HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 38 [038] Sales begin in Taiwan, 100,000 tickets sold in two days

"Jielun, what do you think?"

After listening to Qi Yuan's self-titled album, Liu Genghong asked Zhou Jielun for her opinion.

Of the three, Jay Chou has the greatest musical talent.

Although many people at Alpha don't think so, Liu Genghong, a close friend, has always been very optimistic about Zhou Jielun.

"I think his music is very strong. That guy whose album sold very well in Taiwan last month, David Tao. Yes, I think they are both very good at R&B. But... I prefer Qi Yuan's music. I feel that his songs touch my heart."

Chou Chieh-lun was overjoyed.

His wildly imaginative ideas are hard for others to understand.

He's been with Alfa for half a year now, and he's written a lot of songs, but nobody likes them; they think they're weird.

He tried sending his songs to other record companies, but they were all returned without exception.

He was excited to find that Qi Yuan's music and his ideas had something in common.

Qi Yuan's success proves that his ideas are feasible and that his music has a market.

“Jielun, that person’s name is Tao Ze, not Tao Jiji,” Wen Lan corrected.

Chou Chieh-lun touched her nose somewhat awkwardly: "It's not important. You guys watch the movie, I'm going to take a shower."

Upon realizing that the direction she had been pursuing was correct, Zhou Jielun was filled with excitement.

Qi Yuan's "Starry Sky" and "Simple Love" are the kinds of music he wants.

In the bathroom, he hummed the tune of "Starry Night" and lost track of time, taking a shower for more than an hour.

Gradually, he realized something was wrong; his head felt heavy and dizzy, as if it were filled with lead.

He came out of the bathroom, leaning against the wall, and saw Liu Genghong collapsed on the sofa. Wen Lan was even worse; she was lying on the floor, foaming at the mouth.

In a panic, he used his remaining consciousness to crawl outside and knock on his neighbor's door, which finally allowed him to call an ambulance.

This is just a small episode.

In Taiwan, no one would care about three relatively unknown celebrities suffering from gas poisoning.

……

1 month 2 day.

Warner Music's General Manager Zhou Jianhui was overjoyed; the first-day sales figures for Qi Yuan's album were in.

Hong Kong and Taiwan are relatively small regions with mature record markets, making sales figures easier to track.

If the circumstances weren't unsuitable, Zhou Jianhui would have liked to hug Qi Yuan and kiss her a few times: "Ah Yuan, do you know how many copies your album sold yesterday? Over 50,000 in the Taiwan market and over 9,300 in the Hong Kong market."

"So many?" Qi Yuan was somewhat surprised.

His album sales are so high?

The population of Hong Kong and Taiwan is far smaller than that of the mainland. It would be impressive to sell 50,000 copies in Taiwan on the first day, and even more remarkable to sell 9,000 copies in Hong Kong.

It's worth noting that a record can be considered a platinum record if it sells 50,000 copies in Hong Kong.

Qi Yuan sold over 9,000 copies on the first day, basically securing a platinum record.

Double platinum or even triple platinum is not entirely impossible.

"Ah Yuan, prepare yourself mentally. I have a feeling you'll become a super new star who's famous across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong," Zhou Jianhui said excitedly.

On the same day, January 2, Warner Music's legal department officially filed a lawsuit against Hong Kong's "Fan World".

Warner Music's General Manager Zhou Jianhui stepped forward to speak: "We resolutely resist this baseless smear campaign against our artists and want to restore a bright and just world for us."

Zhou Jianhui kept his word, and Warner (Hong Kong branch) officially filed a lawsuit with the local court.

At first, Fan World was defiant, but when they realized Warner Music was serious, they backed down.

This is Warner Music, one of the record giants; they can't afford to offend them.

The publisher of "Fan World" immediately fired several employees, claiming that these were temporary workers who fabricated stories in order to meet performance targets and be promoted to permanent positions. They claimed that the publisher's review process was lax and that they would improve in the future.

Qi Yuan exclaimed, "Wow, this tactic of blaming temporary workers has been around for so long?"
There's nothing new under the sun, as expected.

With "Fans World" backing down, many people in Hong Kong and Taiwan realized that Qi Yuan had been framed. Qi Yuan never made any arrogant statements about ending the Four Heavenly Kings or Richie Jen.

In an instant, Qi Yuan's reputation was reversed, which was reflected in the record market, resulting in a record sales boom.

Many listeners who had previously misunderstood Qi Yuan realized they had been misled by unscrupulous media outlets and vehemently criticized magazines like "Fan World," then bought a copy of Qi Yuan's record to show their support.

Then, they discovered that Qi Yuan's album was of really high quality, and many people became Qi Yuan's fans.

Those female fans who became fans because of Qi Yuan's looks are the happiest.

They initially bought the record because of Qi Yuan's good looks, and some of them were ridiculed by those around them.

Qi Yuan was exonerated, and they finally felt relieved.

Who said we made a mistake in supporting Qi Yuan? We did nothing wrong. Qi Yuan is a great person. The ones who are wrong are those dog media outlets that spread rumors to boost magazine sales.

Under Zhou Jianhui's arrangement, Qi Yuan appeared on a Taiwanese talk show.

"Your album sold over 100,000 copies in just two days after its release in Taiwan. Many people have praised you as a musical genius. Could you share some of your experience on how a musical genius is cultivated?"

Qi Yuan: "Actually, I'm not a genius. I'm just an ordinary person like everyone else. At first, I never even thought I would become a singer."

I just like to write some songs when I have free time. Later, a friend told me that I could send the songs to record companies in exchange for royalties.

Over the course of a year, I sent more than 500 letters to all the major record companies, but in the end only six were willing to use my songs.

Later, Song, the director of Warner Music, contacted me several times, saying that he appreciated my musical talent and was willing to help me release an album.

Then... I discovered that my albums were selling incredibly well... I have to thank my fans for their support; it's you who made me believe I have the potential to be a singer..."

After the episode aired, the media outlets Warner had bribed began to fuel the fire.

Believe in yourself. From a struggling musician rejected hundreds of times to a rising star in the music scene across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, it only took him less than two years.

[Breaking News! A former executive at Rock Records once threw Qi Yuan's songs in the trash, saying that this person would never become famous]

[“Small Town Girl” and “Everyday” became hits in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and a leader of R&B in the Chinese music scene was born.]

……

Rolling Stone Records.

Lee Tsung-sheng and Lo Ta-yu stared at the eye-catching headline of the newspaper and fell into deep thought.

Have it?

Did they throw Qi Yuan's songs in the trash? How come they don't remember doing that?

Zhou Jianhui, you shameless bastard! You've abandoned all sense of shame for marketing and hype.

……

Xia Ke Records.

At the peak of his career, flat-headed Tao Ze was also deep in thought while looking at a newspaper.

Qi Yuan is a pioneer of Chinese R&B, but who is he?
After careful consideration, Tao Ze found that Warner's decision to have the media hype up Qi Yuan as a leader in R&B seemed to make perfect sense.

His debut album, "David Tao," was released in Taiwan on December 6th last year.

Qi Yuan's debut album, "Qi Yuan," was released in mainland China on December 10th last year.

With such a short interval, it's impossible for one to imitate the other; they simply wore the same outfit.

As we all know, when two people wear the same outfit, the one who looks worse is the one who feels embarrassed.

Now, the one who isn't as famous as the other is in a more awkward position.

Because the person who becomes popular will steal most of the credit for leading the R&B trend.

Tao Ze's debut album did not enter the mainland market, which caused him to suffer greatly in terms of national popularity and song popularity.

Qi Yuan's debut album sold very well in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

He realized that he really couldn't beat Qi Yuan.

(End of this chapter)