As Evan left, Liam looked up and saw that the time was nearing 5 PM. It was time to head home. He would instruct Donna for today and leave the rest to be sorted out tomorrow. He didn't plan on working overtime.
With how the current state of MusixZ is in, what was needed now was to stabilise the channel and bring some structure to their programming. After sorting things out, he needed to see if the channel was progressing in the direction he envisioned. Until then, he didn't want to make any drastic changes.
Soon, a middle aged woman with a kind face entered Liam's office. Looking at her, Liam understood the reason behind the song selection of the channel.
"Donna, how does the usual process of selecting songs for the channel go?"
"It is a collective effort from everyone, Mr. Liam. I am in-charge of handling the list, but everyone gives their input. After the list is created, me and Dorothy would negotiate with the music companies and obtain broadcast licenses."
"Are there any issues that need to be taken note of particularly?"
"One of the major issues is the lack of video for most of these music assets, Mr. Liam. Once we prepare the list, we must first liaison with the music companies and enquire whether that particular song has a music video dedicated to it. Some of the promising songs were eliminated due to this reason," Donna explained sadly.
Liam had expected such a thing. After all, not many songs will have accompanying music videos for them. The music companies will only shoot music videos for songs they put out in VHS tapes. Even then, the production levels are quite shoddy.
"I understand. Stop the song selection for now. We won't be buying any new songs for at least this month. However, I want you to make a list of a hundred songs that have hit the Billboard List in the last three months. The higher the popularity of the song, the better."
"I will, Mr. Liam."
"Also, can you tell why there is no rap music being played on the channel? As far as I know, rap music is an emerging trend in the market. Many youngsters like that. With our target audience being youngsters, I am surprised that there are no rap songs being played."
"This…" Donna looked uncomfortable for a moment. She looked as if she had swallowed a lemon at this moment.
Liam immediately understood what the reason was. He let out a sigh inwardly. When he had seen no rap music being played on the channel, he had thought of two possibilities. And this was the worst one. He didn't have any concrete method to address it.
"Do you have anything to say, Donna?" Liam pressed.
"Mr. Liam, it is not that we didn't want to play them, but we were afraid how it might affect our established audience. Not many people like rap songs. Moreover, those songs are all garbage. They are filled with stuff about violence and drugs. We can't possibly telecast them on our channel. We have a moral responsibility to the public," Donna spoke righteously.
Liam sneered in his heart. Moral responsibility! What a high sounding sentiment!? But, all that nonsense was fig leaves to cover their discriminatory behavior. While he was a ruthless capitalist, he never disdained people based on ethnicity or color. At least, he exploited everyone equally. But, he knew that this was a common sentiment and didn't want to delve into it much.
"Not many people like rap songs? Donna, the rap genre is the fastest rising trend among young people of this country. And if airing out garbage can get me viewers, I am willing to do so. As for the moral responsibility part, you leave those kinds of worries to me. Just make sure that the rap songs aren't forgotten in the list you are preparing. I will be keeping an eye on it," Liam spoke calmly, in a tone that brooked no nonsense, causing Donna to nod reluctantly.
Watching Donna retreat with an unhappy expression on her face, Liam felt like scoffing. If this woman put half the effort she showed for discriminating black people into the channel's needs, the song selection of the channel wouldn't be so bad.
Even before entering the MusixZ office, Liam had noticed this big issue. While watching the channel through the weekend, Liam realized one major issue with the channel. The songs they were being played had no attraction to him. In his mind, these songs were old ones. They were the stuff that old timers liked. It wasn't what a youngster like him should be hearing.
With the channel's primary target audience being youngsters, how can they grow with such songs being played. As a fellow youth, Liam knew that he would immediately change the channel if such a song came up. So, he felt that there was some big issue with the channel's song selection.
And now, looking at it, it wasn't just the taste of the one in-charge of song selection being out of sync. There were some other underlying reasons as well.
Liam didn't want to bother much about it.
As long as they picked songs from now on under his direction, then he was willing to turn a blind eye to these people's personality flaws. He wasn't here to correct their views or police them morally. As long as they didn't stand in the way of the channel's development, he wouldn't bother to care about them.
Letting out a dissatisfied snort, Liam packed up and left the office. Emerging outside, he saw that half the staff had already left with only a few staying behind. Even those people were in the process of packing up for the day. Only Evan looked to be still busy with his work.
Liam looked at his watch and saw that it wasn't even quarter past five. With such dedicated employees, no wonder the channel was doing so well. Shouldn't these people at least pretend to be dedicated on his first day? This display was really embarrassing.
Liam shook his head and walked out without greeting anyone. At the reception, Bella was packing up as well. Liam nodded at her and went to his car. Just as he pulled his car out, he saw Bella walking out of the office and waiting outside the gate. Liam admired her backview while slowly driving the car over to her side.
"Need a lift, Bella?"
"Oh, Mr. Liam, no need. There are a lot of cabs frequenting this area. I usually hail one of them. Still, thanks for offering," Bella said with a flushed face.
Liam was quite tempted to make a move at the moment. However, this was only his first day. He didn't want to do something that would anger his old man. At least not yet. So, he controlled his impulse and nodded at her. After gifting her with a winsome smile, he drove away calmly.
Liam wasn't an amateur in picking up women. He knew Bella was quite willing in her heart as well. But, he didn't want to create issues this early into his tenure. Moreover, his old man had agreed to let him hire some other young people. Soon, he would have some other options as well. So, he wasn't in a hurry for now.
Leaving the office, Liam didn't head back to his home directly. His car moved in the direction of beaches that populated the Starlight city. Liam had been absent from the nightlife of the city for four years. It was time for him to make up for that mistake.
And he knew how exactly to get back in the scene.
Liam headed directly to Hangman's Cove, one of the bars with a large traffic near the beaches of Starlight city. Parking his car outside, Liam walked into the bar and looked around. And just like he expected, his target was present.
"Yo Dave! What's up?" Liam called enthusiastically and moved towards his target.
Dave Wilson, another second generation kid, was one of the well connected party animals in Starlight city. Dave and Liam used to hang out together a lot when Liam was in high school. After high school, they parted ways because of Liam going away for college. Still, they had always kept in touch. Liam wasn't foolish enough to discard such a valuable contact.
Dave Wilson might look like a lanky youth who parties all day, but Liam knew that beneath that lay a calculating mind. His parties were a front to mingle with all kinds of people in Starlight City. Even during their high school days, Dave ran a specialized business of connecting people to their needs. That's why he could always be found in Hangman's Cove. This was his front office/favorite party place.
As far as Liam knew, Dave had taken his business to the next level in these past four years. Reaching out to Dave fulfilled two of Liam's goals. First was the mundane reason to get back into the nightlife of Starlight city. The other one would depend on how big Dave has grown in these past four years.
If Dave really had the resources that Liam was looking for, things could become far easier for him in the future.