Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

Chapter 459 Album sales in the first week

Link’s fourth album was leaked by hackers before its official release, causing a loss of nearly 10 million US dollars.

 This news has aroused heated discussion in the United States and even the world after being reported by many media in the United States.

Before August, there had been many news around the world where hackers stole bank customer information, stole celebrity accounts and posted random messages, which attracted the attention of countries around the world.

 Two of the hacking incidents were related to the music industry.

 At the beginning of July, Queen Beyoncé’s new album “4” was also leaked before its release.

At the end of July, Lady Gaga’s fan website in the UK was also hacked, and the information of more than 100,000 fans was stolen.

　　This week, singing superstar Link’s new album was leaked by hackers again, causing tens of millions of losses.

The combination of a series of major events has caused panic in people and anger in the world.

If hacker organizations steal bank customer information to make profits, steal politicians’ social accounts to vent their dissatisfaction, and steal celebrities’ social accounts to post news for fun.

And when they steal singers' albums and leak them on the Internet in advance, it has no meaning other than adding chaos and dampening the singers' creative enthusiasm.

 For a time, everyone from the President of the United States and members of the two congresses to ordinary people felt unhappy with the hacker group.

New York State Senator Julia Salazar said at a public event that day that the Internet should not be a place outside the law. She proposed to compare hacker organizations with terrorist organizations and asked the legislative body to formulate relevant laws to restrain these people. Let them continue their nonsense.

This proposal was supported by many netizens. Within three days, 125,000 people went to the official White House website to petition, asking the judicial department to severely punish hacker organizations such as Swagsec.

For this reason, White House spokesperson Sally Sandella said at the press conference that day:

After receiving a report from Link Music Company, the Manhattan police in New York have begun to track down the Swagsec hacker organization. It is understood that this is a hacker organization active in Cambodia. The CIA has also launched operations to conduct a cross-border investigation into the organization.

Link Music posted a tweet on its official account, asking users who participated in downloading the free album not to spread the sound source of this album at will after listening to the song to avoid causing greater losses to the musicians. For individuals and organizations that use free sound sources to make profits , the company will pursue relevant responsibilities.

The official account of iTunes Music Mall also tweeted to support Link Music’s decision and stated that it would cooperate with relevant investigations.

Pop superstar Britney Spears also re-tweeted, apologizing to Link and Link’s fans, saying that she would take good care of her personal account in the future, and wishing Link a successful new album.

Amidst this chaotic situation, Link's fourth album "LoveIsGone" was released simultaneously in 48 countries and regions including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia.

 Sold 1.537 million copies in the United States in the first week.

  Toped the Billboard Album Chart.

It is slightly worse than the third album "The Woman I Love" which sold 1.747 million copies in its first week, but it is also the first album in the United States to sell more than 1.5 million copies in its first week this year. It is also the 19th major album to sell more than one million copies in its first week since Nielsen started counting U.S. album sales in 1991. dish.

 At the same time, it also surpassed the 1.322 million copies of Eminem's fourth album "The Eminem Show" released in 2002, ranking seventh on the all-time album weekly sales list.

 Taylor's third album "Last Kiss" ranked sixth with 1.59 million copies, and Link's "The Woman I Love" ranked fourth.

And all 20 songs in the album were on the top 100 of the "Billboard" singles chart in the first week.

 What makes Link fans even more excited is that nine of the top 10 songs on the Billboard singles chart are from this album.

"That Girl" still topped the singles chart, followed by "SaySomething", "Loveisgone", "Lethergo", "Sorry", "LetMeDownSlowly", "Latenightmelancholy", "Nopromises" and "RememberMe", a collaboration between Link and Taylor Swift Wait for the song to follow.

Link also became the first singer in the history of music to have nine songs in the top 10 of the Billboard singles chart at the same time. He also broke the record of the top five set by the Beatles in 1964, and Link directly occupied the top eight.

The ninth-ranked song is "Somebody That I Used To Know", a collaboration between Australian male singer Gotye and New Zealand female singer Kimbra.

This song was released on July 10 and topped the singles chart for three consecutive weeks. It sold 4.5 million copies in the United States in the first month. It is also a great love song.

Of the eleven remaining songs in the album "LoveIsGone", ten are ranked in the top 50, and only one song composed by Link himself ranks at number 94, which makes him very ashamed.

 Overseas, "LoveIsGone" also topped the album sales charts in 23 countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, with total overseas sales of 3.72 million copies in the first week.

 The total sales volume in the first week was 5.263 million copies.

　　 also became the second album this year to sell more than 5 million copies in its first week.

 The first album was "Born This Way" released by Lady Gaga in May. The album's first-week sales of physical and digital albums in the United States were as high as 1.108 million, and global first-week sales were 5.72 million.

 The reason "BornThisWay" sold so well in the first week was that each digital album only cost $0.99, which was a crazy sale.

 For this reason, the Nielsen data official website had to modify the rules. Albums priced below $3.99 will not be counted in sales.

 The digital album of "Love Is Gone" is US$19.9 per copy, almost 20 times that of "Born This Way", and the physical album is US$29.9, making it the most expensive album in the world throughout the year.

The media once again criticized Link for selling his album as a luxury product.

In terms of overseas singles charts, "Say Something", a collaboration between him and Taylor, topped the singles charts in 12 countries and regions.

 "Loveisgone" topped the singles charts in 10 countries and regions, and "That Girl" topped the singles charts in 5 countries and regions.

 The remaining four songs "Lethergo", "Sorry", "LetMeDownSlowly" and "Latenightmelancholy" also topped the singles chart in at least one country.

　Judging from these rankings, the songs on this album are all very good.

 In addition, the media spoke highly of this album.

The British "Guardian" said that since Link released his first album in January 2009, he has released four consecutive albums, all of which are of a high standard, and the fourth album is significantly better than the first three in terms of style, artistry and interpretation. Progress shows that Link is a singer who is still growing.

 The New York Times gave this album a score of 90 points and commented that the songs in the album are all sincere works.

 Link’s breakup with Taylor Swift last April was widely publicized and was the news of the year in 2010.

It is said that Link began to compose the songs for the fourth album from then on, among which "Lethergo" and "Sorry" were all composed within a month after the breakup.

What's rare is that after Link became a 'playboy', he could still continue his original style, maintain a strong creative passion, and continue to compose more than ten lovelorn songs, which are also masterpieces of sad songs. sharp.

 At the end of the review, the author added that the reason why 10 points were deducted was not because of the songs on the album, but because Link was really a ‘playboy’. This point was deducted from Link.

 "Billboard" magazine rated the album as "amazing" and gave it a high score of 92.

Steven Copno, the editor-in-chief of the magazine, commented that among the albums released from 2001 to 2011, the quality of this album can also be ranked among the top three, even higher than Link's third album, which has 20 songs. The songs all entered the top 100 of the singles chart, and one copy is worth ten.

 Steven Copno said in a joking tone at the end.

After Link and Taylor broke up in April last year, there were rumors in the industry that Link was going to write a lovelorn style album. Many people kept looking forward to it, but then Link was immediately tainted and became a 'playboy' Link, with a rich relationship experience. .

This has also led many people to doubt whether he can fulfill his promise and write an album with a lovelorn style. Asking a **** to write lovelorn songs is like asking an adult to pretend to be young.

This suspicion continued until before the album was released, the first promotional single "That Girl" was released. After listening to this song, many people were relieved. It is indeed a lovelorn song, with a fresh style and sincere emotions, and it is not pretending to be young at all. .

 Later, a new album was released, and all 20 songs entered the top 100 of the singles chart, receiving support and love from fans.

Link succeeded and kept his promise.

It also shows that **** Link has not lost himself in complicated emotional experiences and can still maintain his original intention. This is commendable. I hope Link can continue to maintain it.

  —

 The album’s first-week sales were good, and its reputation was also good, which also shows that Link’s new album is successful again.

The only thing that fans regret is that the first-week sales of "Loveisgone" did not break the sales record of "The Woman I Love".

 The media also believed that "Loveisgone" sold 1.53 million copies in its first week, which was not too successful for Link.

 First of all, all 20 songs from the album entered the top 100 of the singles chart. The ranking is better than that of the third album, which shows that the quality and popularity of the album are no worse than the third album.

  Secondly, Link’s influence is greater than last year, and his appeal should also be stronger, especially with the recent news that he won 7 gold medals at the World Championships. “Captain America” starring him is still the weekly box office champion.

Under this circumstance, the first-week sales of "Loveisgone" should be higher than those of the third album. It was expected that the first-week sales should be more than 1.8 million copies, but the result was only 1.53 million copies.

The media believes that hackers leaking the album's audio source in advance was the main reason for the album's "loss" of sales in the first week.

　Including the 358,000 digital albums leaked in advance, the number is almost 1.9 million.

 The second reason is that Link has shifted the focus of his activities to Hollywood, and his activities in the music scene have decreased, and his influence on fans has declined.

 In addition, in terms of publicity and planning, there are obviously many fewer tricks than last year.

The media believes that it is very challenging for "Loveisgone" to surpass the national sales of "TheWomanILove".

 “Cheers!”

 “Cheers!”

In a club in New York, Kunas, Diddy and Jay-Z clinked glasses of champagne.

“Sean, Ryan, are those hackers hired by you?” Jay-z took a sip of champagne and asked.

“Haha, no, it has nothing to do with me.”

Diddy laughed, grinned and said, "No matter who does it, as long as it affects the sales of Link's new album, it's something worth celebrating, isn't it?"

“That’s right! Link’s album sales have failed. This is the best news I’ve heard this year, and it’s very worthy of celebration.”

Little Kunas said happily.

Jay-Z nodded. Although his wife Beyoncé’s new album sound source was also leaked by hackers, and he was also one of the victims, he heard that the sales of Link’s new album in the first week did not meet expectations, which is undoubtedly a good thing for him. information.

 Ever since Link crossed over into rap in 2009, causing their East Coast rap to be disgraced, not a day goes by that he doesn’t want to see Link suffer misfortune.

  This leak of the audio source directly caused Link's loss of tens of millions. This is even more great news and made them relieved.

 “Jess, when are you and Kanye’s new album going to be released?”

Little Kunas asked.

 “September 12th.”

Jay-Z said.

His new album "WatchThe Throne", a collaboration with Kanye West, is also currently entering the promotion period.

This album was completed in May and was originally planned to be released in early August. However, I heard that Link’s new album was also planned to be released at that time.

 Considering that Link is too famous, his publishing department suggested that he and Kanye delay or advance the release.

If it were moved forward to July, it would coincide with Beyoncé’s album. They had no choice but to choose to delay it unhappily.

 But because of Link, the release of the new albums of the two rap kings, him and Kanye, was delayed, which was a big insult to him and Kanye.

He also thought about not delaying it, putting it until August, and having another album chart battle with Link.

 Just considering that Link’s third album sold 5.5 million copies in North America and 36 million copies globally in the whole year. According to this momentum, the sales volume of Link’s fourth album in the first week will not be less than 1 million copies.

  Neither he nor Kanye nor the company had much confidence in selling a million copies in its first week.

 Finally, after careful consideration, we gave up the risk and postponed the release until September.

After the sales of "Loveisgone" were released in the first week, he was secretly grateful. Fortunately, he did not take the risk of making adjustments. If it happened, the possibility of failure would be extremely high.

“Jess, this album is a collaboration between you and Kanye. Do you hope to compete with Link in the annual sales chart?”

Little Kunas asked.

 Jay-Z shook his head, it’s difficult.

The company estimates that the U.S. sales of this album will not be higher than "The Blueprint 3", around 1.3 million, which is also their expectation.

 Link's new album sold 1.53 million copies in its first week.

 There is no comparison at all.

"Link has too many titles and a relatively large influence in the United States. In addition, he is good at hype and has the bonus of "Captain America." According to the current situation, his album sales in North America have a great chance of exceeding 4 million copies. , this number is difficult to surpass.”

Jay-Z bared his white teeth, his face full of envy and jealousy.

 “This bastard, how can he be so powerful?”

Little Kunas smashed the table angrily.

This **** Link is not only the king of the music industry, he also won the WBA super boxing championship belt not long ago.

His new movie "Captain America" ​​has a global box office of nearly 400 million US dollars. The media said that his salary for this movie exceeded 20 million US dollars, and his company earned nearly 100 million US dollars from the "Bridesmaids" project.

 What’s even more irritating is that this **** also trades in stocks and is worth more than 3 billion.

 Old Tom, who used to be a bit picky about Link, now only hopes that Link and Ivaca will get married soon and have a fat boy.

 Shet!

Thinking of this, little Kunas was going crazy with jealousy. He suddenly looked at Diddy, "You have been sending women to Link since last year, trying to frame him with this trick. Why haven't you done anything yet?"

“Alas! Little Epstein and I sent her away many times, but to no avail. One is that Link is very wary and will not even look at strange girls, no matter how beautiful they are.

 Secondly, there are too many beauties around him, and it is difficult to find a good one to send him. The key point is that we found that Link is only interested in female celebrities. The more famous he is, the greater his interest. He has no interest in ordinary beauties. "

Diddy said helplessly.

 “Only like famous women? The more famous the better?”

Little Kunas thought of Link's girlfriends, whether they were from the UK, the US, France, Japan or South Korea, they all seemed to be quite famous actresses.

 “Damn, this **** is too picky.”

"That's right. If he is like this, do we need to find a big star to give him to play with? It's not realistic. Link's status in the entertainment industry is too high, and ordinary female stars will not agree to help us frame Link."

Jay-Z sighed.

Little Kunas frowned, "This matter is indeed difficult, but don't give up too early. Slowly find a suitable candidate. If necessary, you can increase the price. There may be a popular actress willing to help us deal with Link."

 Jay-Z and Diddy nodded, thinking that this is not bad. Although this matter is more difficult to handle, it is better than no way.

  —

After the release of "Loveisgone", Link followed the same pattern as before, flying around major cities in the United States to hold book signings in the first week, signing more than 8,000 copies every day.

In the second week, I continued to fly to major cities in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and other places to hold book signings. I signed more than 5,000 signatures every day, and the scene was still hot.

 There is another good news this week.

　　The digital audio source of the album was previously leaked by hackers and downloaded for free 358,000 times on the iTunes platform.

With the recent criticism of hacker organizations in the media, people are very disgusted and angry with hacker organizations, which has also led some iTunes users who participated in free digital albums to actively delete their original resources and choose to purchase them online again.

These people will also post videos of deleting free music sources and re-purchasing genuine digital albums online, calling on others to do the same, respect and protect the singer's creation, unite to resist hacker organizations, and never be an accomplice of hacker organizations.

This approach has also attracted the support of many fans, and has been praised by many media outlets.

According to data from the iTunes Music Mall, after the release of the genuine digital album "Loveisgone", 28% of users who had downloaded free music sources chose to purchase it again in the first week, and this proportion increased to 56% this week.

  In other words, among the 358,000 people who downloaded free music sources, nearly 180,000 chose to pay for them.

 This is indeed good news.

 To this end, Link and Link Music announced another donation of US$18 million to the International Red Cross, Link Charitable Foundation, and the Recording Industry Association of America’s anti-piracy organization.

　　The song "See You Again" originally generated millions of dollars in charitable donations every year, and now it has donated another 10 million dollars. This move has also attracted praise from fans and the media.

This matter was decided by Link and Iwaka. He is young, worth billions, and a global icon. It is also a good thing for him to have the title of a charity star.

Link spent a busy week, and the sales volume was released in the second week.

 “Loveisgone” sold 1.035 million copies in the United States in its second week, which was a 30% decrease from the first week. However, it was the first solo album in the European and American music industry to sell more than 1 million copies for two consecutive weeks. This is a new record.

 Overseas sales were also good, with 3.857 million copies, a slight increase from last week.

 The main reason is that the number of countries and regions issued overseas expanded from 48 to 102 this week.

　　This also includes the Chinese region. This album sold 516,000 copies in the first week in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It is also the highest-selling English album in the first week in the past ten years.

In order to thank the Chinese fans, Link specially flew to the Chinese region to hold many autograph sessions.

While promoting the album, he will also take time to participate in the promotional activities of "Captain America" ​​and use the movie to promote the album.

 The movie was released on July 22. By the end of August, the North American box office had reached 241 million U.S. dollars, and the global box office had reached 210 million. The global box office successfully exceeded 450 million, surpassing "Thor" and becoming the highest-grossing movie of the same type this year.

The album was a hit and the movie was a hit, and for a while Link became the most popular public figure in the world's entertainment industry.

 (End of this chapter)