I really didn't intend to make a living based on my looks.

Chapter 93 A Tale of Two Extremes

Hong Kong, 392 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong District, Kowloon, Millennium City Phase VI.

This is the Hong Kong headquarters of Universal Music Group, which is not only the headquarters company, but also includes a series of subsidiary labels such as Cinepoly Records, Universal Music Hong Kong, PolyGram Records, and Shanghai Hua Records.

28th floor, Xinyibao conference room.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the hazy sky over Victoria Harbour. Four people sat in the meeting room, and the atmosphere wasn't very pleasant.

Universal Music Hong Kong Managing Director Wong Kim-to sat in the main seat. He also manages Universal's Hong Kong labels such as Cinepoly Records and East Music. He has been working in the Hong Kong music scene for more than 20 years and has seen too many ups and downs.

Also present were Zhang Songhui, Chairman of Universal Music Greater China; Chen Yongmin, General Manager of Cinepoly Records; and Chen Yongkang, Distribution Manager. The two behind him had their heads down, like students waiting to be scolded.

"How many physical albums of Jiang Chen were printed tomorrow?" Huang Jiantao asked.

Chen Yongkang swallowed hard. "The physical album—150,000 copies were printed. 140,000 standard editions and 10,000 limited autographed editions."

"Price?"

"The standard edition is a mini album with five songs, priced at 35. The autographed edition is priced at 88 and includes a number, poster, and handwritten lyric card."

Huang Jiantao slammed his pen on the table with a "thud".

"150,000 copies?"

He looked at Chen Yongming: "Old Chen, explain yourself, who approved this?"

Chen Yongming's forehead was sweating: "President Huang, the main reason was that 'Swords of Legends' had just finished airing, and Jiang Chen was so popular, his Weibo followers skyrocketed. We held a meeting to study the data and felt that there was great hope—"

"There's great potential?" Zhang Songhui suddenly asked. "What data have you studied?"

"Eason Chan's '--3mm' was just released on August 10th. It's a full-length album with ten songs and a top-notch production team. The initial release in mainland China was only 120,000 copies, and in Hong Kong, it was 80,000 copies."

"What level is he? He's the number one male singer in Hong Kong and Universal Music! In the first week in mainland China, he sold 45,000 units with a return rate of only 6%, which is already considered an industry benchmark."

"You dare to produce 160,000 physical records for an actor who's transitioned into singing?"

"We also talked to him, but he said—trust your fans."

"Trust your fans?"

Huang Jiantao found it somewhat amusing: "Which celebrity doesn't have fans? Even if some are fanatical, how many could there be? What era are we living in?"

"Don't you know what the record industry is like right now?"

Chen Yongkang certainly knew.

How badly did the market fall in 2012?

Ten years ago, CD sales had shrunk by more than 95%, and top singers were considered to have done well if they could sell tens of thousands of copies.

Artists like Mayday, Show Lo, and Li Yuchun, who are among the few to break 100,000 sales, achieve this by changing the packaging of each album multiple times, which fans then buy as gifts.

Sales are low, but prices have gone up.

Physical records are generally priced above 30 yuan, while Li Quan's album is priced above 70 yuan on JD.com.

But even high prices couldn't stop the decline; total national record sales were less than one-tenth of what they were ten years ago.

Sometimes, the pop singer section of a record store won't sell a single new album in a day.

Song Ke, CEO of Taihe Rye Music, shouted at the beginning of this year: "Records are dead, but music will never die."

Then he switched careers and started selling roast duck.

Huang Jiantao continued, "And right now, at this critical juncture, how badly he's being smeared—haven't you seen the news in mainland China?"

"No pre-launch hype whatsoever. No chart rankings on Weibo, no radio appearances, and almost no promotional budget. Just released it directly."

"In your opinion, how many more can be sold under these circumstances?"

"Let's talk about the distribution method. Online, it's available on QQ Music and Kugou, with single tracks costing two yuan each and bundles costing eight yuan."

"Offline, in Hong Kong, it's HMV and CDWarehouse; in mainland China, it's Xinhua Bookstore and various local record stores. But have you ever considered that with online prices so low, who will buy physical albums?"

"Fans," Chen Yongming said softly.

"Fans?" Zhang Songhui sneered. "Fans will pay for an artist who's universally hated online? Right now, Weibo is full of calls for Jiang Chen to get out of the entertainment industry. Who do you expect to foot the bill?"

"I'm going back to Yanjing tomorrow. If the physical CDs of this play don't sell well and the return rate exceeds 20%, who among you will take responsibility?"

Chen Yongming and Chen Yongkang exchanged a glance but neither spoke.

"Meeting adjourned. Sales begin tomorrow. Keep a close eye on the data. Report every hour; first-week sales will determine the fate of this batch."

The group left.

Huang Jiantao was the only one left in the conference room.

He walked to the window and looked at the hazy gray sky over Victoria Harbour in the distance.

150,000 copies.

In the golden age of the record industry, this number meant nothing.

Alan Tam, Zhang Guorong, the Four Heavenly Kings—who among them didn't sell for hundreds of thousands or millions?

But now?

Eason Chan's record sales of 45,000 copies in its first week were compared to the industry average return rate of 20%, meaning those records that piled up in warehouses and could only be disposed of as waste.

"Believe in your fans————"

is it possible?

October 25th, afternoon.

The internet is in an uproar.

The news of Jiang Chen releasing his album was like a pebble thrown into a mud pit, creating not ripples, but even more mud.

-

"An actor, does he really think he's a professional singer? Releasing albums?"

A music blogger posted an article with a picture of a laughing emoji.

"A mini album with only five songs? You dare to call it an album? Even professional singers wouldn't dare to make such a claim with a full-length album of ten songs."

"I heard there was zero pre-launch hype, zero promotion, and zero chart ranking," a prominent entertainment blogger commented. "Is this a case of 'what the hell'? Knowing they're getting slammed, are they just releasing something to cash in?"

The online trolls sprang into action upon hearing the news.

The hashtag "Jiang Chen, get out of the music scene" flooded the public's social media feed, with comments unanimously saying, "Actors should just focus on acting and not come here to ruin the music industry."

"Five songs for thirty-five yuan? That's highway robbery!"

"Just wait and see how ridiculous it is."

A viral post appeared on a forum: "Predicting Jiang Chen's album's first-week sales: I'll admit defeat if it breaks 10,000 online, and I'll eat my keyboard live if it surpasses 1,000 physical copies."

The post analyzed the situation in great detail: widespread online criticism, zero promotion, a downturn in the record industry, and low online pricing squeezing out physical stores —

The conclusion reached was: "Fan purchasing power? Don't be ridiculous. The fans of popular celebrities only know how to inflate data; when it comes to actually spending money, they're the first to run away."

The comments section was filled with agreement.

"Waiting to be proven wrong"

"I'm reserving to eat the keyboard."

"Where are Jiang Chen's fans? Come out and show yourselves?"

"Hilarious! He's only acted in two movies and he dares to release an album? Who gave him the courage?"

"Are all today's popular celebrities so irresponsible? Can't they just focus on acting? Why do they have to come and ruin the music scene?"

"The music scene is already dead enough, and now it has to be trampled on by people like this."

Have you ever heard him sing? I haven't, but I know it must be awful.

Some of these comments are from casual observers following the trend, while others are from online trolls stirring up trouble.

Yu Zhenghuan and several of his marketing accounts were still working overtime late into the night, revising the copy version after version, striving to completely portray the "Jiang Chen releasing an album" as a "laughable overreach."

Cai Yinong was also busy.

Although Tang Ren did not directly participate, several entertainment accounts he had long-term partnerships with were all pushing the same angle.

What good works can an actor who crosses over into singing produce?

Immediately, the top comments under the entry for "Jiang Chen's album" were all sarcastic and cold.

But in this world, there are always some corners that the wind cannot reach.

At 10 p.m., Jiang Chen's national fan club was bustling with activity.

Group chat messages are scrolling by so fast, hundreds of messages are scrolling up, it's almost impossible to see them all.

East China Voting - Orange No. 2 This is Bai Mengyan's alternate account. At this moment, she is sitting in front of the computer, looking at the messages in the group, with a slight smile on her lips.

The atmosphere in the group and the public opinion field outside are two completely different worlds.

"Sisters, are you all ready?"

"Ready!"

"Always be prepared!!!"

"I've already saved the album pre-order link and set an alarm for the countdown."

"My Alipay account is topped up. I'll wait until 10 AM tomorrow."

"I mobilized more than fifty sisters here, all of them are die-hard fans, and each of them bought at least three tickets."

"Three copies? I've budgeted for ten! I absolutely have to get an autographed copy!"

"Everyone calm down, there are 10,000 autographed copies available, no need to rush!"

"I've already had my parents register accounts, so the three of us can compete together."

"Hahaha, me too, I've taken over my brother's account."

"My mom asked me why I bought so many, and I said it was to boost sales for my brother. She asked, 'Which brother?' I said, 'Jiang Chen.' She said:"

"Oh, the one who got scolded?" I said, "Yes." She said, "Then buy more; it's pitiful to get scolded."

"Auntie is so cute, hahaha!"

"Girls, I have something to tell you. I went to Xinhua Bookstore today and the clerk said the physical albums won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon. I've already made plans with a few of you to go get them as soon as get out of class is over tomorrow."

"Move? How much?"

"Check your wallet. Take as much as you can."

"Awesome!"

"But sis, didn't the physical album arrive a while ago? Why did you deliberately say it would arrive this afternoon? We're on the same page, and you're playing mind games with your sister?"

"Huh? Haha—haha—isn't it because you're afraid you won't be able to get it?"

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Everyone, let's do our best tomorrow. This is the only thing we can do for our brother!"

After the message was sent, the group was silent for two seconds.

Then came a series of "+1" "+1" "+1".

"We just wanted to let him know that he wasn't alone in this."

"The harsher the criticism from those outside, the more we must hold on."

"Yes, let's show them what the Orange Army is all about!"

"The data speaks for itself."

"Sales figures contradicted our expectations."

"Tomorrow, we'll take down all the rankings!"

"Sisters, charge!!!"

The atmosphere in the group was like a burning fire.

Bai Mengyan stared at the constantly refreshing messages on the screen, her fingers hovering over the keyboard, hesitating for a moment.

She usually plays the role of a "passionate fan" in the group, so it would be strange if she didn't speak up at this time.

She typed a line of text.

East China Voting Team - Orange No. 2: Keep it up! I took half a day off tomorrow specifically to boost sales.

send.

Then I leaned back in my chair and looked at the ceiling.

She suddenly felt a little dazed.

What the hell kind of organization is this?

She's been in so many fan groups! What hasn't she seen?

Most fan groups are basically just a bunch of people chatting and gossiping about their idols, their daily lives, what they had for lunch, and whether they want to go shopping together tomorrow.

Occasionally, someone posts a few fan-taken photos of their idol, and a group of people yell "So handsome! So handsome!" before moving on to other topics.

It gets even more chaotic when there's conflict.

Today they argue with one group's fans, tomorrow they'll get into a war of words with another's fans. The group is a complete mess, and even the admins' attempts to silence people can't quell the chaos.

Some people leave the group every few days, then quietly add it back a couple of days later, and nobody cares.

But Jiang Chen's fan base is clearly different.

She's been infiltrating for almost two months now, going from an undercover agent to checking group messages at set times every day without even realizing it.

She pays more attention to this group than she does to Lu Han's group.

The management is too strict.

New members need to be recommended by "old fans" and also answer questions!

She spent the entire night writing out that group entry form, taking it even more seriously than she did for the college entrance exam.

After joining the group, there are daily "check-in tasks" such as signing in, forwarding, and data collection. Each task is tracked by a designated person, and those who fail to complete the task must explain the reason in the group.

The group files contain a detailed "anti-hacking guide".

It clearly outlines which accounts are trolls, which marketing accounts are stirring up trouble, how to report smear articles, and where to put the reporting link.

Her own large egret was on the list.

This is hardly a fan group.

It's practically like a small company.

But what confused her wasn't these rules.

This group, despite its strict management, feels like a big family.

When someone gets sick, people in the group will genuinely care. It's not just polite "get well soon"; someone will privately message you to ask where you live and offer to order takeout for you.

When someone has a birthday, the group chat can receive hundreds of birthday wishes. These aren't just copied and pasted "Happy Birthday" messages; everyone writes a short message, some about Jiang Chen, and some about themselves.

The women in the group truly consider each other as comrades-in-arms.

Today someone in the group said, "I have an interview tomorrow, I'm so nervous," and the comments were all "Good luck," "You can do it," and "Tell us when you get back."

Someone says, "My mom's in the hospital," and someone immediately asks, "Which hospital? I live nearby, should I go see her?"

Bai Mengyan recalled the groups she used to frequent, and none of them had ever done anything like this.

She suddenly realized that she had never truly understood the word "fans".

The bond between the Oranges is growing stronger and stronger!

It's because they found a sense of belonging in this group.

A feeling of being needed.

"The only thing we can do for our brother"

This statement sounded like self-pity, but Bai Mengyan discovered that they genuinely believed it.

They believe they are doing something meaningful.

Bai Mengyan sat up from the back of her chair and glanced at the photo of Lu Han on the table.

"Little deer, I still love you the most."

"However, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. In order to infiltrate deeper, this little act is still necessary."

She edited a message and sent it.

East China Voting - Orange No. 2: I'm going to the Xinhua Bookstore near People's Park on Heping Road tomorrow, anyone want to go with me?

Then she placed her phone face down on the table and let out a long breath.

What on earth is she doing?!

On August 26th, Jiang Chen's new album, "Evening Breeze and Youth," officially went on sale.

>