Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

"Hi! Ivanka, what's up?"

After connecting the call, Link braced himself and chatted with Ivanka in front of Taylor.

Luckily, Ivanka was talking about business. Lana's debut single "Young And Beautiful" had also been released last week.

The first week sales were 12,000 copies, ranking 42nd on the Billboard singles chart.

The position was a bit lower than "Let It Go."

But professional magazines such as Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Pocket Music gave the song very high ratings.

They said the song, using a retro aesthetic, sings desolately of heartbreak, sorrow, and other similar dark themes.

Similar to Britain's Amy Winehouse and Adele, but Lana's singing style has more of a classical flavor.

Rolling Stone magazine praised Lana as one of the most promising newcomers in the field of baroque pop, without a doubt.

Baroque pop might not be mainstream music, but there's still a portion of die-hard fans who really love this genre, and if Lana Del Rey can keep it up in this field, her future looks bright.

Following the release of "Young And Beautiful," Link Music is going to continue with the release of the second single "Video Games," with plans to release the debut album in early November.

Ivanka mentioned the world tour to him as well.

From the tour schedule Mandy had sent over, in all the cities planned for concerts, sales of his two albums were over 50,000 copies each.

It meant he had a market there, and in those places, he could sell concert tickets.

Upon hearing his refusal, Universal proactively raised their offer, increasing the base fee for each concert from 800,000 US Dollars to 1 million US Dollars per show, with the 30% ticket revenue sharing unchanged, and extended the tour period to 18 months.

1 million per show, multiplied by two hundred shows, adds up to 200 million US Dollars in base fees. It sounds like a lot, but this money isn't all for the artist alone.

The artists often operate in a team mode, including backup dancers, makeup, costumes, lighting, director, art director, camerawork, etc., sometimes amounting to hundreds or even thousands of people.

These people's wages and expenses would also take up above 30%.

If there's a management company, they have to share profits; if the song rights aren't with the artist, the creators get a share too.

Typically, artists can take home 30% to 60% of these earnings.

All the song rights belong to Link, and Link Music is his own label, so he earns over 60% from each concert.

If he could stick it out for more than two hundred concerts, just the base fee and ticket revenue alone could net him over 200 million US Dollars.

Factoring in album sales and other ancillary income, a tour's earnings wouldn't be less than 300 million US Dollars.

At the same time, touring also expands his fame and influence.

Overall, it's very profitable for a hot-shot singer to go on tour, with a secure and strong continuity of income, allowing one to continuously earn money.

In this respect, it's even better than boxing.

A boxing match isn't just about fighting to make money, it also requires promotion, selecting the right opponents, and creating selling points.

After beating an opponent, or being defeated by one, the audience would lose interest in the match.

For instance, De La Hoya, a top boxer, fought Pacquiao last December for a fight purse of 100 million US Dollars, but after the match, De La Hoya had to consider retiring.

He had fought against other top boxers including Bernard Hopkins, Mayweather, and Pacquiao.

The audience knew who was more formidable and lost curiosity in their fights, so they wouldn't pay for them anymore.

If nobody is buying, then the boxer can't make money, and retiring becomes the only option.

Whereas in the music industry, with a larger market size, although one can't make tens of millions or hundreds of millions like a top boxer in a single match, it's common to make several hundred million or over a billion from a tour.

Taylor held a small-scale tour in '08/'09, grossing over 30 million US Dollars, and counting the record royalties, she's nearly a millionaire several times over, with future tour earnings projected in the hundreds of millions.

After hearing Ivanka's explanation, Link decided to agree to the proposal.

He needed money now.

Tens of billions, to do something big.

Additionally, going on a world tour could also enhance his influence, leading to higher PPV and ticket sales for future boxing matches.

The two complemented each other, and there was no contradiction.

"That sounds good, but I need time to train for boxing, um, and to spend time with Taylor. She cancelled over ten concerts for me last year. I can't just go on tour and leave her at home."

Link glanced at Ms. Taylor beside him.

Taylor lifted the corner of her lips and turned her eyes away, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Alright, we'll have another meeting to cut it down. Also, please say hello to Taylor for me."

Ivanka hung up the phone.

"Okay, goodbye!"

Link secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "See, we were just talking about work, you don't have to worry about anything else."

"I wasn't worrying, it's you who are too nervous."

Taylor took a tissue and wiped his forehead, half-smiling, "Look, you're sweating from being so tense."

"It's just too hot, not nervousness," Link retorted, pushing her hand away, and focused on driving.

With her fingers propping her chin, Taylor pondered for a moment and then said:

"Actually, going on tour is a good thing for you. On one side, you can increase your visibility and sell more albums.

On the other side, while you're on tour and I am alone at home, I might find inspiration while missing you and write a few good songs."

"I hear it, you're trying to kick me out of the house, aren't you?" he accused.

"No, I am a country singer, small country towns are where we thrive. I was planning on taking a trip to find creative inspiration after a while.

I just didn't know how to tell you. Now that you're going on tour, I don't have to worry about you, and I can arrange my time freely in the future."

Taylor said excitedly, waving her hands.

"Alright, just be careful and don't go to any strange places," he warned.

Link could see that Taylor was like a wild horse that needed a vast prairie to grow quickly; the land by his side was too small to fulfill her needs.

"Don't worry, I'm not a child."

Taylor kissed him excitedly on the cheek, nearly causing him to drive the car into a drainage ditch.

After returning home, Taylor continued to read books, play the piano, and pet the cat, while Link went to the boxing gym to train.

The WBA-WBC Super Middleweight championship battle was about to begin, and he needed to use every moment to train.

Sometimes De La Hoya would come to watch him while he was training, keeping an eye on him and sparring with Morales.

When he invited De La Hoya to come up for a round, De La Hoya declined, saying they should wait and leave some suspense for when they get into the ring for their match.

Morales mocked him for being afraid to lose.

Of course, De La Hoya wouldn't admit it and claimed he had found a way to beat Link, estimating his chances of winning at sixty percent when they would actually fight.

Sometimes Emma Roberts also came by; when no one else was around, she would practice boxing with Link, but when others were present, she would just stand to the side for a while before leaving early.

In mid-September, two days before the opening of the WBA-WBC championship match, Link brought his logistics and medical team to London to prepare for the event.