I wonder what Micah will think when he reads it. Will he recognize himself in the male character? Will he figure out that every word is about him?
CHAPTER 12
MicahBarrett
Wednesday, November 25
Cricket signsus out of the last Zoom meeting, and I let out a long breath. The meetings weren’t as bad as I thought. The music executives were just people, and Cricket took control of each meeting. I barely had to say anything, and she kept her word. We were simply information gathering.
She turns to me, her eyes shining. She’s wearing a nice button-down shirt with a pair of slacks, and I wonder if she bought them for these Zoom calls. I’ve never seen her in this outfit before.
“You got three really great offers. Do you want to talk about them now?”
I nod, feeling a nervous energy pulsing beneath my skin. “Yeah. We can talk about them.”
Cricket pulls out a notepad where she’s been scribbling notes during each call. “Okay, let’s break this down. SterlingRecords offered the highest advance. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
I swallow, my pulse racing. “That’s…that’s crazy money.”
“It is. They want to produce every song you’ve put out. They also want to pair you with their in-house producers to rerecord everything. They mentioned wanting to ‘polish your sound,’ which could be a good thing, but you might lose some of that raw grit you have right now.” She bites her lower lip like she can’t decide whether I need more polishing or not.
“What did you think about their talent scout? Kevin?”
Cricket wrinkles her nose. “He kept calling your music ‘cute’ and ‘quaint.’ Like you’re some kind of novelty act.”
“That’s what I thought too. He kind of talked down to me, didn’t he?”
“Exactly.” Cricket flips to the next page of her notes. “Apex Entertainment offered one hundred twenty-five thousand. They have some big names on their roster.”
“Yeah, I recognized a few of those artists. What was with all that talk about image consulting and media training?”
“They want to completely rebrand you. New look, new stage presence, choreographed performances. I know all the big artists are branded, but I’m not sure about it.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to be a manufactured pop star.”
“But I did like how they complimented your sound. I don’t think they wanted to change that at all. And they have deep pockets. They could get you a lot of publicity. They could take you far.”
“I agree. I do think they have more money and more clout in the industry.” I tap my finger against my chin. “So what about Atlantic Coast Records?”
Cricket flips her page again. “Okay, so their advance isonly a hundred thousand dollars, but I really liked their team.”
I lean forward. “Yes. I don’t know exactly what it was. Maybe they seemed more genuine, but I really felt like they get me.”
Cricket nods. “I loved how they said your style is already perfect and they don’t want to change it. And they’ll fly you to Nashville to record all of your songs professionally.”
I grip my armrests, getting more excited. “Exactly. They offered complete creative control over my music. I choose the songs, the style. I even have final say on album artwork and music video concepts.”
Cricket looks up from her notes, grinning. “They basically want to be your business partners, not your bosses.”
“And they were very understanding about my anxiety.”
“Yes! I liked how they said they work with lots of artists who don’t mind performing on stage but stay away from social gatherings.”
I run my hands through my hair, feeling a mixture of excitement and relief. “It sounds too good to be true.”
“I know, right? But I did my research on them last night. They have a reputation for nurturing their artists instead of exploiting them. And their artists tend to have longer, more sustainable careers.”
“Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money to give up though,” I say, thinking about Sterling’s offer.
