Chapter 236: Learning, Learning Has No End

"If this were in Japan, wouldn't I at least earn the elegant title of 'Leave-Taking Immortal'?"

Zhou Yi, reading with keen interest the newspaper from Washington in his hand, unconsciously rubbed his chin with his right index finger and said with interest.

Sun Yanzi, sitting nearby, curiously leaned her head over; the swaying tips of her hair brushed against the man's cheek, making him feel itchy—

"Isn't this a bit too exaggerated? What kind of place is Washington? Did that many people really quit their jobs after hearing your song?"

Sun Yanzi, whose native language was English, read the English newspaper without any pressure. Upon discovering that the masthead belonged to a paper she had never heard of before, she couldn't help but fall into doubt.

If it weren't for the fact that Qian Jiang had actively brought this out as evidence to corroborate the truthfulness of his words, she would have almost thought it was a paid article bought by Warner itself—

First, stir up the topic with local tabloids in Washington; after blowing it up for a few days, switch to major newspapers. The whole point is to proceed step by step and increase the sense of authenticity.

"Why not?"

At this woman's skepticism, Zhou Yi glanced at her sideways: "Do you look down on me, the Leave-Taking Immortal? Do you need me to help you recall?"

The threat was evident in his words.

Sun Yanzi, who had just straightened her back and was about to act tough, suddenly noticed Zhou Jianhui and Chen Zeshan still in the office. She immediately shut her mouth sheepishly and started playing the ostrich—

Although her attempts to slack off were already a well-known fact within Warner, it had never been publicly brought up on the table.

With Zhou Jianhui and Chen Zeshan, the number one and number two leaders of Warner, right there, if Zhou Yi's mouth had no guard and he poked through this layer of window paper, she would feel somewhat awkward.

Not everyone is Zhou Yi, with a face as thick as a city wall.

"Ahem."

Zhou Jianhui, who completely ignored this blatant py transaction, coughed: "Actually, this is not a common example; it is just an isolated case.

"According to the company's investigation, the reason this man named John quit was purely due to other factors; your song merely happened to coincide with the moment of his emotional outburst.

"The other five people mentioned in the newspaper were actually those who had long-standing grievances with the company."

Pointing to the other numbers reported in the newspaper, Zhou Jianhui spoke: "However, this is indeed a point that can be utilized; it depends on whether you are interested in continuing to hype along this direction."

Chen Zeshan, sitting nearby, quickly took up the thread: "Jianhui is right, A-Yi. This is actually a very easy hot topic to hype, which will greatly boost the popularity of your single and your Billboard ranking."

"The point of concern is whether hyping taking leave or quitting will cause dissatisfaction and rejection from some people over there, especially since things are not peaceful over there right now and it is a sensitive time."

Zhou Jianhui, frowning secretly at Chen Zeshan's enthusiastic demeanor, glanced at him and then brought up the potential rejection they might face.

Unlike Chen Zeshan, who was keen on acting first and asking questions later and rarely considered the consequences in his hype methods, Zhou Jianhui preferred to conduct relevant marketing plans only after obtaining the artist's consent.

"What's there to fear? I agree."

After Qian Jiang timely produced the marketing plan that Warner had written in advance based on this incident, Zhou Yi chose to agree: "However, there is one place that needs to be changed.

"After the promotion builds up momentum, the company can organize several more batches of people to request the song, and then report on them..."

As a Chinese singer, for a song to break out of the country, besides the indispensable quality, the promotional aspect is also extremely important.

In marketing, "a successful story" is often the source most capable of sparking widespread discussion—

When the single was first released in Japan, Warner (Japan), after discussing with Warner (China), chose the two stories of "A rare handsome man in XX years" and "Star among stars among stars" to complete Zhou Yi's image positioning and promotion, achieving extremely good results.

The exaggerated tone and stories quickly allowed Zhou Yi to establish a foothold in the Japanese market; after Japanese music fans were attracted by the stories, his extremely high looks and solid song quality successfully converted into sales volume.

Originally, for this entry into the American market, Warner was preparing to have Zhou Yi ride on the fame of Jackie Chan and "Rush Hour 2" everywhere to tell bundled stories, since the promotion method Zhou Yi played in the Japanese market before simply wouldn't work in the US.

But just as they had started to ride the wave, this incident erupted...

It would be impolite not to make use of this.

After Zhou Yi nodded, Warner Records quickly demonstrated its advantages as an international giant—

On December 5, the American "vulgar" newspaper "New York Daily News", founded in 1919, was the first to report extensively on this bizarre incident.

As one of the most prestigious newspapers in the US founded on gossip and entertainment, its national circulation has stabilized within the top ten so far, making it arguably the largest mass-circulation newspaper in the US—

"The Magician from the East, Causing a Wave of Resignations Single-Handedly!"

In this vibrant land where all things are competing to thrive, the onlookers burdened with various loans at the end of the year and too afraid to quit were almost immediately attracted by the word "resignation" in the headline.

On December 7, "USA Today", the only full-color daily newspaper in the US at present, published a full-body photo of Zhou Yi holding a trophy high on stage on its front page, with the caption: "The Musician from the East, Playing the Movement of Rest Before Christmas!"

On the 10th, one of New York's most important newspapers, the "New York Post", famous for gossip and sensationalism, followed suit, publishing the bizarre story of a foreigner coming to the US to "fool" people into taking leave or quitting, alongside the "Washington Star News".

Since many people suffered from waves of unemployment after 9/11 and had tasted the bitterness of job loss, when they saw the word "resignation" again in a pile of newspapers at the end of the year, whether good or bad, they would at least take a look—

The name "Spike Zhou" and his English single, which was claimed to be able to sing people into taking leave or quitting, quickly spread across the US via this opportunity—

"What song is so awesome, brother?"

"I don't know; anyway, the newspaper says someone quit directly after hearing it."

"Let's listen to the radio..."

Similar words kept emerging in various families and communities across the US. On the 11th, many American newspapers collectively reported a piece of performance art—

"A man in San Francisco, in order to make his boss think about resigning, specifically played this song for his boss while they were out together. In the end, the boss successfully resigned, and he was able to take his place..."

Is this abstract?

This is very abstract.

No normal person would come up with such an idea in their brain, let alone believe it.

But inevitably, this extremely abstract piece of performance art quickly evolved into a carnival for troublemakers under Warner's instigation—

"I'm playing 'The Lazy Song' for you, wishing you smooth sailing and an early resignation."

Regardless of whether it's true or false, just play it first.

Some troublemakers even played it on public speakers, not just for themselves to hear, but to broadcast it to the whole world.

Sony, Universal, and other record companies, which were closely monitoring Warner's moves, were utterly dumbfounded.

Is this how you promote a song?

In the current prosperous American music scene, the ways to promote songs are nothing more than running TV programs, radio stations, outdoor ads, music festivals, and various scandals, feuds, and brawls.

Zhou Yi, a newcomer, not only didn't run programs or radio stations for promotion, but as a newcomer, no one was feuding with him or cursing him; because he had no fame, even trying to piggyback on a big shot wouldn't be news.

Originally, executives from Sony and other companies thought they would watch a joke, but as they watched, something felt wrong.

What kind of novel promotion method is this?

Tying a song to resignation and leave requests???

Don't they know Americans nowadays are most averse to unemployment and resignation? Besides, it's the end of the year; don't make money to celebrate the New Year—

Hmm?

Wait, that's not right; most averse to unemployment and resignation?

"Arrange for the Public Relations and Propaganda departments to break down this case and study it. Later, see if Wang Lihong and Li Wen might be willing to follow suit, especially Wang Lihong; he is American to begin with and has original creative ability."

The head of Sony (China) looked at the report in his hand, his expression somewhat complex.

More people resign after hearing this song in "Washington in New York" or in "New York in Washington"? You damn liar on both ends!

If that pile of resignation news wasn't fabricated by Warner to deceive people, I'll stand on my head and eat shit!

Zhou Jianhui, you truly deserve to die!!!

(End of this chapter)