[Chapter 548: Album Release, Sales]
Starting September 4th, the media frenzy surrounding Linton's new album, Brightest Star in the Night Sky, was absolutely overwhelming. Music industry experts, veterans, and professionals alike flooded various outlets with glowing praise.
Linton's newly filmed music video began airing repeatedly on MTV and numerous local television stations. In every top record store across North America, the prime promotional spots featured large posters of the album. On the internet, especially on Yahoo's homepage, news about the release was pinned at the top, highlighted in bold red.
On Linton's fan forums, discussions boiled over -- fans eagerly planned to buy the album on day one to support their idol. Bella's fan army was mobilized online, stirring up conversations everywhere: Which song on Linton's new album was the catchiest? Who was the most beautiful woman in the music video? How had Linton, already a billionaire, still cared so deeply for his fans by delivering such an amazing work? They awaited the release with fevered anticipation.
Offline, Linton's fan clubs launched spontaneous grassroots campaigns to promote the new album. CDs, vinyl records, music video tapes, and LaserDiscs were stocked in every record store. Universal Music executed a worldwide simultaneous release strategy, and thanks to a hefty promotional budget, overseas marketing ramped up aggressively.
...
On Saturday, September 7th, Brightest Star in the Night Sky officially hit the shelves.
At Camelot Music, one of the largest music store in Queens, New York, normally open from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., a long line had formed before 9 a.m., packed mainly with young people and a few middle-aged fans. Manager Slack arrived for work, almost mistaking the venue -- the crowd was far bigger than expected.
Regular customers greeted him eagerly. "Slack, can you open early today?"
"Are you all here for the billionaire Linton's new album?"
"Yeah, hurry up! I've got my daughter waiting for me at home. I need to get this album for her."
"Open up quick, Slack! Don't tell me you don't have enough stock!"
Slack assured everyone, "Don't worry. Linton rarely releases albums. I've stocked plenty to make sure everyone gets one."
He hurried through the side door to prepare with his staff, thoughtful enough to add an extra cash register to handle the expected rush.
Soon, Linton's new single The Brightest Star in the Night Sky boomed through the store speakers as the doors opened ahead of schedule. Customers streamed in, gravitating straight toward the new album display, and a checkout line quickly formed.
But Slack's confident inventory forecast soon proved wildly underestimated. Though he'd preordered 3,000 CDs and 300 copies each of video tapes and LaserDiscs from Universal -- enough for what he thought would last a full week -- by evening around 6 p.m., all stock was sold out, leaving many customers frustrated.
Thankfully, he'd sensed the high demand by noon and urgently called Universal to increase his order. They promised to deliver before the next day's opening.
...
Similar sellouts weren't limited to this store. Across major cities -- New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta -- record stores urgently placed follow-up orders with Universal.
Daniel Luman had anticipated this surge, already pressing 50 million CDs and vinyl records, with 25 million allocated to North American warehouses nationwide. Upon receiving urgent shop requests, shipments were dispatched quickly from the closest inventory hubs, securing supply chains well.
When preliminary sales data came in around 2 a.m., Daniel was stunned. In just one day, Linton's Brightest Star in the Night Sky sold 6.1 million copies in the North American market alone. Video tape sales topped 500,000 -- shattering all previous records.
Excited, he phoned Linton late at night. "Boss, great news."
"Daniel, the sales numbers are in?"
"Yes, boss. Your album sold 6.1 million copies in just one day in North America. Video sales hit half a million, too."
"Wow, that's impressive. Thanks for your hard work."
"Thank you, boss. Universal will keep pushing -- we're confident this album will break new ground."
"Good. Make sure you get a bonus for the team."
Daniel hung up happily, but immediately ordered an additional 5 million CDs and 1 million video tapes from the pressing plants -- the 25 million in stock clearly wouldn't suffice.
...
The first day's astonishing 6.1 million sales sent shockwaves through the market. To put it in perspective, last year only five albums worldwide sold more than that in total, and fewer than three even in North America alone.
Linton's record-setting daily sales sparked a new wave of media buzz and online chatter, driving even more people into music stores.
By September 8th, the album sold another 4.37 million copies in North America.
On the 9th, sales hit 3.09 million.
On the 10th, another 2.64 million copies moved off shelves.
In just four days, North American sales totaled 16.2 million copies, with video tapes reaching 2.18 million.
Meanwhile, overseas sales were equally impressive in the first three days:
- Japan sold 2.06 million copies.
- France, 1.62 million.
- The United Kingdom, 1.56 million.
- Germany, 1.73 million.
- Italy, 1.05 million.
- South Korea, 970,000.
The total international sales for those three days reached an astonishing 12.83 million copies, with video tape sales topping 1.74 million.
Unlike previous album launches requiring touring and promotional roadshows across America, this time Linton relaxed comfortably in Los Angeles, letting the music work its magic on its own.
*****
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