[Chapter 29: Steady and Slow]
Though the headquarters of Warner Bros., Warner Records, and Warner Bros. Pictures were all in New York, Warner Bros. Pictures didn't have any filming stages in the city. Their New York operations mainly focused on production and distribution, while the primary filming studios were located at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles.
So when Orlando shot Old Town Road in New York, he had to pick some older neighborhoods in the suburbs to serve as the set.
The concept for the Old Town Road music video was pretty straightforward. Orlando basically copied the original concept art from future -- just adapted the visuals and story to fit himself better. The opening had that classic Western vibe. Cowboys rode horses across the wilderness.
Then Orlando unexpectedly time-traveled to the present day, riding his horse down the streets of New York City, singing Old Town Road.
Honestly, none of this was difficult. Excluding pre-production prep time and possible pickups later on, it took basically one day to shoot the first draft of the MV.
The Warner executives were pretty enthusiastic after watching it. They believed this video would be a hit once it launched.
The reason was simple. Thanks to that whole "human stun baton" thing, Madonna -- the current pop queen -- made a guest appearance as the female lead, even if she only showed up at the very beginning.
Plus, Seymour and Frank helped out by rounding up some singers and actors for friendly cameos. Their involvement made Orlando's MV cast feel star-studded just from the lineup.
Everyone on set was a seasoned pro -- except Orlando, who was still a rookie. But he had the original footage as a reference, along with plenty of future viewing experiences to draw from. And since it was just a music video, the shoot went fast.
---
When they wrapped up, after seeing off the guest stars, Orlando, Frank, and Seymour were heading back to the office. Orlando suddenly said, "I used to think making movies was hard. But after this MV, I kind of feel like making movies isn't that tough."
Frank and Seymour exchanged looks. Orlando's comments weren't just about shooting a music video; he was thinking about the many big Hollywood blockbusters he remembered from the future.
Unfortunately, he didn't have any "vision" for those films, so the memories were fuzzy -- mostly just the plot outlines, some classic scenes, and actor choices.
He wasn't exactly sure how to produce those films. After all, Orlando wasn't trained as a film director. Just having watched those movies in his past life, he couldn't instantly recreate them.
But thinking about all those "great ideas" and not using them to turn a quick profit seemed like a waste of his transmigration advantage.
That's why he brought it up casually.
To his surprise, Frank and Seymour immediately jumped in to advise him against.
Seymour said, "Making movies can bring quick cash if done well."
Frank added, "But the record business makes more money."
They'd been working together for over a month -- one running the record company, the other handling Orlando's appearances, endorsements, and marketing. Their teamwork was getting smoother, and now they were in sync trying to convince Orlando not to jump into movies just yet.
"I personally think, my friend, that the record business is where your bread is buttered," Frank said.
"All your fame, status, and wealth right now come from your music. You mustn't lose your solid base. You've got a great image and a creative talent I've rarely seen. If you keep at music, you might one day surpass MJ."
Frank clearly worried about Orlando rushing into films.
Seymour also mentioned some of the record industry inside stories Orlando, as a newcomer, didn't know.
Like Madonna's album Like a Prayer last year, where the production budget -- including the video -- was only $850,000. Yet total global sales were projected to top 15 million copies. Even without Madonna's personal income, Warner alone earned over $120 million in revenue.
Last year, very few Hollywood movies even broke that number at the box office.
Not to mention that shooting films costs way more than producing records. A typical film budget could easily run millions or tens of millions of dollars. Even the big six studios would get badly hurt losing two or three movies in a row.
Making records carried less risk.
Using Madonna's album as an example again, Seymour contrasted it with the big-budget 1989 release Batman. Batman pulled in $411 million at the box office, but after theaters' cuts and marketing expenses, Warner's actual profit was under $80 million. And during production, they had $35 million of cash flow frozen on set.
Frank gave an example of Michael Jackson. His Thriller album from eight years ago still made waves in '89. Just that single year brought in $48 million from sales and royalties -- equivalent to the net profits of a $120 million box office movie.
Once they got started on the topic, the two music veterans kept sharing insights.
For instance, Billy Joel's 1977 song Just the Way You Are, which shared the same name as Orlando's newly recorded song, was still generating income. In 1989 alone, radio royalties hit $720,000, and licensing fees -- like from Ford commercials -- exceeded $2 million.
That's more sustainable than the $9 million tape rental revenue generated by Driving Miss Daisy, which was the best picture Oscar winner of that year with $145 million gross.
Paul McCartney's Beatles songs from the '60s brought in over $18 million in royalties in 1989 -- far outperforming passive income from any contemporary film.
Examples like The Eagles and Elvis Presley were numerous.
Even Orlando's own case reflected this.
Excluding marketing, recording Old Town Road cost under $50,000. Including the video, expenses didn't top $300,000. No payment went to the guest stars or singers.
Sales? By May 5th, the single had sold 1.3 million copies. With an average price of roughly $8 each, total revenue surpassed $10 million. Minus production and poster costs, they cleared at least 70%. After marketing, PR spin, and radio ads, profits hovered around 50%.
Orlando's share was close to $4 million.
That's turning less than $300,000 of investment into nearly $4 million in just a month. Even Wall Street would envy a business like that.
And that's not counting a bunch of messy licensing and royalty streams. Though currently only adding about $1 million, those were steady flows that could last a decade or two.
More importantly, the 1.3 million units sold were just the start for Old Town Road.
Warner had already decided this single would go diamond -- meaning over 10 million copies.
Big bucks were still ahead!
Simply put, while Hollywood worried about budgets and losses, the music industry proved its superior business model with real numbers.
Its true power was turning one-time creations into lifelong annuities.
Still don't get it?
Why by 2025 did Jay-Z stop releasing new albums but remained one of the super-rich?
One word: royalties.
Even if Jay-Z went bankrupt in 2025, and his whole family did nothing for the rest of their lives, just the rights to those old songs would support them as billionaires until death!
"Alright, alright," Orlando said.
These two were really the unsung heroes behind his success -- his loyal right-hand men. Even if he had some other thoughts, he decided to play it cool in front of them.
"Thanks for the reminders, Frank, Seymour. My focus will definitely stay in the recording studio. You can count on that."
*****
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