I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

“Quite good,” Yingzi chimed in. “Nowadays, new generation musicians like Li Xingliang, Xiao Zhan, and Ding Zhen are making digital albums, and their music is selling very well. Some of them can easily sell over 300 million copies a year. Isn’t that good?”

Cui Dayou nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing his nod of approval, Yingzi became even more confident:

"I know that many people are saying that JX is amazing, but he puts these things here with pride and deliberately shows them off. With the celebrity effect, it will definitely have a shocking effect."

"However, to truly judge whether an album or a song is good or not, you need to look at its popularity and album sales. Of course, making niche music can achieve high stickiness because people always prefer niche songs, they feel that they are more unique."

"But seeing him live here is so amazing, with such big celebrities coming out, yet nobody in China knows about this band. To be honest, if I hadn't seen this today, I wouldn't even know this band existed."

"So, everyone should have some confidence in their own music. Speaking of which, has anyone here heard of Pink Floyd?"

After she finished speaking, some viewers in the live stream were immediately convinced.

"That's right, this is the first time I've heard of Pink Floyd. I've never heard of him before."

"I don't understand. They just played a song, and the intro went on for ages before they started singing."

"Nobody around me knows this band, and they've never heard their songs. But everyone here has heard Yingzi's songs. I don't understand what's so embarrassing about what they said earlier."

As Yingzi spoke, Gao Xiaobo and Cui Dayou kept watching her.

Gao Xiaobai hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Cui Dayou looked at her with a somewhat sympathetic gaze, as if she were a fool.

She finally started to feel a little guilty under their gaze.

After she finished speaking, Cui Dayou slowly said, "Is it possible that Pink Floyd's music isn't popular in China because the music distribution channels are completely controlled by a few large companies, and it was difficult for people in China to access their music before they entered the Chinese entertainment industry?"

Yingzi frowned.

It's not that Cui Dayou is wrong.

Rather, he was absolutely right.

No one understands this better than Yingzi. Because now, the music distribution channels are mostly controlled by either others or her behind-the-scenes boss.

In the past, artists like Jiang Xinhai, Zhichi, and Daolang could produce their own albums and dominate the music scene. That era is gone forever.

With increasingly standardized approval and distribution systems, it's virtually impossible for amateur musicians to become famous on their own.

Unless they are exceptionally talented, become a hot topic, or participate in talent shows, they are unlikely to gain public recognition.

In short, it's becoming increasingly difficult for amateur musicians to survive.

Her vague statement made it seem as if Pink Floyd's lack of popularity in China was due to the quality of their music, but in reality, there is indeed a lack of distribution channels as well.

The mainstream music distribution channels are all controlled by a few companies. Even the more popular Western music hasn't made it in. How could an old-fashioned rock band like them easily get in?

Yingzi thought for a moment, then quickly came up with a rebuttal and said:

"Teacher Cui, what you said is a bit of a reversal of cause and effect. It's not that they're not popular because they lack channels, but rather that they need to become popular before the channels will gradually provide them with more traffic."

"Domestic distribution channels are all about making money. If there are other more profitable music tracks, they will definitely prioritize promoting those with more potential. Otherwise, it would be very unfair, wouldn't it?"

A long comment appeared in the live stream chat:

“I support Yingzi’s point of view. I am an industry professional. The fact that Pink is not popular cannot be blamed on the lack of channels. They have also tried operating on some small sites for a period of time. It has been proven that rock is indeed a niche genre and is not suitable for large-scale promotion.”

Cui Dayou nodded again and said, "So, in short, Pink Floyd isn't popular and sales are insufficient, right?"

Yingzi nodded: "That's one reason."

Gao Xiaobai, who was standing next to Cui Dayou, was a little worried about Yingzi. Seeing Cui Dayou speaking so seriously, he felt anxious for Yingzi.

Actually, Cui Dayou is quite an interesting person. He looks very serious, but he's actually a seasoned fisherman.

As a result, Yingzi suddenly realized that she had been tricked and thought that Cui Dayou had been persuaded by her.

When she finally repeated "Pink Floyd's sales are bad" several times, Gao Xiaobo couldn't hold back any longer and shouted:

"Teacher Yingzi!"

Yingzi suddenly turned her head and asked, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

She frowned at Gao Xiaobai, thinking to herself, "Speak up already."

Gao Xiaobai turned his head away and sighed.

He really didn't know what else to say.

Finally, Cui Dayou slowly spoke in his deep voice:

"Actually, if we only talk about album sales, no one has the right to bring up sales figures in front of Pink Floyd, because they are the second best-selling band in music history."

Yingzi turned her head abruptly, somewhat taken aback.

"Their album, 'The Dark Side of the Moon,' has sold a total of 45 million copies, ranking second in music history in terms of sales," Cui Dayou said slowly. "By the way, the number one is Michael Jackson's 'Thriller.'"

Yingzi and Yan Yunzhuo opened their mouths slightly.

"This...this is the total sales volume over 50 years, right?"

“Indeed, these are sales figures up to 2015,” Cui Dayou said. “However, it’s not 50 years; this song was released in 1973.”

Yingzi breathed a slight sigh of relief and did some mental calculations.

If Xiao Zhan were popular for 50 years, his albums could sell for...

"The album 'The Dark Side of the Moon' topped the US album charts as soon as it was released," Cui Dayou said. "Then, it set an unprecedented record: it remained on the charts for 741 consecutive weeks."

"By the way, the song that has been on the charts the longest in China is Xin Hai's 'Invisible Wings,' which has been on the charts for 74 weeks."

Jiang Xinhai was suddenly mentioned and used as a background character, leaving him completely speechless.

Yingzi couldn't catch her breath, and Cui Dayou continued, "741 weeks, from being listed in 1973 to leaving in 1985, that's more than thirteen years."

"However, in 2009, the US album charts found that the previous scoring rules were not objective, so they changed the calculation method. At this time, they found that 'The Dark Side of the Moon' had re-entered the charts, and its cumulative time on the charts had exceeded 900 weeks."

"In addition, the total sales of all Pink Floyd albums up to 2015, when the band disbanded, amounted to 2.5 million copies."

2.5 million.

After saying that, Cui Dayou fell into a deep silence.

Everything that needed to be said has been said clearly.

There's nothing more to say.

The sales of one album are equivalent to those of a hundred Yingzi.

The album's chart-topping time exceeded three times that of Yingzi's entire career.

How can you say a band like this isn't popular?

Some viewers in the live stream who had been holding back for so long finally couldn't contain themselves anymore:

"Great fishing! Teacher Cui, great fishing!"

"I laughed so hard I peed myself. Yan Yunzhuo kept talking about niche and niche, and I thought I was living in a parallel world."

"Yingzi hasn't improved at all over the years. She doesn't listen to any music genres she's not familiar with."

"A great voice but a pig's brain"—this saying will never be outdated when applied to her.

……

Gao Xiaobo added somewhat resignedly:

The album "Wish You Were Here" won three Grammy Awards that year. After the concert, the band was inducted into the British Music Hall of Fame again. At the same time, the album has sold more than 12 million copies.

"That's why I'm so surprised. This album is actually... actually made by a Chinese person. It's unbelievable..."

Everyone ignored his pro-Western remarks.

After the music for "May You Be Here" ended, the central control screen in the room changed again.

This time, a line of text appeared on the screen:

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Below the music, handwritten Chinese characters reappeared:

Roger Waters said that being a star is a burden. I don't want to be in the spotlight; I just want to write songs and play music.

Some people are different from him; some people crave the spotlight and want to make so much money they'll cramp up.

However, such people often fade away as they fall out of the public eye.

Those who are loyal to music, by some twist of fate, become eternally shining diamonds because of the timelessness of music.

This song is dedicated to our friend, Sid Barrett.

He infused the band with a diamond-like resilience through his loyalty and love for music.

Music filled the air.

A long, drawn-out melody began to play.

The guitar strings plucked, the notes were simple, but a sense of sadness seemed to permeate the air.

The crowd was moved by the music's emotion and fell silent for a moment. Then, Cui Dayou suddenly said:

"Yingzi, do you know?"

Yingzi turned to look at him.

"The album 'May You Be Here' is to commemorate a person."

He pointed to the album cover on the screen; the person on the left reached out to shake hands, while the person on the right was engulfed in flames.

"As mentioned earlier, Water is the second-generation leader of Pink Floyd. The band's founder is someone else, named Sid Barrett."

"He only led the band for a short three years, but he dedicated his entire life to music, writing songs as if his body were burning, creating the essence of Pink Floyd."

"But he himself burned out. He was seriously ill, his face was disfigured, and he eventually left the band."

"This song is in memory of him. You see, the song title contains the letters 'SYD,' which is his name, Syd."

"Although his talent was insufficient, he burned himself out with all his might, and thus a shining moment was born, even if it was only for a very short time."

"He also strives to etch himself into music history."

Cui Dayou stopped talking, because the screen image changed again.

What he wanted to subtly convey to her was that in this world, music is not just a game of popularity.

Only through loyalty to music itself can one achieve immortality.

Otherwise, it's just a fleeting fast food.

Yingzi thought for a while, then suddenly got angry.

She thought that Cui Dayou was implying that she was not capable enough and lacked talent, which was why she was sent home by Jiang Xinhai after only a few years in the industry.

Yingzi secretly harbored a grudge.

But what she didn't know was that others understood the good intentions behind Cui Dayou's words.

Deeply moved, a Japanese manga artist named the fourth-generation protagonist's Stand ability "Crazy Diamond" in his manga as a tribute to the band.

This Stand's ability is to "heal everything except itself".

When he conceived this exceptionally gentle Stand ability, he thought of Sid Barrett, who was already physically disabled, and of those who possessed the power to heal everyone, yet dedicated themselves solely to music.

This manga artist is called Hirohiko Araki, and his manga is called "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure".

……

Everyone stared at the screen, which was showing another interview.

The camera is focused on the back of a man, and in front of this man is a reporter.

“Mr. JX,” the reporter said with a smile in fluent English, “during your time in the United States, you have turned the entire European and American music scene upside down.”

"You reunited the Beatles, reassembled Pink Floyd, had a short-lived romance with Taylor Swift, and now you've landed on the cover of Time magazine. I'm curious, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"As for me..." JX's voice, which was extremely familiar to Jiang Xinhai and Xu Xiangxiao, rang out, "At first, I just wanted to build a private music archive..."

The words were abruptly cut off.

The entire screen went dark.

Then, a line of white text appeared in the center of the screen:

"Music Collection - Prologue, End".

"Click to proceed to the next scene."