China Entertainment 2000

Taipei, a video store on the 1st Road in front of Dazhong Station.

After breakfast, Gao Geshan staggered downstairs with a toothpick in his mouth. After putting on a peaked cap to cover his bald head, he drove the old car that had been following him around for many years and arrived at the door of the store. .

As a veteran who has witnessed the glory of the Baodao record industry, he often laments the declining record industry. He has long been accustomed not to complain, but to seize every opportunity to make money as much as possible and buy more CDs from best-selling singers. and tape.

There is no other way. If you want to make money selling records these days, you have to compete with pirates for speed.

Generally speaking, the hottest sales period for an album is the first two to three weeks after its release. Because after two to three weeks, all kinds of pirated tapes and CDs will spring up like mushrooms after a rain, squeezing the sales space of genuine copies.

This is not because the pirates are moral and are willing to let the genuine ones take a sip of soup before they eat the meat. Simply because a genuine album has just come out, and it will take time for them to record it into pirated copies and distribute them on a large scale.

Also, two to three weeks is enough to tell which album and song are popular.

Pirates are all profit-seeking. In their view, songs that are not popular are basically used as scraps. Being able to record them on a CD or a tape with those popular songs is considered a blessing for the ancestors.

After opening the door, Gao Geshan sat down on his comfortable boss chair with satisfaction after placing his new "Sun Yanzi" album in the most conspicuous position on the shelf.

Baodao’s hottest newcomer this year is Sun Yanzi.

Ever since it was released in June, her self-titled album has made all the video store owners in Treasure Island ecstatic and crazy about purchasing it from Warner.

This is all money.

The boss sighed with emotion, and a moment later, Liu Ruoyin's story-telling singing came from the speakers of the video store——

"Later, I finally learned how to love

"It's a pity that you have already gone far away and disappeared into the sea of ​​people.

"Later, I finally understood through tears

"Some people, once you miss them, you won't see them again~~"

The hit song "Later" was released in early 2000. Even though more than half a year has passed, this song is still dominating the major song charts.

In all the major video stores, all the older store owners are playing this song non-stop.

There is a story.

The song has a story, and they all have stories.

The ceiling fan above his head was whirring, and Boss Gao, who had opened a bottle of beer, was reminiscing about every moment of his first love. The few figures who entered the door of the video store made him quickly come back to his senses——

They all seemed to be young and strong college students, headed by a boy with the same style as Aaron Kwok.

"Boss, do you have "The Book of Changes" here?"

""The Book of Changes"? Shouldn't you go to the bookstore to find this stuff?"

Gao Geshan, who didn't realize it for a while, was a little confused when he heard the name. His video store didn't handle Feng Shui business either.

"It's not that Zhou Yi. It's an album just released by a singer named Zhou Yi. It's called "Zhou Yi"."

Seeing that the boss was a little confused, Zhong Fen quickly said: "It's the man who has been rumored to be having an affair with Elva Hsiao for two weeks, the junior brother Sun Yanzi often talks about."

After hearing this, Boss Gao, who finally had an impression, clapped his hands and suddenly realized: "Tell him, yes, yes, yes, I remember there should be, my Warner goods have been purchased."

Immediately, Boss Gao, who straightened his peaked cap, stood up and crossed the most conspicuous shelf with the "Sun Yanzi" album, and walked towards a remote location on the other side.

Not long after, four brand new albums appeared in his hands: "Is this it?"

Zhongfen glanced at it - the cover of this album showed an extremely handsome man, so much so that his girlfriend would want to buy a photo album or a poster after just one look at it.

"Ah, yes, that's him. How much does it cost, boss?"

"Tape 35, CD 82 (Taiwan dollars), which one do you want?"

"Three CDs with music videos."

"OK."

Seeing these college students paying so readily and casually placing the remaining CD on the counter, the businessman's intuition prompted Boss Gao to ask: "Classmate, is this person popular? Please name him." Want his album?”

"Fire? It's okay. I just heard his song from a classmate yesterday. I think his MV and song are very interesting. It's a genre I've never heard before.

"I haven't heard enough, why don't you come over and buy some? I asked several stores before I found them here."

Looking at the man on the album cover whose hairstyle and clothing made me feel bright, and who was clearly different from the stars of this era, the middle-aged college student said goodbye to his boss with a little excitement, and couldn't wait to greet his companions and leave.

Not long after, there were a few more people buying albums by Ren Xianqi, Liu Ruoyin, Sun Yanzi and others.

In the reception room, two female college students who came to buy Xie Tingfeng's album saw the "Book of Changes" album that had been thrown on the counter by Boss Gao——

The style and handsomeness that seemed to transcend the era almost instantly hit the heart of one of the girls who came to buy the album with her friends.

"Is this the Zhou Yi who was rumored to be having an affair with Elva Hsiao?"

"It seems like, this face...yes, it's him."

"He looks so handsome. No wonder Elva Hsiao is so obsessed with him. His figure also looks good. If I were Elva Hsiao, I would love to marry him."

"Yes, yes, he looks more handsome than Xie Tingfeng."

The girl on the side who had just received Xie Tingfeng's new album nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice.

That’s not to say that Xie Tingfeng isn’t handsome, it’s just that Zhou Yi’s face and style are so outstanding: “Boss, there are also two copies of this “Zhou Yi”.”

"????"

Are girls today so willful when buying albums? ,

Boss Gao, who was confused, looked thoughtful as he sent away the two female college students who were so excited that they chattered about where Zhou Yi on the album cover looked handsome.

Although he doesn't understand the trends of these young people, he knows how to look handsome.

Even a picky middle-aged old man like him couldn't fault Zhou Yi's handsome appearance and Zhou Zheng's appearance. Wouldn't putting up a few large posters attract a group of attractive women to come and buy it?

Thinking of this, Boss Gao directly dug out a batch of goods he had purchased from Warner Channel. There are about 60 cassette tapes of "The Book of Changes", about 20 CDs, and some accompanying posters.

Although it won't be placed in the most conspicuous place to seize the position of Xie Tingfeng's album, at least it can gain exposure that customers can see at a glance.

Just to be on the safe side, he even opened a cassette tape himself to listen to what songs the album contained, and then——

"If you have forgotten your name, please follow me. Now let us worship happiness

"If you have put down your burdens, please come with me and spread the word to build a happy era~

“Which era does happiness belong to?

"70s, 80s, 90s or Generation Y..."

What is this song about? ? ?

The boss, who frowned upon hearing this, had a question mark on his head.

Can this kind of song be sold for money?

Isn’t this money a bit too profitable?

Boss Gao glanced at the Zhouyi album that he had put on display like he was in despair. Boss Gao cursed: "Bai Xiang is so handsome, but when he sings with him, he is just a fool."

So, after rational analysis, Boss Gao, who ordered another batch of Sun Yanzi albums from Warner Channel, sat back to his comfortable boss chair and drank beer to maintain his health with satisfaction.

Based on his many years of experience in selling records, this Zhouyi album is probably the kind of scrap material. If he can sell these things without losing them with this face, he will be considered a victory.

Two days later, same time, same place.

"Boss, four "Zhouyi" CDs and two "Zhouyi" tapes!"

"Boss, I also want two CDs of "The Book of Changes" and two cassette tapes."

"Boss, three "Zhouyi" CDs and five "Zhouyi" tapes!"

"boss……"

"boss……"

Young voices filled with voices echoed in the small speakers. Boss Gao, who had made an accurate judgment based on his many years of experience in the industry two days ago, wanted to slap himself on the spot——

Oh shit! So sloppy!

Looking at the group of young people waving banknotes in front of him, Boss Gao felt his blood pressure rising.

If possible, he could not wait to bring the singer named Zhou Yi over to record the song and publish it on the spot.

In just two days, the "Book of Changes" that he thought was just scraps sold out so quickly that he was now staring at the group of young people who came here after hearing that he had a "Book of Changes" album. Green.

This is all money from his grandma!

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my CD and tape of "The Book of Changes" are sold out."

"I'm really sorry, my copy of "The Book of Changes" is sold out."

"I'm really sorry, "The Book of Changes" is sold out..."

Welcoming customers waving banknotes one after another, watching the duck meat fly away from his mouth, this feeling was more uncomfortable for him than killing Boss Gao.

So much so that today he had developed a subconscious reaction. When he saw young people entering the store in groups, he would say, "The Book of Changes has been sold out."

Then he could see the disappointment on the face of the young man who had just stepped into the store, shook his head and walked out.

Damn, my fist is hard!

It is unbearable!

Faced with the embarrassment of money flying around but not reaching his pocket, Boss Gao angrily dialed the phone number upstream of the channel: "I'm not telling you, when will your boss be able to provide me with the money?" Shipment? Can you give me a confirmation?

"It's been two days, and I've sold out all the stock, do you know?! I just want 300 CDs and 300 tapes. Is it that difficult?!

"If it doesn't work out, just give me a hundred each!"

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Gao. Our boss is actively coordinating with Warner channels. Warner has also given assurances that they are working overtime to record the album."

"What does a company as big as Warner do for a living? Don't you know how to prepare more goods when a singer from your own company releases an album?!"

At this moment, Warner General Manager Zhou Jianhui has become the target of curses from countless record store owners in Baodao.

Even if you have money, you won't make it. You deserve to be in the sunset of Warner Bros.!

"Boss, we have tried our best. Warner has stocked 50,000 copies of Zhou Yi's album in the early stage. Now they are working overtime..."

The channel company employees who have heard so many complaints in the past two days can dream at night and hear someone calling to hurry up the shipment. They have been trained to respond with muscles, and they numbly explain.

For a large record company, when a singer releases an album at the beginning, they will set an expected goal, and then use this goal to formulate the album stocking quantity for the early, middle and later stages to prevent inventory pressure.

It doesn’t mean that you just start stocking up as many copies as you expect to sell. That would be too risky and no one would do that.

Taking a double platinum record with 100,000 copies as an example, the record may start with about 40,000 copies in stock, and then adjust the progress at any time depending on the market response.

Generally speaking, there is no problem with record companies doing this.

But the problem is, Warner met an unusual person——

"Crazy, crazy, crazy. Nearly 50,000 copies were sold in three days. Am I crazy or is the world crazy?"

Zhou Jianhui, who is always paying attention to the sales progress of Zhouyi's album, feels that his understanding of the Chinese music scene has been seriously impacted.

How come Zhou Yi's album performance is better than that of Sun Yanzi this year?

After all, Sun Yanzi earns more than 40,000 and nearly 50,000 a week. This week, he started working in three days. Is he a human?

Zhou Jianhui no longer dares to think about how much he can sell in one month and how much he can sell in a year.

He knew that Zhou Yi's album was very new to the Chinese music scene, but he never expected that today's young people would have such a high receptivity.

The first batch of people to buy the album, transformed from the popularity of Elva Hsiao and Sun Yanzi, directly became the best promoter of the rapid spread of word-of-mouth about Zhou Yi's album.

This big hit was even more unexpected than Sun Yanzi, and Warner didn't even have time to increase the on-demand rate on major radio stations in Baodao.

The "empty" popularity that Zhou Yi had originally created on Treasure Island was transformed into a substantial driving force at this moment. Even though the mainland market didn't know him yet, Zhou Yi, a mainlander, actually took the lead in becoming popular in Baodao.

The "Book of Changes" album has eleven songs. It has only been on sale for three days. Four songs, "Happy Worship", "Have to Love", "Give Me Time for a Song" and "Hate Dream of Red Mansions", have become strong hits. Squeezed into the top 20 of Baodao's major music rankings and KTV song list——

Among them, the two songs "Happy Worship" and "Have to Love" are still rising at rocket speed!

From the twentieth and nineteenth to the fifteenth and thirteenth;

Then both songs made it into the top ten, and the gods started to go to war on the major charts.

Zhou Yi did all this in just five days.

In this scorching early July, Zhou Yina's song interpretation method and style that transcended the times taught the entire Baodao music scene a hard lesson with an attitude that was almost like the arrival of a god!

Hip hop elements that had never been successfully combined before were perfectly blended by Zhou Yi. The rhythmic rhythm and bright melody directly pursued the novelty of the new generation of Millennials, who regarded it as a classic and passed it on word of mouth.

At the top of the rankings, Warner's two newcomers - Sun Yanzi, who debuted in June, and Zhou Yi, who debuted in July, directly detonated the entire Chinese music scene without any warning!

The most intuitive reaction brought about by this is that Zhou Yi's album sales in Baodao have once again skyrocketed!

"Congratulations on the album's great sales, Zhou Yi, you are popular!"

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window of Warner's office, Sun Yanzi, who was so excited that he caught Zhou Yi shaking wildly, loudly congratulated him, with a bright smile on his face.

Zhou Yi, who had thought that he would become popular, but also didn't expect that he would become popular so quickly, also had a heartfelt smile on his face. This way, in a few days, he could return to the mainland to promote the charts with more confidence.

Two days later, Zhouyi, who had spent the weekend, directly landed in the top 10 of the weekly rankings, the top 10 of the monthly rankings, and the top 20 of the quarterly rankings of Treasure Island in the new week after the ranking change.

What he kicked out of the top 20 on all major quarterly lists was "Move" sung by his fellow student Aaron Kwok;

The ones he kicked out of the top ten of the monthly list were "Fruits of Midsummer" by Mok Wenwei and "Faith" by the love song prince Zhang Xinzhe.