Chapter 16

July 17, 2010.

Inside a corner of the internet cafe.

A young man occupied a computer station. His fingers danced across the keyboard at a dizzying pace, leaving onlookers in awe of his speed and precision.

Despite the bustling atmosphere around him, the young man remained entirely absorbed in his digital tasks. The passing of time seemed irrelevant to him, as he didn't bother to glance at the clock or check his watch.

This young man was none other than Edward.

The recording sessions for the latest cover song had wrapped up only the day before, leaving behind a set of audio files ready for the next step: editing.

Today, it's Saturday, just like last week. Edward has once again completed the entire song cover production within a single week.

His daily routine involved six hours of recording, followed by two hours of review, and an additional two hours for editing. In total, he dedicated just 38 hours to complete the entire song cover production.

"Cut, cut, and cut," Edward's mouse moved swiftly, trimming away all the unnecessary sections of the cover song.

"... and done."

He stretched his arms with a broad smile, letting out a contented sigh.

"Next is uploading..."

Edward's face lit up with a happy smile as he accessed his YouTube account.

With a few clicks, he selected the upload option and diligently entered the video's title, description, and tags.

Finally, with a contented sigh, he clicked the upload button.

After a brief pause, a progress bar appeared on the screen.

Upon the upload's completion, Edward simply refreshed the page, and there it was—the cover song ready for viewing.

"All done."

Edward sighed with a sense of accomplishment, leaning back in his chair and gazing up at the ceiling.

After a little while, he logged out of his YouTube account and switched over to Facebook.

As usual, upon opening his account, he was greeted by a staggering 99+ friend requests and message requests, a testament to his online popularity.

Edward clicked on the message request section, selecting the topmost one from a user named 'Candy.'

Candy: "Are you the one who made that cover song?"

Edward: "Yep."

Keeping his responses straightforward, Edward swiftly moved on to the next message request.

Carol: "Can I request a song, 'Baby' by Justin Bieber?"

Edward: "Nope, that song doesn't suit my style. Request another one."

Next...

David: "Your voice sucks."

Edward: "Your mom said different last night."

Edward continued to handle the messages with his characteristic directness and a touch of humor.

Anika: *Image 126263 JPG.*

Edward: "(Shock emoji)."

Next...

Edward continued scrolling through the messages, responding and accepting friend requests intermittently. However, one message piqued his interest.

The sender's name was Katherine Mendoza, and she inquired if he was open to sponsorship.

Kath: "Are you accepting sponsors?"

Edward's eyes suddenly lit up, and he typed:

"What kind of sponsor?"

Minutes later, a reply arrived.

"I'm the CEO of Musika Inc., a musical instrument manufacturing company, and our company was planning on sponsoring some artists, and I was wondering if you're interested."

Edward couldn't help but feel doubtful upon seeing the message.

"CEO? And a company I've never heard of in the past?" He thought to himself.

Edward typed his response: "Are you a fraud? I've never heard of such a company! Besides, how can a CEO find the time to send me a private message when someone else could do it?"

Kath: "I'm not a fraud; I'm real! Here's the link to my company website; please look through it yourself: www.MusikaInc.ph.com."

Edward, though still skeptical, decided to click on the link. As soon as he did, a straightforward website appeared before him.

The website was predominantly white in color, with a prominent logo on the left side—an image of a guitar accompanied by the company's name, 'Musika Inc.'

Edward's skepticism began to wane as he scrolled down the website. Various pieces of information about the company, such as its address, contact number, and other details, were readily available.

Furthermore, there was a section labeled 'Products,' and he decided to click on it.

As the page loaded, a diverse range of musical instruments came into view. Guitars, basses, flutes, violins, and many more were prominently displayed, showcasing the company's extensive musical instrument catalog.

Edward found himself momentarily stunned and couldn't resist clicking on one of the products to examine its specifications.

"The design of this is exceptionally well-crafted; the wood appears to be meticulously selected, and the strings seem to be of high quality."

As he continued scrolling through the page, Edward's impression of the company and its products only grew more favorable.

"Wait... what?" Edward noticed something unusual as he continued scrolling.

Quickly returning to Facebook, he sent her a message.

Edward: "Why does everything on the website's products page appear to be handmade?"

A few minutes later,

Kath: "Originally, I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but I'll still do it because I value your potential."

Edward, upon reading her response, couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Edward remained skeptical.

Edward: "Go on!"

Kath: "Our company has been established only recently; currently, we have a website and an office."

"However, the production line, logistics, etc., are basically nonexistent."

Kath: "The products we sell aren't our own; they come from local handicraft makers we collaborate with. Essentially, they provide us with their products, and we sell them through our platform."

Edward: "So, your company is essentially an intermediary?"

Kath: "No, we are a manufacturing company; we're just temporarily doing intermediary work due to a lack of funds!"

Edward couldn't help but snort at her somewhat convoluted explanation, but he decided to continue the conversation.

Edward: "I understand your situation. But if your business is already doing well, why are you reaching out to me for advertising?"

Kath: "It's not advertising; it's sponsoring. We send you a product for free, and all you have to do is feature it in your content and include a link to our website in the video description. It won't take up much space."

Kath: "Regarding why we want to sponsor you, it's because we have an excess of supply in our warehouse, and the demand isn't keeping up."

Edward: "Alright, I'll accept your sponsorship, and I'll include your website's link in the video descriptions. However, the product quality must meet a certain standard; I don't want viewers complaining about it in the comment section of my videos."

Kath: "No problem; the quality of our product is, of course, above average. We have strict quality control procedures."

Edward: "Good, and lastly, how much sponsorship fee are you going to give me per piece of content?"

Kath: "₱3,000."

Upon seeing the offered price, Edward's eyes lit up, recognizing it as a substantial sum of money. Nevertheless, he decided to try and negotiate for a higher amount—after all, it couldn't hurt.

Edward: "Is ₱5,000 at least possible?"

Edward had responded with the mentality of 'trying won't do any harm,' fully expecting some negotiation. However, to his astonishment, the other party didn't haggle at all.

Kath: "Deal!"

Edward was left dumbfounded, unable to believe how easily she had accepted his counteroffer.

This being his first advertising deal with another company, Edward wasn't familiar with pricing rates in the industry. He considered himself a newcomer and assumed the initial offer was reasonable.

However, the swift acceptance from the other party made him wonder if he could have negotiated for an even better deal.

Edward couldn't help but wear a wry smile as he contemplated the situation. Regardless of how the deal had unfolded, it was already in place, and retracting now would be petty.

With a sigh, he pushed aside his mixed thoughts and shifted his focus to discussing the details of the cooperation with Kath Mendoza.

End