Chapter 103: What Do You Mean, Why Are You Targeting Me?
Jolin Tsai also felt immense pressure.
This song 【Dancing Girl【 was her first album after moving to EMI Records （EMI）, and it was also her eighth Mandarin album. Its success or failure would determine her standing at EMI.
You see, many record companies heavily invest in new artists for their debut album, but if sales are dismal, it becomes difficult to secure resources later on.
After all, you’re not the only one at the company.
This year, EMI Records signed new artists including Stefanie Sun, A-Mei, Show Lo, and Wilber Pan. The first two are formidable figures, and the latter two are decent.
Jolin Tsai was incredibly nervous.
She specifically chose the quiet month of May for her album release, expecting everything to go smoothly. However, the top headlines in Mainland China were snatched by Zhang Liangying.
The Mainland China market is the biggest cash cow…
Amidst the tension from both sides, time quietly crept into the late hours of May 11th. The temperature was moderate, the breeze comfortable against the skin, and the Liangfen were restless.
Many couldn’t sleep and simply headed to the entrance of music stores.
In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and other cities, many Liangfen were already queuing, waiting for the stores to open.
Hangzhou.
Some young people, just off their night shifts and heading to internet cafes and billiard rooms to relax, saw long queues outside the city’s largest music market and were utterly bewildered!?
What’s going on…
Why are they standing here all night instead of sleeping?
We go to internet cafes for entertainment, but you guys are standing outside the store in misery!
In the queue, Chen Bo, a first-year student at Zhejiang University with a look of pure, naive enthusiasm in his eyes, said excitedly, “I’m so envious of President Chen Liang. He’s friends with Shen Qing and Liangying. Shen Qing personally sent him 100 CDs, and I heard everyone in the Music Society got one.”
His classmate Liu Jian said, “The entry requirements for the Zhejiang University Music Society have become stricter; it’s not easy to get in anymore.”
Chen Bo nodded, “Even though my name and the President’s name are only one character apart, I couldn’t get in. Apparently, it’s because President Chen strongly supported Zhang Liangying, which made him popular. Many people are trying to get in.”
Liu Jian said, “Never mind all that. Tomorrow, we have to buy a few more CDs. Afterwards, we can show off to the female classmates, maybe we can even get a girlfriend.”
Chen Bo: “Haha, Shen Qing bless us! If I could find a partner who sings like Liangying, I’d be willing to eat and drink well every day!”
Liu Jian: “Hehehe…”
Chen Bo: “Hehe!”
…
Meanwhile.
Zhejiang University Tianci Music Society.
The music concert was drawing to a close.
This was the last concert held by President Chen Liang, as the election for the next leadership was scheduled for the following day. He would no longer be leading the music society he had built from scratch.
“To all members, brothers and sisters, I will be graduating in a month. I’m very happy to have spent these past few years with you…”
“For tomorrow’s election, I hope everyone will cast their precious vote carefully and choose the person you believe can further develop the Music Society.”
“Liangying’s album will be delivered to campus tomorrow. After the election, everyone will receive a copy. In the future, please continue to support Liangying.”
“…”
As he spoke, Chen Liang became a little sentimental.
Many people came to comfort him.
However, when Chen Liang revealed a piece of big news, everyone was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, wishing they could have been in Chen Liang’s place.
“Damn it, President, after I was so sentimental just now, you secretly got an offer from ‘Qingying Studio’?!”
“Ahhhh… President, you really are the worst!!!”
“Wuwu, I’m so envious.”
“Old Chen, when did this happen? You kept it from us brothers for so long!”
“Treat us! Let’s go for skewers now!”
“…”
Chen Liang secretly felt smug; he had finally managed to show off.
He coughed and raised his hands, saying calmly, “You all know, I met Liangying during her preliminary selection. At that time, I organized her first campaign for votes… Given this relationship, it’s not unreasonable for me to join her company as legal affairs, assistant, human resources, and public relations, right?”
No!
Why are you taking on so many roles by yourself?
Give us brothers a chance!
Looking at the chattering members, Chen Liang felt incredibly pleased. He waved his hand grandly, “Tonight, eat and drink as much as you want, and let’s book a KTV room. We won’t go home until we’re drunk!”
…
The next day.
As Chen Liang and his group emerged from the KTV, the streets were bustling with traffic, and the sunlight was warm and pleasant, much like his future career after graduation.
Chen Liang stretched, “Awesome! Following Liangying and Shen Qing, my future is bright!”
Although his graduation certificate from Zhejiang University was valuable, Chen Liang knew that the earning potential of that certificate was nowhere near as fast as that of the entertainment industry.
Just then~
From a baozi shop on the street corner, singing could be heard.
“What I miss is talking about everything”
“What I miss is dreaming together”
“What I miss is after arguing”
“Still having the urge to love you”
“…”
Chen Liang immediately recognized it as Zhang Liangying’s voice.
It’s only 7:30 in the morning, and the album has already been released and is being played?
That was fast!
The others also snapped back to reality.
“Damn, Liangying’s song!”
“The album is already on sale?”
“This speed is incredible, the music stores must have opened early.”
“That’s a baozi shop run by a Liangfen, let’s go support their business!”
Outside Ma Er Hangzhou Xiaolongbao Shop.
As Chen Liang and his group were about to order 100 baozi, they were first captivated by the television screen.
In the small baozi shop, a color television and VCD player were hung up, currently playing 【What I Miss【.
A member said, “Liangying’s song paired with this MV is absolutely amazing. President, quickly check where Shen Qing’s gifted albums are!”
Chen Liang couldn’t wait any longer.
He immediately took out his phone and called the person delivering the albums.
Ring, ring, ring…
Busy signal…
He called again, still a busy signal.
It wasn’t until the fifth try that he got through.
The person on the other end heard Chen Liang and said, “I’m really too busy, I can’t get away. There are too many stores needing replenishment.”
Chen Liang: “Boss, where are you? I’ll come pick them up myself.”
Boss: “I’m at the music market. When you get here, just ask the security guard where the biggest distributor is. Come up to the second floor and find me, my surname is Liu.”
The albums Shen Qing sent to Chen Liang were being shipped from a distributor in Hangzhou, but the boss’s phone had been ringing off the hook with calls from major stores all morning, leaving him no time to deliver them.
Chen Liang rushed over, picked up the 100 CDs, and returned to school at eleven o’clock. A group of members were eagerly waiting at the entrance.
Seeing Chen Liang enter, everyone excitedly rushed to greet him.
“President is awesome!”
“Stop with the praise, let’s listen to the music quickly.”
When they took out the CDs and saw Zhang Liangying’s artistic photo on the cover, Chen Liang felt incredibly pleased. This woman was going to be his future boss.
No, his future colleague.
The boss is Shen Qing~
Carefully unpacking the CD, they inserted it into the VCD player, and everyone watched the television screen with bated breath.
Side A had a total of six songs.
The first song, 【Ray of Light【.
The second song, 【Chinese Language【.
The third song, 【What I Miss【.
The fourth song, 【Missing You, 00:01 AM【.
The fifth song, 【Still Want Happiness【.
The sixth song, 【Dream It Possible【.
Side B contained 7 songs.
These were “Wonderful Ability Song,” “If Love Goes On,” “In My Song,” “Small Happiness,” and three bonus tracks: “Moonlight,” “Myriad Lands,” and “Warmth.”
The four title songs were not placed at the beginning but were scattered across Side A and Side B.
The advantage of doing this was to encourage listeners to hear all the songs.
If all the title songs were placed at the beginning, many people would stop listening after the first few, leaving the later songs neglected.
This situation was detrimental to both the record company and the artist, so when recording CDs, the songs were intentionally mixed.
After all, for a singer to achieve great fame, their songs must be numerous and widely disseminated.
Singers with only a ‘few classics’ rarely achieve lasting success and quickly fade into obscurity.
…
After a day, according to data compiled by distributors, in Chengdu alone, third-tier distributors and stores procured 40,000 CDs and cassette tapes from second-tier distributors.
The situation was similar in other major cities.
However, this did not represent the final figures; it still depended on the final sales at the stores, but it was enough to indicate the trend.
This initial day’s stock volume…
already exceeded the 30,000 copies of Jay Chou’s 【Chopin of November【 from last November.
This demonstrated the high sales expectations from distributors, who were now placing Liangying and Jay Chou’s earning potential on the same level.
However, this did not mean Zhang Liangying’s influence was on par with Jay Chou’s. It was simply that Zhang Liangying had garnered a large number of dedicated fans through 【Super Girl【, whose fervor and willingness to spend far surpassed that of Jay Chou’s fans.
This was the advantage of talent shows…
The fans acquired were active and very willing to spend money.
…
Since the distributors for Jolin Tsai’s CDs and Zhang Liangying’s CDs were the same group, EMI Records obtained the mainland sales data for both artists late at night.
At this moment.
EMI Records meeting room.
Chen Zebing, the Deputy General Manager of EMI Records, frowned as he looked at the report submitted by his secretary. “I expected Zhang Liangying’s sales to be very good, but seeing the results still surprised me.”
Jolin Tsai, holding her own report, remained silent.
Chen Zebing smiled, “But it’s alright. As long as you lead in sales in Taiwan, you’re good. Your current trend is only slightly behind Jay Chou’s 【Chopin of November【.”
Jolin Tsai forced a smile, “Okay, Brother Bing. I’m still a bit worried. The data for 【Dancing Girl【 doesn’t seem very optimistic; it’s much less than Jay’s…”
Chen Zebing put down the report. “With the rise of online pirated music, the decline of the record market is inevitable. In 1998, album sales across the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were 8.4 billion yuan. Last year, it was only 2 billion yuan, and this year it’s estimated to be less than 1.6 billion. Your sales are already the number one on the island this year.”
Jolin Tsai nodded silently.
After a busy day, she returned home but didn’t rush to shower and sleep. Instead, she put Zhang Liangying’s CD into the player, ready to hear what kind of songs could lead to sales surpassing both Jay Chou and herself!?
