home

search

Chapter 12 Best Seller

  Chapter Twelve Best Seller

  There's still one more chapter ahead, and as expected, I'm feeling unwell and it's a pain in the butt... These two chapters have exhausted me to death...

  It's been delayed for so long, I'll just post it all at once!

  Thank you for the rewards from Ling Hongyan Weilao Junxiansi, Jianmie Shenfeng, Wuyude Menchui and Mutu De Zhu four classmates. Thank you for the update vote from Mutu De Zhu classmate.

  =================

  This good news was announced, like throwing a stone into a calm lake, the ripples that started small at first, but as time passed, it gradually spread to wider areas, driving more water flow, and finally turned into waves crashing all the calmness.

  "This is fake, right?"

  Apart from An Jun-he's fans cheering excitedly, how many people questioned in the comment section at that moment when they saw what was supposed to be "good news".

  It's no wonder they didn't dare to believe it, the first day's sales of 40,000 copies, according to the normal rate of decline, I'm afraid the first week's sales will exceed 100,000. If we calculate it this way, then that article from Yahoo a few days ago predicting that Ahn Jun-hee's album would sell over 200,000 copies is almost certain to become a reality. How many people had total annual sales of over 200,000 last year? What kind of status do they have? In any case, Ahn Jun-hee is just a newcomer in the music industry, if someone suddenly told you that a newcomer's debut album could join the ranks of the top stars in terms of sales, I'm sure you would also think "Is this for real?"

  However, it wasn't long before the H chart and G chart updated their daily sales statistics, and also made a report similar to the following on the homepage:

  "An Junhe's mini album 'Memory' debuted with 15,220 sales on the first day (other charts like G Chart have around 10,000 or several thousand, each chart only counts sales from affiliated stores and is only compiled on weekends or month-end), taking the top spot in real-time daily chart, a strong newcomer emerges!"

  Several lists were calculated, and the total sales indeed exceeded 40,000. This data is even conservative, as it does not include sales from stores that are not part of each list's alliance.

  When An Jun He's mini album pre-sale ended with a data of 160,000, many people started discussing how much its first week sales would be. They estimated that it would be one-tenth of the pre-sale amount, based on the usual situation of new artists and the strong fan base of An Jun He. This is not belittling, as many top singers also have similar sales. If the initial data can reach this level, it's no problem for the final total sales to exceed 100,000.

  But even if they were overestimated, reality still gave them a blow on the head. After a brief daze, the internet suddenly boiled up at the same time, and the media also quickly followed suit.

  "The strongest newcomer king is born, An Junhe's first day of sales reaches 40,000, competing for the real-time chart champion throne."

  "After sweeping all music charts, Ahn Jun-hee's mini-album physical sales achieved another great success, debuting at No. 1 on the Hanteo Chart on its first day!"

  These are just formal reports, in comparison, Yahoo Entertainment seems to have tasted the sweetness of predicting close to reality and made a bolder statement: "An Jun-he's first day 40,000, Thunder breaks through the ice 2005 first half year record low for the music industry, predicts total sales over 200,000, may set a new record for newcomer debut album in recent years, this year's best-selling SOLO singer."

  But not all media are optimistic, some so-called experts analyze the initial sales data of the album industry and think that it may be a short-term explosion. After all, there were 160,000 pre-orders before, and Ahn Jun-hee's fans pre-ordered 30,000 on the first day, which is not too bad. However, in the following days, the sales volume may drop to less than 10,000 per day.

  One by one, they talked and pointed out the situation with a majestic momentum, but after all, there were still few people who analyzed it this way. This is because many media outlets had already been fooled once before. Last month when "Memory" was first pre-sold, some people said it might be an initial model that would explode once and then fizzle out. As a result, the 160,000 pre-orders gave them a hard slap in the face after the media published their analysis articles.

  For the time being, they will not easily jump to conclusions about Ahn Jun-hee's momentum. Even if they initially thought that low sales were bad and high sales were good, they would naturally enthusiastically support him.

  Just as they were about to report on the matter in a physical newspaper, news from Japan once again left them stunned. The only consolation was that this time, the entire music industry was also left stunned along with them.

  On March 2nd, on Japan's ORICON chart homepage, a large poster of Ahn Jun-hee was rarely posted, and in the subsequent report, it was introduced as:

  "He is a popular newcomer from Korea, and his debut album "Memory" was released simultaneously in Japan, debuting at number five on the weekly chart with 52,000 copies sold on its first day!" ORI also pointed out that this is the best first-day data for a Korean singer's simultaneous release of an album in Japan since Baek A Yeon, and even surpasses Baek A Yeon's first imported album.

  The moment this news was transmitted back to the country, the entire music industry collectively fell silent. In recent years, the Korean music industry has spared no effort in expanding into the Asian market, but truly successful singers who can make a name for themselves abroad are extremely rare compared to those in the entertainment circle. Especially in Japan, the largest record market in Asia and second-largest in the world, countless singers have been eyeing its sales share, trying to get a slice of that big cake.

  Unfortunately, so far, the only one who has really achieved success is Bao Er. The media have speculated countless times about who will be the second person to break into the Japanese music market. Previously, Rain was highly anticipated, and when "Romance Full House" aired last year with a high rating of 47%, some media speculated that Rain might use this idol drama to open up Japan. Unexpectedly, at the beginning of this year, just as TBS in Japan was about to introduce it, the X-File scandal broke out, and Rain and Song Hye Kyo, the leads of "Romance Full House", not only had their names tarnished but also received poor reviews. Several rumors completely ruined their images, ultimately leading TBS to avoid risk and retreat, instead choosing Ahn Joon Young's "Sorry, I Love You" with a good image.

  Previously, because of the actor's side being too successful, most people ignored the fact that Ahn Jun-hee was also a singer and never thought he would enter the Japanese music scene. Even the news about SM Company releasing Ahn Jun-hee's mini-album simultaneously in Korea and Japan on their official website recently went unnoticed by them. It wasn't until now, with reports from Japan's most authoritative chart, Oricon Chart, that they realized, as if waking up from a dream, that the goal many seniors in the music industry had been longing for but couldn't achieve was unexpectedly accomplished by Ahn Jun-hee, a newcomer?

  Let's not mention the media and the music industry, after a brief silence and confusion, will burst out with what kind of passion, at least within S.M. company, the management layer is already delighted beyond words.

  As the largest brokerage firm in the country, it has raised over 100 trainees, and with the headquarters plus several branches across the country and overseas offices, the financial pressure is mounting. In fact, SM is more proactive and urgent than anyone else in expanding its overseas business. To support so many people and bear the daily expenses of public relations operations, relying solely on artist income commissions is not possible, even if they are squeezed to the extreme. The company's main profit actually comes from stocks, especially for shareholders. However, since Shinhwa left the company, the stock price plummeted, and last year was a whole year of operating in the red, with the value of shareholders' stocks shrinking sharply.

  This year was the most difficult year for SM Entertainment, except for its early days of pioneering K-pop. There were no large-scale layoffs or employee resignations, and they barely managed to maintain their reputation, thanks to BoA's hard work in Japan last year and An Jun-hyuk's sudden surge in popularity at the end of the year.

  This is also one of the reasons why shareholders responded to Kim Young-min and prepared to oust Lee Soo-man from his position as president, involving shrinking interests. They are too lazy to consider objective factors. In their view, Lee Soo-man is the largest shareholder and the helmsman of the company's decision-making direction. When the company receives honors, he has an obligation to enjoy them, and similarly, he also has a responsibility to take on the black pot.

  But compared to the struggle for power and profit, after all, it is still most important to turn losses into gains in a practical way. Therefore, although the shareholders led by Jin Yingmin have been pressing step by step, they have always maintained a certain degree of restraint and have not had a thorough showdown with Li Xiuman. Both sides are still working together to develop overseas markets with a harmonious appearance.

  TVXQ is the first attempt this year, due to the overly urgent situation, their Japanese debut plan was quite hasty. In fact, since their debut a year ago, TVXQ has not yet stabilized in the domestic market and is currently being suppressed by SG Wannabe in the male group category.

  Given that they are still unable to exert their strength, the management team, who originally thought they would have to go through several more months of difficulties, received such good news today, and it's no wonder they were so excited.

  This news is a strong stimulant for the company's sluggish stock price. Shareholders can already imagine that when the media, which has always been fond of sensationalism, publishes this news, what kind of frenzy it will stir up domestically, and under the influence of that frenzy, how much the company's stock price will rise.

  Before their eyes, the scene of Bao's successful landing in Japan years ago, when the company's stock price soared all the way on the stock market, almost reappeared.

  Kim Young-min and other directors, on the morning of the day they received the news, hastily convened a meeting to discuss Ahn Jun-hee's plan to deeply develop Japan and the potential benefits it would bring. Everyone in the company knew about this, and naturally, Li Xiuman, who was being gradually marginalized but still held onto some power, also found out.

  The office was still slightly dim, with light filtering in through the half-open venetian blinds, casting a faint glow on Li Xiu's face.

  It was probably for show and isolation that they held their meeting in the next room, separated by a wall that wasn't very thick. At this time, in this quiet room, you could even hear the hum of noise from over there, as well as their occasional hearty laughter.

  "It's really... a bunch of optimistic guys!" Thinking expressionlessly, Li Xiu's gaze was fixed straight ahead at the computer screen in front of him, which displayed a portal website's reposted translation of the Gaon Chart and reports on Ahn Jun-hee's first-day sales in Japan.

  Looking at the English retro poster that An Junhe had taken, looking at the poster, An Junhe was dressed in a black and cold suit. Li Xiuman suddenly snorted: "You're happy too early, do you think he'll let you manipulate him?" He had always been deeply wary of this young man, whether it was his warning signs of resistance or his instigation of Quan Baogen to thoroughly tear his face off, which showed that An Junhe was not a simple role.

  Moreover, those fools next door have forgotten one thing.

  "At first, the company and he only signed a 2-year contract... thinking back to that period of cold war between the two sides, I reluctantly agreed to it for the sake of Guan Baogen's face, even warning and threatening Guan Baogen, ultimately leading him to betray under An Junhe's instigation and sign with Jin Yingmin's artist contract."

  Suddenly, there was an urge to burst out laughing.

Recommended Popular Novels