Alex could understand Al's stubborn motivation, but he couldn't agree with it. What's a little grievance? Working with people you don't like is a common phenomenon in society, including the United States. Such a large sum of money was right in front of you; if you didn't take it, someone else would. In the end, it would benefit Pablo and those people you hate. The beneficiaries would probably be counting their money while laughing at you for being an idiot. Can't you even understand this simple logic?
However, he didn't want to try to persuade him anymore. If he managed to convince Al, and one day he lost control and actually started shooting people, what would happen to Tony, who was still Little Lowry's sidekick... oh no, his partner?
Safety first.
In the second week, after the initial phase of mindless praise and financial incentives, Chicago radio DJs began to analyze the song "Thrift Store" more objectively and calmly. Unsurprisingly, the rating dropped slightly, but overall it remained very high. Supermarkets, restaurants, and other businesses started adding the song to their background music playlists, and the familiar melody frequently played on students' Walkmans. Secondhand stores, in particular, were obsessed with the song, putting it on endless, addictive loops.
In Illinois alone, the first batch of 7,000 cartridges sold out in about ten days, and the remaining 10,000 cartridges have been restocked and released.
Encouraged, Joe and Pablo shifted their promotional focus to the Northeast... the greater New York area, the heart of the American record industry. They planned to travel through five major cities—New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Washington—in six days, aiming to propel Lowry II's album into the Billboard 200, the top spot on the weekly album sales chart.
Alex felt that 'his' song was on the eve of taking off.
However, reality is cruel.
On Friday night, Tony called; this time, they'd hit a brick wall.
Their first stop was lost in New York's endless sea of media; two radio interviews and a small-scale performance didn't even cause a ripple.
In Philadelphia, Joe was publicly ridiculed by well-known DJ Philby during an interview. Due to Philby's extremely harsh words, the two almost came to blows outside the broadcast room.
In Baltimore, when Lowry was performing at a nightclub, he was interrupted by an unknown rapper. Young and hot-blooded, he agreed to the rapper's challenge to an impromptu battle, but was soon rendered speechless by the rapper's outburst.
"On stage?"
"Right on stage, little Lowry was holding the microphone, his mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. I could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he was already trembling. I was about to rush up and punch that kid across from me, but Pablo pulled me back."
Based on Tony's description over the phone, Alex imagined himself feeling Lowry's embarrassment at the time, and... well, it gave him goosebumps.
That's not all. There were also internal problems within the publicity team. Old Joe and Pablo had several heated arguments, while young Lowry was unhappy that old Morgan's lack of stamina was slowing down the team's progress and declared, "It's either him or me."
"It's not their fault, they're just too exhausted. We caught up on sleep on the plane, and as soon as we landed, we had to rush off to events. It was non-stop work, and we even had to time our meals and bathroom breaks. Everyone was in a bad mood under these circumstances, and we were all on edge. Old Joe's publicity strategy was flawed. Maybe we shouldn't have gone to New York first, and maybe the itinerary shouldn't have been so packed… Hmm… Pablo said so." Tony found a reason. "Don't schedule anything else for Sunday; they need to have a meeting with you."
"Fine..." What else could Alex say? They were all in the same boat.
On Sunday, Alex and his agent Hayden went to Old Joe's Music.
However, the atmosphere at Old Joe's Music Club was a bit off today. There were two unfamiliar black men standing outside the door. One was observing the surroundings very vigilantly, while the other was responsible for searching Alex and Hayden very thoroughly. There were also many more cars parked in front of the underground nightclub across the street.
"This job..." After entering the room, Hayden seemed to regret taking on Alex as a client.
"It's alright, even gangs have to be reasonable," Alex could only comfort him like that.
Old Joe's office was packed with people. Behind the boss's desk, a black man in his thirties with a mustache, a floral headscarf, and a cigar in his mouth leaned lazily against the back of his chair. "Everyone's here? Let's get started. You all go out." He waved his hand to signal.
With his growing life experience, Alex could now discern the hidden meanings behind the various floral headscarves in southside. The one he wore was the same as the one worn by the deceased 'ET,' bearing the cursive script for 'Hell Bobcat,' indicating its affiliation to the Hellcats gang. The six-pointed star pattern on the headscarf represented its submission to the larger gang GD, which in turn led a gang alliance called FN, the Folk. FN was currently hostile to another gang alliance, PN, the People.
More than half the people left in an instant. "Tony, you go out too," Pablo shooed Tony, who was still standing there, out of the way.
"Who is this white guy?" The big shot pointed at Hayden.
Alex replied, "He is my agent."
"Are they one of our own?" the boss asked.
"Uh…" Alex couldn't answer, but Pablo came to his rescue, "Hayden, you can go out too."
"Okay, okay." Hayden didn't dare to breathe and quickly went out.
Only six people remained in the room: the boss, Alex , Old Joe, Pablo, Little Lowry, and Old Morgan.
"You guys get started. I know nothing about the record industry; I'm just a shareholder and mediator." It turns out that this big shot from Hellcats is a shareholder of Old Joe Music and possibly the gangster backer of everyone present.
"I demand a replacement!"
Young Lowry was the first to fire, specifically targeting Morgan, "Because of you, our schedule was delayed by a whole day! And you kept making mistakes on stage."
"What can I do? I'm so old."
Morgan clearly didn't want to give up such a good money-making opportunity, and argued, "I'm just too tired. I'll get through this period. I can't keep doing this high-intensity publicity all the time."
"You're tired of peeing! You've been drinking too much! You started chugging from a bottle as soon as you got on the plane, you old drunkard!" Little Lori bluntly exposed the other person's lie.
"Hey! Hey! Kid, show some respect. You weren't even born when I became famous! I didn't get made to cry on stage by someone's insults!" Old Morgan's retort was sharp and vicious.
"M-FXXX! You damned old man!" Little Lowry, whose sore spot had been hit, immediately flew into a rage and sprang up like a spring, lunging at old Morgan.
"Hey! Hey!" Old Joe and Pablo quickly separated the two.
Old Morgan dared not provoke the other party any further and looked pitifully at Old Joe.
Old Joe tried to smooth things over for him, saying, "Morgan, you can't drink that much anymore..."
"I...it was my fault. I swear this will never happen again," old Morgan said, yielding to the situation.
"Pablo, aren't you their agent? What do you think?" The big boss looked at Pablo. "Do you accept old Morgan's assurance?"
"Old Morgan watched us grow up, I won't let him suffer." Pablo shrugged. "However, he can't keep up with the intensity of the album promotion period. We can find a saxophonist to fill in for now, and let him perform live later."
"Pablo, you..." Old Morgan swallowed the curse back from his lips.
"So, you agree to this, Morgan?" the big boss asked.
Old Morgan nodded, looking aggrieved.
"And then? Is there anything else?" The big boss continued to control the situation.
Next came the conflict between Joe and Pablo. Pablo calmly said, "We messed up the publicity in the Greater New York area this time. I don't think we can continue like this. Some of the Big Six companies have contacted me and are willing to help with distribution. It's a win-win situation."
"Win-win? Hah…" Old Joe sneered, "They want to take 30% of our money as soon as they enter the market. I haven't settled accounts with you for secretly negotiating deals with them behind my back!"
"Don't be naive, Joe," Pablo said. "Don't you understand? What happened in New York this week was the Big Six's way of giving us a gift. Otherwise, why would Philby in Philadelphia, who took our money, risk breaking the rules to set you up? He wouldn't dare do that without powerful backers! Small-scale release, no problem. National release, we can't do this without the Big Six. Stop being so short-sighted!"
"Wait, wait, wait." The boss was a little confused. "Pablo, which six gangs are you referring to as the 'Big Six'?"
"Uh…" Pablo paused for a moment, then explained, "It's not a gang, it's six major record labels: Warner, Universal, Sony Columbia, PolyGram, EMI, and BMG (Bertelsmann Music)