A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 10 Hello, A-Lu!

"Old Xue, why do I feel like you're more nervous than I am?"

The plane made a stopover in Hong Kong, changed to another aircraft, and soon took off again. The shallow strait was quickly crossed, and the bustling city of Taipei was already in sight as the plane slowly descended.

Lin Jianlu didn't feel anything.

It was indeed my first time visiting Taiwan, but I didn't experience any significant emotional fluctuations.

Looking down from afar, Taipei's urban area is filled with towering buildings, giving it a sense of prosperity.

Compared to the current urban landscape in mainland China, both Hong Kong and Taiwan are very impactful.

But we've seen prosperity.

Indeed, no city in mainland China can truly surpass Taipei now, but no matter how much Taiwan is considered one of the Four Asian Tigers, how could it possibly compare to the prosperity of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen thirty years from now?

He even had the leisure to take a keen look at Xue Zhongding, who had accompanied him to Taiwan.

Actually, there was another person accompanying him, the one who had been running back and forth between Hong Kong and the capital to process his entry permit to Taiwan. However, he could only be reimbursed for the economy class seat, while Xue Zhongding, the manager who was supposed to be returning to Taiwan to report on his work, could sit with him in first class. Ever since the plane took off again from Hong Kong, he kept making little movements, such as raising his hand to fix his hair or adjusting his suit.

"Hehe, Ah Lu, do you understand what it means to return in glory?"

Hey……

Lin Jianlu suddenly laughed.

Lao Xue is actually a pretty interesting person.

No matter when or how busy this person is, his hairstyle is always impeccably styled, and most of the time he is always dressed in a suit and tie. But don't mistake him for a rigid person; he is actually quite clever!
Later, after getting to know Lin Jianlu better, I learned that he had only been sent to the mainland at the end of November to set up the capital branch of Rock Records. In other words, it was hard to say whether Lin Jianlu's demo or his had arrived at the New Metropolitan Hotel first! And the official seal that Lin Jianlu took out and stamped when signing the singer's contract was said to have been received just two days earlier.

That was his first time visiting mainland China.

It's actually a tough job, isn't it? Lin Jianlu thought so.

The subsidiary, Moyan Records, has indeed made some progress in the capital's music scene, but it is far from being a resounding success or making a lot of money. The "Three Heroes of Moyan" have big names, but they only have a lot of hype; they don't actually sell many cassette tapes.

Under these circumstances, he was stationed in the capital, and the main business he was required to develop was, it is said, to cooperate with Mr. Zhang of Moyan Records to do record licensing between the two sides and to publish records between the two sides of the strait.

Moyan's records are licensed to their parent company for publication and sales in Taiwan. Conversely, Rock Records, which has been operating for over a decade and is the largest independent record company in Asia and a leading figure in the Chinese music scene, has accumulated a vast number of records over the years. Although pirated copies have been selling like hotcakes in mainland China, there will always be buyers for the legitimate copies. Therefore, it is necessary to strive to obtain publishing licenses in mainland China and authorize Moyan Records to distribute them.

This kind of job... leaving one's familiar environment and home to go to a "backward" place like the mainland to do this tedious work that is destined not to achieve much, probably cannot be classified as a good job.

However, neither Rolling Stone nor Lao Xue expected that, just after arriving in the capital and completing the procedures for the branch office, they would run into Lin Jianlu!

In Lao Xue's own words, "When you said you'd rather sign with Rock Records than Moyan Records, I felt like I was instantly energized!" In fact, it was pretty much true. After just one phone call, and Rock Records' CEO Duan Zhongtan listening to six songs on the phone, he immediately agreed to sign Lin Jianlu. After that, he spun around like a top.

Lin Jianlu was undoubtedly the one in charge of recording and shooting music videos, but Lao Xue was truly never idle. While Lin Jianlu was busy with business, Lao Xue was the one who assisted, did odd jobs, and handled all the little things that Lin Jianlu couldn't take care of—running around and busy every day.

He's from Taiwan, and in the freezing cold of the capital, he was constantly shivering from the cold, but he never missed a day of his post, never let anything slip by, and never delayed any progress.

Once the master tape was sent to Taiwan for post-production and the music video was edited, he started running all over the country to TV stations and record companies. No matter how good your idea is or how excellent your marketing strategy is, someone has to execute it step by step, right? If the execution and coordination are not done well, even the best strategy will be in vain.

For this reason, Lao Xue not only didn't take a holiday or go back to Taiwan to reunite with his family, but he also spent the whole Lunar New Year traveling around and working hard.

Lin Jianlu had been watching all of this closely.

"This is nothing!"

In first class, the seats were far apart. Lin Jianlu had originally wanted to put his arm around Xue's shoulder to say this, but now he could only lean out and pat Lao Xue on the shoulder, "With the two of us working together, there's plenty of good results to come!"

He grinned from ear to ear, but his smugness only grew stronger—

"170,000 copies in the first week, 260,000 copies in the second week, you're definitely going to reach a million copies sold! Since Ms. Shu-hua's 'Tell You, Listen to You' was released in November 1989 and became the first album in Taiwan's history to reach a million copies sold, there are only 11 albums in the entire Taiwan market that have reached a million copies sold! Your 'Cold to the End' will be the 12th!"

"But none of them are as fast as you! Ms. Shu-hua's 'Tell You, Listen to You' took a full year and two months to sell over a million copies. UFO Records' Wang Jie's most popular album, 'A Game, A Dream' from 1987, didn't announce that it had sold over a million copies in Taiwan until August 1991!"

"It's still Wang Jie. His second album, 'Forget You Forget Me,' released in 88, claimed to have sold 40 copies in two weeks. But we at Rock Records calculated it to be around 32 copies, a full 11 fewer than yours! You're a newcomer, but when 'Forget You Forget Me' was released, Wang Jie was already a household name throughout the entire Chinese-speaking world!"

"When did this photo surpass one million copies? Hahaha, last March!"

"The fastest record for selling over a million copies in Taiwan is currently held by Wakin Chau's 'Let Me Be Happy, Let Me Be Sad,' released in November 1991, which took eight months, followed by Jacky Cheung's 'Goodbye Kiss,' released in March 1993, which took nine months." "How many copies of 'Let Me Be Happy, Let Me Be Sad' have sold? 2.9 million worldwide so far! And 'Goodbye Kiss'? Needless to say, you know, the last time it was announced, it received certification from the Global Phonographic Industry, with global sales of 4.2 million copies! And you, Ah Lu, you'll sell a million copies even faster than them!"

"Because you're more handsome than all of them! Much more handsome!"

"You sing well, you're a talented singer-songwriter who wrote the entire album himself! And you're so handsome! Believe me, once this round of promotion starts and fans see you live, sales will actually increase! Because you're a newcomer, a complete newcomer. Unlike those other albums where the singer was already famous before the album was released, this is just your first wave of sales thanks to the title track 'Cold to the End' and its music video! Even in Taiwan, there are still many fans who don't know you at all!"

"Taiwan's music charts have been number one for two weeks, album sales have been number one, Hong Kong's music charts have also been number one for two weeks, album sales were number six one week and number two the next week, and this week it may reach the top! Singapore's music charts have also been number one for two consecutive weeks, and so have Malaysia's... This is not enough, far from enough!"

"At the most conservative estimate, it will take about six months for 'Cold to the End' to break one million copies in Taiwan. If we're more optimistic, well, maybe you can break the one million copy record and put it in less than six months!"

"So, now you're definitely on par with singers like Sarah Chen, Sandy Lam, Dave Wong, Emil Chau, and Jacky Cheung, Ah Lu!"

"Oh, right, you also have Japan and South Korea! I heard that your music video for 'Bei'er Shuang' was a huge hit after it aired in Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Our distributor has decided to increase the promotional efforts! I heard the sales are quite impressive! Getting more than 100,000 copies from there is no problem at all! Even more is not impossible! The market there is big. As long as it really becomes popular, hundreds of thousands of copies in sales are not a problem!"

"That's Japan and South Korea! Apart from Teresa Teng who went to Japan and Leslie Cheung who managed to sell a little in the Korean Peninsula, there are basically no other Chinese singers who can truly break into the music scene!"

"You might be the first! Your 'Super Cool' music video could really open up sales! Apparently, people over there really like the dance you did in the MV and the melody!"

"Moreover, you have sales in mainland China. Other people's albums can't get into mainland China, and even if they can later, they won't sell many tapes! But you are different. 'Cold to the End' is now a complete hit! We have distributed more than 5 million copies! Although we will definitely have to recoup some in the end, it is very likely that the actual sales will exceed 3 million copies! Just for this reason alone, you are already the first in the entire Chinese music industry!"

"Do you know what this means, Ah Lu? It means that even though you've just debuted, you're already an Asian singer! A true intercontinental singer! In the entire Chinese music scene, right now, there are only a handful of people who can truly compare to you, like Zhang Xueyou, Leslie Cheung, Wang Jie, and Emil Chau! Once the subsequent sales figures are tallied, and they're really as good as we feel, you might even surpass them!"

"Looking back now, your decision to rush to finish recording and squeeze out money to shoot the music video was the best one ever. If it weren't for these two music videos..."

As he spoke, Lin Jianlu laughed.

understand.

If someone were to encounter such a stroke of good fortune, what would normally be an unlucky task suddenly turned into a huge, extraordinary achievement, anyone would be overjoyed.

But, "Stop! Stop! Stop! Lao Xue, you've said it so many times! I know you're happy, and I'm happy too, but restrain yourself, restrain yourself! Calm down, show your composure!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Zhongding chuckled.

But suddenly, he looked around, his smile faded, and leaned closer to whisper a reminder, "Ah Lu, you've just become famous, you need to be mindful of your image! Throw away those two notes!"

"cough……"

Lin Jianlu was startled and turned to look.

He chuckled and said, "From the moment you step out of the airport, believe me, there will be plenty of paparazzi eager to see what color your underwear is! You can't afford to mess around like that!"

Okay, Lin Jianlu thought for a moment, then took out two slips of paper from her pocket and handed them to him.

He took it and then smiled happily again.

After transiting through Hong Kong, everyone is now on a Taiwanese airline. Several flight attendants recognized Lin Jianlu immediately. Unlike the flight attendants on mainland flights who generally maintained their composure, their eyes lit up almost instantly.

Later, not only did people keep coming up to ask for autographs, but two girls even boldly slipped small notes directly into Lin Jianlu's hand.

This was the first time Lin Jianlu truly experienced the feeling of "becoming famous".

When he was in the capital, he rode his old bicycle on the street wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat, and no one recognized him. Although many flight attendants on mainland passenger planes secretly looked at him, no one came up to ask for his autograph.

Unexpectedly, the two notes he casually put in his pocket, intending to throw them away after getting off the plane, were actually seen by Lao Xue.

…………

Landed safely.

The three of them met up and, pushing their suitcases, entered the arrival hall. Almost immediately, Lin Jianlu noticed the large sign with several traditional Chinese characters held high above them.

"Ah Lu, we love you!"

Welcome, Alu!

Hello, A-Lu!

(End of this chapter)