"You!" Liam shot Thomas a scathing look. "No way, I wouldn't do such a thing!"
"Hmmmph, I will believe it when Shawn stops drinking beer like its water."
"So, not in this lifetime then?" Liam deflated a bit. "Urgh, why do none of my friends believe that the old man gave me the job."
"Because, we know you. How many women from the office have you slept with already?" Thomas needled.
Liam suddenly became silent.
"Thought so. A leopard can't change its spots. You will always be the bull in heat in my eyes," Thomas mocked Liam with a disdainful look.
"Urgh! You are so mean!" Liam complained.
"Anyway, are you even taking your job seriously? Don't think that just because your old man gave you the post you can laze around. It might be your family company, but if you can't show results those uppity board members will never let you become president after your old man retires. I should know. I have heard the boss complain about those moneyhounds often."
"Heh, the old man gave me a channel that was about to be closed in a few years. He didn't bring me into the main channel. Still, it has been two months, I have made things work so far. I have plans for the future as well. Don't worry, I'm taking this seriously."
"That's good to hear. What channel are you managing?"
"MusixZ TV."
"Oh, that one, huh?"
"You heard about it?"
"Watched it a few times. Good for viewing when you wanna listen to old songs. Apart from that, not good."
"Well, I have changed things a bit. Why don't you put that channel now? I am sure you will be in for a surprise," Liam said enthusiastically.
"Is that so? Let me check," Thomas quickly took the remote and changed the channel on the TV that was playing some sports program.
As Thomas put on the MusixZ channel, it immediately showcased a rap MV that had been recently shot by Dave's team. Thomas was visibly surprised. He watched the TV for a while and kept bopping his head. As someone from the streets, Thomas's taste naturally sided with street music style.
Liam wasn't surprised. When he asked Thomas to change the channel, it was because he knew Rap Zone will be airing at this time. If not, why will he willingly invite ridicule?
"This is new. I never knew MusixZ played rap music. Also, the style of this video is also good. It's better than watching singers sing in a studio," Thomas nodded.
"Rap Zone is a program I introduced last month. The MV style was conceptualized by me," Liam said. But, seeing Thomas look at him in confusion, Liam explained further, "I asked a friend of mine to shoot the video in this particular style. Right now, all the videos for rap music we have are in this new style. This month, I will change the rock videos and pop videos to similar styles as well. We will slowly adopt this style of video."
"Good," Thomas said approvingly.
"This looks more watchable and it will fit the club atmosphere as well," James chimed in from behind.
"I have also asked the employees on getting newer songs. Within three months, most songs we play will be new ones," Liam explained further. "I have also grouped songs based on genres, themes, and artists. For example, there is program called Artist Connection. It will only have one particular artist's songs for the entire program. Likewise, there is another program called Beat Moment, it only plays songs that have good beats."
"A playlist like that will be good before our own DJs start performing. At what time does that program air?" James asked eagerly.
"Hmmm, it airs around 8 PM," Liam said thinking about the schedule.
"That's too late, our DJs begin performing by 7. If it aired right after this, it would be perfect for warming up the scene," James signed.
"I can change the timing. It is not an issue. We are still finding the ideal time for several programs," Liam replied without missing a beat.
"If you do that," Thomas replied from the side, "then you will have most clubs and bars playing your channel during their warmup space. In fact, if you keep to upbeat songs before 7 it should work."
"Right, most bars switch to sports channels on game days after 7. We mostly switch off stuff and let our DJs take over. Playing beat songs between 6 to 7 will never be wrong," James said enthusiastically.
"Then, I will change things up," Liam nodded. "Any other advice you might have?"
"Nah, can't think of anything. We operate mostly from 5 to 11. We have our own DJs for more than half that time. So, we might not be the right people to ask," Thomas shook his head.
"Alright, no problem," Liam shrugged without any worries.
"Play old rock songs at night. The kind that's soothing. Also blues," James said.
"We have a program called Rock Night. It airs between 10 to 12 in the night. We follow it up with some blues stuff till 2. Then it is country music till 4, followed by folk music till 6. You can check it out," Liam smiled.
That was one thing they had done right. Rock Night had grown in ratings in the last month. The viewership was also steadily rising. Changing the slot to 10 PM for Rock Night seems to have worked well.
James merely nodded and went back to work.
"Looks like you have grown up, kid. Already thinking about stuff like this. It is good to see you taking things seriously," Thomas smiled.
"Hey, don't make me out to be that bad. When you know me, I was in high school. People grow up," Liam said helplessly.
"Ha, alright, enjoy your return, kid. Let me not keep you away from what you truly desire," Thomas chuckled and walked away.
Liam shook his head and walked to a table to nurse his drink. Time slowly wore down as Liam kept the drinks coming. He didn't mingle tonight. He was still waiting for the DJ to begin so that he can hit the dance floor.
As he waited for the DJ to appear, Liam watched the Rap Zone program being played on the television present. Thomas hasn't changed it since he changed to this channel. So, this was the first time Liam had a chance to observe how his target market reacted to their programming.
The result was surprisingly positive. Many youngsters seemed as if they were attracted by the videos that were being played. Some of the young kids were bopping their heads to the music. Overall, it seemed to get the audience's approval.
Some of the viewers in the bar were discussing about the novel style of the videos. A few people had already watched it in their homes and told the people only this one program had this style of video and not to get their hopes up. Liam smirked when he heard this. In two months, that might not be the case anymore.
Regardless, any discussion about their channel was good enough for him. Currently, the channel was not that well known. Even negative discussions meant that his channel name was being mentioned. It was the most important thing currently.
But not everything was great. He heard someone mumble about rap music being black music. It was clear what that mumble meant. Liam frowned hearing such a thing.
Liam had known for a long time that he didn't have the prejudice towards people's skin color that some people he came into contact with had. But, he also knew that this prejudice was a common thing. He had seen this in his office as well.
Now he was a bit worried about featuring rap music more prominently. Whether he agreed with it or not, the prejudice was a common sentiment. A TV channel couldn't be too against the common sentiment. That was something he had learned from his old man. Any TV channel must align with people's sentiments and values. If not, they will not be able to grow.
Getting the label of anti-mainstream might be good for other fields. But, the TV industry couldn't handle that label. He didn't want his channel to be branded as such. So, he noted down in his heart to pay attention to this stuff and ensure that rap music isn't very prominently featured.
According to his plan, rap, rock, and pop were the genres their channel should focus on. But now, since there was such a huge pitfall on the road, he needs to pivot a little. He should let rock and pop genres take precedence and let rap take a back seat. It wasn't fair for black artists, but the world was never fair.
And Liam wasn't also someone who fought against the current. He has his principles, but he knows how to bend and stretch as well. And he was not a good man to begin with. So, it was only natural that he avoided the muzzle.
This trip to his old stomping yard was already paying dividends. He had two new ideas to try and one potential pitfall to be aware of. All in all, this evening was shaping up to be good.