Chapter 61

Before having lunch, Li Jingming wandered around everywhere, visiting almost all the famous audio and video stores and inquiring about the morning sales of his album from the staff. The results were quite good. Although it didn't sell out like some extremely popular singers or groups, a considerable number of copies had already been sold. Li Jingming was a person who was easily satisfied; as long as the results exceeded his expectations, he would be content, no matter how small the number. Conversely, if the results fell short of his expectations, he would be dissatisfied, no matter how good the performance. His expectations were based on his own efforts and analysis, and if they were not met, it could only mean that there was a flaw in the process, which would naturally make him unhappy.

Fortunately, "Confession" did not betray Li Jingming's efforts (actually, it was Jin C who put in the effort). The pre-sale results alone had already met his minimum requirements, so he was in a relaxed mood. He had lunch alone, enjoying a luxurious cold noodle dish. If there was one regret from the morning, it was that no one recognized him, not even Yang Zhiyuan, who only recognized him after he approached her and "revealed his identity." Li Jingming wore sunglasses and dressed up to create a surprise for others, but this surprise never came.

In Seoul, many artists would stroll around in such attire, and seeing someone dressed like this, people would assume they were an entertainer. However, Li Jingming forgot the difference between Korea and the United States. In the U.S., even minor celebrities have a swarm of paparazzi following them, but in Korea, even if someone as famous as Liu Zaishi walked down the street, people would at most smile and nod. Unless it was for a program where everyone wanted to be seen and hoped to get on TV, or to support an artist they liked, it was rare to see fans following artists.

In fact, when Li Jingming went to the audio and video stores to inquire about the sales of his album, the staff recognized him, but they were used to artists personally coming to check on their sales and even holding signing events. So, for a newcomer like Li Jingming, they didn't feel particularly excited. Many ordinary people also recognized him, and some curious young girls had already taken photos and posted them online.

The internet had become Li Jingming's base, and a new topic related to him was being discussed, though it was more about LAD Entertainment. The topic "LAD Entertainment is the conscience of the industry" was gaining traction.

Many people were puzzled when a new artist's single album was priced at 38,000 won, a high price. The person who answered this question was not a fan of Li Jingming and had not paid attention to "Confession." He only knew about the album because of his girlfriend.

Li Jingming's three-part "TV serial MV" had a small audience for the first part, but the second part saw a significant increase in viewership, and the third part had a stunning 12.7% rating! The ratings during the commercial break even exceeded those of the two episodes of the TV drama. MBC had not yet announced this result, as the commercial ratings also needed to be tallied. Without data, advertisers wouldn't pay so much money. This result was reported to the Hanwha Group, which had directly funded the MV, not LAD Entertainment.

The poster's girlfriend was a loyal viewer of the MV. When the poster waited through an entire episode of the TV drama, he finally switched to a cable sports channel, but he almost got a beating for it.

"Did you switch channels after I waited for forty minutes for the commercial break?" This was her exact words. Thanks to "My Sassy Girl," women in Korea gained a new status, and they began to act without restraint towards their partners, even saying, "Violence is also charm, right? Don't you love me anymore, my牵牛 (cattlehead)?"

The poster had seen people watch commercials while waiting for TV shows, but he had never seen anyone watch TV shows while waiting for commercials. This was his first time. The content of the MV left him unimpressed. It was just a pretty ex-girlfriend who died of illness, and then the protagonist married a more beautiful woman and had two children. Where were the dramatic scenes and the tears? The MV was too fresh and lacked the exaggerated expressions of TV and film, but it was more emotionally moving. The poster, having just been beaten by his girlfriend, couldn't see Li Jingming in a good light and was already doing well not to hate him.

That morning, under his girlfriend's urging, the poster risked being caught by his boss and skipped work to buy the album. When he brought it to the office, he was indeed caught by the big-mouthed colleague next to him, who said, "Ah, you were late this morning to buy this album, why didn't you buy one for me?" This loudmouth deserved to be single at thirty.

The album was confiscated by the boss, who was a 35-year-old literary woman, a Ph.D. in English literature, and from a wealthy family.

During lunch break, the poster had to buy another album and was very dissatisfied with the price. The cost of two albums was more than a large serving of beef. In Korea, how could anything be more expensive than beef? Was he trying to start a revolution?

When he opened the album box during lunch, he found the reason for the high price: there were two discs inside. It wasn't because the MV was longer than a movie and needed to be split into A and B sides, but because the video and audio were separated. The DVD had audio, but the sound quality was not as good as the HDCD. Music companies putting HDCD in albums was a display of their strength, showing that their songs could withstand high-end equipment and that their recording quality was top-notch.

The inner pages of the album were beautifully made, with many photos. The poster was most attracted to the two women from the MV, who were apparently still trainees. The album came with a keychain, a folded poster, and a signed photo. Seeing the signed photo, the poster was taken aback. In Korea, signed photos by artists were usually considered merchandise and sold for real money, different from signed posters. Some companies even sold posters. LAD Entertainment, however, included a keychain and a signed photo. Were they not interested in merchandise revenue?

After checking online, the poster found that the signed photo had a 1% chance of being included. The "Confession" album had a total of 50,000 copies, and 500 of them randomly included a signed photo by Li Jingming. On Monday night, Li Jingming recalled the time he was punished for writing his name incorrectly in China and had to write it 500 times, which coincidentally matched this time. When the poster called his girlfriend to tell her he had won the "grand prize," she was overjoyed and said he was her lucky star and would reward him that night.

After some analysis, it seemed that the "Confession" album had only a very thin profit margin, which was the consensus online. LAD Entertainment, a new company, had quickly gained popularity. Of course, when LAD Entertainment was labeled as the "conscience of the industry," other major companies were not pleased. They were in business to make money, and LAD's approach made them look bad, as if they were only in it for the money.

The worst hit was S.M. Entertainment. Kim Young-min was cursing at the computer in his office. All these issues were caused by that person, and why did he always get caught in the crossfire? Some H.O.T fans and Shin Hwa fans were helping to spread the word: S.M. Entertainment was a blood-sucking company, an illegal money-laundering company, and a violent company... violent? I'll kill you! Kim Young-min was almost bursting with anger. How could everything be blamed on S.M. Entertainment?

By noon, many companies had called LAD Entertainment, condemning them for disrupting the industry's rules. Song Seok-jae was asked repeatedly and had to call Li Jingming for help.

In the afternoon, LAD Entertainment issued a statement on their official website, explaining that this was their first work and that the pricing strategy was aimed at building a reputation and good word of mouth, similar to a grand opening promotion. This could not be considered a disruption of the market's normal price standards. After this statement, the major companies fell silent. How could they argue against a grand opening promotion? Were they going to forbid LAD from putting up a couple of flower baskets on the sidewalk?

The entertainment companies were satisfied, and the netizens and fans were even more pleased. A grand opening promotion meant a good deal, and now was the time to buy. The market price for DVD albums was generally between 20,000 and 30,000 won, and pure CD albums were around 20,000 won. "Confession" was selling two albums for the price of one, and even though it was a single album, the production costs were not much different. Moreover, it came with some small items. Don't underestimate these small things; they were a powerful tool for generating revenue, as seen in the fast-food industry, which regularly introduces new toys to attract customers. Li Jingming's cartoon head keychain had eight designs, and the posters were the same. Some wealthy women were buying multiple copies to collect the full set, and in schools, many girls were coordinating with each other to complete their collections, buying more than one album.

The initial sales of the album were the most explosive, and the final sales of an album were determined by the first week, or even the first day. By 6 PM, the scene in the audio and video stores was different from what Li Jingming had seen in the morning. People were already lining up to buy the album.

The calls for restocking were already pouring into LAD Entertainment, and increasing production was inevitable.