Page 72 of A Country Kind Of Love

Peyton isn’t prepared in the slightest for the interrogation; she keeps it simple. “I want to release the song you heard the last timeI was here.”

“Okay.” She waits patiently.

“I don’t want to sing it with a man. It’s not a love song dedicated to a man.” Peyton sighs.

“Okay,” Shonda repeats.

“Ultimately I want to write songs that mean something, and...” She plays with the bracelet on her wrist. “I want to make mymom proud.”

“Bingo.” Shonda smirks. “Now that I know your motivation, I can help you. Here I was thinking this was part of a bigger plan to win Cleo back.” She chuckles. “Love should never be the motivating factor.”

Peyton gulps.

“I’ve drawn something up I think you’ll be happy with.” She signals for her assistant.

“I am offering you a one-year deal. There will be several option periods within that timeframe if we like the work you produce.”

“Okay.”

Shonda’s assistant places the contract in front of Peyton. She has no idea what to look for, but she hopes if there is some dreadful clause hidden in the contract her mom will send a signal somehow. Maybe a pipe will burst, or the fire alarm, or a rat? Anything.

“In the contract is your release commitment. The royalties are detailed on the second page.” It’s the only thing Jesse advised her on. He was adamant she must get a signed release commitment. The promise from the label means she has a guarantee they will produce and release at least one album in the time frame. The royalties listed were industry standard; she had no power to demand any more.

“Take your time to read through it. I have to take a call, but Harriet can help you and answer any questions whilst I’m gone.”

Peyton reads through the contract front to back three times. Half of the words are five syllables long. It feels like a high-level music-based spelling bee, and she is none the wiser.

Shonda returns fifteen minutes later. “Do you havea manager?”

“Erm, no. Not yet.”

“Do you have a SoundCloud with your music uploaded?”

“Erm, no.”

“Okay, do you have any sort of fanbase? Maybe a YouTube channel, or a Spotify with some monthlylisteners?”

“I have a YouTube channel, but I only have forty-five subscribers. I do have Instagram though. I have gained quite a lot of followers in thelast month.”

“Okay, how many?” Shonda asks. Harriet scribbles in a notebook totheir right.

“About 2500.”

“Right.” Shonda isn’t impressed, but it’s way more than Peyton had a month ago. A rarely used social media account with 500 dormant followers was nothing to be proud of, but she’d posted a video of Cleo playing the guitar and another one of herself playing a new song on the piano. It went viral according to Jesse. Peyton was popular for all of three days, but she hasn’t posted since.

“I don’t really do social media.”

“I can see that.” Shonda puts a finger to her lips; she contemplates something, probably how she wants to take back the contract Peytonjust signed.

“Here’s what we are going to do for you.” Shonda starts reeling off a list of demands. She fires them at Harriet who scrawls ferociously as she tries to keep up. “Get in touch with Joey. I want Peyton in the studio by the end of the week. We need to create the image first and foremost. Speak to Kate. She will arrange for a photoshoot, ideally tomorrow. I want Greg in socials to take control of Peyton’s accounts.”

“Wait, what?”

“It’s a short-term thing, but with long term gains. He will have you trending all over the country in less than a week.”

Shonda continues to list every department in the record label. It’s a whole operation. Peyton wants to run.

“Do you have any questions about any of what I’ve just said?”Shonda asks.