Huayu 2009: Who should we call the Heavenly King?

Chapter 111 Challenging the Impossible!

Luzhou.

As 2010 approached, almost all the record stores on the street went out of business, but Lao Jin was one of the few who persevered.

He transformed his record store into a combined bookstore, coffee shop, and record store.

He sells both domestic and international records.

Rock, jazz, classical, pop—it has it all.

In comparison, albums from Europe and America sell better, since it's not easy to find legitimate European and American albums.

In the past two years, Lao Jin has also opened an online store.

Most of their business is done through online shopping, with offline revenue mainly supported by books and coffee. Very few people actually buy physical albums.

but.

The store has seen a significant increase in customers in the past two days.

Almost everyone came for Shen Yan.

Who is Shen Yan?

Of course Lao Jin knew.

Even if they don't make money, he still has to support these singers who came from Luzhou.

When Shen Yan released his first album, he received 500 copies.

I originally thought these albums would just sit unused and gather dust, but they've all sold out.

So this time he ordered another 500 tickets.

After receiving the album, Lao Jin opened one copy immediately.

After listening to those ten songs, he was a little amazed. As a music lover and record store owner, Lao Jin had listened to at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, albums.

Shen Yan's album is in no way inferior to other Chinese albums, let alone those from Japan, Korea, or the West.

It combines concept, integrity, and popularity.

That's really a bit too awesome.

Just then, a young woman in a business suit walked in briskly.

"Boss, do you have Shen Yan's new album here?"

"Yes, we do." Old Jin stood up with a smile. "Which one do you want to buy?"

"Huh? There are several other types?"

"Yes, there are two versions: the regular version is 35 yuan, and the limited edition is 59 yuan."

What's extra in the premium version?

"Three exclusive items have been added: a photobook, a custom-made eco-friendly tote bag, and a calendar with the same name."

"May I take a look at it?"

This girl's name is Zhou Meng. She's a recent graduate working as an intern, earning only 2000 yuan a month.

After deducting food, lodging, and commuting expenses, there's simply no money left to save.

She felt that buying an album for 59 yuan was a bit expensive.

"sure."

Old Jin pointed to the display area next to the counter.

"They're all there."

Next, Zhou Meng moved to the display stand, and the first thing that caught her attention was the "Limited Edition," which was different from the regular version in its plastic wrapping.

The premium version looks very high-end.

Leather?

Upon touching it, Zhou Meng clearly noticed something was amiss.

It's not skin.

It's the kind of paper with a faux leather texture; it feels very high-quality to the touch.

The cover is the same as the regular version, featuring a sea of ​​clouds at sunrise, with two lines of text above: "The world is so big, I want to go see it."

Turn it over, and there's another passage printed there.

2010 was the year of the World Expo and the first decade of the new century.

As the fast-paced urban life engulfs everyone, and as the standard of "success" becomes singular and cold, Shen Yan turned his observations, experiences, thoughts, and feelings into songs.

The world is vast, and there's more than one way to live. You don't have to be what others expect you to be, nor do you have to be trapped in others' definitions of success.

Upon seeing this sentence on the back, Zhou Meng felt a lump in her throat.

Isn't she the kind of person who wants to live up to other people's expectations?

From childhood to adulthood, every step I took was guided by the expectations of my parents and relatives.

Step by step.

Choosing a major I didn't like, finding a job I didn't like, living cautiously, it seems I've never lived for myself.

half an hour.

Zhou Meng gritted her teeth and ordered two albums, one premium edition and one regular edition.

As she walked out of the store, she had just begun to consider it.

But the next second, the phone rang.

It was a call from home.

The moment she answered the phone, she forcefully suppressed those inappropriate thoughts.

Perhaps she lacked courage?

At the same time, offline stores across the country have seen similar peaks in customer traffic.

Some larger bookstores and music stores can easily sell 2 to 300 albums a day, and some popular stores can even sell 4 to 500 albums a day.

The momentum is even stronger than when "The Era" was released.

soon.

Restocking calls from major audio-visual stores flooded the distributors' dedicated lines like snowflakes.

Piracy?

It's 2010 now, not 2000. Where would you find pirated physical albums?

They only sell a few million copies a year. That's not even enough to fill a CD production line.

If piracy were to occur at this time, pirates would not only have to replicate the album cover, fonts, etc., but also bear the costs of production, packaging, distribution, and transportation.

Working from the beginning to the end of the year, let alone making money, you might even lose money.

Therefore, in 2010, buying pirated albums was much more difficult than buying legitimate ones.

but.

Pirates are not all gone.

They switched to other businesses.

They changed to small workshops, like those antique and cultural relic dealers, specializing in replicating some high-value collectible old albums.

Make money by exploiting scarcity.

Shenhai.

Upon receiving the good news from the Golden Wind team, Zhang Dandan immediately reported it.

"Brother Yan, the number of orders has exceeded 90!"

"Uh-huh."

Shen Yan flexed his aching wrists and nodded weakly.

He's been exhausted these past few days.

Every day is either a book signing or on my way to a book signing.

Especially today.

His popularity in Shenhai is no joke; at the book signing at Shenhai Bookstore, he almost broke his hand signing too many books.

It was packed with people.

-

The queue stretched all the way from the bookstore to the outside. Later, as the number of people continued to increase, the local authorities implemented temporary traffic control on Fuzhou Road.

What kind of place is Fuzhou Road?

Located just 1 kilometer from People's Square, it is one of the most bustling commercial districts in Shenhai.

Because there were too many people, the signing event, which was originally scheduled for 2 hours, was extended to 4 hours.

During this period, Shenhai Bookstore also made emergency restocking.

They had originally prepared a total of 5,000 CDs, of which 3000 were for autograph sessions and 1000 were as an emergency reserve for autograph sessions.

The last 1000 copies were from the bookstore's regular inventory.

result.

It's simply not enough.

Shen Yan knew that the bookstore had prepared 5,000 copies, but later ordered more. However, he didn't know exactly how many copies were signed for.

Anyway, he signs one document every three seconds on average.

Except for a 15-minute break during the interactive activities, the remaining 200-plus minutes were basically non-stop.

My hands are almost worn out, and my face is stiff from smiling.

The thought of having eight more book signings sent chills down Shen Yan's spine.

Yes.

Gold Typhoon arranged fifteen autograph sessions for him in one go.

He has completed seven matches so far: Yanjing, Zhengzhou, Fengtian, Tianjin, Qingdao, Jinling, and Shenhai.

The itinerary continues to Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Yizhou, Chongqing, Chang'an, Changsha, and finally Luzhou.

The reason for arranging so many events is all for one goal.

Let's try to achieve sales of one million!

If someone had announced this goal two weeks ago, whether it was Shen Yan or a senior executive at Gold Typhoon, they would have rolled their eyes and given them a piece of advice.

Are you alright?

Now?

They've all gotten too big for their britches!

Shen Yan also got cocky; he really wanted to try this almost impossible task.

and so.

Damn it!

He willingly became a beast of burden!

Humans are just despicable!

He's asking for trouble!

The following day, Shen Yan continued to transform into a nuclear-powered ox-horse, becoming a ruthless autographing and smiling machine.

Simultaneously.

The sales figures for Shenhai have also been released.

7534 images!

This number also broke a record.

In 2007, Lin Junjie signed 3052 CDs in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 09 seconds, setting a Guinness World Record for the most CDs signed in a row.

but.

Shen Yan's autograph record is not 7534, but 4053.

Because he stopped for fifteen minutes in the middle.

Before the interruption, he had signed 3481 copies, breaking the record.

no doubt.

Keywords such as "4053 consecutive CD signings, most in a row" and "7534 copies signed" and "Breaking the Guinness World Record" once again dominated the entertainment headlines of the four major portal websites.

In 2010, the publicity and marketing expenses of 1000 million yuan can only be described in one word.

Invincible!

Such high popularity has also brought about an extremely terrifying consequence.

Shen Yan dominated the top ten spots on the new song charts of platforms such as Baidu MP3, QQ Music, and Kugou Music.

The songs "Life Is More Than Just the Present," "The Wind Rises," and "Goodbye" have consistently occupied the top three spots on multiple platforms.

then.

One or two of the following four songs, "Want to Go to the Beach," "Sunset Boulevard," "Take Me to Find Nightlife," and "Seagull," will randomly enter the top ten.

Across various platforms, Shen Yan alone occupies half of the new song charts.

It's so red it's almost purple!

It's burning hot!

The hottest rising star!

Furthermore, his fame is no longer limited to the internet or to young people.

A complete breakthrough!

of course.

There are many reds.

The more enthusiastic the praise, the sharper the criticism of "The World Is So Big" has caused!

From comment sections of some media outlets to personal blogs, criticisms have been pouring in one wave after another.

The lyrics are empty and superficial! They're full of vague imagery like "wind, sunset, sea, and freedom," failing to truly address the existential pain points of contemporary young people!

Emphasizing only individual freedom while completely ignoring young people's responsibilities to their families and society, and allowing them to leave on a whim, is essentially a manifestation of selfishness!

[This song is a blatant Western worshipper! The lyrics are filled with Western individualism and lack any foundation or distinctive features of Chinese culture!]

【————】

but.

The critics and the praises are not from the same group of people. The overwhelming criticism has not suppressed Shen Yan's popularity, but has instead aroused the rebellious mentality of the younger generation.

You don't like it?

I like it, that's all that matters!

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