Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Your tough love

Your rock-solid love

Is what I deserve

Belongs to me no doubt

Sweet tough love

Sweet and sturdy love, you accompany me on my journey

You're my pretty good luck charm

You are my lucky goddess

In mid-September, Link Music released Link's new album's first promotional single "Tough Love," which achieved 380 million streams globally on Spotify in its first week, 14% of which were from paying users, setting multiple records on the platform.

It also topped the Billboard singles chart in the United States, as well as reaching number one in the UK, Belgium, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, and other countries' charts.

This song is a love song composed by the Swedish singer Avicii, and in terms of quality, it's not necessarily better than songs like "All of Me," "Say Something," "Love is Gone," and the like.

But because Link is now more famous than when he released his fourth album last year and has stronger singing abilities.

After the song's release, it was eagerly pursued by a wide fan base and also received praise from many music critics, all looking forward to his fifth album.

——

This year's MTV Music Video Awards were held at the Nokia Center in Los Angeles, and Link once again attended the event as a presenter, awarding Taylor Swift the award for Best Music Video of the Year.

That night, Link Music's own Ariana Grande also won the Best New Artist Video Award with her song "The Way," while Charlie Puth, who debuted in the same period, was also nominated for the award.

"Link, the news says that you will retire from the music scene after the release of your fifth album, is that true?"

Katy Perry asked from the audience.

"Yes, I did say that.

Link said.

"Link, we all thought you were joking. Do you really plan to retire?"

Miley Cyrus asked, turning to him.

"Yes."

"Why retire? You're so popular right now, a single song can get hundreds of millions of streams. The media predicts that the fifth album's sales in the States will not be less than the fourth. With the way things are going, the sixth album might even surpass the fifth, maybe selling ten million copies in a month. Isn't that impressive? Don't you want to set a few more records?"

Katy Perry asked.

"I'm too busy. I have no time for creation or promotion."

Link said.

"I think you've made too much money, Link. A single boxing match can bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, which is much faster than wracking your brain over a new album. If I were you, I'd consider retiring too."

Lady Gaga commented, turning around.

"That's right, artists shouldn't be too rich. As a fan of Link, I really hope he goes bankrupt so that he has to write and sell more good songs to make money."

"Haha, agreed!"

"Link, money is your enemy. You could consider donating all of it."

Kerry Underwood, Kesha, Pink, and other singers around them teased him one after another.

Link shook his head, "I'm just not releasing new albums anymore. I'm not completely retiring from the scene. I will release new songs on Spotify in the future, and that will save me a lot of trouble."

"Link, you make it sound like you're so busy. But I heard from Selena that you're now at home every day taking care of the kids. Is that true?"

Miley Cyrus asked with a sweet smile.

"Pretty much. Taking care of children is a job too, isn't it?"

Link replied with a smile.

"Link, do you really like kids?"

Katy Perry blinked and asked.

"Katy, why are you asking this? Are you planning to have one with Link too?"

Lady Gaga joked.

"One is too few, at least two."

Katy Perry joked in response.

Link shook his head with a smile and joined everyone in applause as Ariana Grande took the award on stage and expressed her gratitude. Upon receiving her award, Ariana mentioned an encounter with Link on Miami Beach ten years ago, thanked him for his guidance, and called him 'teacher'.

At this, Link felt awkward. He had been too busy in the past two years, only seeing Ariana a few times, offering advice on her song styles, and helping to write three new songs, but not getting too involved in other matters.

Now that Ariana has become a 'champion' among the new artists, it is mainly due to her own talent, as well as the help of Link Music's producers, and the resources and channels of Link Music.

Currently, in addition to Ariana and Charlie Puth, the label has signed five new solo artists and two bands, including 'Boss Huang' Ed Sheeran, Carly Rae Jepsen, Halsey, One Direction band, and the rapper Travis Scott.

Some were trainees signed from YouTube, and others were already-debuted artists, all temporarily placed under the management of SB Projects Entertainment Company. Link Music was responsible for the singers' musical work, and SB for the commercial marketing and promotions.

Ariana and Charlie Puth are considered to be the third generation of Link Music, and the newly signed artists represent the fourth and fifth generations.

With these new talents, and Link Music's resources and channels, the company could ensure smooth and continued development.

After the MTV award ceremony, Link left by car, and halfway through, he encountered Taylor's car and switched to Taylor's business van to sit down.

"Katy Perry wants to have kids with you? Your charm is really something these days."

Taylor, dressed in a white dress, held a glass of fruit wine, her lips curled into a mocking sneer.

"Just kidding, how could you take that seriously?"

Link shook his head, gaining a new appreciation for how quickly rumors spread.

"How do you know Katy Perry isn't serious? Why don't you give it a try? Maybe she really is willing to have kids with you."

Taylor said with a half-mocking, half-serious smile.

"Are you jealous?"

Link looked at her and encircled her slender waist with his arm, laughing.

"What are you doing?"

Taylor glared at him, warning him not to move recklessly.

"How about my new song?"

"It's okay! I prefer songs like 'All of me' and 'Love is gone',"

Taylor said.

"Do you remember what you said last time?"

"Last time? What did I say?"

Taylor blinked her eyes, mischievously shifting her gaze aside, avoiding his.

"Don't think about backing out now, 'Tough Love' is number one on the singles chart, and I'm here to make good on the promise."

Link gently tightened his arms, pulling Taylor into his embrace, and quietly gazed into her beautiful eyes.

To encourage him to keep creating, Taylor had made a deal with him: if a song he wrote hit number one on the singles chart, she'd let him push her around just once. Because of that promise, Link found new motivation to create music, otherwise, he wouldn't waste brain cells thinking up songs.

"Pervert, let go of me, or I'll hit you."

Taylor poked his chest with her pale fist.

But her strength was too slight to escape Link's grasp. He bent his head down to kiss her lips, moist with the scent of wine, while his hand gently landed on her round and shapely thighs.

This was a business vehicle, and the cabin was separated from the driver's seat by a partition, allowing the two to be intimate in the back without Taylor's driver and assistant noticing.

However, Taylor had her own dignity, only allowing him kisses and to take some liberties with his hands. Any further and she'd bite his lip, so Link had no choice but to comply with her wishes.

Upon reaching Beverly Hills, Taylor asked him to get out of the car and buy a bouquet of flowers. But the moment he got out, she shut the car door, had the driver start the vehicle, and drove off, waving her fist triumphantly at him.

Link shook his head, deciding to settle the account next time.

——

Back at the villa halfway up the hill, Ivanka hadn't gone to bed yet. She was watching TV in the small living room, with a face mask on, doing some Pilates before bed on the blanket.

After more than three months of exercise, her figure had returned to its pre-pregnancy state, tall and sexy, her skin even whiter and smoother than before, emitting a faint fragrance of milk, elegant and charming.

Link, after taking a shower and changing into loose sportswear and shorts, joined Ivanka in her workout.

"Darling, today the CEO of Universal Music, Lucian Grainge, called again with a financing proposal. He's willing to invest one billion US dollars for a 50% stake in Link Music, which values the company at two billion US dollars. What do you think?"

Ivanka sat cross-legged on the blanket, wearing a white camisole, its thin straps digging into her smooth, fair shoulders, the weight below creating two distinct lines.

"Have you discussed this with the company's management, and what do they think?"

Link asked as he warmed up.

"Some are in favor, some are against, so the final decision still falls to us,"

Ivanka shrugged her shoulders.

Link stopped to think about the matter. They had founded Link Music mainly to make money, not for some musical dream. He lacked any real ambition in that regard.

So, selling the company to one of the major record labels was part of the original plan, but now he and Ivanka didn't need the money. Just sitting on Link Music and collecting tens or even hundreds of millions in profit sharing each year was a better deal.

After thinking it over, he proposed a plan to break up Link Music, SB Entertainment, and Spotify Holdings into separate entities. If Universal Music wanted to invest, they could put money into Link Music based on a valuation of 1.4 billion US dollars, which would allow them to release a 35% stake while ensuring that their own control remained over 50%, giving them the ultimate decision-making power over company affairs.

Besides, he didn't want cash. Universal Music Group, not yet listed separately, was valued at approximately 22 billion US Dollars, so he suggested swapping shares with Universal Music.

The purpose of his plan was to deepen ties with Universal Music and leverage their distribution resources, making it easier to promote his artists' albums.

Compared to a behemoth like Universal Music, Link Music, barely four years old, lacked the ability to distribute internationally. This gap couldn't be bridged quickly, not even in twenty years, so taking advantage of Universal's distribution networks was undoubtedly a good strategy.

But utilizing Universal's channels meant sharing their pie, and Universal Music might not agree to that.

That would require negotiations to find a balance of interests under a collaborative premise.

"That sounds good; I'll continue negotiating with Universal Music to see what they think,"

Ivanka said with a slight nod.

"That's fine, but no rush. Link Music is still growing with a lot of potential. We can take our time,"

"Okay, I'll listen to you,"

Ivanka tenderly brushed aside the sweat-dampened golden hair by her ear.

"Wife, do you really listen to everything I say?"

Link sat behind her, kissing her swan-like neck with a smile.

Ivanka smiled softly without resisting his affection. Her long arms wrapped around his neck, gently delivering a sweet kiss.