Meanwhile, Chu Tian was also in his office, discussing the latest situation with Yuan.

"The video is slowly gaining momentum, and its growth in both speed and reach is quite rapid. The only issue is that the ratio of likes to comments is heavily skewed—many people comment but don't like. Also..."

At this point, Yuan glanced at Chu Tian's expression from the corner of her eye and hesitated before saying, "Also, it seems the group's reputation isn't very good..."

Chu Tian smiled, unconcerned about this, and instead asked, "How is the song's download data looking?"

"Ah? Oh, let me check that."

The unexpected question momentarily flustered Yuan, but she quickly recovered.

"The song's downloads have been consistently rising, and the increase is significant. It has been over 36 hours since the release, and the total number of downloads has exceeded... 380,000!"

"Hmm..."

Hearing this data, Chu Tian nodded slightly, oblivious to Yuan's shocked expression beside him.

The data had been compiled by a colleague. As a junior manager in the department, she naturally delegated this task; her role was simply to have the data ready. Yet, she couldn't understand why the numbers were so high. Was 380,000 a lot? It couldn't compare to popular singers or top stars, not even to first-tier ones. But these two were just newcomers! How could this be possible? Even Li Guang, despite his rapid fan growth, hadn't achieved such exaggerated download numbers for "Dalabengba." Were these data correct?

Little did she know that Chu Tian had already anticipated this. In his view, the data wasn't particularly high. After all, their approach had been different, and a lot of time was wasted initially since the song had received no promotion at all. It was only after the short video went viral that the song's popularity surged, boosting download numbers. And as for the current data, now that it had started, 380,000 was just the beginning. In his previous life, a song like this had sold six million physical albums. If there were no audience, then fine, it would remain unnoticed. But once it found its audience, they could just sit back and collect the money!

"Okay, I understand. Keep monitoring it. As for other issues, don't worry, I have them under control."

After sending Yuan away, the corners of Chu Tian's lips lifted involuntarily.

He was simply happy—delighted that his work from a previous life could still shine in this world, and happy that he had taken the right steps without any mishaps. He was also glad, or perhaps it was schadenfreude, at the thought of everyone else's upcoming miserable lives.

As for himself? He lived in a villa area with no residential areas nearby. The population within the villa complex was sparse. Lively activities like square dancing—what did all that have to do with him?

With such thoughts, he planned to tell the two newcomers the good news and also give them some instructions for what was next.

However, when he arrived at the lounge, he saw Sun Jian leaning against the wall like an octopus, his mouth agape and completely motionless.

"What are you doing here? What kind of act is this?"

Upon hearing Chu Tian's voice, Sun Jian instinctively turned to reply. But, catching sight of something from the corner of his eye, he quickly spun back around and then yelled as he dashed into the room, "Sis! My dear sister! That's my phone!!"

What's going on here?

Chu Tian, full of questions, walked in to see Yang Lin holding a phone, looking ready to smash it on the ground. Sun Jian was desperately clinging to her arm, refusing to let go.

"ARGH! I'm so pissed! Why are these netizens so nasty? Is my singing that bad? I..."

Seeing this, Chu Tian quickly understood what was happening.

"Ahem! Ahem~ What are you two doing?"

Hearing Chu Tian's voice, Yang Lin froze, hesitating. As she slowly turned her head and saw Chu Tian's face, she quickly smoothed her hair and tried to hide her phone. But then she realized she couldn't pull her hand back; Sun Jian was still gripping it firmly, his wide eyes fixed on her.

Aggravated, she rolled her eyes and hissed through clenched teeth, "Let go! Hurry..."

Sun Jian remained unmoved, similarly clenching his teeth and enunciating each word, "This is my phone! It cost me two months' salary!"

Hearing this, Yang Lin finally understood and quickly let go of the phone. She then hurriedly composed herself, even managing to flash a suitable smile.

No matter what, appearances mattered. Besides, President Chu was quite handsome, and Yang Lin, being a young woman, naturally cared about her image. The crucial point was that she was casual around Chen Feng and the others, but she wasn't as familiar with Chu Tian. He was also her superior, so naturally, she didn't want to reveal her flawed side. But he had already seen everything, so her smile was a bit awkward.

Chu Tian, however, didn't think much of it.

"What's the matter? Did the online comments get to you?"

"Devastated?"

Chen Feng, who seemed unaffected nearby, mumbled the word. He then unconsciously glanced at Yang Lin; he didn't know why, but he suddenly felt the urge to laugh.

"It's not a big deal. This is nothing," Chu Tian said. "If you take online comments to heart, you shouldn't be in the entertainment industry. Keep this up, and you might end up with depression one day."

Chu Tian offered this brief piece of advice and didn't elaborate. It wasn't his job; there were managers, assistants, and various instructors to handle such things.

"Alright, let me tell you some good news: your first song has already reached four hundred thousand downloads. Aren't you happy now?"

Actually, it hadn't quite reached that number yet, but he estimated it was close. Besides, the figure sounded better, so he rounded it up a bit. Based on the trend, it was more or less accurate.

"Four hundred thousand?!"

Chen Feng's eyes nearly popped out upon hearing the number.

"Yes, each song is priced at one dollar and twenty cents. The platform takes forty percent. Of the remainder, the studio takes eighty percent, and you two get the other twenty percent. You can calculate how much that is yourselves."

These figures were a general estimate. Most music platforms take around forty percent. However, according to Xu Qingqiu's development plan, this percentage would likely be reduced once the company grew stronger. But for now, that was the situation.

Of the remaining sixty percent, which was divided into ten shares, the company took eight. Two of these went to the copyright holders and another two to the lyricist and composer—both of which were Chu Tian. This meant Chu Tian and the studio effectively split those eight shares. The final two shares, or twenty percent of the remainder, went to the singers.

It might not seem like much, but twenty percent was actually quite good for newcomers. Even many third-tier singers barely reached this rate. Only second-tier singers and above had the leverage to negotiate better terms. To earn truly big money, one had to reach the top tier. But even twenty percent wasn't insignificant, considering it was just the beginning and not even two days had passed.

As for why the song was priced at one dollar and twenty cents: since it was a debut song for newcomers, a discount was necessary to boost sales and build popularity. They could have even offered it for free, so why didn't they?

It was because the regulations in this world were strict. In the past, many companies had exploited free offers for promotion, offering content for free during the promotional period and then immediately switching to paid access once traffic picked up. This tactic wasn't technically wrong, but it was unseemly. Consequently, regulations were later issued allowing free promotions, but only if the free period lasted for a minimum of three years before a fee could be charged.

The studio would have liked to offer it for free, and perhaps even Yang Lin and Chen Feng would have preferred that, but it was unrealistic. Not to mention, the singers needed money to live, and the studio itself needed funds to operate, especially during its current growth phase where money was tight everywhere. Offer it for free? The studio simply wasn't in a strong enough position to do that yet.

"Four hundred thousand, at one dollar and twenty cents each, that's four hundred and eighty thousand. Sixty percent of that... nearly three hundred thousand... then multiply by 0.2..."

Chen Feng mumbled, but his math wasn't bad; he quickly, if roughly, calculated how much they would receive.

"So, that's a little over fifty thousand... and half of that is more than twenty thousand?!"

By the end of it, Chen Feng's tone had shifted. It wasn't that he hadn't seen that much money before; he used to make ten to twenty thousand a month at the bar during good times. But this was different. Over twenty thousand in just a few days? And this was only the beginning! Wouldn't they earn even more later?

Even Yang Lin couldn't help but let the corners of her lips curl up, her eyes practically sparkling with glee.

"So? Making money feels good, right? Not so depressing anymore, is it?"

Seeing the two of them unable to suppress their smiles, Chu Tian also felt a surge of happiness.

In the lounge, there was likely only one person who wasn't happy.

Sun Jian cautiously put his phone away. Watching the delighted group, he felt an even deeper pang of envy.

Damn it, another one's hit it big... I'm so envious...

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