Chapter 47

On Monday morning, in the meeting room of Changsheng Records.

The internal sales ranking data of Dongguan Bookstore had already been photocopied and distributed to everyone attending the meeting.

Everyone's reaction was rather indifferent.

This sales performance was not far off from what everyone had predicted in the preparatory meeting before the release, so there was nothing particularly surprising about it. Although this result was far from booming, for a newcomer, it wasn't a defeat. With about a year's time, she could probably achieve sales of over 500,000 units, which would allow Liao Liao to establish a foothold in the domestic music scene. Moreover, the company would not only gain Liao Liao but also make some profit... What more could you want?

Compare sales with "Starry Night"?

Please, the number of female singers in the entire country who can sell as well as "Starry Night" can be counted on one hand.

If Liao Liao were to compare herself with them, she would either be a megalomaniac or suffering from dementia!

Therefore, there was no surprise or worry. Regarding this album, there was not much to discuss. The 200,000 cassette tapes and 20,000 CDs in the first production batch would probably last for about two months, so arranging new orders next month would be enough to keep the market supplied.

Then, after a two-day break, Liao Liao would set out again to promote in other major cities.

That was all.

After discussing Liao Liao, the meeting continued, but it no longer involved her, so she left early. However, much to her dismay, she encountered Huang Yueqin at the door of the lounge.

Perhaps, she had been waiting there all along.

Huang Yueqin said sarcastically, "I'm about to release a new album. How about you help me get a song from your high school friend?"

Liao Liao glanced at her and ignored her.

Huang Yueqin sneered from behind, and Liao Liao left with Huang Wenjuan.

In short, each had their own grievances.

The next day, Liao Liao set off for Shanghai, and the second wave of promotion for the album was about to begin.

...

In the capital, Huage Records, gym.

As the treadmill gradually came to a stop, Wang Jingsnow wiped the sweat off with a towel and got off.

A good figure doesn't come easily. The idea that you can eat whatever you want without gaining weight is a lie. The perfect figure that everyone admires is earned through daily sweat—especially for the Wuxing Wusu group, where a good figure is even more important than a good voice!

Wang Jingsnow sat in the gym for a while, drank some water, then took a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes before heading to the singing practice room to check the rankings.

The data that Changsheng Records could obtain, Huage Records could also get.

Every Monday morning, the latest weekly album sales ranking from Dongguan Bookstore would be posted at the door of the singing practice room.

Wang Jingsnow didn't like to join the crowd when it was first posted, so she usually waited until around noon when the crowd had dispersed before going to check. Keeping an eye on the market's sales and trends is something every person in the pop music industry must always pay attention to, and Wang Jingsnow was no exception.

The rankings were indeed there.

She dried her hair while reading from the top.

Compared to the previous week, "Starry Night" had dropped one place, but this was not due to poor performance. In fact, its sales hadn't decreased; if she remembered correctly, it had even sold a few hundred more units than the previous week. Its ranking drop was because Zhang Chang had released a new album, which sold nearly 10,000 units in its first week at Dongguan Bookstore, landing it the second place on the rankings.

It could be said that Zhang Chang lived up to his status as a king of pop, and the continued strong sales of "Starry Night" were almost the last psychological barrier for female singers, especially since Zhen Zhen hadn't released a new album in several years, and Zhou Mo had even gotten married and disappeared from the scene.

Although she sings sweet songs!

Then... Oh, Shen Himei actually made it into the top ten!

Wang Jingsnow's eyes widened in surprise.

However, upon closer inspection of the sales figures, she soon sighed in disappointment.

Her tenth place was somewhat lucky.

The eighth place had sold over 5,000 units, the ninth place dropped to around 3,000, and Shen Himei had only sold 3,318 units—under normal circumstances, this sales figure would be hard to make it into the top ten during the summer.

But this was a good thing.

In the past year, many female singers had started to challenge the top ten, and a few albums had successfully made it. One person could be considered lucky, but with several people succeeding one after another, it was hard to call it luck.

It could only be said that the market position of female singers was gradually improving.

Take Shen Himei's album, for example. Making it into the top ten in its first week, regardless of whether it was due to luck or real talent, it would likely achieve platinum status. Over a longer period, say two to three years, it might even reach double platinum.

After lingering on Shen Himei's sales figures for a while, Wang Jingsnow finally moved her gaze.

The third female singer was Sun Yue.

She ranked 15th with 1,431 units sold.

Wang Jingsnow was very familiar with this singer because she was the top artist at Huage Records.

Releasing an album in mid-June, it was still selling over 1,400 units a week in August. Without a doubt, the company would soon hold a platinum album celebration for her.

Another female singer had achieved platinum status in the domestic pop music market!

Then... 17th place, another female singer, Yang Qianzheng.

Her name was very masculine, and so was her nickname— "Little Feng Feifei"!

Just by hearing it, you could tell she was a folk singer!

However, her style wasn't entirely a copy of Feng Feifei. She could give those folk songs and ballads a unique flavor, so her second album maintained her market position.

Over the next one to two years, she was likely to sell enough to achieve platinum status, just like her first album.

Then, 19th place, it was... Liao Liao!

This name was both unfamiliar and familiar.

Staring at the rankings for a while, she suddenly remembered that she had heard one of her songs before, probably a single.

But...

A moment later, she suddenly remembered that her familiarity with Liao Liao's name wasn't just because she had heard her song.

It must have been about a month ago. Almost every day when she got home, she saw Er Ya listening to her Walkman, so she asked who she was listening to, but Er Ya was shy and wouldn't say.

It wasn't until later that she admitted it was a song given to her by the guy next door, Li Qian.

And... it was said to be an original song!

Wang Jingsnow naturally dismissed it.

But Er Ya insisted that he really could write songs, and they were super good, and he could sing them well too. He had even sold five songs to a female singer!

Wang Jingsnow asked, "Who did he sell them to?"

Er Ya said, "Liao Liao."

Wang Jingsnow asked again, "Five songs? Did he tell you how much he got?"

Er Ya said, "400,000 yuan."

Wang Jingsnow almost laughed out loud!

80,000 yuan per song? Li Qian?

Without a doubt, she was sure that the naive Er Ya had been tricked by that guy.

So Wang Jingsnow didn't say much more, just thinking about when to go back and talk to that guy.

And now, Liao Liao's album was actually out?

19th place... 1,128 units.

This performance wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. If she remembered correctly, this was her first album, so this sales figure should allow her to establish a foothold.

Moreover, her voice was very rich, and her singing skills were quite good, so her album should have a long sales life... that was enough!

No one becomes an overnight sensation. Everyone has to take it step by step, gradually building their foundation and moving up.

Even Zhou Mo, her first few albums didn't sell very well.

But... she should probably listen to this album, at least to see if the songs that Li Qian sold for "400,000 yuan" were actually used.

If they weren't used, it would be a joke.

Thinking about this, Wang Jingsnow suddenly lost interest and didn't want to continue reading.

Whenever new albums were released, the company would buy several copies, one for archiving and the rest for the company's music library, which was free for the artists to use.

So, she could save the money for buying the album.

As she thought, Wang Jingsnow subconsciously looked at her watch and realized it was time for lunch. She turned to go downstairs to eat, planning to visit the music library after lunch to borrow a few CDs.

However, before she reached the elevator, she ran into Sun Ruoxuan.

Like most groups, the five members of Wuxing Wusu weren't as harmonious and united as they appeared. Wang Jingsnow and the other members were just colleagues, with the exception of Sun Ruoxuan.

Among the five girls, Wang Jingsnow had the best singing skills, Sima Dodo had the best figure, Xie Bing had the most beautiful face, and Zhou Pingping had the most alluring eyes... As for Sun Ruoxuan, she wasn't the best at anything, but she had the best relationships within the group.

Sun Ruoxuan said that the dance instructor had something come up in the afternoon, so the dance practice was canceled, and then invited Wang Jingsnow to have lunch together.

Since there was no dance practice in the afternoon, Wang Jingsnow's first choice was to go home.

So, she politely declined Sun Ruoxuan's invitation, went back to pack her things, and then headed to the music library.

The newly released albums were displayed in the most prominent place. The album called "Liao Liao" had four copies, all unopened, and it seemed that no one had borrowed them yet.

Wang Jingsnow took one, selected two others, registered them, and then went downstairs to get her car and head home.

Er Ya was at home, cooking.

Her cram school teacher had recently fallen seriously ill, and yesterday, a group of her classmates had gone to the hospital to visit him. The cram school was temporarily on hold, and she had already bought a ticket to return to Jinan that night.

Seeing her sister come home, Wang Jinglei was very happy and bounced into her room to bring out an unopened CD, saying, "Sis, this is for you! I bought the cassette tape the day before yesterday and have already listened to it. It's really good!"

Wang Jingsnow took it and looked... "Liao Liao."

For some reason, she suddenly lost interest—seeing her sister's excited look, it seemed that the 80,000 yuan per song works by Li Qian had indeed been included in the album?

"Thank you. I'll put it away and listen to it when I have time," she said, without a smile.

Wang Jinglei's initial excitement turned to confusion, then disappointment, and finally, her mood sank.

Her sister didn't even want to listen to it.

But, the songs were really good! She had listened to them while checking the lyrics, and the lyrics clearly stated: lyrics by Li Qian, music by Li Qian!

They were all really good!

Or, it could be said that the best songs on the album were those five!

But... but...

She told herself: I'm going home tonight!

Wang Jingsnow washed her face and then went into the kitchen.

During dinner, as she ate, she swallowed a small mouthful of rice and suddenly said, "Er Ya, the album's sales are pretty good. I'll... listen to it later."

Wang Jinglei was stunned for a moment, then slowly smiled.

...

When Li Qian went to Shengshi Garden for lunch, he casually brought three copies of the album he had just received that morning. When he got there, he found that his father had already bought five copies.

However, Li Dad didn't think it was too many. He planned to give one to each of his colleagues when school started, and Li Mom planned to give a few to people in her company—these few copies were not enough!

He had already opened them and listened to them, even checking the lyrics. He knew which songs were his son's. Whether the songs were good or not was secondary; the fact that someone had bought them, someone had sung them, and they were now being sold as an album was a rare honor—this was his son! His son who was still in high school!

Of course, Li Dad and Li Mom wouldn't let their son see their pride.

Both of them were at the table, and Li Mom asked, "How are the album sales? How many have been sold? Is Liao Liao becoming popular?"

Li Dad said, "Well, I haven't heard Liao Liao's songs playing in the music stores I passed by these past two days."

The common people's view is that if the music stores don't play it, it's not popular!

Surprisingly, this logic was basically correct!

So, Li Qian had to tell them, "It's too early to talk about sales. We have to wait until the second single starts promoting, which is 'My Passionate Hometown,' to really see the sales."

Li Dad and Li Mom didn't understand what a "second single" was, but they had heard it on the radio and could guess what it meant, so they both said, "Oh."

"My Passionate Hometown"... that's Li Qian's song, right?

In other words, it's about to get serious, and we'll see how good his work is, right?

Li Dad asked worriedly, "What if the second single doesn't sell well?"

Li Qian laughed, "Then it's a wash! No refunds!"

...

"Liao Liao" entered its second week of release.

The exact sales figures wouldn't be known until the next Monday, but according to the feedback from the company's hired survey firm, the album was selling quite poorly in various bookstores, supermarkets, and music stores.

Newly released albums are always placed in the most prominent spots. But if they don't sell well after a while, they have to make way for newer releases!

According to the survey firm, many smaller individual music stores had already moved "Liao Liao" to the back shelves.

In other words, in less than a week, it had already been removed from the "store manager's recommendation" section.

But at this moment, while Liao Liao was participating in a local radio station's late-night music program in Shanghai, just after the first single was played and before the second single was promoted, she suddenly received a call from a listener.

The caller asked, "Why isn't your station playing 'My Passionate Hometown'? It's so good!"

Liao Liao almost jumped up!

***

This chapter might make some readers think I'm just writing a stream of consciousness or padding the story?

Sigh...

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