Peninsula: You've been chosen here for producing girl groups.

"This is a pre-sale, and you're making it a limited edition?"

"No, limited editions are only for pre-orders. Otherwise, if I sell hundreds of thousands of pre-orders but only ship tens of thousands, wouldn't I lose face?"

"face?"

Song Yoon-ah couldn't bear to watch: "You idiot, other people exaggerate their pre-sale figures and hype up sales, but you, just because you're afraid of losing face, are making it a limited edition."

"Noona, let me ask you this: will these reports hyping up pre-sales actually attract casual buyers?"

can you?

will not!

With music leaks rampant these days, it's already quite conscientious for ordinary people to choose to support legitimate music sources when faced with free music available online.

As for supporting the album.

Aside from die-hard fans, who would buy the album?

Some singers can sell 200,000 pre-sale tickets, but in actual sales, it often takes three to five months, or even a year, to reach that number.

However, this is also an effective promotional method, cost-effective and affordable.

How can you give up just because you're afraid of losing face?

"Han Shuo, don't... wait a minute."

Song Yoon-ah sensed that something was wrong.

With the example of last Sunday's press conference, who would still think that Han Shuo is that kind of superficial young man?

She smiled knowingly: "So, tell me, do you have any new tricks up your sleeve?"

You guessed right.

Han Shuo did have other considerations: "The reasoning is very simple. No matter how high the pre-sale data is, it won't attract casual buyers. Instead, it will only rely on fans to keep buying."

"To truly attract casual listeners, the album itself needs to be appealing."

He then asked Song Yoon-ah, "Noona, do you find my album appealing?"

"Yes, I have."

Song Yoon-ah wasn't just saying that for show.

Indeed, this is the truth. In the past three or four days, live videos of Han Shuo's two songs have been circulating everywhere, successfully captivating netizens.

With such high quality just from the two tracks alone, who wouldn't be curious about the rest?

Both are mini-albums, and at the same price point, Han Seok's debut album includes eight new songs, plus a rearranged English version of "Insomnia".

Such a combination of increased quantity without a price increase truly demonstrates great sincerity.

Given this kid's incredible popularity and public goodwill, it might be a bit of an exaggeration to say that his album is the most anticipated album of the first half of the year.

However, this album, "Love Trap," is currently the most anticipated album.

"And then? Tell me quickly."

If someone you know were there, they would be absolutely shocked.

The usually bright and cheerful Song Yoon-ah was now sitting with her legs askew on the seat, close to her bottom, looking small and huddled inside, smiling happily.

"Don't rush me, the more you rush me, the slower my thinking gets."

"You rascal, stop teasing me, just tell me already."

"An album can be attractive enough to stimulate fans' desire to buy it, but that often falls somewhere in between, right?"

"It seems so."

From the perspective of fans and fans, it's only natural for her to support Han Seok.

However, from the perspective of a complete outsider, the money for one album, if spent sparingly, is enough for a day's meals.

Should we eat something nice, or buy an album?

Anyone with a normal sense knows how to choose.

"If we could make the album different at this point, for example, by making it a limited edition, wouldn't it have a different value?"

Don't tell me, you really shouldn't tell me.

Song Yoon-ah felt that Han Seok's marketing tactics were clearly superior.

This limited-edition promotion will cause fans who already have a desire to buy to rush to snap up the album, and will also further stimulate potential consumers who are undecided.

When the album is officially released the week after next, in order to avoid missing out, those who pre-ordered will pay the balance as quickly as possible.

But to prevent Han Shuo from becoming too arrogant, she deliberately undermined him, saying, "Don't try to make things worse."

"Some people might think that since the number of albums is limited, they should just give them to others."

To her surprise, Han Shuo's single sentence made her sit up in anger: "Noona, then are you going to give in?"

"No way!"

Upon hearing Han Shuo's question, the first person she thought of was Han Yise, and her tone became very harsh.

After a moment of realization, she was both angry and annoyed: "You bad guy~"

Han Shuo asked knowingly, "Huh? What does this have to do with anything?"

"You just..."

Song Yoon-ah almost let it slip.

She changed the subject: "You even try to be clever when you give a gift; it lacks sincerity."

Han Shuo smiled and asked in return, "So you didn't like the gift I gave you before?"

Don't like it?

Song Yoon-ah thought to herself that if she didn't like it, she wouldn't carry it with her.

She feigned embarrassment and annoyance: "I'm hanging up now, I have to go film a night scene."

She said she was about to hang up, but she actually waited a little longer until Han Shuo told her to keep warm before happily hanging up.

Holding my phone, I pressed it against my heart.

It's as if I can feel someone's presence even through the phone.

Suddenly, she felt a pang of regret: "My tone was so strange just now. Could he really think I don't like his gift?"

She took a gold coin out of her bag.

This is the gift Han Shuo gave her last Sunday.

The obverse of the gold coin features her smiling face, while the reverse depicts a scarf—the very style she gave Han Shuo—along with the date of their first meeting.

It refers to taking shortcuts.

But isn't it also a ulterior motive?

Thinking of this, she happily sent a message to Han Shuo asking if the gold coin represented a moment of eternity, implying that she really liked the gift.

But the brat didn't get it: "Actually, I was thinking that gold coins are good at preserving their value."

"You bad guy~"

"..."

Han Shuo returned to the conference room and continued the interview.

"Is it really true that only 60,000 copies of this album will be made?"

"Yes, 60,000 is the total of two batches of orders. Any additional orders will depend on the factory's schedule."

"Given the current slump in the record industry, your album is selling so well; I imagine the distributors and factories must be doing their utmost to support it, right?"

Han Shuo shook his head: "I think the current enthusiasm for buying is a bit irrational. Perhaps everything will return to a more rational level once the album is released."

He spoke with such seriousness, as if that were truly what he thought.

"I have the exact opposite view."

One reporter held a different view: "The pre-sale deposit for your album is 500 to 1000 yuan, which is much more than the 100 yuan deposit for most singers."

"Fans who are willing to pay four to nine times more to support the album have a genuine desire to buy it."

is it?

Yes.

However, it is precisely this deposit scheme, which is significantly higher than the market rate, that supports Han Shuo's argument at this moment, successfully completing the logical loop.

"This is also a small way for me to help everyone return to rationality."

"I can accept the difference between pre-sales and actual sales, but if the pre-sales are too good and the actual sales are too bad, then I will be really discouraged."

The female reporter expressed her understanding: "Okay, then let's hear what the people have to say."

The topic of limited pre-sales is hot right now, and related reports immediately sparked a heated online discussion.

"No, bro, you have no idea how popular you are."

"Don't even mention 60,000, even if there were another 40,000, I think the market could handle it."

"Sixty thousand? Who do you think you are? Give me another sixty thousand."

Not only netizens participated in the discussion, but even some industry insiders got involved.

Kim Eung-seok, chairman of the Korea Artists Union, gave a special interview to the media to praise Han Seok's efforts in promoting cultural exchange between the two countries.

They also said that they hadn't been able to buy any and hoped that more slots would be opened up.

Han Shuo understood that Kim Eung-seok might not actually think highly of him.

Kim Eung-seok is leading the artists in negotiations with the television station regarding salary increases. By extending a friendly gesture to him at this time, Kim is attempting to bring him into the same camp and increase his bargaining power with the television station.

Considering that the publicity effect had been achieved, he announced an additional 10,000 the following afternoon.

Unexpectedly, it sold out again that same day.

This time he did not increase the quantity, but said that he would prepare more when the album is officially released, so that everyone can buy it.

Pre-sales are not the same as actual sales; they are merely an indicator of popularity.

However, on the other hand, as long as the actual sales volume has not yet materialized, there is always room for speculation as to whether the pre-sale targets can be met.

What does 70,000 sales mean?

Others may not know the album sales figures for this year, but he knows them all too well: if an album sells 70,000 copies, it has a chance to reach the top ten of the annual album sales chart.

Right now, taking the top sales spot for the first three months of the year will be a piece of cake.

Even considering only pre-sale figures, 70,000 is already the highest pre-sale record for the first two months of this year.

It's more than the combined pre-sale figures of all the newcomers who debuted in the previous two months.

On the other hand, a pre-sale figure of only 70,000 is certainly not as impressive as the tens or hundreds of thousands of pre-sale figures achieved by top idol singers.

It's inevitable that there will be comparisons and criticisms among fans.

Faced with the results presented by other companies, Han Seok's fans were quite frustrated until one fan shouted: "70,000 is the factory's limit, not Oppa's limit."

"..."