150,000 copies in the first week, undoubtedly this was the level of an A-list singer.
Eminem's comeback masterpiece Recovery reached a terrifying 740,000 sales in the first week, which was the second-highest first-week sales result this year after Taylor Swift's Speak Now.
And after the first week, there was no cliff-like drop in sales. Now it can basically be confirmed to top the sales champion throne of 2010.
Leon's precise big head automatically converted the sales figure of 150,000 into dollars, and only then did he know what a terrifying amount it was...
Even if calculated entirely as CDs, this was a sales volume of over one million.
This was just the benefit brought by one week of sales.
It took about three minutes for Lenny to finally control his emotions.
Although he wasn't the actual beneficiary of this company, as the artist manager, Leon's performance was related to his bonus.
Taking a step back, Leon's relationship with the big boss Jay-Z was tense now. If Demons flopped, Lenny would also be implicated.
Now, Leon was exceptionally confident in Roc Nation, walking with the wind.
Based on his current momentum in the company, no newcomer could compare except for the rap genius J. Cole, who was placed with high hopes.
Phil lit a cigarette and showed off to everyone: "Don't forget whose credit this is! It was me who picked this kid out of the cesspit of Brownsville!"
The executives of Roc Nation completely ignored Phil. No matter how much money this album made, he wouldn't get a share of the pie.
Next, Lenny streamlined the tour plan for Leon and optimized the subsequent itinerary.
Achieving such results in the first week naturally meant there was no need to run around desperately for promotion.
Just like in a presidential election, the side with an absolute advantage wouldn't travel through several states a day to canvass for votes.
Targeting superstars, naturally one has to take the premium route.
Now Leon's most important commercial performance event was the show at the NBA Christmas game.
At that time, not only would celebrities from the sports and entertainment circles all be present, but political and business elites would be no exception.
This was an excellent opportunity for him to expand his personal influence.
To improve one's status in the circle, relying on the quality of works alone is not enough; connections and resources are equally important.
P. Diddy could stand out in the era when gangsta rap prevailed not entirely relying on records.
He achieved the status of rap godfather more by relying on excellent social networking skills and endless orgies.
Suddenly, Lenny changed the subject and lowered his voice: "Recently there are some rumors about you outside... I hope you distance yourself from these rumors."
"What? Can you make it clear?"
Leon was confused. Looking at the current public opinion environment, since Chris settled down, the only one who dared to smear him on social platforms was Kanye.
Even the previous "black traffic" had decreased a lot, and Leon's persona was slowly moving towards the positive side.
This matter once made him a little annoyed, considering hiring a wave of trolls to continue writing some bottomless soft articles to smear himself.
"Ahem." Phil suddenly coughed twice, looking nervous.
Generally, this guy only behaved like this when he had a guilty conscience. Leon immediately realized that what Lenny wanted to say was inseparable from the old geezer.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at Phil. "Are you hiding something from me?"
Seeing Phil always dodging his eyes and not responding, Leon knocked on the table and raised his voice, "You damn old bastard actually dare to play tricks behind my back?"
Lenny and Pena crossed their arms, quietly watching this tearing battle between artist and manager.
Under pressure, Phil spread his hands, looking innocent. "Listen to me, man, there are indeed some people outside who are very interested in you. They tried every means to contact me."
Leon raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, this old geezer could never change his habit of biting the hand that feeds him.
"Tell me about it."
"Leonard, the senior vice president of Warner Music North America... we are friends for many years. They showed a strong interest in you."
"So, you damn bastard contacted them behind my back, didn't you?!"
Leon couldn't help slapping the table, really startling Phil.
After witnessing various tactics of this young man, he still had some fear of Leon in his heart.
"Leonard offered an unimaginable figure. Do you know how much that is..."
Phil swallowed his words before finishing, as Leon was winking at him frantically.
Swallow the words back for me!
According to his thinking, he was already considering parting ways with Roc Nation. It was fine if Phil schemed behind his back, but he absolutely couldn't let Lenny know the chips in his hand.
Seeing neither of them speak anymore, Lenny smiled and said, "Bro, Warner already has enough superstars. You can't get as many resources there as in Roc Nation."
"It was Jay-Z who discovered you and brought you out of the mud of the slums."
"Besides..."
Speaking of this, Lenny paused and revealed a sinister smile. "We are a family. Usually, those who betray their family don't end well."
These words were full of a strong threat.
Leon realized his situation was very much like Tupac and Dr. Dre back then who had unpleasant fallouts with Suge Knight over copyright issues.
Controlling this outwardly glamorous hip-hop empire of Roc Nation Kingdom was still Jay-Z's scepter on the street—money and bullets.
After leaving the Roc Nation building, the usually very talkative Phil remained silent, even breathing carefully.
It wasn't until Leon took the initiative to talk to him that he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Listen, I don't want you to hide anything from me in the future."
"I didn't hide it from you, man! I just wanted to give you a surprise when I strove for the maximum benefit for you! Do you know how much signing fee Warner is willing to offer?! Five million dollars or even more, you can get it just by moving your fingers!"
Strive for maximum benefit?
Leon wouldn't believe a single letter of this. Phil hiding it from him was nothing more than to eat more kickbacks.
He rolled down the car window and handed Phil a cigarette. "Listen, I don't object to you contacting other record companies, but you can't hide it from me."
Phil nodded repeatedly, immediately swearing to God on his mother and "son."
Leon continued, "Not just Warner, help me contact a few more record companies, the more the better."
"What? Doing this under Jay-Z's nose is not a good idea, man."
"Don't worry about anything, just do as I say."
In Leon's view, facing Jay-Z's aggressiveness now, he couldn't back down no matter what.
He must ensure that in the storm when the one-year contract expires, he has enough and flexible chips in his hand.
Three days before Christmas, Leon was promoting his new album in Los Angeles.
Due to his good reputation on the West Coast, sales of Demons in Los Angeles were not inferior to his home base in New York at all.
The sales momentum in the second week didn't diminish, still maintaining around 120,000 copies, but the proportion of vinyl records sold increased significantly compared to the first week.
This was because many hardcore fans who bought CDs in the first week didn't snatch vinyl records and later spent money to complete their collection.
Currently, Demons ranked second on the Billboard charts, only behind Katy Perry's Firework.
Robbie's Faded ranked third, but this result was actually more terrifying than Demons because it had stayed in the Billboard TOP 3 for a full four weeks.
But with the increasingly explosive sales performance of Adele's Rolling in the Deep on streaming platforms, it was foreseeable that once the physical album 21 hit the market, it would immediately change the pattern on the charts.
After the performance ended, Leon rushed non-stop to a high-end bar on Rodeo Drive.
A private party celebrating the box office results of James Wan's Insidious after its release was being held here.
Most participants were Australian stars or extremely close friends.
As soon as Leon entered the VIP box, he was hit by a sweet critical strike of Robbie's warm hug.
Kendrick, Miranda Kerr, and several leading actors of Insidious were all in the box.
When learning that the box office of Insidious reached a terrifying $13.37 million in the first week of release, Leon was shocked speechless.
This movie took James Wan only barely forty days to complete all filming.
Due to the box office failure of his previous movie Dead Silence, he was swept out by Universal Pictures.
No one in the industry expected he could replicate the box office myth of Saw again.
The production cost of Insidious was less than $1.5 million...
Given the movie's current momentum, breaking $50 million in North American box office was a sure thing.
Moreover, horror movies usually perform very strongly on the DVD track. This movie could very likely bring over $100 million in revenue to the distributor FilmDistrict...
Remembering being praised by Lenny as a human money-printing machine a few days ago, Leon felt ashamed...
James Wan was the real human money-printing machine!
"Cheers! Friends, cheers for James's new movie!"
"Cheers! Cheers for Leon and Kendrick's new albums!"
Everyone had happy things in their hearts. Just half an hour after the party started, the atmosphere was completely heated up.
Robbie, Miranda, and the actors of the Insidious crew were dancing to the melody of Ke$ha's TiK ToK.
Looking at the long legs filling his eyes, especially Miranda's fair and beautiful legs as long as 109 cm, Leon couldn't help but marvel repeatedly.
This was truly "legs longer than life."
"This chick is really hot..." Kendrick also exclaimed.
Leon smiled at him, sat together, and started talking about the idea of the Straight Outta Compton movie.
When learning of his idea to make a movie, Kendrick was so excited that even his thick lips were trembling. "OMG Bro, are you serious? Or is it just a whim after getting drunk?"
Leon shook his head. "Of course not, I've conceived it for a long time... the complete script outline has been written."
"Bro, you mean you want to make a movie about N.W.A?! This is the coolest idea I've ever heard!"
In his excitement, Kendrick actually picked up half a glass of whiskey and swallowed it directly, telling Leon about the past of Compton rap.
As a lad born in the 80s growing up in Compton, N.W.A's music accompanied almost his entire adolescence.
It was precisely because of being deeply influenced by N.W.A that he determined to become a rapper, thus not embarking on the path of drug dealing like his numerous cousins.
"After becoming popular with the Straight Outta Compton album, some disputes over interests arose between Ice Cube and Eazy-E..."
"Ice Cube believed he contributed more lyrics to the team but didn't get corresponding returns, leaving N.W.A in 1990."
"Shxt! Every kid in Compton knows Eazy-E wasn't that kind of person..."
"After N.W.A disbanded, everyone fought on their own, as if those glorious days never existed."
"Later... even Dre was signed by the massive Death Row Records. The era of N.W.A ended, followed by the era of East Coast vs. West Coast confrontation."
Leon listened to Kendrick recount these stories with interest.
If not for polishing the movie, he wouldn't have the slightest interest in these stories of intrigue among bottom-layer nggas.
Kendrick said confidently, "If your movie really starts filming, I can serve as your art director... without asking for a cent."
"No one knows N.W.A better than me!"
Leon put his arm around Kendrick and said, "No... I have a much more important role for you."
"What role?"
"How about you play Eazy-E? The leading male role of this movie!"
"WTF..."
This was undoubtedly great news for Kendrick, so much so that he doubted the authenticity of Leon's intention to film the movie.
The temptation to play his idol was something no one could refuse.
After being stunned for about ten seconds, Kendrick slowly opened his mouth. "You're not kidding, are you, Bro? I've never acted in a movie... have absolutely no experience."
"Acting is like rapping, no experience needed. Ice Cube and Will Smith weren't professional actors before filming movies either."
"You... you really aren't kidding?"
"Of course! James Wan is also here. I will share this news with him soon. I hope he directs this movie."
Hearing this, Kendrick finally stopped doubting the authenticity of filming the movie.
He hugged Leon tightly, constantly repeating: "Thank you bro..."
In fact, Leon believed that securing Kendrick had a higher priority than securing James Wan.
On one hand, it was because Kendrick's styling closely resembled Eazy-E. On the other hand, except for Eazy-E who had been taken away by AIDS, other members of N.W.A were still alive.
Among them, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube had become godfather-level figures in the circle.
Filming a movie based on them required permission.
And Kendrick was Dr. Dre's disciple. With him stepping in, it would be much easier to deal with these rap OGs.
Another very important point was that to strive for authenticity, the movie would definitely choose to shoot on location in Compton.
Due to rampant violence and drugs, the municipal department had almost never participated in infrastructure construction in Compton.
Most scenes here were not much different from the 90s.
To successfully complete filming in Compton where gangs gathered, it really wouldn't work without Kendrick.
Leon and Kendrick hit it off instantly, raising their glasses at the same time.
Miranda Kerr wasn't focused at all while chatting with Robbie; her gaze always glanced at Leon intentionally or unintentionally.
This was the posture of a female player looking for prey.
Seeing Leon and Kendrick hugging each other and giggling, she patted Robbie's shoulder. "Why are they so happy?"
Robbie showed a puzzled expression: "Yeah... why are these two idiots so happy?"
Noticing the gazes of the two ladies, Leon got up and rubbed up against Robbie.
Miranda Kerr's body collided with him intentionally or unintentionally, while Leon's burning gaze remained fixed on James Wan, who was already drunk and drowsy.
Probably no chance today.
But with Robbie and Kendrick as wingmen, James Wan's joining was only a matter of time.