Chapter 35: The Expected Explosion of the New Song

Chapter 35: The Expected Explosion of the New Song

Q Music had many data standards that could be used to measure the market’s reaction to a song.

There were things like retention rate, completion rate of listens, single-loop ratio, number of comments, number of shares, and so on.

Of course, Q Music did not publicly release this data, and Chen Feng didn’t really care about it.

He only kept an eye on the comments under the song and the changes in its play count for a while after the new song’s release.

There were five new songs released at the same time as “Dullness,” and only “Dullness” received B-level resources.

Chen Feng thought it was probably a deliberate move by Q Music to let “Dullness” perfectly avoid new works by big-name artists, making it the strongest of its release period.

Thanks to the massive hype built up in the previous period, the gimmick of “the strongest mysterious newcomer in history” had fully whetted fans’ appetites. From the moment of its official release, “Dullness” left the competition in the dust with its comment and play counts.

This was, of course, the expected effect. After occupying so many resources, if it couldn’t deliver, it would have been unworthy of Chen Feng’s hard work in bringing the song back from a thousand years in the future.

By half past twelve, the song’s comment count had reached over fifteen hundred, more than the other four new songs from the same period combined.

Meanwhile, the song’s play count had easily surpassed twenty thousand, also crushing the combined total of those four songs.

A staff member from the Q Music copyright department, who was in charge of contacting him, called to offer congratulations. The person told Chen Feng that in the first half hour, the user’s overall listening completion rate was as high as 91.87%.

This data set a new record for the year and also broke the all-time ceiling for all new artists and new songs on Q Music.

Chen Feng stood up from his chair, stretched, and with a flick, closed the computer with the back of his hand.

This lousy computer was just too painful to use. Opening Q Music took thirty seconds to respond. Might as well just use the phone.

He pulled out his phone but found that Zhong Lei had already sent him a WeChat message at some point.

This was quite rare.

Zhong Lei said this:

“Someone from Q Music just called me and said ‘Dullness’ is going to blow up. Have you seen the situation? I’m refreshing the comments section every ten seconds. These people are just too good at praising someone.”

Chen Feng smiled.

From these words, he could see Zhong Lei’s current naivety.

Right now, she could still be visibly happy or angry because of others’ opinions. In a few more years, she would become numb to all of this. Apart from the persistence and pursuit within her own heart, she would hold no other emotions in her mind.

Chen Feng casually replied to the message, “Stay calm. It’s all expected.”

“Yeah!” Zhong Lei replied instantly.

Putting down the phone, Chen Feng quietly clenched his fist.

Yes, he was going to make money.

The platform’s traffic revenue sharing with the two of them was a fifty-fifty split. After taxes were withheld, what they actually received was split again, seventy-thirty.

Chen Feng got seventy percent, Zhong Lei got thirty.

Judging by how things were going, the traffic revenue share Chen Feng could get this month would definitely exceed five digits. He just wasn’t sure what the first number would be.

Finally having an income gave Chen Feng more confidence.

This truly made what Zhou Yunbo had said to him before come true: if one place doesn’t want me, another will.

He could leave if he wanted, leave whenever he wanted, without any worries holding him back.

But Chen Feng did not intend to give the other side what they wanted.

His attitude and behavior hadn’t changed one bit from the past.

The change was in his heart. Suddenly, his mindset had become somewhat transcendent, looking down on worldly affairs.

The crazy, desperate appearance of Zhou Yunbo and Lin De struggling over those insignificant profits seemed ridiculous in his eyes.

In the copyright department office at KuGe platform’s headquarters, another guy named Lin, the manager Lin Youyi, was looking at his computer monitor with a face ashen with rage.

His blood pressure was a bit high.

The image on the screen was the Q Music player.

Your greatest understanding always comes from your enemy.

As soon as Q Music made a big move, KuGe heard some rumors immediately.

When Lin Youyi saw Q Music’s promotional materials about the mysterious newcomer before, he already felt something was wrong.

Later, he not only had someone call Zhong Lei but also called her several times himself. But Zhong Lei simply didn’t answer. If he called from a different number, she would pick up, but as soon as she recognized the voice or he stated his purpose, Zhong Lei would hang up immediately.

At first, she would make up an excuse, but later she didn’t even bother with a reason; she just hung up.

Now the truth was finally revealed.

No wonder Zhong Lei’s attitude had done a complete one-eighty. His earlier guess was correct. Zhong Lei had indeed found another company.

But Lin Youyi would never have imagined that the company Zhong Lei found was Q Music.

And the resources Q Music gave were also B-level.

Lin Youyi couldn’t understand what was wrong with the world.

Wasn’t Q Music always about the big names?

How could they possibly give a newcomer like Zhong Lei such treatment?

Then Lin Youyi inquired further from Q Music, finally learning the whole story of what happened. He immediately felt terrible, almost wanting to spit blood.

I’ve been played!

No wonder she suddenly changed her mind about signing and made that insincere excuse about going back to her hometown. It was all just to get the contract from me.

The special B-level contract I provided to Zhong Lei, she used it as bargaining capital in her negotiations with Q Music!

And she actually succeeded!

Absolutely detestable! Utterly shameless!

Do you really think you’re worth a B-level contract?

That was just to trap you!

To come up with this move, there must have been a mastermind behind Zhong Lei advising her.

Damn!

Thinking of this, Lin Youyi felt even more depressed.

Not long after, his phone rang. He picked it up to look.

Zhou A.

“Brother Lin, what’s going on with Zhong Lei’s new song?”

Even through the receiver, Lin Youyi could hear the anger Zhou A was barely suppressing on the other end.

“I’m not too sure about the situation either. I clearly offered very favorable terms, but she had no sincerity in talking to me.”

Lin Youyi really didn’t want to admit the truth.

He knew Zhou A well.

Even though his original intention was to help him get things done, the final result ended up helping Zhong Lei indirectly.

With this rich young master’s pettiness, failing to do him this favor would instead earn his resentment.

The two chatted a bit more, going off on tangents, before Zhou A hung up the phone, very displeased.

Lin Youyi breathed a slight sigh of relief, but not long after, he was called over by his boss.

The boss pointed at the comment page for “Dullness.” “This is a new song just released on Q Music. It’s already a hit. As far as I know, this singer contacted us first, right? And she’s local to Hanzhou. How did she end up at Q Music? Give me an explanation.”

Faced with his superior’s questioning, Lin Youyi couldn’t speak for a long time.

With a bitter look on his face, he took out the contract he had faxed to Zhong Lei. “Boss, look. This is the contract I gave Zhong Lei. I really did my best. She still wouldn’t sign it and insisted on going to Q Music. I couldn’t do anything about it.”

His boss glanced at it briefly and nodded. “Your contract is indeed very favorable.”