Chapter 540: Crossing the River by Feeling Zhou Yi Jun

"You don't know shit! Zhou Yi Jun never lies!"

"Exactly, exactly, this group can only be jealous."

"Heh, in the US, there aren't over a hundred mid-to-large record stores willing to play only Utada Hikaru's MVs to promote her; she has clearly been blinded by past marketing..."

Her ten fingers clacked furiously on the keyboard; Arakaki Yui, sitting before the computer, transformed into a righteous historian, directly exposing the tactics Utada Hikaru had used in the so-called "Hikaru-Ayumi War"—

Over a hundred physical record stores across Japan promoted Utada Hikaru in various regions, including but not limited to high-intensity ground promotion, giving away mobile phones with album purchases, and even playing Utada Hikaru's music videos around the clock.

Who could withstand that?

Ayumi Hamasaki, failing to secure physical channels, turned instead to the online internet.

It was the same with giving away phones for promotion, but in Japan, online channels ultimately could not rise, pinned firmly beneath the physical ones; in the end, she lost to Utada Hikaru by a margin of nearly two hundred thousand copies.

Currently, no one knows how much capital EMI spent back then to win this war for Utada Hikaru, but Ayumi Hamasaki's fans have always been unconvinced, believing it was merely selling at a loss to make noise. After all, if offline channels worked so hard for you, wouldn't it be charity not to bleed them dry afterward?

As a die-hard fan of Zhou Yi, when her idol faced a setback, Arakaki Yui quickly found this breakthrough point, directly pinpointing exactly how Utada Hikaru's fans, who loved to talk about the Hikaru-Ayumi War, actually won. She even learned to form alliances, pulling Ayumi Hamasaki's fans to bolster her own side—

"Gakki, did you manage to grab a spot for the meet-and-greet?"

She was fighting a bloody battle online when suddenly, an anxious voice from a model friend at the same magazine company came from behind her—

Gakki, this nickname was given to her by a senior at the magazine company after she entered 'Nicola' magazine and became their exclusive model.

Since the pronunciation fit Japanese habits well, Gakki replaced her actual name and gradually spread within her social circle and among her fans.

In a sense, she was no longer using the internet under her real name.

"No, I've given up hope; I might as well just wait for third-party tickets to come out and buy them."

Confident in her typing speed, Arakaki Yui closed the page, then turned to look at the friend who had entered. The latter, seeing a pile of potato chips, jelly, small snacks, cola, Sprite, and a game console on her desk, couldn't help but hold her forehead—

"Gakki, how can you stay at home all day without moving?"

"It's okay; the filming work is so tiring, I definitely don't want to go out when resting."

Arakaki Yui even held up an unopened bag of potato chips and extended an invitation: "Do you want some?"

"No thanks, I can't eat these lately; I have to be on camera for a TV drama."

The friend waved her hand to refuse, then excitedly put her arm around Arakaki Yui's shoulders: "Gakki, I got them, and it's two tickets; I was afraid you'd buy tickets for someone else, so I rushed over to find you."

"Really?! Thank you!"

Arakaki Yui's eyes immediately lit up.

On August 15, Warner will hold a grand fan meet-and-greet for Zhou Yi in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, with a capacity of about 1,000 people; this is also Zhou Yi's final event in Japan. After this, Zhou Yi, who is currently causing great controversy in Japan, will leave Japan and return to the domestic market to begin preparations for the MV shooting of his new album.

One could say this should be the last opportunity this year to see Zhou Yi in Japan.

Precisely because of this, the tickets for this fan meet-and-greet are being given away for free by Warner; any member of the Zhou Yi Fan Club who has been a member for over a year can rush to the official website based on their fan status.

Warner will cover transportation, accommodation, and meals; fans only need to grab the tickets.

Japan's developed fan culture gave Warner the confidence to release tickets solely via the internet; Arakaki Yui also tried to grab some, but she watched helplessly as the time arrived, the button lit up—just once—and then immediately turned gray...

What the hell is there to grab? She only had the qualification to watch longingly.

She had originally prepared to spend a fortune, after all, this was the only chance to face her idol directly; just now, after becoming a model, she had saved up some money, her little treasury was full, but unexpectedly, she actually saved it.

"By the way, I heard that the MV shooting for Zhou Yi's new album won't be limited to filming in China; do you want to take your own magazine over? Maybe he'll take a liking to you and give you a chance."

—?!

Arakaki Yui's ears immediately perked up upon catching the keyword—

A chance to be a model in Zhou Yi's MV?

She knows being a model well; she is no longer a newcomer to the modeling world.

"That's unlikely; Zhou Yi is such a famous person, he definitely won't be responsible for shooting the MV himself." After a brief moment of excitement, Arakaki Yui immediately shook her head: "How would he have time to manage this?"

…………………………

"Yes, Zhou Yi indeed doesn't have much time recently; you guys just handle these matters."

Warner Building, inside the lounge.

After hanging up the phone, Qian Jiang looked at Zhou Yi, who was reading various news, and came over to report a piece of news: "A-Yi, you didn't authorize the 21st Century Publishing House in the domestic market to use your name, did you?"

"21st Century Publishing House?"

Zhou Yi, who was reading gossip, was completely confused: "No, why?"

"They are using your name to publish a book titled 'Who Is Whose Zhou Yi', creating a large amount of content in the book directly using your name, which involves infringement."

"..."

What the heck?

Zhou Yi was stunned.

If he remembered correctly, this publishing house was quite famous, and it was from Jiang Xi.

So a fellow townsman is fleecing a fellow townsman, huh?

"You handle it; anyway, there are plenty of infringements; one more doesn't matter, one less doesn't matter."

Zhou Yi waved his hand indifferently.

Qian Jiang came to ask him, probably because the predecessor of the 21st Century Publishing House was from Jiang Xi, which might involve someone personally approaching him, so he came to inquire if there had been any authorization.

"Additionally, there is another matter; Jay Chou is currently involved in some rumors about you in the domestic market; remember not to speak recklessly when you return to the country."

Thinking of another matter reported by a colleague, Qian Jiang said with a serious expression.

"About me?" Zhou Yi folded the newspaper, raising an eyebrow with a surprised expression.

Wasn't he "fighting" with Utada Hikaru over here in Japan?

"Do you remember your 'Ode to My Father' from last year? Jay Chou's new album was released on July 31 this year; there is a song in the album called 'Twin Blades'. Under the joint arrangement of Hello Kitty and Sony, Jay Chou was sent to Hollywood to directly star in a music micro-film titled 'Twin Blades'."

"And Sony's promotional style is very similar to your 'Ode to My Father'; the difference is that the duration of your 'Ode to My Father' has already matched a full-length movie, so currently, people in the domestic market are accusing him of crossing the river by feeling Zhou Yi Jun..."

Due to Hello Kitty's own lack of distribution capabilities, after acquiring Alpha Records, Jay Chou's record distribution work across the two sides of the strait and Hong Kong and Macau was handed over to Sony.

And Sony, accustomed to path dependence.

This gave many people an opportunity to look down on them, believing that Sony and Helody were attempting to replicate Zhou Yi's successful model on Jay Chou, also wanting to break into the American market with the music micro-film "Twin Blades," choosing a theme that is both traditional Chinese and the most explosive in Europe and America—the kung fu theme—

"Fighting Gangsters with Chinese Kung Fu, Jay Chou Wields Twin Blades to Charge into Hollywood!"

This title is enough to explain everything about the content of this music micro-film...