Re: Life - Business & Technology

(Comment here for anything you want to see on a new YouTube video about this novel and please vote using powerstones and golden tickets to get us within the top 10!)

Announcement: Please check the glossary/characters auxiliary chapter for updated concept art!

--------------------------

Vince spent two hours of his Monday attending a morning kickboxing session with Hailee and their three house guests before returning to work at his penthouse office.

Fortis decided to spend time with his blonde ZTA output at the University of Texas campus, while Jaden and Alice produced videos and live-streamed at the Headquarters' media center.

Hailee and Vince relaxed for a moment on the sofa as he relished the free time he had until his next business meeting.

Vince carefully caressed Hailee's cheek and softly said, "It was a busy weekend, huh? I met your family; you performed with BTS on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and even produced another viral music video while we partied."

Hailee smiled and replied, "Don't forget the new moves I've learned at the Fury Gym." as she mischievously attempted a guillotine choke on the young CEO.

Aiya, the butler bot, interrupted their playtime by entering the living room and said, "Vince, your first appointment is in five minutes with Future Records' Executive Director. Would you like to use your office or the Future Studios meeting room?"

Hailee interjected and curiously asked, "Who's the label's new boss?"

Vince kept his meeting with Pharrell after the Starship testing from Hailee as a surprise because she was a big fan.

So he replied, "Aiya, please prepare the meeting room; Hailee and I will be with him shortly."

--------------

Meanwhile, at the Future Tech Headquarters main lobby, Pharrell wondered in awe, [This entire place looks like it jumped out of a Star Trek episode. Flying AVs everywhere, people are driving Teslas, and everyone is wearing Hypervisors. Fuckin' crazy!]

He'd only suggested the layout plan and equipment list for Future Tech's music studio and never visited the main offices.

The office building was buzzing like any other typical Monday morning. Still, Pharrell could feel the sense of camaraderie between the staff, thanks to the positive work culture promoted by the young CEO.

A lovely secretary approached the guest seating area and said, "Mr. Dalton is ready for your appointment. Please follow me."

They took a private elevator and eventually arrived on the Future Studios floor, where most media-related production executives and critical staff worked.

Pharrell admired the artistic design implemented throughout the floor; even the Google offices couldn't compare.

Hailee saw the mysterious Executive Director through the glass walls and excitedly shouted, "OMG! You signed Pharrell?!"

Vince introduced the awestruck young artist to Pharrell before beginning their meeting about Future Records' direction, in conjunction with other Future Tech initiatives.

Vince didn't force Hailee to attend the meeting, but she decided to stay and hear about her label's plans and strategies.

Vince humbly said, "My staff manager, Hudson, will provide you with living accommodations and an office worthy of your position here at Future Tech. I commend your busy work over the weekend, Pharrell. I bet the other record labels hate you now after poaching so many of their rising stars."

Though Vince was calm about it, Pharrell understood he needed results after being entrusted billions of dollars to spend.

Pharrell accepted the praise graciously and replied, "You were quite serious during our first meeting as you discussed your vision of the Infinity Channel, so it only made sense to sign a few expensive marketable artists. But I do have a few suggestions regarding our live concerts. I've been fascinated with the War Online and APL fandom, as it's such a modern pop culture zeitgeist."

Vince wasn't an expert in live event organization but sharply comprehended what his executive implied and said, "I welcome any recommendations and advise but let me call in Oliver, the Future Studios Program Director, so we can get the most out of your idea.", as he manipulated his Infinity Watch.

A few minutes later, a Taiwanese-American man in his late 20s entered the meeting room as requested and introduced himself to the new corporate executive.

Pharrell proficiently explained, "I'd like to propose a cross-promotion strategy between our label music artists and the APL live Grand Finals, but further expanded. Future Tech puts on an amazing show whenever the bi-annual Grand Finals roll around and hosts free livestream broadcasts of all the APL games. In addition, the live audience seems to love the popular local artists who perform in between matches. Your product is amazing, considering the hundreds of millions of War Online fans around the world, but I believe we can improve it."

Hailee, Vince, and Oliver attentively listened as Pharrell continued, "Imagine smaller-scale live events in different cities and countries held on a regular weekend schedule, hosting live APL games, and our roster of music artists entertaining the crowd in between matches."

Latency and lag weren't too much of a problem for most War Online players with a NetServ subscription, so pro teams played even official APL games online. Furthermore, unlike games such as CSGO and League of Legends with inferior net coding, the APL never required local area network connections to play competitively.

Vince considered the proposed cross-promotion idea and pondered, [Hmmm. Every other professional sports league hosts live games on a much more regular basis than twice a year. Heck, even the Texas Longhorn football team around the corner attracts more than 100,000 audience members during NCAA season games. Pharrell is onto something here.]

Future Studios focused on mass distribution through free online livestreaming in many different languages instead of competing with esports tournament organizers like MLG and ESL.

Memories of Blizzard failing miserably to implement the regional franchising of Overwatch League definitely swayed Vince in favor of a broadcasting approach at first.

While Vince was thinking deeply in his chair, Oliver confidently commented, "I've been wracking my head around producing a more entertaining APL Season 4, and I feel your cross-promotion concept is the perfect place to start. In addition, fans on Reddit and other forums have voiced their want for more live matches, so there's already a good reason to host more events."

The group deliberated for almost an hour and decided to host a game between regionally popular APL teams featuring performances from label artists on the weekend once every month of the regular season, ultimately bringing up the yearly total stadium event count from two to ten.

The idea would have to be processed by the APL Commission, leaving Kyle and Oliver plenty of work before the season begins.

Pharrell also proposed hosting dedicated music concerts as the norm in the industry, but the APL was the best platform to advertise his rising label talents.

Vince paid around $3 million to rent Daegu Stadium and the Staples Center, so he injected $100 million into Future Studios solely for producing entertaining events that live up to the APL Grand Finals' prestige and quality.

Oliver was happy about the idea and asked, "Where should we hold the first concert?"

Hailee, who kept silent almost the entire discussion, perked up and commented, "The locals love the APL, but Future Studios had never hosted the pro matches in your home city, so we should do it here in Austin!"

The others agreed with her observation as Vince said, "True, and we can even provide discounts to Future Tech employees if they're interested. But we'll need a proper venue."

Oliver thought about the few stadiums available and replied, "Future Tech is a patron of the University of Texas, so I'm sure they'd let us use the Texas Memorial Stadium."

The college football teams only played twelve games a season, leaving plenty of time to schedule an APL event.

Vince considered the venue choice and pondered, [Lucky bastards. It looks like UT will receive another round of funding from me for renovations.]

The local university had been fortunate for Future Tech's educational programs, equipping laboratories with all the necessary devices to perform all kinds of experiments reserved for government institutions due to costs, in exchange for potential staff and rights to certain scientific discoveries.

Now the Longhorn's pride and joy, their massive football stadium, would get a new make-over on Vince's dime.

-----------

An hour later, official Future Studios posts on Instagram and the NetServ platform announcing the APL Monthly Bash, holding the first event in Future Tech's home city, Austin.

A few friends playing War Online together in Louisiana were distracted by an in-game announcement of the new APL live event format. Unfortunately, they lived too far from LA and Vancouver and couldn't attend the two Grand Finals hosted in North America.

One of the guys said, "Boys! It won't be a long drive to Texas to watch Prime Alliance versus FaZe Clan and Evil Geniuses versus Cloud9."

His other friend mentioned, "They even have performances from Bruno Mars for Saturday, and Ariana Grande on Sunday, among other artists."

People from across the southern and central states discussed the possibility of either taking a flight or a car to visit and experience entertainment in what most news outlets refer to as the 'City of Tomorrow'.