Right now my mind is overflowing with story ideas, so here's the start of yet another story.
In a meeting room high above the city of Vale, the board of Beacon Records was assembled. They were starting to struggle against the competition, and they needed to act quickly in order to save themselves. At the head of the meeting room table sat President Ozpin, founder, owner and head of the company. He was joined by the other three most senior directors Glynda Goodwitch, Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck.
Ozpin got straight down to business "I won't lie to you, we're in big trouble. We're falling behind Atlas, Haven and Shade, and the smaller companies are catching up to us." he said, being brutally honest with the others. Their situation was dire, so he could not afford to mince his words.
Goodwitch sighed "This is James' doing isn't it? He's punishing us for taking Pyrrha." she commented. Pyrrha Nikos was one of the label's biggest artists, and she had been in high demand when they signed her. James Ironwood, the head of Atlas Records was not happy about it and had promised to ruin them for it.
Ozpin shook his head "While I admit that may have something to do with our difficulties, I assure you there is more to it than that." he told her and the others. Though Ironwood was causing them problems, he was just one of the many reasons why they were struggling.
"Perhaps we should focus more on resolving this issue, rather than the reasons behind it." Port suggested. Discussing the causes of their problems was pointless, if it didn't help them to solve the problems. They needed a solution soon, or it would be too late and they'd all end up jobless.
"Quite right, do we have any plans for getting ourselves out of this predicament?" Oobleck added. He agreed with Port that finding a solution, was far more important than discussing the causes of the problem. It wouldn't matter what caused the problem, if there was going to be no company left to save.
Ozpin nodded, before revealing his big idea. "We need a new act, something that can put us back on top." he explained. They were performing reasonably well with the acts and artists they already had, but they weren't doing well enough when compared to their rivals. Out of the big four record labels of Remnant, they were doing the worst by a significant margin.
Port raise a skeptical eyebrow "How do you propose we find one? Atlas is eating up all the new talent." he asked. A large part of Ironwood's plan to ruin them, was starving them of new acts. So, he signed every emerging artist or group, before they were even aware of them. It made the idea of finding this new act seem quite ludicrous, as far as Port was concerned.
"Well I plan on creating a band, starting with our most recent signing." Ozpin responded. He wasn't put off by what Atlas was doing, his plan was meant to avoid that problem completely. After all, there were still people Ironwood overlooked in his quest to ruin them.
"You mean Summer's daughter?" Goodwitch asked him. She had been the one to discover their latest signing, so she already knew the answer but she asked anyway just to confirm. Summer Rose was an extremely skilled guitarist who was once signed by them, and their latest signing was none other than her daughter.
"Precisely. Ruby has inherited her mother's talent, maybe even surpassed her." Ozpin explained confidently, he had a great deal of faith in his plan having put a great deal of effort into formulating it. Ruby Rose, was the starting point for the plan and she was a very good one at that.
Goodwitch was satisfied with his response, but that was only the first part of his plan. "That's certainly a good start, but what about the rest of this band?" she asked. Ruby was good, but not good enough to save them by herself. For her to have any lasting impact on their fate, she would need to be put with others of equal or greater musical ability.
"Simple. While Atlas is taking all the new talent, they're neglecting established acts. So we will take them instead." Ozpin told her. Atlas was too busy signing new talent and ignoring the established artists and acts which still had a lot to give, which left the ripe for the picking for Beacon. That meant that they had a lifeline, a way to snatch victory form the jaws of defeat.
"The board was impressed so far, they could tell Ozpin knew what he was doing. "I assume this means that you already have someone in mind." Oobleck asked, already well aware that Ozpin must have had a complete plan already.
Ozpin smiled to himself "Three people actually. Three people who combined with Ruby, have the power to save us." he proudly announced, letting them know that everything was already clear in his mind. He wasn't going to let their problems overwhelm them, not after all the time and money he put into building the label up to what it was.
"Well Oz? Who are they?" Port asked him, curious as to who their potential saviors were. He couldn't think of three people who could help them, so he had no idea who Ozpin was thinking of putting with Ruby.
"The first is Weiss Schnee. She already has a successful solo career, but she recently expressed an interest in trying something new." Ozpin replied. Weiss Schnee was a world renowned singer and had made a lot of money from her music career, but she had grown bored of her life and she had told an interviewer that she wanted to do something different with her talent.
Goodwitch was quite skeptical, given Weiss' high profile "You think we could actually get her? Why would she ever want to come to us?" she questioned, thinking Ozpin was delusional for even entertaining the idea of signing her.
Ozpin nodded "It may seem unlikely, but I have it on good authority that she would be open to it." he explained. He knew a lot of people in the business, some of whom were close to Weiss. So thanks to them, he was fairly confident that she would accept their offer if they were to extend one to her.
"Alright, I'm curious to see how that goes for us." Goodwitch responded, still not entirely confident that Ozpin could pull it off. She would have to see it in order to truly believe it was possible, it seemed so far fetched even for Ozpin.
"I'm sure she will sign with us, and then we'll have our band's singer." Ozpin assured her. If as he believed, he could get Weiss to sign with them. Then her signing ability combined with Ruby's guitar skills would put them well on their way, to forming the band that would give them the boost they desperately needed.
Again, the board was impressed with Ozpin's plan "We all know how good she is, and I'm sure Ruby is as good as you say. But who are you planning on teaming them up with?" Port asked. He was confident that Ozpin's plan would work out for them, but he still couldn't work out who could possibly be put with Ruby and Weiss.
"I believe we will need an additional guitarist, and I've found one of the best. Blake Belladonna." Ozpin said. Blake Belladonna was said by some to be Remnant's greatest living guitarist, possessing skills way beyond her years and experience. Having her onboard would be another great boost, and would form one of the best musical trio's Remnant had ever seen.
Oobleck was somewhat confused. "Isn't she already in a band?" he asked. Blake was a member of the Faunus Rock Band, The White Fang. Or at least that had been the case the last time her had checked. They were experiencing a lot of success, so he saw no reason why she would leave to join their new band.
"Actually no. She recently left the White Fang, after falling out with the lead singer. She's currently going it alone, but I'm sure she'll jump at the opportunity to join us." Ozpin explained. In a recent development which had almost been completely covered up by the band, Blake had left as a result of falling out with its lead singer Adam Taurus. So she was no available for them to sign, as long as she was willing to join them.
"If you can pull that off, we'll have an extremely talented trio. So I hope you intend to put them with a drummer of equal quality, to avoid dragging them down." Goodwitch commented. If Ozpin could get the three girls together he would already have a successful band, but to make them into something truly special they needed a fourth. They needed a drummer to back them up.
"Relax Glynda, I have found one of them too." Ozpin assured, trying to boost her confidence in the plan. He could tell that she wasn't a onboard with it as the others, but he wasn't too worried as he had everything worked out already.
Ozpin's assurance made Goodwitch feel better about the plan, but there was one more thing she needed to know "Good. Who are they?" she asked, hoping the person he had in mind was as good as they needed to be. She trusted Ozpin, but he wasn't infallible.
"Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin responded. Yang Xiao Long was the best drummer in Remnant, at least in terms of speed and endurance. She held the records for most drum beats in a minute and longest drum solo, making her a force to be reckoned with and the ideal fourth member for the new band. With Weiss' vocals, Ruby and Blake's guitar skills and her drumming ability, the band could take Remnant by storm.
Goodwitch gasped "Are you out of your mind? She's a raging alcoholic." she protested. Unfortunately Yang was an incredibly troubled individual. She drank excessively and had one hell of a temper. She had been the drummer for a punk band, but they kicked her out after she got drunk, wrecked a club they were performing at, and hospitalized several people including the club owner.
Ozpin sighed heavily, disappointed with Goodwitch reaction. "She may be troubled, but she's talented." he argued. For all her faults, Yang was still an incredibly talented musician. In his mind, all she needed was a big break to help her relax and focus on her music. So he didn't appreciate Goodwitch's clear disdain for the girl.
Goodwitch didn't agree with Ozpin. "She's just like her mother. Do you really want another Raven on your hands?" she asked. Raven Branwen was a singer who had been signed with them, like Yang she was extremely troubled. One day Raven lost it and stormed off, vanishing off the face of Remnant. Unfortunately Yang was her daughter, and she developed many of the same problems.
Ozpin wasn't happy with Goodwitch "Enough Glynda. We mustn't give up on her before we give her a chance, this could be exactly what she needs." he told her. Giving Yang a chance would be mutually beneficial as far as he was concerned, and he wanted Goodwitch and the other directors to understand that. His mind was made up, but he wanted them onboard with the idea too.
Goodwitch crossed her arms and huffed, begrudgingly accepting the idea. "Fine, but don't blame me when she goes off the rails." she said. She had no doubt that Yang would end up just like her mother, so she wouldn't accept any responsibility for it when it eventually did happen. As long as that was understood and respected by the others, then she was onboard.
With everything cleared up, Ozpin accepted Goodwitch's request and told the others what he wanted them to do. "Don't worry, we won't. Now, let's get to work. I want you to pay Weiss a visit. I want you to get Blake. And you can find Yang, since you're clearly so fond of her." he ordered. He sent Port after Weiss, Oobleck after Blake, and Goodwitch after Yang out of spite.
Port and Oobleck quickly took their leave without questioning Ozpin. While Goodwitch followed them out a few moments later, clearly not happy about the task she was assigned. As soon as they were all gone, Ozpin smiled to himself again. "Oh James, it seems I will be the one putting you out of business." he said, before leaving the room himself.
I know that people have done Music AUs before, but I intend for this one to be different. This one is inspired by the bands of the 60s, 70s and 80s and all the crazy and messed up stuff that happened to them and their members. Anyway, please let me know what you think. The future of this depends on you guys, plus I always like to hear from you. See Ya.
