Liam's target had always been the top of the film industry.
That's why, the moment he finished high school, Liam had wanted to enter his father's company to accumulate connections and start paving his path towards his goal.
Unfortunately, his old man was stubborn and required him to get a college degree.
Frankly, he wasn't interested in going to college at that time. After all, most actors or actresses in the film industry had never acquired a college degree. So, the college degree was meaningless in his eyes. But the old man had different ideas. Unfortunately, he was dependent on the old man at that stage. So, he could only agree.
Still the deal he made with the old gave him some hope.
Instead of toiling for a few years at the bottom and slowly rising through the power structure, Liam preferred directly sitting at the top and using his position to create more connections. Also, the money he would be able to save from such a position could also act as his startup fund when he jumped into the film industry later.
So, he reluctantly went to college and decided to waste three to four years. Even then, he didn't waste his time in college. He made several connections with promising film-related second generations like him. He also further honed his plans for the future.
As per Liam's plans, in phase 1 he would work in his family business for five or six years and accumulate wealth and connections. He would also get some hands-on experience during this time with behind the scenes work and learn how actually the production process worked from the start to finish.
Later, he would make a jump into the film industry with the accumulated wealth and connections. He would setup his own production company and try to produce a few blockbusters in the next five years or so. This was phase 2 of his plan.
During this time, he would try to increase his wealth and fame by leveraging his roots in the TV industry. He would also expand his contact circle and try to win over talented artists as much as possible. At the minimum, the goal was to leave some good impression on them.
In phase 3, he would take over the family's TV empire from the old man and expand it outwards. During this time, he would concentrate on making his family's TV empire to grow, while making sure his film business remains prosperous as well.
Finally, in phase 4, he would look for an opportunity to directly acquire one of the major film studios and integrate both his TV empire and film business together. This, he would establish a media company with both upstream and downstream capabilities integrated together. This would create the Hastings Media Empire and he would become one of the top dogs in this city.
Liam knew that his plan was somewhat a bit naive and the reality couldn't happen as he wished. So, he was prepared to change his plans as per the demands of the situation. He wasn't blindly arrogant to believe everything would happen like he envisioned.
The key piece for the success of his plans was that he should be successful in both the TV circle and film circle. Only then, he would be able to accomplish his goal.
Currently, he was in just phase 1 of his plan. And it hadn't even been a day, he was already regretting things. Regardless, for his future goals, he could only try to grit his teeth and endure his discomfort.
Still, the current situation wasn't without its merits.
Initially, Liam had never planned to be involved with the music industry. But now, he was in control of a channel that could be incredibly beneficial for the music industry if done right. This wasn't something he expected to be part of. This could accelerate his plans several times if he played it right.
The music industry was somewhat similar to the film industry. Both were centered around stars. But the real power rested in the hands of companies that employed these stars. While the public adored the stars, the companies used that adoration to rake in the bucks.
Compared to the film industry, the music industry was a bit low on the totem pole. Their stars didn't get as much exposure as the film stars. But, that was due to the inherent nature of the industries and their promotional channels. However, a truly popular music star could even outshadow an A-list film star in their fan base.
The nature of the films were such that the popularity was inherently shared between two or more people. But when it comes to the music industry, all the popularity is directly concentrated on a single person. Moreover, music stars have a far more intimate connection with fans than film stars.
Now that he controlled a proper promotional channel for the music industry, if he played his cards right, he could gain massively. There was currently a slight hiccup in doing that. The promotional channel in his hand was now a dud. And he needs to revitalize it to properly utilize it.
His father's vision for the channel is to merely grab a section of the youth market. He truly didn't realize what a goldmine he had in his hands. With a bit of fine tuning, this channel could become a proper promotional platform for musicians and music companies. But for that to become possible, he needs to show some early results.
After all, no one would spend money on an empty shell, right? Only when the channel showed some results and looked promising will the music companies be willing to cooperate. Without initial results, any talk was just nonsense to them.
However, once things settled down and cooperation was reached with the music companies, things would pick up at a rapid pace. After all, it was a win-win situation. Such things always were the ideal kind of cooperation for big companies.
After learning that he would be in charge of MusixZ, Liam had carefully thought about the nature of the channel and what it could mean for his grand plan. He had looked at the goals and the operating conditions on the first glance and thought it to be a difficult task.
However, after thinking about it over the weekend and reconfirming some suspicions, Liam now felt that the goal his father set for him was easily achievable. He wouldn't be needing three or four years to break even with operating costs. Hell, he could do that by the end of this year.
No, his current goal was now higher.
He wanted to make MusixZ into a brand of its own. He didn't want to break even with operating costs. He wanted to make this channel a truly profitable one. If things went according to his plan, MusixZ could truly become a cash cow for his family's TV empire. It could most possibly become a flagship product of their TV empire.
But, for that to happen, certain changes needs to be made. First and foremost, he needs to stabilize the situation. Only then he could slowly build this channel into what he imagined it to be.
Having understood MusixZ thoroughly today, he knew what went wrong with the channel. The idea was a great one, however the execution was shit. It all came back to one thing - personnel.
The workforce operating this channel currently truly didn't understand what type of channel they were operating. They haphazardly created a plan and did whatever they wanted, almost leading a goldmine into a ruin.
That needs to change first and foremost.
But, before doing anything outrageous, Liam needed to get the blessings of the old man. This was a golden opportunity his old man had unknowingly bestowed upon him, he didn't want to break the ship before it could set sail with his antics. If he did something that angered the old man and caused him to call him back, he wouldn't know where to cry.
First and foremost, he needs to stabilise the old man. If there was any backlash from his actions, he wanted the old man to step forward and weather the storm for him for a period of time, before he could face the storm himself.
The initial period of revamp at MusixZ was very crucial. There shouldn't be any storms during that time. Once things stabilised and he began to implement further plans, the results would speak for themselves. So, the initial period was a critical point in this endeavor.
Remembering the bunch of good for nothings under him, Liam felt a headache forming. Despite being able to collosally fuck up things, these people were able to live a leisurely life. It just showed how sleazy these guys were. Especially that Evan fellow. Just thinking about him was enough to make Liam grit his teeth.
If Liam didn't handle things properly, who knows what ruckus these people will create. He doesn't want any trouble at least in the early stage. He wasn't afraid of the gods, but the priests who lead the prayers were a different matter altogether.
So, Liam leisurely drove his car to the head office of Hastings TV Network, hoping to vaccinate his old man in advance.