HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 290 [290] The highest-selling album in the Chinese music scene has been born.

This November, Qi Yuan's two-year contract with Pepsi will expire.

It's perfectly reasonable for Qi Yuan to side with whichever offers the higher price, Pepsi or Coca-Cola.

During his time as a Pepsi superstar, Qi Yuan always drank Pepsi cola, which was a significant contribution to the company.

PepsiCo holds over 45% of the market share in the domestic cola market, almost half of the market, which is 10% higher than in the previous era.

The extra 10% cannot be said to be entirely due to Qi Yuan's efforts alone.

However, Qi Yuan made a great contribution and fulfilled the responsibility of a spokesperson, which is beyond question.

Actually, Pepsi's offer of 1700 million for two years to retain Qi Yuan was quite a generous gesture.

Pepsi is indeed wealthy and powerful, and it has signed many superstars in China. 1700 million is probably the limit they can offer.

It's different at Coca-Cola.

The last time Coca-Cola hired a superstar spokesperson in China was during the Republic of China era, when they hired the famous actress Ruan Lingyu.

In the 1980s and 90s, when Coca-Cola re-entered the domestic market, it almost never hired celebrity spokespeople.

Coca-Cola's strategy was conservative, running ads on CCTV and offline promotions... following the traditional route, and then it was caught off guard by Pepsi's superstar strategy.

Abroad, Coca-Cola was established earlier, and foreigners generally recognize Coca-Cola as the most classic cola.

No matter how many superstars Pepsi hires, it will be difficult to shake Coca-Cola's position.

However, for many Chinese people, Pepsi and Coca-Cola are both cola, and they don't know much about the history of these two companies. Coca-Cola's historical heritage cannot be brought into play, so naturally, whoever is better at advertising will have better sales.

After being dominated by Pepsi in China for so many years, Coca-Cola's executives have finally realized that even the best products need marketing, and they are now hiring superstars to boost their brand influence.

Unlike Pepsi, which has signed a bunch of superstars, they only plan to hire Qi Yuan for the time being, so they can naturally offer a higher price.

Qi Yuan was very realistic; he told Li Xue directly, "I choose Coca-Cola."

He was originally a Coca-Cola supporter, but before Coca-Cola hired celebrities to endorse their products, Pepsi offered more, so he temporarily became a Pepsi supporter.

Now that he's going back to his original camp, it makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

……

The paparazzi in Hong Kong quickly learned of the news and began to break the story.

[Unprecedented! Qi Yuan boldly rejects 17 million, his domineering stance thwarting Pepsi executives' attempts to retain him.]

[1700 million couldn't be retained! Pop king Qi Yuan sings "Happy Breakup" with Pepsi]

……

Many Hong Kong celebrities were stunned when they saw this news.

Two years ago, Qi Yuan's price was already 10 million for two years. If the 17 million this time is true, it must be a two-year renewal fee. In other words, Qi Yuan's endorsement fee has increased to 8.5 million per year.

This endorsement fee has exceeded that of all the current and former superstars in Hong Kong.

Huo Wenxi immediately began to work on Cai Zhuoyan's mindset after receiving the news.

"See? You need to think carefully about how to please Qi Sheng in the future. Even a little bit of profit from Qi Sheng's money will be enough for you to live on. If you have the ability to get Qi Sheng to write songs for you, you can also become a pop diva."

Charlene Choi nodded, her eyes sparkling.

……

Pepsi quickly issued a statement through the media.

The gist is that it's true Qi Yuan and Pepsi will not be renewing their contract, but there's no conflict between them; their collaboration over the past two years has been very pleasant. The decision not to renew is Qi Yuan's personal development plan.

Pepsi still hopes to renew its contract with Qi Yuan.

A reporter went to ask a Pepsi executive whether the $1700 million renewal fee was true, but the executive chose to remain silent. Sometimes silence is tantamount to acquiescence.

Therefore, the Hong Kong media and onlookers confirmed several things: it is true that Qi Yuan did not choose to renew his contract with Pepsi, it is true that Pepsi tried to retain Qi Yuan, and it is also true that the renewal fee of 1700 million was offered.

This news caused an uproar in Hong Kong's entertainment industry!
He didn't even want 1700 million yuan right in front of him? Has Qi Yuan gone mad? Does he not value money?

If it were them, they would renew their contracts even for 1700 million, let alone 1000 million.

After that, Coca-Cola entered the fray. A senior executive revealed that they were in contact with Star Wish Studio, and the media and ordinary people in Hong Kong immediately understood.

It's highly likely that Coca-Cola offered Qi Yuan a higher endorsement fee.

It's higher than 1700 million. How much did Coca-Cola actually spend to hire Qi Yuan as its spokesperson?

Coca-Cola did not respond to this question, nor did Qi Yuan's agent, Li Xue.

Sometimes revealing the answer beforehand can be counterproductive; letting people guess first can maintain the buzz.

It would be more effective to announce the 2000 million yuan two-year endorsement fee only on the day Qi Yuan officially signs the contract with Coca-Cola.

……

In Taiwan, the news of the two giants, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, vying for Qi Yuan also made headlines, sparking countless discussions among Taiwanese people.

Even the popularity of Jay Chou's new album has decreased significantly.

At this juncture, Warner Music Taiwan released a new announcement.

[Warner Music's most powerful superstar, Qi Yuan, released his third Mandarin album, "Wish," last year. As of today, the album has sold over eight million copies across Asia...]

In the article, Warner Music lavishly praised Qi Yuan's achievements and boasted about how Warner Music had rebounded from its low point in the past two years, claiming that Qi Yuan and Warner Music complemented each other, and so on...

Warner's announcement caused a major upheaval in the Taiwanese music scene.

The album sold over eight million copies, a feat never before achieved by a Chinese-language singer.

In 93, Zhang Xueyou's "Goodbye Kiss" sold over four million copies, Andy Lau's "Forget Love Potion" sold three million, and Princess's "Sky" sold three million.

These are recognized official sales figures, representing the pinnacle of sales for Hong Kong singers.

Zhang Huimei from Taiwan is very good at this.

In 96, the album "Sisters" produced by Zhang Yusheng for her sold over four million copies across Asia.

In 97, "BADBOY" sold over six million copies across Asia.

Previously, the sales ceiling for Chinese albums was six million copies, but Qi Yuan managed to raise that record by two million copies.

This news, coupled with the Coca-Cola Pepsi endorsement dispute, has shown the entire Taiwanese community just how powerful the most popular king of Mandopop really is.

When some senior executives at Forward Music saw that Warner Music had released a report on Qi Yuan's performance, they were eager to try it themselves and suggested that they also release a report on Zhang Huimei's performance.

They could also say that Zhang Huimei's album "Can I Hold You? My Love" sold over eight million copies across Asia last year.

By riding on the coattails of Qi Yuan's popularity, they might be able to market themselves as the most popular diva.

Feng Hua's head, Peng Guohua, berated those who gave bad advice: "You've eaten too many tea eggs! It really is eight million! Don't you know how much of A-mei's price is inflated? You can fool the fans and the music lovers, but how could you fool yourselves?"

Paying the media to promote something and having the company issue a public statement to promote it are two different things. If the former is exposed, you can easily distance yourself by saying that the media spread rumors. But if the latter is exposed, you will be embarrassed. Smart people wouldn't do something so stupid.

(End of this chapter)