The opening of China Entertainment Group gave Jay Chou a head-on confrontation

Chapter 940 An Unbreakable First-Day Record
"Hiss... Something's not right, something's definitely not right, has Warner Bros. gone mad?"

Outsiders are completely confused, but when it comes to album-related matters, those with a keen eye in the industry can immediately see through the core of this drama—album sales.

Madonna's team, as a kingpin in the marketing field of the previous generation, has marketing capabilities that are almost comparable to those of Michael Jackson's team. It can be said that she has seen all kinds of marketing scenarios. In her view, the methods Warner used to promote Zhou Yi were all routine operations.

This time, however, she was shocked.

Selling nostalgia is fine; there are plenty of albums in the music industry that sell nostalgia. But what's with this "debt-ridden" operation of yours?

Aren't you afraid of backlash?

This is a topic that can easily be stirred up by rivals or even non-rivals. Even a local superstar like her, with so many years of experience, wouldn't dare to do this. Yet Zhou Yi, an outsider, just jumped on the bandwagon.

"This doesn't seem like the work of Edgar Jr. or Warner's marketing department. It should be Spike's team leading the effort themselves. His agent, Leo (Qian Jiang), is a well-known marketing master in China."

"Spike has his unique advantage: speaking out for peace and justice, which ultimately led to his being shot. This is his talisman."

"Spike's team is too impatient. With his current status, even if he didn't resort to this kind of marketing that damages his public image, his sales wouldn't be that bad."

"Unless they think the album is of poor quality, not doing so would break his sales record."

"maybe……"

Madonna's team held a meeting and had a very lively discussion.

As the industry's No. 1, Zhou Yi's new album is attracting attention not only from outsiders but also from industry insiders who are actively analyzing his promotional strategies and the album's quality.

First, to see if we can learn anything from it; second, to find inspiration to draw upon; and third, to see if there are any points we can use to criticize it.

Since the album hasn't been released yet, what they need to analyze is whether this marketing plan can be modified and applied to their boss, Madonna.

Even industry leaders are like this, not to mention those at other levels. On mainstream internet communities like Yahoo, the wave of calls to "apologize to Spike" is growing stronger every day.

“I didn’t have money before, and now I just want to make up for the mistakes I made in the past. I did buy pirated Spike albums, and this will be the first album I ever buy a legitimate one…”

"Spike's album did me justice; it's me who let him down..."

"It's just one album..."

"In the past five years, Spike's albums have achieved unparalleled success even without my purchase, so I have been enjoying his pirated copies with a clear conscience, deceiving myself that even if I don't pay for them, someone else will."

"When I argue with others, I always like to argue that I don't care whether I listen to music or not, and I also like to criticize Spike's album songs."

"After being exposed for listening to pirated music, they would use a mocking tone towards legitimate listeners to cover up their selfishness and guilt, implying that those who paid to listen to Spike's albums were idiots, and that listening for free was the way to go."

"I admit that this is a self-distorted and pathological value system."

"Spike's magnanimity puts me to shame. This time, I want to make amends for my past. Perhaps only someone like Spike, who didn't grow up in America, could possess such a generous spirit..."

Ok?
Zhou Yi, who was still listening to the radio, was astonished and turned to look at Qian Jiang: "You arranged this?"

“No.” Qian Jiang’s expression was also strange.

Why are they reflecting on this now?
"It's probably because your song 'Believer' has such a strong staying power that it has now topped the music charts in more than 50 countries around the world."

After careful consideration, Qian Jiang felt he had found the key point.

Zhou Yi's personal experience is unique, and when combined with the extremely fitting song "Believer" and the exposure from the World Cup closing ceremony, the effect is far beyond what a simple 1+1+1 can achieve.

This is a true global phenomenon, since there are actually fewer than 50 countries in the world that can stand at the mainstream level, and the I Ching covers them all.

"Believer" can be said to have created the best single in his international career in recent years. With the help of this hit single, Warner's various distributors are indeed clamoring for the goods, afraid that they will not make enough money.

"Now we just need to see how many pirated users this marketing campaign can attract." When asked about the ultimate goal, Qian Jiang was unsure for a moment.

To date, Zhou Yi's personal sales record remains the same as his previous album "Monster," which sold 350 million copies worldwide on its first day and over 670 million copies worldwide in its first week.

As for sales records in the United States, Zhou Yi's peak did not break the million-copy mark in a single day—it took two days to break one million and six days to break two million one hundred thousand. The former was achieved with "Monster," and the latter was achieved in 04 when he competed against Eminem.

In terms of global sales, it would not have been possible for "Monster" to buck the trend and potentially soar to the 30 million club if it weren't for the shooting incident last year.

There's nothing we can do about it; the global market is like this now, declining every year.

"It's fate whether you get to play more or less, let's do our best."

I've done everything I could; now it's truly up to fate.

After patting his face to clear his head, Zhou Yi asked, "What about Yan Zi? How is she?"

"The start is pretty good. She just finished attending a Linkin Park concert in Miami, and the feedback from the audience was better than expected. Next, we've arranged for her to attend shows by Rihanna, Shakira, and others, so she can go and see them all in turn."

"You helped connect her with concerts and music shows by Mariah Carey, Avril Lavigne, and others, and that's how they got her arranged."

"Her start was much smoother than Xiao Yaxuan's back then..."

...............................

"really?"

Miami, USA.

Sun Yanzi, enjoying the air conditioning in her hotel room and drinking oral liquid to soothe her throat, picked up the survey feedback brought by her agent, Ji Shengshan, and asked with unusual excitement: "How many did you sell?"

"Really, your cover album has already sold over five hundred copies, which is a good sign."

Ji Shengshan, who is in charge of data liaison with Warner Music's US agents, was equally energetic: "Making a name for yourself through covers is the best thing, not to mention that Zhou Yi will have a big wave of popularity later. When his new album is released, you can also arrange for the company to go down and ride his popularity."

The popularity of the I Ching in the United States is now beyond question.

Even now, in Miami, she sees local media commentators arguing endlessly about the so-called "owing an album" claim, which inadvertently amplifies her influence.

Marketing isn't afraid of controversy; it's afraid of no controversy at all. Otherwise, where would all the negative publicity come from?

If you have the ability, you can even turn a derogatory term into a positive one.

"Only five hundred or so...?"

Although she knew her trip to the US would be difficult, Sun Yanzi, who was used to sitting on the throne of a superstar in the Chinese-speaking world, still couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when she heard the numbers. This stark contrast in sales figures was simply too cruel.

Even with the backing of a large company and English as her native language, she still faced such difficulties at the beginning. It's hard to imagine how much hardship Zhouyi endured when she first started out.

Although Zhou Yi said he didn't eat much, it was because Jackie Chan's movie "Rush Hour 2" was so powerful that it carried him to new heights, Sun Yanzi now has doubts about this after experiencing life in the United States.

She felt that the I Ching most likely only reported good news and not bad.

"By the way, Sister Shan, has Zhou Yi's album been pre-ordered yet?"

"Don't worry, they're all pre-ordered. Since you're giving them as gifts, I ordered eighty tickets directly without going through the company's accounts."

Upon hearing this, Sun Yanzi hugged her manager's arm, nuzzled against her affectionately, and said with a grin, "Thank you, Sister Shan."

Firstly, it could boost sales, and secondly, it could be given as a gift to the American staff she had regular contact with.

Zhou Yi's new album was a hot commodity in its early stages of release, not to mention that she bought the deluxe edition, the kind that costs $100 a copy.

It's about winning people's hearts.

Wanting to see firsthand just how popular the I Ching is in the US, Sun Yanzi stayed in Miami until August 15th. On the day "25" was released, she randomly went into a record store, since not many people in the US know her anyway.

Then, it became overcrowded.

As someone working in the record industry, Sun Yanzi could hardly believe her eyes at that moment—

Whites, Blacks, Chinese, Latinos—the people lining up represent a diverse range of races and skin colors, a vibrant and diverse scene, truly embodying the great unity of the world's peoples.

"Those are for pre-sale, we can't sell them, we can't sell them."

"Three copies of '25' by the boss."

"I want five."

"I want five."

"Don't push, don't push..."

People speaking Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and other languages ​​lined up in this record store, quickly paying for their albums and leaving without even glancing at other artists' albums.

The shop owner even assigned someone to maintain order in the store, apparently to prevent situations where items could be purchased for free.

It's hard to imagine that this is actually a record store; if you didn't know better, you'd think it was a trendy luxury store selling fashionable items.

Sun Yanzi waited in line for more than ten minutes before it was her turn. While buying the album, she asked curiously, "Excuse me, sir, how many Spike albums do you have left in your store?"

"Eight hundred tickets today, and fourteen hundred more the day after tomorrow, plenty to go. How many would you like to buy, miss?"

The boss's generosity left Sun Yanzi speechless.

She subconsciously recalled the size of the store; it wasn't considered a big store in this area. How could they stock so much merchandise?

Just as Sun Yanzi, secretly delighted after buying the album, was about to leave, a group of people, mainly Black, entered the record store, followed by quite a few shady-looking white men.

"Boss, give me 25 copies of '25,' Spike's original. Don't try to fool us with pirated copies."

"I don't sell pirated goods in my shop anymore, especially not pirated Spike products."

The shop owner, without batting an eye, pointed to the alley across the street: "That's where they sell pirated goods."

Although it is actually owned by his family, he is not the one who runs it, so it doesn't count.

"Don't give me that. I'm here to buy a replacement ticket. Don't try to fool us with inferior or pirated copies."

The shop owner chuckled and gave the departing clerk a knowing look, as if to say, "No problem, absolutely no problem."

Are there really cases of people turning pirated content into legitimate content after reading the news?

Once in the car, Sun Yanzi scratched her head and looked down at the album cover in her hand—Zhou Yi's silhouette with his right hand raised looked exceptionally majestic against the backdrop of bullets.

Washington, New York, Miami, Hawaii, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles...

On August 15th alone, major cities across the United States seemed to be under a spell, with countless people buying albums—

At the same time, the proportion of black people among those who buy genuine products has increased dramatically compared to the past!
"I'm currently on Fifth Avenue in Los Angeles. The store with the most ridiculously long lines on this street right now isn't a store in the traditional sense, but a record store..."

The Fox News reporter, who was also witnessing such a scene for the first time, could barely contain his amazement as he randomly interviewed a young Black man: "Excuse me, sir, may I interview you? What's your name?"

"Miles, just call me Miles."

"Mr. Miles, may I ask why you are queuing here?"

"Of course it's for Spike. Only Spike treats us fans like family, so of course we have to support him..." When talking about his idol, the black man Mileston got so excited that he couldn't stop talking, and a series of long and short sentences burst out of his throat.

In short, it all boils down to one word: We are family!

It's been a long time since brick-and-mortar record stores have seen queues for albums; the last time was probably back in the 1990s. This scene is completely unfamiliar to countless industry insiders who are following Zhou Yi's album debut.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"How did Spike manage that? Is it really because of that news report?"

"It's been so long since we've seen this happen in physical record stores..."

Countless record store owners were so moved that they were moved to tears. The sight of long queues at any major record store was even reported on major American television networks.

"It's an unbelievable fact that the American domestic record market, which has been stagnant for many years, seems to have been revived because of Spike..."

The US domestic market, which has been declining since 2000, surprisingly produced a sales phenomenon at the launch of "25" today that rivaled the peak sales of the 1990s—no, it should be the 1980s!

On August 16, 2006, a number that defied everyone's expectations quietly appeared on the news headlines—

The fastest-selling album in US history! 187 million copies sold on its first day!

(End of this chapter)