It rained in the morning but cleared up by evening, as if mirroring the day's events.
Shen Lang sat in a taxi, gazing at the city's dazzling lights through the window.
A gentle breeze stirred, carrying those fleeting moments when life's truths reveal themselves.
His thoughts returned to reality: the combination of his song "Angel's Wings" and the Qin Jiajia incident would undoubtedly catapult him to fame.
The challenge now was to capitalize on this surge in popularity.
To that end, Shen Lang devised a plan:
Continue releasing new songs through their program to further increase his visibility.
Then, release his first solo album to earn his first pot of gold.
The difficulty lay in production, promotion, and distribution.
Production involved pitch correction, mixing, and mastering.
Promotion, as the name suggested, meant advertising.
Distribution, however, was the most complex of the three.
In 2000, China experienced its third wave of computer adoption, with personal computers entering homes across the country and computer literacy gradually becoming an integral part of contemporary culture.
However, the total number of Internet-connected computers nationwide was only 8.92 million, with 1.41 million using dedicated lines and 7.51 million using dial-up connections.
This meant that online distribution of songs was not feasible.
The only remaining option was physical distribution, which could be done through vinyl records, cassette tapes, or CDs.
First, vinyl records were undoubtedly the coolest.
But coolness came at a price—they were expensive. The minimum order quantity to keep costs manageable was typically around 200-300 copies, with each record costing tens of yuan and a production cycle of 2-3 months.
Next, cassette tapes were also quite cool.
While they lacked the prestige of vinyl, their costs were significantly lower, around a few yuan per tape. The minimum order quantity could be as low as 100 tapes, with a production cycle of 1-2 weeks.
Finally, CDs were the most technologically advanced of the three, yet they lacked any sense of class or quality.
A lack of prestige didn't matter; cassette tapes had become the primary physical music medium. With numerous processing plants across the country, production costs could be kept around a few yuan per tape, depending on the quantity and the specific factory. Most plants required a minimum order of 1,000 tapes, with a production cycle of two to three weeks.
Shen Lang opted for the mainstream combination of cassette tapes and CDs.
Yanjing had local processing plants and several recording studios offering comprehensive services, from recording songs to album production. Creating the album itself could be handled with enough money.
Promotion and distribution, however, were inextricably linked.
The best option was to partner with a record label, as they had established channels for promotion and distribution.
But this presented a dilemma: to secure their cooperation, Shen Lang would either have to sign with the label or pay a hefty fee for their services.
"We're back to square one," he muttered.
"Young man, you can eat whatever you want, but you shouldn't talk nonsense. I didn't take any detours!" the master driver retorted.
"Master, I wasn't talking about you. I was just thinking out loud."
Shen Lang flushed with embarrassment.
By "back to square one," he meant that everything ultimately came down to money.
Truly, "With money, you can travel the world; without it, you can't even take a step."
Shen Lang didn't spend his two days off, Monday and Tuesday, idling in the basement. Instead, he visited several cassette tape and CD/DVD factories to scout out potential partnerships.
His findings largely confirmed his expectations. He also negotiated favorable unit prices.
These small, legitimate factories with proper qualifications had been struggling in recent years. China's audiovisual market boasted a consumer demand of 100 to 200 billion yuan, yet the total distribution value of the entire domestic audiovisual industry last year was only 1.533 billion yuan.
The remaining market share had been seized by piracy. Some pirated brands had even established their own identities and quietly launched brand wars. Ironically, some pirated brands, to combat counterfeiting of their own products, had introduced anti-counterfeiting labels.
When Shen Lang returned home that afternoon, he bought over a dozen newspapers—both news and entertainment sections—hoping to find coverage of the previous night's incident.
The headlines caught his eye:
Brent Crude Oil Price Surges to $31.90 per Barrel, Tripling in Just 18 Months!
China Mobile Communications Corporation Officially Listed!
Beijing Olympic Games Bid Committee Established, Embarking on Second Bid for the Olympics!
Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse Hold Hands at "In the Mood for Love" Celebration Party, Confirming Their Relationship!
Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Surpasses $200 Million at Global Box Office, Securing Its Position as the Year's Top-Grossing Chinese-Language Film!
Stefanie Sun's Debut Album Sells 300,000 Copies, "Cloudy Day" Becomes a Smash Hit Across the Cross-Strait Three Regions!
"Should I try to find a Jinmen local newspaper?" Shen Lang clicked his tongue. "But even if I could, I wouldn't be able to buy one here."
Seeing it was still early, he grabbed his wallet and headed out again.
Around the year 2000, internet cafes were quietly entering the public consciousness.
QQ and ICQ for chatting, Counter-Strike and Warcraft for gaming, and the latest movies for entertainment—they were so captivating that people easily lost track of time.
In this era, owning an internet cafe was like having a money tree.
Shen Lang ducked into a small internet cafe on the street.
A quick glance revealed about fifty computers.
The environment was far from ideal, with the mingled smells of smoke and sweat and the incessant clatter of keyboards and mice.
"Boss, how much per hour?"
"Eight yuan."
"Give me one hour."
Eight yuan an hour—truly the capital city!
Shen Lang found his assigned computer.
This year, the four major portal websites already included Tencent, NetEase, and Sina.
Popular forums like Tianya Club, Mop com, and Xici Hutong were also thriving.
QQ had just changed its name this year; it used to be called QICQ.
Shen Lang registered ten or so accounts, saving a few cool IDs for later.
Then he used a search engine to look up the incident from last night.
To his surprise, he actually found it.
Radio Host Saves Suicidal Girl with a Song!
Heartbroken by Boyfriend's Death, Girl Prepares to Jump, but is Moved by "Angel's Wings" and Chooses to Live!
In Two Episodes, "Midnight Melodies" Host Shen Lang Saves Both Love and Lives with Two Songs!
Though there were only three headlines, it was a promising start.
Shen Lang clicked on the last post he had found on Mop com Forum, eager to read the comments.
Mop com Forum, also known as Mop Hodgepodge, was one of Mainland China's earliest personal game sites, primarily focused on discussing video games.
Since most users were deeply knowledgeable about video games and the internet, the forum boasted a wealth of original articles.
Fueled by console wars, the community was divided into "Sony Faction Fans" and "Sega Faction Fans." However, after losing a debate, the user "The Flying Dutchman" created numerous fake accounts to flood the forum with spam, giving rise to the term "flooding" (forum spamming).
As its name "Hodgepodge" suggested, the forum also covered topics beyond gaming, with celebrity gossip, music, and film/television dramas being particularly popular.
1st Reply: Front row!
2nd Reply: Awesome! He wrote a song on the spot!
3rd Reply: I'm a bit skeptical...
10th Reply: If my life ends here, and I cease to exist, I'll find an angel to love you and sing me a song that'll make me burst into tears.
20th Reply: If I could go back, I'd choose not to meet you. It's not that I regret it, but I can't face this ending.
30th Reply: If I had realized sooner and cherished those times more, would things have turned out differently? I'm sorry for leaving you with this regret.
The forum post had already reached 276 replies.
In just one day, its popularity had skyrocketed.
This is how the first generation of internet celebrities are made, Shen Lang thought with a chuckle.
Of course, the internet at this time didn't have the same massive influence as later generations, but it could still significantly boost one's fame.