professional producer. The arrangent t all his expectations and matched exactly with what he had rembered. He inford Lisa that they should proceed with her version.
Lisa then took Linton to the recording studio.
"This is Al..."
At the mixing board sat a young white man with a rockstar vibe, swinging his long hair as he approached Linton with an unfazed expression, reaching out his hand. "Hi there," Linton smiled and shook his hand.
"Inside is the keyboardist Dick..."
In the recording booth, a white man wearing headphones was playing the instruntal accompanint for Baby, giving Linton a friendly smile.
It was a big studio equipped with an impressive sound setup, an assortnt of top-of-the-line equipnt filling one side of the room.
♫ You know you love (yo), I know you care (uh-huh)Just shout whenever (yo), and I'll be there (uh-huh) ♫
...
It didn't take long for Linton to acknowledge his shortcomings. His vocal potential was solid, but he had not practiced singing consistently over the years. Thankfully, upon entering the warm-up phase, he noticed a positive shift in his physical condition, and although the 10 days of crash training had significantly improved his singing, he still had a long way to go.
Although the song seed simple on the surface, it presented challenges he realized he needed to overco. In ti, once he honed his skills, improved his physicality, and further developed his techniques, he was confident he could reach top-tier status.
Lisa, Dick, and Al recognized Linton's struggles as well. After so discussion, they suggested taking it one line at a ti. Any imperfections could be corrected during post-production; they could start with a studio singer approach.
Calmly considering this, Linton concluded that with enhanced vocal skills, his performances would improve over ti, and he could solve the issues he was currently facing. "Then let's record it line by line. I'll practice more going forward."
Lisa made sure to emphasize to Linton that he should continue systematic vocal training to enhance his performance level.
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In just eight days, the finished product of Baby was ready.
"Wow, perfect..." everyone exclaid after the playback.
"The results are fantastic. We'll take a break today and celebrate at a bar tonight. Tomorrow, we'll start recording Numb," Lisa announced.
...
Upon exiting the recording studio, Mira rushed up, congratulating Linton on finishing the first song's recording. "It's 4 PM, there's still so ti left. Let's go check out the house I picked for you. If it suits you, we'll rent it so you don't have to stay in a hotel and affect your rest."
For the past few days, Mira had treated Linton like a godsend; because of him she rapidly earned a substantial commission, and her standing in the company soared.
In her view, Linton was shining bright. Every day she would pick Linton up and drop him off at the hotel and Universal Studios, taking care of his food, clothing, housing and transportation, making Linton very satisfied.
After arranging the evening's bar eting with Lisa, Mira and Linton drove off, navigating through a quiet tree-lined street before slowing to a stop in front of a charming green villa.
The villa was located on the outskirts of Beverly Hills, benefiting from a safe environnt and good privacy. It was not too big, featuring a 4,000-square-foot yard and two levels with six bedrooms and five bathrooms. Both floors had spacious living areas and were equipped with all essential anities.
Linton felt very satisfied with it. Of course, the price was steep at $5,000 per month, but it was manageable with his current earnings. They imdiately contacted the landlord to sign a one-year lease, paying half a year's rent upfront. The next day, Mira would assist Linton in moving from the hotel to his new ho and help with purchasing daily necessities.
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That evening, they gathered with Lisa and others at the bar, enjoying drinks and dancing, without crossing any lines as Lisa and Mira were not exactly his type.
However, during the night, Lisa, Dick, and Al did indulge in so leaf smoking and encouraged Linton and Mira to join, but they both declined. This choice made Mira regard Linton highly, as those who had self-control tended to have a better chance of succeeding.
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The next day, as soon as Linton arrived at Universal, Lisa led him to Daniel's office, which also hosted a young white man.
"Linton, this is Zack Snyder, the director for the Baby music video. You two will review the script together. If it gets approved, Zack will proceed with preparations, allowing your next two song recordings to move forward in sync to save ti."
"Zack, this is Linton, the writer and perforr of Baby."
After exchanging pleasantries, Linton took the script from Zack, which primarily featured dance sequences, character close-ups, and scenic displays, without telling a complete story.
Initially, Linton was inclined to suggest changes based on later Justin's music video, but he reconsidered. Given that music videos at that ti showcased handso faces and lively dancing to attract youthful eyes, imposing a narrative structure could undermine the effectiveness. Thus, he rely asked, "How will you choose the heroine for the music video? She must be beautiful and I must approve of her."
"Don't worry, you'll be satisfied with the actress," Zack replied with a slight change in expression, though he didn't speak further. Daniel generously added, "I have but one requirent: the music video must be visually appealing and effective. The budget is substantial."
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Indeed, Universal set aside a $300,000 budget for Baby's music video. The final product of the song was better than expected.
The distribution departnt estimated market projections were over 2 million copies with the first batch of 1 million singles, primarily pressed to vinyl and mini CDs with a smaller batch of cassette tapes. The marketing and promotional strategies were in line with those for top-tier artists.
During this era, the entertainnt industry had many traditional practices, just as singers had managers; record companies maintained a structured chanism to connect with signed artists. Company executives received a portion of the revenue generated from an artist's releases.
As the primary point of contact for Linton, Daniel's position as vice president ensured his financial benefits from Linton's success, elevating Linton's status in Daniel's eyes significantly.
Since MTV's inception in 1981, its influence among youth has grown, becoming a vital platform for music promotion. No ambitious project could neglect this advertising channel. Once the music video was recorded, various promotional avenues opened up, including the production of MV DVD sales.
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After reviewing the music video script, Lisa and the team returned to the recording studio, ready to continue. Since the next two songs leaned toward rock, they brought in guitarist Dex and bassist Toney.
With the experience gained from earlier recordings, Linton gradually found his rhythm and improved considerably. Plus, with Numb and Believer being relatively easy, they completed both songs within 14 days, prompting Lisa to exclaim, "Wonderful!"
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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