Chapter 16: Selling the Single

“Good things are worth the wait!” Qin Xueyang munched on spicy sticks as she urged Zhang Qiyang, “Haven’t you seen all those people online yearning to hear the full version of ‘Night Star’? Just indulge them for once and give them a proper performance.”

“I’ll definitely sing it properly, but not on ‘I Am a Singer’ again. If I sing the same song two weeks in a row, people will just start mocking me.”

“They won’t…”

Zhang Qiyang interrupted her, “Enough, save your breath. I’ve decided, this week I’m singing ‘Misfit’.”

“‘Misfit’? But you haven’t even finished writing it.” Qin Xueyang pouted and complained, “Why do you insist on taking the narrow path when there’s an open road right ahead?”

“Can’t you stop talking even with your mouth full of shrimp sticks?” Zhang Qiyang was growing a little irritated by her nagging.

But Qin Xueyang pressed on, “The new song you wrote, ‘Night Star,’ is so beautiful. It’s the most moving piece you’ve ever composed. Why not sing it a few more times? It’s a surefire hit! You should really tap its potential. Songs like this—you might not write another in ten years! You can’t let it slip away after just a moment. Even if you don’t need the money, I do. Please, can’t you try to make the most out of a song with such blockbuster potential?”

The more anxious she grew, the faster she devoured her shrimp sticks. She almost wished she could chew Zhang Qiyang as if he were a stick herself, wondering why he just couldn’t seize the opportunity.

Of all Zhang Qiyang’s compositions she’d heard, none compared to “Night Star.” Even though it was only a half-finished version, its lingering charm already hinted at its potential to become a massive hit.

Qin Xueyang was genuinely worried Zhang Qiyang would disregard the song and return to writing those “highbrow but unpopular” works he’d favored before, squandering his future earnings.

Perhaps he was influenced by his predecessor, but as he watched Qin Xueyang anxiously stuffing her face, Zhang Qiyang felt an inexplicable sense of delight—an echo of the original owner’s twisted satisfaction at others’ discomfort, which, to some extent, still affected him.

Still, he understood when someone meant well by him.

He wasn’t about to let the chance for “Night Star” to become a sensation slip away—or miss out on the money it could bring.

The original owner had always treated money with disdain—never saving a cent, spending and squandering whatever came in. That’s why there was less than a hundred thousand left in the bank account now.

Millions in performance fees had been squandered. For all his status as the son of the richest man, Zhang Qiyang’s current situation was less comfortable than when he wrote online novels in his previous life.

Having just acquired this new body, and still under the deep influence of the original, Zhang Qiyang was especially reluctant to ask his family for money. Deep down, he resisted yielding to the family in any way.

He had to earn his own living and seize every money-making opportunity.

After some thought, he called to Qin Xueyang, “Help me get in touch with East Entertainment’s music studio here in Star City. Clear the studio for me tonight, and bring in a few professional producers to help record ‘Night Star.’”

“Record it tonight?”

“Yes, East Music Net’s been rushing us. Let’s record it quickly and sell it.”

“You should wait until after you perform ‘Night Star’ on ‘I Am a Singer’ this week before officially releasing it. That way, sales will be even better.”

“How many times do I have to say it before you understand?” Zhang Qiyang exclaimed, “I’m not singing ‘Night Star’ this week! I’m singing a new song!”

“Alright, alright, I get it. No need to shout…” Jerked by his outburst, Qin Xueyang finally stopped arguing. She licked the spicy residue from her fingers and got up to call the studio and East Music Net for him.

East Music Net was a legitimate music site under the East Entertainment Group, providing streaming and paid downloads of licensed singles for music fans.

In this world, the Mandarin music industry had been devastated by piracy, barely hanging on. But in recent years, with the country’s strengthening protection of intellectual property, a number of legitimate music sites had begun to rise, bringing signs of revival to the Mandarin music scene.

Fans were slowly developing an awareness of paying for music. While this sense of responsibility wasn’t widespread—most people still believed music should be free—hardcore fans were now willing to pay for their beloved artists’ singles.

East Music Net was just such a site, specializing in licensed music streaming and downloads. Its scale was still modest, ranking only fourth in the industry, far behind the top three comprehensive music platforms.

But East Music Net had a natural advantage: the backing of East Entertainment Group. Most of East Entertainment’s artists debuted their singles exclusively on East Music Net.

The site had exclusive online distribution rights for all the label’s star singers, as well as for so-called independent musicians like Zhang Qiyang.

Of all the exclusive artists on East Music Net, none sold better than the breakout queen of recent years, Li Xuan.

Li Xuan wasn’t just East Music Net’s top-selling artist; she’d also topped the national digital single sales chart for two consecutive years.

The record for online single sales in the Mandarin music world was set by Li Xuan. Her blockbuster summer release last year, “Straight to the Point,” sold 580,000 paid downloads in a single month, and to date has reached a total of 2.17 million sales—an all-time high in the new paid era of digital music.

Of course, East Entertainment’s team helped boost her numbers, but breaking two million in single sales was still a testament to Li Xuan’s immense popularity.

In this world’s Mandarin music industry, the standard price for a licensed single was two yuan. After taxes and the royalties split between the label and the music site, every digital sale netted the artist one yuan in post-tax earnings.

For “Straight to the Point,” digital sales alone brought Li Xuan over two million in pure income—a staggering feat in a moribund music scene, leaving most singers in awe.

For most top artists, selling fifty thousand digital singles was an achievement; many would struggle to break ten thousand, even with a popular song.

For works with little buzz, legitimate sales might be only a few hundred, a few dozen, or even just a handful.

Of the eighteen singles Zhang Qiyang had released on East Music Net, the highest seller barely cleared five thousand, and that was only thanks to a major promotional push and the support of die-hard fans.

None of his other songs sold over a thousand.

The worst was “A Piece of Black Cloth,” released two months ago—the last song of the original Zhang Qiyang’s life. It sold a pitiful eight copies, all bought by people close to him; fans ignored it entirely.

The dismal sales figures embarrassed even East Music Net, who were reluctant to keep his singles on the platform. He kept setting new lows for exclusive artist sales, and the site didn’t want to be dragged down any further.

But with the emergence of the buzzworthy “Night Star,” East Music Net’s team immediately caught the scent. On Monday, their sales director had called Chen Ke, hoping to get the full song as soon as possible and capitalize on its momentum.

Unfortunately, Zhang Qiyang had been too ill to record at the time.

Now, finally recovered, he resolved to get down to business—record the song quickly, release it online, and see just how much real popularity he could muster.