QQ Music quickly got the news.
NetEase Cloud spent 1 million to sign an exclusive album deal. Were they crazy?
As China's largest music site, the era of spending money to sign singers was long gone.
NetEase Cloud was just desperately grasping at straws. Their market share had been eroded, and now they made this rash move.
But after 12 AM, the situation changed.
Wang Kai hurriedly opened NetEase Cloud. There were 12 songs in total, each priced at 2 yuan.
If bought as a package, it was only 19.9 yuan. The price wasn't high.
He didn't want to support Jiang Hua, but to understand his enemy's situation, he had to spend the money.
He bought the package and first listened to the most famous "Jiangnan".
As soon as the prelude started, he knew this song was trouble.
Listening through each song, Wang Kai was sweating profusely.
It was too impressive. The arrangement, lyrics, vocal technique - each aspect was top-tier in the entertainment industry.
Damn it, every song could be a hit single. Putting them all in one album? Was he trying to conquer the world?
This could have been 12 separate albums, dominating for at least six years with two releases a year.
Looking at the song comments section, he completely broke down.
The vast majority were praises, and in just a few minutes, the comments exceeded 999+.
That video of him mocking Jiang Hua's singing was still trending.
He needed to save himself.
That night, many people couldn't sleep.
For the pop music industry, this was nothing short of an earthquake.
Korean wave was prevalent, shallow songs were everywhere, and anyone with a bit of fame had gone to make movies.
Who still made music seriously? This release just ruined everyone's rice bowl.
With songs like these coming out, it was a dimensional strike. Who would buy their albums now?
Looking back at Wang Kai's album, the production and arrangement were professional, but it just wasn't good.
People tried listening to a few songs with an open mind, then promptly refunded, spontaneously recommending Jiang Hua's album in the comments.
His heart exploded.
Collapsing on the sofa, drenched in sweat, he knew he had lost, lost completely.
...
At NetEase Cloud headquarters.
The lights were on all night.
They knew it would be popular, but didn't expect it to blow up so suddenly. They weren't prepared.
The website almost crashed. They had to urgently use servers from other sites to temporarily resolve the situation.
"Manager Zhang, it's exploded, really exploded. Our platform had 200,000 people rush in within 5 minutes, most of them new users."
"We gained 10,000 new members. Jiang Hua's Blue Album package sold 60,000 copies. The data hasn't even peaked yet."
This was just the beginning. Once this album fermented a bit, these numbers might be just the tip of the iceberg.
"Increase promotion, arrange for internet water armies, and set up music clips too."
After the secretary left the office, Manager Zhang punched the air several times.
It felt so good. Whether they could reclaim lost territory depended on Jiang Hua now.
Others only saw how impressive Jiang Hua's album was, but he saw Jiang Hua's infinite potential.
He was only 23, with unlimited future possibilities.
If his future albums were all at this level, or even slightly below, that would still be massive traffic.
Zhang Jian felt he was witnessing the birth of a superstar.
"I need to go to Hangzhou."
....
Hangzhou, Little Hundred Flowers Art Troupe.
Jiang Hua was fully armed again.
He thought he might become a bit popular today, but it shouldn't be a problem.
Oh right, he needed to repay Old Wei. It wasn't easy for him to run around doing commercial performances.
Thinking of this, Jiang Hua couldn't suppress a smile. He had worked hard for a year doing commercial performances.
He was afraid his brother would suffer, but also afraid his brother would become too successful.
When he had free time, he'd buy out the contract. At 28 years old, why work so hard for money?
Leaving the dorm, he planned to get some breakfast.
Not far out, he noticed a problem. The entire street was playing the Blue Album.
This shop played "Quicksand", that one played "Jiangnan"
The one in the middle, seeing the situation, played "In the Name of Father".
Were they having a song battle?
He saw a group of girls with support signs walking down the street.
He quickly lowered his head, bought some breakfast, and fled.
Arriving at the Butterfly Theater, he didn't dare use the main entrance, only sneaking in through the back door.
"Ahem."
"Ah, good morning, Teacher Mao."
Teacher Mao was the former director of the art troupe, a three-time Plum Blossom Award winner, the troupe's absolute top star.
Now she was in charge of the Butterfly Theater.
"Well, well, let me see our troupe's top star. You're much more impressive than me now, kid."
She pulled Jiang Hua to the second-floor window.
The sight stunned him. Below, people were packed tightly, all holding support signs.
The entire front of the Butterfly Theater was blocked.
They even started a mass sing-along of "Quicksand", "Jiangnan", "The Sun and Moon in My Heart".
It was really tough for them. They learned so many songs overnight?
"Well, this isn't my fault. Teacher Mao, I just do some part-time work after hours."
This statement really invited a beating. Teacher Mao patted his shoulder.
"You caused this trouble, kid. You go solve it. There are too many people, it could cause a stampede."
Jiang Hua quickly nodded.
He took a large speaker from the theater and went to the main entrance.
Seeing Jiang Hua come out, the crowd went wild.
Jiang Hua hurriedly turned on the microphone.
"Everyone, stand still. Don't push. Be careful, don't get hurt."
"Okay!"
Hey, these people were really obedient. But they wouldn't leave. What could he do?
"Go home, I need to work."
Jiang Hua was getting anxious. In two lifetimes, he had only worked behind the scenes and had never been famous.
"No, we want to hear songs, we want to see performances. Add more shows. Two shows a day isn't enough!"
This was just an excuse. How big was the Butterfly Theater? How many shows could they add for so many people?
Teacher Mao grabbed the microphone from Jiang Hua and said, "I know you all like Jiang Hua, but you can't obstruct traffic. This Sunday, Jiang Hua will hold a charity opera concert at the Butterfly Theater. You can come then."
This confused Jiang Hua. He couldn't accept commercial performances.
Teacher Mao whispered, "Kid, isn't this your part-time job? Come do your part-time job this weekend. Donate the money you earn. The higher-ups won't say anything."
The old ginger was indeed spicier.
"Go home now, be careful on the road. We hope you'll come support our Yue Opera Troupe more."
"Okay!"
The crowd slowly dispersed, clearing the passage.
Jiang Hua breathed a sigh of relief. Damn, just wanting to do some part-time work and earn money was so difficult.
The fan circle tactics had arrived. He wasn't some traffic star. If people liked him, they could buy his album to support him.
If they didn't like him, they could just criticize him online.
The main issue was the traffic came too suddenly. The theater and art troupe weren't prepared.
Back at the theater, Jiang Hua thought for a moment and recorded a video to post on his Douyin account.
"Hello everyone, I'm Jiang Hua. Today, many fans came in groups to see me. I'm very grateful, but I don't like this approach. It's too dangerous. I'm not a traffic star, don't use fan circle tactics. I will never set up any fan clubs. It's not necessary. If you like me, just buy my album."
"Well, that's it. I hope everyone can be rational fans. Spend more time with family and friends when you have time."
"Oh right, I'm a Yue Opera musician. I hope those who like Yue Opera will support us more. Come to the theater to watch Yue Opera performances. Our Yue Opera is really great."
...