Chapter 116

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Michael Jackson asked, sensing something odd in Martin's gaze.

Martin quickly snapped out of his daze and cursed inwardly.

Damn, I got lost in memories of Huaxia Martin and let my emotions slip. I need to be more careful next time. He smiled and responded, "Michael, I was just wondering, with all these concerts back to back, can your body handle the strain?"

Michael suddenly understood. The pity and sympathy he sensed from Martin made him feel a bit happy, and the concern in his voice brought a smile to his face. He liked this feeling.

"Thank you. I do feel tired at times, but it's worth it. When I think about all the people I'll be able to help, it gives me energy."

"You're a great person!" Martin said, genuinely.

"No," Michael replied humbly, "I'm just an ordinary person who does what I can. The real heroes are those who give everything to help others."

"There are too few people like that."

"Yes, too few," Michael agreed with a sigh.

After a moment, he regained his composure and asked, "So Martin, are you willing to come to my concert?"

"Of course, I'd be honored!" Martin replied enthusiastically.

"Very good!" Michael clapped his hands with excitement. "By the way, could you sing Unstoppable? I love that song—it really gets me pumped."

"Can you tell me how you came up with that chorus? It's amazing."

"Oh, and That Girl—the melody is so beautiful."

"And the second track from Martin 1.0. The music brings back memories of the few happy moments from my childhood. How did you capture that feeling?"

Martin chuckled. "Well, it's about using your voice to convey different instrumental sounds while still expressing emotion."

Michael's eyes lit up, and he was fascinated. "You mean, like ventriloquism? You're amazing! Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Sure, I can teach you," Martin said with a grin.

The two of them were deep in conversation, enthusiastically chatting away.

Meanwhile, the excitement of the three girls meeting their idol began to fade.

"Martin and Michael are having such a great time chatting," Jessica Alba observed.

"It's like they forgot we were here," Lindsay Lohan joked.

"I'm not happy about this!" Dorothy pouted.

"I know a dessert shop downstairs. Let's go there for a bit," Jessica suggested.

"But I didn't bring my wallet," Lindsay said.

"No worries, I'll treat you," Jessica replied with a smile.

"Oh Jessica, you're amazing! I love you so much!" Dorothy exclaimed.

The three girls headed downstairs, and neither Martin nor Michael seemed to notice.

Michael's bodyguard noticed, but remained silent—it wasn't his job to interfere.

But did Martin really not notice?

He subtly made a gesture behind his back. Gordon, who had been sitting at the door, followed him. Martin's concern for Michael was much less intense than it seemed.

In reality, Martin had deliberately gotten closer to Michael because... he coveted the music copyrights Michael owned.

This superstar was a copyright collector.

To make a joke: the Beatles had to pay royalties to Michael Jackson for their own songs.

In 1985, Michael Jackson spent $47.5 million to acquire the ATV Music Library, which included the song copyrights of The Beatles. In 1995, he merged ATV with Sony's publishing music libraries to create Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Together, they owned half of the copyright shares, including the works of Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, The Rolling Stones, Mariah Carey, and many others—more than 400,000 songs in total, worth over $1 billion.

In the future, Martin might have an opportunity to acquire these rights.

However, that wouldn't happen until two and a half years later, in 2002, when Michael Jackson faced a cash flow crisis due to extravagant spending and failed investments.

During this time, Sony/ATV continued to acquire other music libraries. Since Jackson was a partner, he had to invest as much as Sony to maintain his shares, adding to his financial burden.

In response, he was forced to release his album Invincible earlier than planned.

Unfortunately, Sony and Columbia Music, which managed Jackson's music, resisted the album's release. They felt it wasn't ready. Michael, however, insisted on releasing it, and Sony begrudgingly agreed, but without enthusiasm for promoting it.

This led to a bitter falling out between Michael Jackson and Sony. Jackson accused Sony of sabotaging his album release because they wanted to regain control of his song copyrights.

If the album didn't perform well, he feared he wouldn't be able to repay his loans, and Sony or Columbia would seize his song copyrights.

This was the opportunity Martin was waiting for.

Once the battle between Michael Jackson and Sony over the copyrights began, Martin planned to intervene. By then, his powers would have grown stronger, allowing him to make a move. Whether he sided with Sony, Columbia, or Michael Jackson didn't matter—establishing a good relationship with Michael in advance would only benefit him.

The power of influence, bit by bit, would become an overwhelming force in three years and become his most decisive tool.

As for Motura's influence, Martin had already started to wield it.

After some more small talk, Michael said goodbye.

"Martin, your ventriloquism skills are incredible. I'll definitely practice them when I get back. I just don't know if I'll be able to make it to the concert, but if I do, I'll surprise the fans."

Martin secretly chuckled to himself. Sorry, Michael, you can study for a hundred years, but you won't get it. What I'm doing isn't ventriloquism—it's magic!

Martin escorted Michael to the door, and the two said their farewells.

Michael headed downstairs, while Martin returned to his recording session.

In the elevator, Michael Jackson suddenly placed a hand over his chest, his face filled with surprise.

"Paul (his bodyguard), did you see my brooch—the Mickey Mouse one?"

"I didn't notice, boss," Paul replied.

"Oops, I must've lost it in Martin's recording studio. Let's go back. That's my favorite brooch."

Back upstairs, Paul knocked on the door.

The staff inside looked through the peephole, saw Michael and his bodyguard, and let them in.

As soon as the door opened, the sound of melodious music drifted out.

The staff member quickly apologized, "Sorry, we turned on the external amplifier so everyone could hear Martin's song. Our headphones weren't enough."

Michael raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

He walked in quietly, asking Paul to close the door behind them. He closed his eyes and listened intently.

[•———•——•———•]

𝙥𝗮𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣(.)𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧