*This chapter is pretty much all press conference. I thought I'd include it to answer some of the questions I've been getting from you guys in the form of a chapter. I hope you enjoy 💜
~1 week later~
Luna fixed her shirt in the mirror for what had to be the 50th time as she watched the clock.
"Lu, relax Princess. Don't be so nervous okay. All the press that's here are here by invitation only. Trust Bighit and trust yourself," Joon says, massaging her tense shoulders.
"I don't know why I'm so nervous. This is huge but it's not like it's my first time with press," she sighs.
"What you're about to do is a big step in your career. It's normal to be nervous love," Jin says, kissing her forehead.
"He's right doll. Just take some deep breaths and relax. You got this. This is a celebratory day and you've never been unable to handle press. It'll be over before you know it," Linda says, squeezing one of her hands affectionately.
"Luna-ssi, it's time," Bang PD says, coming into the lounge they were waiting in.
She was passed around, receiving brief hugs and words of encouragement from her soulmates and parents, who would be cheering her on from the lounge as she signed her contract. Bighit had decided to make it public, complete with press—a brief conference to be held afterwards.
She'd been given the final draft of the contract a few days prior and had taken the time to read over it herself as well as send it to her personal lawyer in the states. After concluding everything was satisfactory, she and Bang PD had a Zoom meeting with Mr. Stringer, the CEO of SMA to discuss a business plan.
They decided that Sony would be mostly behind the scenes, distributing music as well as marketing her projects and that Bighit would be the "face" of her label—essentially doing all the legwork. Because of that, Bighit would receive a little over 10% more in profit than Sony.
"We're going to introduce ourselves first and then I'll explain what we're doing. You'll sign and then we'll have a brief conference after to answer the journalists' questions. To my understanding, only about 15 were invited and we've worked with them exclusively for a long time now. Everything will be over before you know it," Bang PD says, easing her nerves significantly.
Now that she knew what to expect, it was a little less daunting for her. She was most comfortable when there was structure.
Flanked by two security guards, the two make their way into the conference room and stand behind their seats. Luna and Bang PD smile for the cameras before picking up their microphones from the table.
"Hello, my name is Bang Si-hyuk, founder and CEO here at Bighit," Bang PD starts off.
"And my name is Song Kitana, stage name Luna, a music artist, fashion model, and executive here at Bighit," Luna finishes, bowing.
"We are ecstatic to have you here today. I am thrilled to announce that Luna, Bighit, and Sony Music America are coming together to bring you Galaxy records, a record label run by Luna herself. Not only will this be the first English label under Bighit, but also the first to be run by a female—both being phenomenal accolades that we feel will help our company grow. We have asked you to gather here today to witness the signing of the contract as well as ask any questions you have afterwards. Without further ado..." he says, pulling out Luna's seat for her.
She thanks him and takes her seat, waiting for him to do the same. He goes through the packet of papers, initialing and signing in the appropriate places underneath Mr. Stringer's previously signed name and slides the packet and pen over for her to do the same.
Everyone claps when she finishes and passes the packet over to one of Bighit's lawyers and she and Bang PD shake hands.
"Congratulations Luna. I look forward working together. Why don't you go ahead and tell them the name of your label," he says and she nods.
"I decided to name the label "Galaxy Records" after my fanbase," she replies after picking up her microphone again.
"Beautiful name. Let's go ahead and start taking questions," he says, gesturing for the first journalist to speak.
They were all sitting in chairs, three rows of five staggered so they could see each of their faces.
"Hello, my question is for Luna. First of all congratulations. I just want to ask what we can expect from you and your label. Will you be putting out music yourself or signing other artists?" the first journalist asks.
"Thank you. As of right now, what you can expect is me putting out a very special project by the end of the year. I haven't put much thought into signing other artists, but maybe in the future when I have more time on my hands," Luna answers.
The woman thanks her and passes the mic to the man beside her, who fumbles with the mic for a second before getting everything settled.
"Sorry. My question is for Luna as well. If I understand correctly, your fanbase name was the Moonbeams. What was the thought process behind changing it to the Galaxy?" he asks.
"The past 2 to 3 years haven't been the best for me musically. Earlier this year, I decided not to re-sign with my old label due to loss of creative control. I was very dissatisfied with my last EP and album because it didn't feel authentic to me. So, I was thinking of ways I could make it up to my fans—who supported me despite this—and it just came to me one day. Now that I'm no longer restricted, I feel that the sky isn't even the limit for me anymore and the fandom made it possible for me to feel this way, so I felt they deserved not to be limited as well. In the Galaxy, they can be whatever and whomever they want. The possibilities are infinite in space—which led me to my slogan. The Galaxy—where the possibilities are infinite."
-Journalist #3
"That's a very nice slogan. It seems very hopeful. Is that a theme that we should look for in your project—hopefulness?
"Thank you. There will definitely be some inspirational songs that I'll put out, but I want this project to have an array of themes and genres so not every song will be," she replies.
-Journalist #4
"Hello. Luna, it's no secret that you've been making waves here in Korea. The latest wave is because you broke the record for highest and fastest selling magazine in the world. Congratulations, I'm sure requests for you are off the charts right now, but how will you balance fashion and music?"
"Thanks. What I've learned from experience is that as long as my fashion contracts aren't restrictive—such as having specific dates and times to adhere to or forbidding me to work with other designers—then balancing both worlds is no problem. I've never worked with a designer not willing to work around my schedule."
-Journalist #5
"Hello. My question is also for Luna. Ever since you and BTS have revealed your soulmate status, you've been met with a significant amount of public outrage—so much so that you, BTS, and Bighit were accused of boosting sales—which proved to be false. How did you deal with this and how do you think it will effect your music in any way?"
"There were a lot of meetings going on behind the scenes to ensure that Maxim would release the sales records as soon as possible. If they had taken any longer, I was going to release a statement myself just to reiterate that BTS nor Bighit had absolutely anything to do with the sales. It was an exasperating time for me and you can definitely expect that to come across in my music."
-Journalist #6
"Hello. My question is for both Bang PD and Luna. Luna's music has been known to have explicit, hard-hitting lyrics. Is that something that will continue? If so, how are you planning to market that type of music here in Korea?"
"Good question. I had the exact same one when he and I discussed this. To answer your question though, yes my lyrics will remain that way. It's a part of who I am and the type of rap I grew up listening to. Not every song will be explicit, and like always, the clean versions of all my songs will be available as well," Luna says, setting her mic down and looking over to Bang PD.
"The artist has spoken. She had full control of the content she puts out. As far as marketing, we will do what we've always done. She isn't the only artist we have her that has explicit, hard-hitting lyrics. Despite that, we are aware that she will probably be judged more for it because she's a female and misogyny is alive and well here; but an artist of her caliber can't be held back because of that. "That type" of music is the foundation of what idols base their music on today, so after the initial hype dies down, everything will be just fine," he replies.
-Journalist #7
"This one's for Luna. I know you've already spoken on balancing music and fashion, but you are soulmates with one of the most popular acts in the world right now. How are you planning to balance your career as well as your romantic relationship with BTS?"
"I suppose I'll keep doing what I've been doing already. I've been working on music behind the scenes since I met them and it's never interfered with our relationship. I just work on it in my spare time and when everyone else is busy, so it doesn't really cut into our time together. It's hard sometimes but we make due," Luna replies, her smile brightening at the thought of how seamlessly they'd been making time for each other.
-Journalist #8
"Luna, you've said before that your music is heavily influenced by things you've actually experienced in life. Does that mean we'll be getting more romantic music from you?"
"Most likely, yes. I've said before that writing love songs was hard for me because I'd never experienced romantic love—so I just wrote what I saw between couples like my grandparents. They aren't soulmates, but the love between them was clear to see. I wrote what I thought that felt like, but now that I have that in my life, you can definitely look forward to more love songs from me," Luna says, feeling her cheeks tingle with the beginnings of a blush, something she hoped wasn't showing through her makeup.
-Journalist #9
"Luna, you are known in both the fashion industry as well as the music industry for releasing very sexy visuals, some that would be considered taboo here in Korea. Are you planning on changing that at all now that you have your soulmates in your life?"
"No, to put it bluntly. Just like my lyrics, the visuals I put forth are a part of my identity as a model and a music artist. My soulmates haven't discouraged me from doing so nor do I believe they will. They've been nothing short of supportive, even before we met—so I'll continue on the path I'm on for now."
-Journalist #10
"This one is for Bang PD. Now that you have both Luna and BTS under your company, are you planning any collaborations between them. If so, how will you deal with the fan war that's happening between ARMY and the Galaxies?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead yet, but if they want to collaborate, I'm sure they'll tell me—not the other way around. Unfortunately, we're extremely limited in what we can do about ARMY and Galaxies that are at war with each other. Both BTS and Luna have expressed that they don't want their fandoms to fight with each other. However, in sensitive times like these, and due to their circumstances, there is a lot of turmoil between the fans. If we ever need to have both fan bases in the same area, we'll have to really crack down on security measures and make sure people know beforehand that they will be held responsible for their actions."
-Journalist #11
"Luna, can you give us a few idols here in Korea that you would like to collaborate with in the future and why, if any."
"Sure, the first artist that comes to mind for me is BM of KARD. I think we'd mesh well together musically. Some others are Baekhyun, or really anyone from EXO, Taemin, Hwasa of Mamamoo, Lisa of Blackpink, Sam Kim, TXT, Eric Nam, Got7, Rain, Jessi, Hyuna, and that's just to name a few. I do pretty much all genres of music and I think all these artists do a good job at conquering a variety of styles and sounds as well. Everyone brings something different to the table. I'd love to work with the women I've listed because every single one of them have been ridiculed the same way I have for not shying away from sexuality. Together, I feel that we could send powerful messages to both society and the music industry overall."
-Journalist #12
"Luna, BTS will be going on a world tour soon. Will you be going with? If so, how are you planning to spend that time?"
"Yes, I'll be going with. I plan to fill that time supporting them as well as working on music when I can. There will be quite a lot of time spent in America, and I plan on using that time to visit my family when we're close to Texas as well as doing any collabs and shoots requested of me by American artists."
-Journalist #13
"Bang PD, now that you have Luna's record label signed under Bighit, what do expect as far as the growth of your company as well as what it would do for the economy?"
"I feel that the company will grow tremendously. Luna has a fan base of over 100 million people and counting. Wherever content she puts out does amazing numbers, which means more revenue for us. It is projected that her presence will bring trillions of won to the economy in terms of tourism, consumerism, and investment stocks."
-Journalist #14
"Can either of you expand on how much of an effect Luna will have in consumerism here in Korea? I work for "Consumer Resport" magazine and we're doing a exerpt on how much the popularity of music helps the economy."
"Since I am a permanent resident of Korea now, everything that I put forth now as far as my label—merchandise, advertisement, etc will contribute to Korea's economy. Every year I collab with a different designer to do a limited edition merchandise line—in which 50% of the profit will go to charity—as well as selling original merchandise that will be available year round. From now on, this will be managed by myself and Bighit, so the proceeds will be taxed here in Korea and the charities I choose will be based here as well. Any revenue received from concerts, shows, interviews, online content, and record sales will also be taxed through Korea. Even the income I earn abroad will be taxed here and since the tax rate here is overall about 20.9%, the effect that I have on consumerism here will be substantial."
-Journalist #15
"Luna, your most recent single, Comfortable is doing really well right now. It's been in the top ten on the charts here since it came out. In it, you sing the chorus in Korean. Is this something that we can look forward to in more songs you put out in the future?"
"Definitely. I'm being very experimental with my sound right now so look forward to other tracks that may be sang in Korean or Spanish most likely. Most of my songs will be English, but I'm thinking of releasing a deluxe, multilingual version of my projects with the lyric translations going forward."
"This concludes our press conference for today. Thanks for coming and for the work you do in spreading our message. Is there anything you want to add to that Luna?" Bang PD asks.
"Sure, I want to thank you all for your insightful questions and professional etiquette as well as your congratulatory words. I hope to have more press conferences of this caliber in the future. Stay happy and healthy," she adds, earning smiles from each journalist.
With that, she and Bang PD stood and bowed towards the crowd before making their way back into the main hallway where everyone was waiting for them.
Luna did every bit as well as they thought she would, clearly commanding and winning over the room with her calm demeanor and eloquent way of speaking. It made everyone that was rooting for her proud to be in her corner, glad to stand behind her in all her endeavors. She knew exactly what she was doing when it came to her career and she would undoubtedly take Korea by storm in the process.
Luna-3 Haters-0
A/N: With the amount of questions I've been getting concerning what Luna's career will be like, I decided to do a press conference chapter 💜
Let's take some time to appreciate these boss ass pictures of Saweetie 😌