Page 83 of The Last Love Song
‘Metropolitan? They have The Trojans, don’t they?’ murmured Todd.
‘Sure do, and Brad wants to add The Fishermen to the label. We’ve got a deal from Metropolitan on the table, lads.’
Freddy studied each of their faces in turn. Todd was grinning from ear to ear, Con looked stunned, Derek managed a raised eyebrow and Ian wore the same serene expression he always did.
‘Metropolitan, eh?’
‘Well, feck me, it looks like we’ve done it after all, lads!’
‘Hey, just think of the groupies, man.’
‘We’re gonna be rich.’
Freddy let the boys chat amongst themselves for a few minutes as he poured the champagne.
‘Now,’ he said, handing them each a glass, ‘there is, of course, lots to go through with you, but I’ll give you the bare bones now. Metropolitan want to sign you for two albums and five singles, the first single being released this Christmas. Brad Owen thinks “Can Someone Tell Me Where She’s Gone?” is a potential seasonal hit.’
Freddy paused to let this news sink in. ‘As far as the money is concerned, the advance isn’t going to make you millionaires overnight, but the royalty rates are one per cent above thenorm to make up for the smaller upfront advance. This really starts to work in your favour if The Fishermen begin to have major success. With me so far?’
There was a general nodding of heads.
‘Good. As far as Metropolitan are concerned, I’m impressed with their track record. They’ve only been going a short time and as you mentioned earlier, Todd, they’ve had a big success with The Trojans. It shows they can cut it amongst the big guns. They’re not RCA, but there’s no reason why in a few years’ time they shouldn’t be joining the top five record companies. And the advantage to signing with a smaller label is that you will be a big fish in a small pond. Metropolitanhaveto make you work if they themselves want success. That means they’ll be putting in a huge amount of effort.’ Freddy ran through the order of business in his head. ‘And of course, last but by no means least, you’ll have a producer who I think is one of the best in the business. Brad Owen worked with a lot of the top groups when he was with RCA. Having him on the recording side is a huge bonus. So, there’s the nub of it! I highly recommend you accept the offer.’
The boys looked at each other uncertainly, overwhelmed by the reality before them.
‘I can’t take it in,’ said Todd. ‘I’d convinced myself it wasn’t going to happen and now we’re sitting here talking about albums and singles and...’ He shrugged. ‘It’s amazing.’
The others nodded their heads in agreement.
‘So, would you say there’s a chance that you might consider accepting Metropolitan’s offer?’ Freddy smiled.
‘What do we think, boys?’ asked Todd.
‘What kind of dosh can we expect to begin with?’ asked Derek, who had perked up a little.
‘Approximately double what I’m now giving you each week.’
‘Wow,’ commented Ian.
‘And of course, once the records start selling, we could be looking at ten, twenty times that and upwards.’
‘What about the publishing rights to any songs we compose?’ asked Con.
‘Metropolitan have them, I’m afraid. Pretty standard practice unfortunately. But the composer will obviously get an extra royalty payment on sales of any of his own songs.’
Con nodded.
‘Any other questions, or can we drink this champagne before it goes flat?’
‘I think we’d be idiots to turn this down,’ said Todd.
‘Me too,’ said Derek. ‘Just think of the money. We’d be able to buy whatever we wanted...I could...well, we could achieve...anything. Nobody could touch us.’ He stared into the distance.
Con cut short the awkward silence. ‘If the producer’s as good as you say he is, then I’m for it,’ he beamed.
‘Man, I’m game,’ smiled Ian.
‘Then we’re agreed.’
