During the divorce proceedings, Cher had a two-year romantic relationship with record executive David Geffen, who freed her from her business arrangement with Sonny, under which she was required to work exclusively for Cher Enterprises, the company he ran. Geffen secured a $2.5 million deal for Cher with Warner Bros. Records, and she began work on her first album under that label in 1975. According to Bego, "it was their intention that album was going to make millions of fans around the world take her seriously as a rock star, and not just a pop singer."