CHAPTER 127: CHAPTER 119: PHYSICAL ALBUM IS HARD TO GET

This time, the physical albums on sale came in two forms. One was a "loose" form, allowing buyers to choose independently between a cassette, CD, or vinyl record. This version was cheaper but had little collector’s value, with each format limited to no more than 10,000 copies. Under normal circumstances, selling out within six months was considered quite good.

The other form was gift-box packaging, which came in three varieties.

The simplest included a lyric book, a poster, some assorted cards and badges, and a CD, priced at 99 yuan per copy, with a total of 10,000 copies.

The second tier was a basic collector’s edition, which included a CD, a cassette tape, and other items like posters, cards, and badges, priced at 499 yuan per copy. A total of 1,000 copies were available.

The most luxurious was the third type, the deluxe collector’s edition. This was previously mentioned to include a vinyl record and was priced at 999 yuan per copy, with only 200 copies available.

It was originally thought that these options would be sufficient to satisfy the market. After all, they were primarily collector’s items with very little practical value, and not many people were expected to spend money on them.

The studio had even reserved half specifically for fans and as gifts.

Unexpectedly, everything sold out within half an hour of being listed online; both the gift boxes and the loose forms showed as "completely sold out."

"No way? Just that few?"

"What’s going on? Are there that many rich people? The deluxe collector’s editions sold out as soon as they were listed. Don’t you guys look at the price?"

"Damn, I didn’t get the most expensive one! I just looked at the second one, and that was gone too. I hesitated for three seconds, and all the gift boxes were sold out; I could only buy a loose one."

"You’re still lucky. I had just finished a meeting, and even the loose ones were gone. I couldn’t even get a cassette. Isn’t everyone listening to music on their phones nowadays? Who is buying these?"

"Who? Well, people like you. If you didn’t buy one, there’d be one less person."

"President Xu! You guys aren’t being generous enough! Can’t you provide more? Selling just a few—who is that enough for?"

Watching these comments online, Li Chunhua almost fainted.

Nowadays, radios are nearly obsolete, brand-new cassette players are nowhere to be found, and even CD players have become antiques. Why would anyone buy those things?

She felt she had prepared more than enough and was even afraid they wouldn’t all sell. She had decided to keep half only because fans strongly desired them, taking a bold risk by reserving that stock. At worst, she could distribute them among partners later, so it wouldn’t be a waste. But why were all these casual buyers purchasing them? How could so many people be buying?

This was clearly a case of an inaccurate market forecast. But to be honest, nobody could have predicted this situation.

Since the popularization of the internet, physical album sales had plummeted. No one had focused on selling physical albums in almost twenty years. Who could have possibly known this would happen?

If it weren’t for this album being so phenomenal, what if they tried releasing a different one? How many copies would sell then? Even giving it away for free would be tough; fans who took it home would probably still complain it took up space.

Regardless, since there was demand, they should sell. If this thing could make money, why not sell it?

Increase the print run! Notify the factory to work overtime and double the production!

This decision wasn’t just because there weren’t enough for casual buyers; there weren’t enough for the dedicated fans either!

During the sale, two separate links had been shared. There was a special purchasing channel within the fan group, which also served as a way to reward their support.

Although sales weren’t as instantaneous as through the public channels due to the smaller fan base in the group, everything still sold out in under an hour.

In the fan groups, the main topic of discussion was the scarcity of gift boxes. The loose albums cost only a few dozen yuan, and vinyl records a couple of hundred yuan. However, the cheapest gift box was only 99 yuan and had higher collectible value. Who would want to buy the loose ones?

If it weren’t for the fear of missing out, prompting them to settle for the loose versions to console themselves, probably very few would have bought them, right?

After seeing these messages, Li Chunhua quickly understood: reduce the quantity of loose albums and continue to increase the production of gift boxes.

After all, making money was the goal. A digital album only cost 35 yuan. They had to split the revenue with the platform and pay taxes, meaning they barely made a little over ten yuan per album.

Yet the cheapest physical album was priced at 99 yuan. The production cost was merely 10-20 yuan, and the distribution channel fee was just five percent. Since it was sold online, there was no need for widespread physical distribution.

Essentially, after taxes, selling one physical album could net forty to fifty yuan in profit—only a fool wouldn’t sell it!

Not to mention the more expensive collector’s editions. The profit for the 499-yuan edition was around two to three hundred yuan, while the 999-yuan edition yielded a profit of nearly four to five hundred yuan.

At this profit margin, how many digital albums would it take to equal the earnings from one physical album? Anyone with elementary school math skills could figure that out.

To appease both fans and the general public, and also to get a concrete number for production, Li Chunhua communicated with the sales platform and immediately initiated a pre-sale.

The terms were "buy now, ship later." The stated reason was that production required time, which was entirely true, not an excuse.

As a result, when the pre-sale launched, a notice stated: ’Shipments will be prioritized based on purchase order.’

Many people, upon seeing this line, placed their orders impulsively, especially those who weren’t short on cash. Some even ordered tens or even hundreds of copies.

Because it was a pre-sale, they hadn’t thought to implement purchase limits, which led to this situation.

Simply put, their inexperience resulted in a chaotic situation. The studio couldn’t differentiate whether these people were genuine buyers or scalpers. Furthermore, the most ordered and best-selling items were undoubtedly the two types of collector’s editions.

However, one had to admire the powerful industrial capabilities of the era. Despite the large number of purchases, the factory’s production speed was impressively fast.

Even if some scalpers were trying to take advantage of the situation, it was largely futile. Shipments would definitely be sent out within a week at the latest.

After all this commotion, the initial rush for physical albums finally subsided.

Once buyers received their albums, they couldn’t wait to show them off everywhere online.

Online, besides discussions about the new album’s songs, the physical albums themselves became the hottest topic.

In particular, when images of the deluxe collector’s edition appeared online, they quickly sparked heated discussions.

"Damn, this is gorgeous, isn’t it?"

The cyan-blue outer packaging, featuring specially treated images of blue skies and white clouds, looked artistic rather than clichéd.

The elegant obi strip, with its background pattern composed of song lyrics and featuring a photo of Xu Qingqiu, was highly distinctive.

What earned the most praise, however, were the numerous collectible items inside.

"Wow! There’s even a Q-version fridge magnet of President Xu?"

"This badge is too cute, isn’t it? I really want one!"

"BOO HOO HOO! I just went to the restroom, and by the time I came back, it was sold out! I only managed to buy one during the pre-sale. When will it finally be delivered?"

"Damn it, I bought the basic collector’s edition, and I regret it. No way! I have to buy the deluxe one too. The difference is huge!"

"AAAAH, I can’t wait any longer! Is anyone willing to resell theirs? I’ll pay extra!"

"To appreciate the physical album, I specifically bought a phonograph, a CD player, and a cassette player, just waiting for the album to arrive!"

"Awesome! Definitely a rich lady, confirmed. Just the phonograph alone costs over ten thousand yuan. We poor folks can’t even compare."

And she wasn’t the only wealthy person doing so. Some bought it purely for collection purposes, while others, who genuinely weren’t short on cash, purchased multiple copies—one to listen to, and the rest for either collecting or gifting, as the album was truly worth it.

Moreover, she wasn’t the only one who bought special playback devices just for this album.

Those in the audio equipment industry mostly considered it a sunset business, with most struggling to get by. None had expected that a single album could allow them to enjoy a small feast.