Chapter 343: Nocturne

Although the news was posted on Bilibili, it detonated Bilibili, Zhihu, and Weibo—these three platforms—almost simultaneously, directly parachuting to the top of the major trending searches with tens of millions in heat.

After a hiatus of nearly a year, Luo Quan finally announced the official release date for her second Mandarin album, and it was tomorrow night. This gave the vast majority of fans a sudden sense of happiness that felt almost too abrupt.

Although only the album title had been revealed, this still couldn't stop the onlookers and fans from having a heated discussion:

"《Xiao Bang in November》? I thought it was only October right now?"

"With Luo Quan's toothpaste-squeezing style of releasing songs, by the time all ten songs are out and it goes on sale, won't it be November?"

"This title is a bit arrogant; she even dares to use Xiao Bang."

"So it should also be called 'Arrogance in November'. (Dog head)"

"I've been saving my pocket money for a long time just so I can buy a physical copy of Luo Quan's album this time. I wonder if this record will come with a signed photo."

"Even if it does, not everyone can get one. Luo Quan's signed photos are hard currency that's popular worldwide; one is worth over a hundred thousand!"

"A physical record costs several hundred; as a student, I can't afford it. I can only support her by buying the digital version."

"The 'free-loading' party has nothing to fear. Anyway, a preview version will be out by then. Just listening to the first half repeatedly is fine; most songs just repeat the front half in the second half anyway."

"That makes sense, but you can't download the preview version."

"Wait a few days and there will be free resources online. Why spend that wasted money? (Eating melon)"

"Ah, this..."

While the internet was buzzing, Luo Quan's phone here was ringing non-stop.

They were all calls from Zhou Yangwen. Luo Quan had calls coming in on both of her phones, but after posting the update, she had put on her headphones to record a song and hadn't heard the phone ringing at all.

After working for over an hour, Luo Quan took off her headphones and picked up her phone, only to see that the screen showed thirty-one missed calls.

Luo Quan stuck out her tongue in embarrassment: "Oh my, Zhou Zong is probably so anxious he's about to cry."

She hurriedly called back, and the prompt tone rang for half a second before it connected:

"My great talented girl, why did you only just call me back?"

Luo Quan hurriedly explained: "Sorry, sorry, I was recording a song just now and didn't notice the phone. I made you anxious, Zhou Zong."

Zhou Yangwen laughed heartily: "It's fine, it's fine. As long as I can reach you, that's good. I thought you had found another platform and were deliberately not answering my calls."

Luo Quan also laughed: "We've been cooperating quite well, why would I look for someone else?"

"Haha, it was just me worrying unnecessarily." After laughing, Zhou Yangwen brought up business: "Do you have any requirements for the signing fee and revenue sharing this time?"

"You know my personality; just give me what you think is appropriate."

"Alright then, 25 million for the exclusive China authorization fee, and a 50/50 split on sales. How does that sound?" Zhou Yangwen gave a very high price, though converted to US dollars, it was still less than what she got for composing a movie theme song.

However, the 50/50 sales split was the bulk of her future income. Composing for a movie was, after all, a one-off deal, while album sales focused more on a steady stream of water—though for her, this water was a flood.

"By the way, besides the digital album, can we sell physical records simultaneously?" Luo Quan added a condition.

Zhou Yangwen was stunned: "Physical records? Synchronous sales are possible, but selling physical records in the Chinese market doesn't really work."

Luo Quan nodded: "It's fine, we can print fewer. If they sell well, we can add more later."

Zhou Yangwen pondered for a moment and tentatively said: "Then let's print one million copies first?"

Compared to the total number of Luo Quan's current record sales, one million could only be considered a drop in the bucket, but in the Chinese physical record market, this number was already at a level that could stably be the best-selling record of the year.

In Zhou Yangwen's heart, this number was actually a bit large. He didn't mean to belittle Luo Quan at all; it was just that the market really didn't have the conditions for it. Fans preferred digital albums they could buy with a flick of their fingers.

"Let's go with one million. That's about how many die-hard fans I have in China. My foreign language albums all have physical records, so I shouldn't treat the Mandarin one differently."

With everything settled, Zhou Yangwen said eagerly: "Alright, I'll immediately arrange for people to handle the promotion. Once your ten songs are out, we'll start printing... By the way, do you want to shoot some MVs or something? I have ready-made staff and venues here."

Luo Quan thought for a moment and still refused: "No need for that much trouble. I'll edit a few videos myself later, and I'll send you some of my recent photos to print and tuck into the records."

"Good, I'll await your masterpiece release tomorrow night!"

That night, Penguin Music bought a top-pinned trending search, announcing that Luo Quan's new album would continue to be exclusively premiered on Penguin Music. The album had a total of ten songs, each costing 5 yuan to buy individually. If bought together, they would enjoy a 25% discount, costing only 35 yuan.

For a digital album without any MVs or bonus items, this price was slightly expensive, but it was still within the acceptable range for most people.

Penguin Music had also conducted multiple market surveys and knew what kind of groups used their app, and what level of consumption power each group had.

If it were someone else selling an album for 35 yuan, it would likely flop, but if it were Luo Quan, this price would seem like a great bargain.

After all, her fame and the reputation accumulated from previous albums could easily make fans and passersby pay for it. Therefore, even with a slightly higher price, the public could accept it.

And after learning the lesson from her first Mandarin album flopping, Luo Quan had learned her lesson this time.

The songs were premiered only on Penguin Music, and there was no preview version. If you wanted to listen, you had to pay. Additionally, Penguin Music provided black-tech anti-piracy measures, so the sales this time should be very impressive.

The only thing to worry about was whether Luo Quan would be scolded for being so calculating in preventing piracy.

Now on the internet, there were already voices complaining that the record price was too high. Most domestic digital albums were priced around 20, and Luo Quan had directly increased it by half. Exceeding the norm naturally invited criticism.

However, her fame and reputation were there, so these voices were still in the minority. Whether it was expensive or not would only be known after the songs were released.

On the evening of the second day, I don't know how many people turned on the notification function for Penguin Music messages on their phones, just waiting to see that notification that the new songs had been officially released.

The release time for the new songs was at eight o'clock, but by six o'clock, many people had already started urging on Weibo and Bilibili. For her new songs, everyone seemed so impatient.

No matter how much they urged, the set time could not be changed. Amidst the sounds of bitter anticipation, it finally reached eight o'clock.

"Ding-dong!"

"Luo Quan's new album 《Xiao Bang in November》 title track 《Nocturne》, shocks the scene!"

"It's here!" Everyone who saw this message was shaken, and with the hand speed of someone single for decades, they clicked on this recommendation link from Penguin Music.

The album cover featured Luo Quan wearing a wine-red evening gown, looking up at the sky beside a piano, with the twilight sky behind her and a few flying birds dotting the background.

The photo had a somewhat lonely and desolate artistic conception, but this was not the focus of the fans' attention. The focus was below the cover, the new song titled 《Nocturne》!

Penguin Music ingeniously crafted the new album page into an antique-style staff notation. If 《Xiao Bang in November》 was a movement, then 《Nocturne》 was the note listed on the first line.

Clicking on the song, two options appeared: pay 5 yuan to buy individually, or pay 35 to buy the album.

No one knew how many people clicked to buy at this moment, including Penguin itself.

Because the system crashed, for the vast majority of people, after the purchase was successful, the screen turned into: "Network is bad, please refresh the page."

Then, no matter how many times they refreshed, it remained the same. Exiting and re-entering didn't work either; they couldn't even open the purchase page for the new album.

It wasn't just this page; all internet-connected functions of Penguin Music were gone; they could only listen to the songs they had previously downloaded.

No one could have imagined that the opening of 《Nocturne》 would be in such a way.

Ten minutes later, "Penguin Music crashed" rushed onto the Weibo trending search.

Penguin Music's official Weibo quickly issued a statement: "Because the server load is too high, the app's internet functions are temporarily unavailable. We deeply apologize for the loss caused to users.

Technicians have already started full-scale repairs, please wait a moment! (Crying)"

Although Penguin Music's statement was quite timely and the attitude was sincere, the fans who had just paid were obviously unable to accept it. In the comment section, some were eating melons, some were anxious, and some were directly cursing.

"Awesome, first time seeing Penguin's software crashed by traffic. How many people clicked in at the same time just now?"

"My god, I just finished paying and the internet cut off. You wouldn't have swallowed my money, would you?"

"Waited all day, and this is what you show me?"

"If it's not fixed in half an hour, a one-star bad review is coming."

"Can you understand the anxiety I've accumulated all day? I didn't sleep well last night just to listen to Luo Quan's new song, and you give me this? (Angry)"

"Good things take time. Luo Quan is popular, too many people came to listen to the song. (Laughing and crying)"

"Ahhh! My 《Nocturne》! I bought it and didn't even get to hear what happened before it was gone!"

"Haha, I'm lucky, I heard a few seconds of the intro."

"How is it? Tell us your feelings."

"Explosively good. I can only say it's worthy of Luo Quan. I think this intro alone is worth 5 yuan."

"Don't say anymore, the more you say, the more anxious I get, like a cat's claws scratching."

"Is the new song called Nocturne? As a student, I'm still in class. I originally wanted to check Weibo for reviews, but everyone hasn't even heard it yet?"

"Can't listen for now, Penguin Music's server was squeezed to explosion."

"What is an international superstar?"

Originally, the server being squeezed to explosion was a bad thing for Penguin Music, but this news brought solid, huge traffic.

Seeing how lively it was, Penguin Music's official Weibo immediately modified the statement, pointing out that it was because too many people were buying Luo Quan's new song at the same time that the server was squeezed to explosion.

Borrowing the trending search, they directly started advertising.

Although Penguin had spent a lot of effort yesterday promoting Luo Quan's new album, the time was too short, and many groups hadn't been covered.

And this time, Penguin Music used the method of sacrificing the server to provide huge topicality for Luo Quan's new album.

Now, all users who were just using Penguin Music almost knew about this. In addition, some netizens who didn't know Luo Quan had released a new song also curiously clicked in, leaving an impression in their hearts.

Everyone was curious, what kind of album could squeeze Penguin's server to explosion?

Under the full-speed repair of Penguin Music's technicians, Penguin Music resumed operation after being disconnected for ten minutes.

And the answer to the problem also surfaced on its own.

All users who had already purchased the song could directly click into Luo Quan's personal interface to listen to the new song 《Nocturne》.

This song, which was very different from the current common pop music style in China, conquered the ears of all listeners the moment the intro sounded. Only Luo Quan could compose such a beautiful piece in this era where melodies were exhausted.

And the lyrics were equally impressive:

"A group of bloodthirsty ants, attracted by rotting meat."

"I am expressionless, looking at the lonely scenery."

A few lines presented a weird and desolate picture. A slow, dark musical style, a love song with such lyrics should have been full of disharmony, but when fused together, it was deadly good to listen to.

Ordinary fans were still immersed in Luo Quan's singing voice and started infinite loops.

And those singers who had been paying attention to Luo Quan's movements and bought the album as soon as the new song was released to learn from it were all silent at this moment.

Such a musical style, such lyrics, could they really learn it?

This was a style that had never existed in the Chinese music scene, transcending this era, yet not harsh or unpleasant like those equally advanced experimental music. Instead, it was wonderfully beautiful.

In the hearts of the singers, that voice that had been mentioned countless times rang out again: After all, it's Luo Quan. Only she could write such a song.

The musical style of the song might be imitated, but wanting to copy or surpass it was absolutely impossible. Luo Quan directly installed a ceiling for this style with her extraordinary talent. No matter how later comers tossed and turned, they could only be in her shadow.

At the same time, Chinese music critics fell into a carnival. After waiting for a long time, they finally waited for such a good song with explosive quality and full of details.

Although they had expected that Luo Quan's new song might be amazing, after all, the album was named 《Xiao Bang in November》; without some confidence, who would dare to take this name?

But these people still didn't expect 《Nocturne》 to be outstanding to this extent.

In less than an hour, many well-known music critics directly wrote articles of several thousand words, starting to praise 《Nocturne》 in fancy ways. ===== CHAPTER 344 =====