Chapter 37: Zhou Yi, I

In the summer of 2000, competition among domestic singers intensified due to the declining record market.

Rock Records, which had once dominated the industry, was on the verge of losing its Wang Zuo position after suffering an economic crisis, but unfortunately, at the beginning of the year, both of Rock's flagship artists, Ren Xianqi and Liu Ruoying, released albums that far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Especially Liu Ruoying.

If Ren Xianqi's album at the turn of the century merely maintained his status as Guo Tianwang, Liu Ruoying's album shook the entire music industry—

The reason was simple: the lead single from Liu Ruoying's album was titled "Hou Lai."

Even by June, thanks to the terrifying popularity of "Hou Lai," Liu Ruoying's album continued to generate massive profits for Rock Records.

On the music charts, buoyed by the power of "Hou Lai," Liu Ruoying directly claimed the top spot, overlooking all rivals.

For an entire half-year, countless challengers—men and women alike—came one after another, yet no one could dislodge "Hou Lai," not even Rock's own number-one artist, Ren Xianqi.

Precisely because such a massive monster had consumed a large portion of the market share, Warner Music's expectations for its two new artists were actually quite low.

Sun Yanzi and Zhou Yi—though Zhou Jianhui had high hopes for both—he set relatively pragmatic goals for their debut albums:

Sun Yanzi's album, entirely produced and custom-made by Warner with industry elites like Li Sisong and his brother, had a target sales figure of 130,000 to 150,000 copies in the Taiwan market;

As for Zhou Yi's new album, Zhou Jianhui would lower the target slightly.

After all, this album was entirely his own work; Warner merely acted as a wallet.

Even though over half of Warner's internal listening panel gave positive reviews, Zhou Jianhui still cautiously set a target of 100,000 to 120,000 copies—

Selling to that number would count as a victory; surpassing 150,000 would warrant a celebration.

The current Mandarin music market was nothing like the past; the days of albums selling hundreds of thousands or even millions were gone forever.

It was common for debut albums to sell only a few thousand or tens of thousands of copies; even some veteran singers' albums sold only a pitiful few tens of thousands, and that was across Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China combined.

Record companies releasing these albums weren't even considering whether they'd break even—they were calculating how much they'd lose.

Now, any album selling tens of thousands of copies was an absolute treasure for any company.

"Zhou Yi, what's your own sales expectation for this album?"

On the MV set, Cheng Hao, dressed in ancient costume, leaned toward the man, glanced around at Warner's staff, and whispered quietly.

"Me? I don't know—two or three hundred thousand."

Zhou Yi, freshly changed from his ancient costume into a white T-shirt and jeans, gave a number that would shock Warner's executives to the ground.

"That much?"

"Is that a lot? I'm only counting sales in Taiwan."

Seeing Cheng Hao's stunned expression, Zhou Yi chuckled: "Add in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and other distribution channels—I'd dare to dream of over a million total sales, let alone the mainland market."

In this era, only a handful of record companies had the capacity to open multiple distribution channels. The decline of the traditional record industry in Taiwan and Hong Kong had brought the gradually opening mainland market into the giants' sights.

Sure, piracy was rampant on the mainland, but so was the population.

It was just like that famous Duan Zi: if every person in the country donated me a few yuan…

Don't you see? Even Zhang Xueyou, the last shining figure among the Four Heavenly Kings and the final sales face of PolyGram, now needs the mainland market to break a million sales.

"So if I'm the MV's female lead, I'll get some of that luck?"

Though she thought the number unrealistic, Cheng Hao didn't say it aloud; instead, she smiled mischievously: "Your MV feels almost like a short film—I never worked so hard on Liu Ye's movie."

As an actress who had starred in films, Cheng Hao knew exactly the difference between a well-funded shoot and a shoestring one.

"That's why I say one album decides your fate. These days, album production costs keep rising—if this doesn't sell, I'm out."

After joking along with Cheng Hao's words, Zhou Yi nodded toward the crew nearby handling footage: "But thankfully, none of this is my money."

"…."

Warner Music instantly gained a "rich dog" image in Cheng Hao's mind.

Just then, Xu Weifeng and Song Ke, Warner's mainland representatives, walked into the set and approached them.

Xu Weifeng, graduated from Peking University's English Department, former founder of Longsheng Entertainment, now General Manager of Warner Maitian;

Song Ke, graduate of Tsinghua University's Environmental Engineering Department, former founder of Maitian Music, now Deputy General Manager and Head of Music Production at Warner Maitian.

"Junior, how's it going? Has the professional team Warner assigned you been working smoothly? If anything feels off, just tell me."

Upon meeting, Xu Weifeng, though not familiar, beamed warmly: "Song Ke, come here—I'll introduce you. This is Zhou Yi, the mainland musical genius Zhou Jianhui told me about last week. My junior, also from Peking University."

Xu Weifeng, whose hair was thinning, took on the role of introducer.

As the businessman who brokered the deal between Warner and Maitian Music, he had learned of Zhou Yi's existence shortly after Warner officially partnered with Maitian Music.

Zhou Yi's return to the mainland to film the "Hua Tian Cuo" MV was personally shepherded by him; moreover, the mainland distribution channels for Zhou Yi's debut album were inherited from the former Maitian Music network.

"Thank you, Senior, for your trouble."

While Cheng Hao was still flustered, Zhou Yi responded smoothly, extending his hand: "This is Cheng Hao, my good friend and the female lead in this 'Hua Tian Cuo' MV."

"Mr. Xu, Mr. Song, hello."

Cheng Hao quickly recovered and, without time to complain why these two executives had suddenly appeared, still in her ancient costume, greeted them: "Sorry, I just finished filming."

Her composed demeanor carried a faint echo of an ancient noblewoman.

"No problem, no problem—it's our fault for showing up uninvited."

Song Ke, wearing glasses, chuckled: "Brother Zhou, regarding your new album's mainland release, all distribution channels have been notified."

"Now it's about promotion: we can handle radio stations in Jingcheng and surrounding cities, but TV stations… based on my latest updates, it's very difficult."

Song Ke paused, then continued: "But after our efforts, we can submit three songs from your album for chart competition—we need you to pick three to submit."

"'Kuai Le Chong Bai,' 'Bu De Bu Ai,' 'Gei Wo Yi Shou Ge De Shi Jian.'"

After a moment's thought, Zhou Yi named three songs.

Though he had poured the most effort into "Hua Tian Cuo," it simply wouldn't work for chart competition.

After all mainland distribution channels were arranged, on June 16, Zhou Yi finished his final exams and completed filming the MV with Cheng Hao, handing over all footage to Warner.

At the same time, Warner Music exploded that day—

New singer Sun Yanzi officially debuted, and her self-titled album "Sun Yanzi" became a massive hit!

And as Zhou Yi walked out of the exam hall, seeing Cheng Hao waiting at the door to take him to eat, he also received a call from Sun Yanzi—

"Zhou Yi! I'm famous! Do you know how many copies my album sold in one week?! You might not believe it if I tell you!"