Chapter 218 - Intro to Alternative Marketing (2)

The next day – Pierre, South Dakota 11AM 

*tap tatatatap tap tap* "Damn… So you really did make Quad Blocks huh…" Bart says watching Tayaw typing code.

"Huh?" Tayaw asks.

"That thing you're making… or programming… whatever you call it. Are you making another game right now?" Bart asks.

"Oh… It's n-… Yeah. It's a game." Tayaw decides not to explain the small misunderstanding.

"Is that game gonna be like Quad Blocks?" Bart asks.

"Nah. But I think it's going to be like a story." Tayaw says.

"Heh… Look at him, working like he didn't offend the majority of Nashville's mainstream music industry just a day ago." Angela smirks at Tayaw.

"Meh… I'm nervous too. Working relaxes me." Tayaw shrugs.

"Hmm. Even if you're gonna get in trouble, you're already rich being a film director. Not to mention you being a… what do you call someone who makes a game?... whatever, Bart says you're breaking the bank from your game." Angela says.

"Hey… If you consider that, then Isaac's not actually in serious trouble right? So what if the awards ban him? He'll be fine. Isaac, I can't believe you sent people's hate to the two biggest establishments in Country music!" Bart says.

"You know. You two annoyed me into not checking my social media, can you two not ruin my mood to work too? … Let me make my game in peace, or else, I'm gonna kick your asses out of here." Tayaw deflects.

"Whoh.. okay cowboy." Bart shrugs.

Bart and Angela, who were not in the mood to practice due to Tayaw's social media activities in the previous night, decided to hang out in Tayaw's van instead. 

*ring* *ring* *ring* Tayaw's phone suddenly rings, making Bart and Angela perk up.

"Oh. It's Cody." He tells them, looking at the caller ID.

"…" Bart and Angela are not surprised by the call, but they get curious.

Tayaw puts his phone on speaker to save himself from later questions from the two young singers. 

/Isaac, what's going on with you?/ Cody's first words and tone immediately make Bart and Angela anxious.

"What happened? Bart and Angela had a field day convincing me to stop messing around social media so I don't know what you're talking about." Tayaw says, increasing Bart and Angela's tension.

/Well. Some people from Association and the Academy are here asking how to get to you. They can't call the number you had me give them so they sent people who are on their way to South Dakota right now, where you'll do your show tonight. / Cody says.

"What else did they say?" Tayaw asks, curious.

/It's better if he tells you… *clack* / Cody says before he passes his phone to someone.

/Hello Isaac. I'm Keith from the Academy of Country Music. I'm friends with Phil Jane and Joel Winger. The guys you talked to in that episode of Music Lab. They're members of the Academy. / Keith introduces himself and his connection to Tayaw.

"Ah… Hey Keith. What's up? I'm sorry about yesterday." Tayaw says.

/No.. no sorry needed, but you should have called us in private first. Many people lost some sleep as a result of what you did./ Keith says.

"So, Am I banned or something?" Tayaw asks.

/We don't do that, Mr. Yawat./ Keith says in defense.

"Well… What exactly happened? Not that I'm entitled to a nomination, but objectively speaking, I'm not any worse than any of the rookie nominees." Tayaw starts.

"Not only that. You mentioned you're friends with Mr. Jane and Mr. Winger, right? Even though I never met the two gentlemen, I talked to them extensively once, over the internet right after that interview. They were confident that I have a good chance being nominated for Rookie of The Year or Best Newcomer for the CMAs." 

/The thing is, Isaac, you are eligible for the voting. Your applications should have gone through to the voting process…/ Keith says in defense.

"What?... okay. That makes me feel better… so why?" Tayaw acts surprised.

/Well… I'm in no place to say. All I can tell you is it's a fault of one employee who is at a position that involves a lot of stress. / Keith says.

"… So… I'm guessing… it's probably the lead guy of your selection committee?" Tayaw says.

/Wel - …/ Keith stutters before going silent for a second or two.

"…" If Tayaw and Cody are in the same room, they would exchange smirks.

"And somehow, the exact same thing happened in CMA too?" Tayaw asks.

/Well, I don't know about them./ Keith readily lies.

/Anyways, to the matter at hand. Usually, we send official nomination letters to the nominees first. Then the nominees wait after the academy's official announcement before they share their official letters to social media. That's the rule./ He changes the subject, but his words come out without enough context.

"Okay?" Tayaw says, confused.

/We have to fix our reputation right away, so we're gonna announce your nomination on social media right now. A photo of the official nomination letter our fellows are supposed to hand to you on your show tonight will be included in that social media post as well./ Keith explains.

"… So, I'm nominated after all?" Tayaw asks.

/Oh… Right. Yes, yes. Congratulations Isaac for being a nominee for the Rookie of the Year Award./ Keith says.

*Phew* A sigh of relief comes out from Tayaw and the two other singers.

/Oh. And because the academy and the Country Music Association shares many members, CMA is also doing the same thing. So, yeah. I congratulate you in advance too, for your CMA Best Newcomer nomination as well./ Keith adds.

"That's great news. Thanks for informing me." Tayaw says.

/No problem… But… We know that us, giving you, your deserved nomination will barely be enough to deal with the sh*t storm on social media… So, we'll really appreciate it if you can help us out./

~

Academy of Country Awards Office

*knock**knock*

"Molly. I'm back." Keith greets the Academy's president.

He just came back from his visit to Snail Records.

"hm. How did it go?" Molly asks.

"He is willing to cooperate. We'll see what he posts." Keith says.

"Good… Good." Molly sighs.

"You don't look happy." Keith notices.

"Of course, I'm not. This can't be fixed by just posting some tweets." Molly says.

"You're right… But what are we supposed to do?" Keith says.

"I don't know. If we fire Mike, people will notice, people will talk. This isn't the 90s anymore. Things get out easy. And if Mike talks…" Molly shakes her head.

"It'll be a mess. Yes." Keith nods.

"… *sigh*… What are your impressions of him? Of Isaac?" Molly asks.

"We only talked over the phone, but he seems nice. Matured. Confident. Smart. And sharp. I'm not surprised he's successful for his age." Keith says.

"Hmm. So did him and his label really part ways?" Molly asks.

"Yeah. But just like the label announced, they are still in good terms." Keith says.

"What's the uh… dynamic between Isaac and his former CEO?" Molly asks.

"Dynamic?... They treat each other as equals… Maybe? I felt like Isaac was more commanding though." Keith says.

"Heh. Cunning bastards." Molly chuckles.

"What?" Keith was not sure if he heard it right.

"Isaac, or maybe the CEO? But I'm leaning more on Isaac..." Molly mutters.

"Excuse me?" Keith asks.

"Nothing... How did you break the news to him?" Molly asks.

"Ah. I found it strange actually. When I was talking to him about it, it seemed that he was only concerned about the rookie nomination and not the others, so I'm guessing he might not have known or expected his other nominations. \

"Maybe Mr. Mills didn't tell him. So, I only told him about being nominated for the rookie award. He was very satisfied just from it." Keith says.

"… Really? Huh…" Molly ponders. "Then that might not be the case then?" She utters in confusion.

"When he shared the letters from the selection committees to the public. Do you think he did it on purpose? To spite us?" She asks again.

"That… I kinda think so. But he really did it in a way that… Wait. Was that why you said he was cunning?" Keith says.

"Yeah…" Molly says.

"But for what reason? It's like me telling my friends that I failed to get in Laura Brown's pants." Keith says.

"I don't know. If we remove his sincerity… Then maybe he did it out of pettiness? Marketing tactic like he did for his first movie? Whatever the reason is, he is confident in his worth and he knows other people know his worth as well." Molly says.

Keith nods in understanding.

"But no matter how confident he was, he's taking a huge risk by doing this." He says.

"hmph. What risk?" Molly scoffs.

"He got in trouble with his label. They released him." Keith says.

"Was Isaac really released from the label? Did you see him signing something? Papers getting shredded?" Molly says.

"…" Keith goes quiet in realization.

"An act…? But why?" Keith says.

"Yes. Isaac can handle the consequences. But what about the small independent Snail Records? They needed something to wash their hands of the controversy." Molly says.

"But we won't do anything to them but a slap on the wrist. The Association too, will just give them a warning." Keith rubs his chin.

"Yes. But the people who tried messing with Isaac might do more than just warning." Molly says.

"Oh… Then… Isaac is untouchable?" Keith scoffs.

"In our industry? Pretty much. In the end, he is still an outsider who just happened to make good country music on the side. As long as people love his songs, he'll be fine. Whether or not he survives in the politics of our industry, it makes little difference to him." 

An hour later. Pierre, South Dakota 

|~CountryMusicAssociation √~

'Dear Mr. Isaac Yawat. Our review has concluded. We apologize again for the events preceding. After a quick vote from our association members, we are pleased to extend our congratulations to you for being nominated for the following awards: Performance of the Year - Grand Country Opera Song of the Year 'Invisible Man' Album of the Year 'On The Road' Best Male Vocalist Best New Artist... We…|

|~CountryMusicAssociation √~ @isaacyawat We invite you to join us for the celebration. The association wishes you luck in your future career.| 

|~AcademyOfCountryMusic √~

'Dear Mr. Isaac Yawat. After the Academy's unprecedented emergency voting process; we are pleased to inform you that you are nominated for the following awards: Song of the Year 'Invisible Man' Album of the Year 'On The Road' Best Male Performer Best Newcomer Award. We however regret to inform you that you do not meet the eligibility for 'Artist of the Year' for the lack of quantity in his activities in Country Music. We… Signed, Molly Barber, President, Academy of Country Music|

|~AcademyOfCountryMusic √~ @isaacyawat Congratulations for your nominations. We welcome you to the Academy of Country Music. Please visit us some time to make it official. Thank you.| 

"Man… you're a damn beast…" Bart cannot believe seeing the nominations listed for Tayaw.

"… huh… I knew I'm eligible for these but I thought I'll only be nominated for rookie of the year…" Tayaw too can barely believe it.

"This... I don't know if this happened before. For a rookie like you… 5 nominations from CMA, 4 from ACM. Aren't you too greedy? … I can't even look at you." Angela says, not even trying to hide her jealousy.

"Alright… You two. Get out. I can finally sleep." Tayaw says to the two. Angela and Bart, not having seen Tayaw sleep, stand up in understanding. 

"…" The two finally leaving the van and Tayaw watching them enter their bus, finally sighs in relief before… 'YEAAAAHHHHHH!' bursting out in celebration.