Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 39

The Director nodded, seemingly understanding Youngchan’s words, but remained firm.

“Once we sell 70,000 copies, the production costs drop significantly. Printing another 30,000 won’t be a big deal.”

“Well, I guess so. I wasn’t expecting much from the album anyway.”

Whether it was books or albums, the more they printed, the higher the profit margin. Even 10,000 copies would generate a good profit, so exceeding 70,000 was like printing money.

The Director smiled, pleased with Youngchan’s agreement, but couldn’t quite mask his disappointment.

“It’s a shame it’s just a mini-album. If it were a full album, we could have considered a concert.”

“It’s still tough for the older guys [referring to the other band members] to handle a full-scale concert. Maybe a one-hour mini-concert would be possible.”

Of course, Youngchan could easily handle a concert on his own.

However, if Black Tiger had to headline, one hour would definitely be the limit. Any longer, and the opening act would risk overshadowing the main performance.

In that regard, the mini-concert Youngchan mentioned was unlikely to happen.

A mini-concert wasn’t about performing in a small venue like Que Sera Sera.

It meant a large-scale stage with a shorter setlist.

The problem was that these mini-concerts weren’t usually profitable.

Unless a broadcasting station with deep pockets openly promoted it with corporate advertising, it was nearly impossible to pull off.

That’s why they hadn’t even considered it, but unexpectedly, the situation took an unforeseen turn.

As the fifth week approached, the growing ‘YC syndrome’ began to gain traction overseas.

Foreigners who enjoyed Korean culture through K-pop and K-dramas naturally came across Black Tiger’s music videos and performances, which had already sparked a sensation in Korea due to their high level of visual appeal.

– Black Tiger, YC Syndrome Spreads Overseas. –

These articles appeared frequently, signaling a shift in momentum.

The music video, in particular, was generating a lot of buzz.

As Youngchan had predicted, Black Tiger was a departure from the typical K-pop image, but Youngchan’s presence in the music video was so captivating that it couldn’t be dismissed as a mere novelty.

Although the initial impact was primarily in Southeast Asia…

Southeast Asia had been increasingly receptive to Korean media like K-pop for several years, but it didn’t generate substantial revenue due to lower spending power.

Even when top-tier idols promoted by major entertainment companies held concerts, they only saw modest profits.

Nevertheless, they continued to invest in the Southeast Asian market for the sake of building brand recognition.

Increased recognition naturally leads to profitable merchandise, album and music sales, and commercial endorsements (CFs).

For this reason, even small and medium-sized entertainment companies with popular idols were trying to break into the market.

In that respect, China was a very tempting market.

Despite the presence of widespread poverty, the sheer size of the population meant there were also many wealthy individuals, guaranteeing significant profits from concerts alone.

However, despite the growing consumption of Korean media, much of it was through illegal channels, and, more importantly, entering the market was impossible without partnering with local entertainment companies.

Even partnering with local entertainment companies presented challenges. It often required sharing company equity and profits.

Nevertheless, due to its high potential profitability, most entertainment companies were focused on entering China with not only idols but also actors.

However, Youngchan, unlike others, didn’t view entering China favorably.

“I can’t go through that again.”

His past experiences had left him with deep scars, having suffered significant losses due to entering the Chinese market.

Initially, things had looked promising.

As expected for him and the singers of YC Entertainment who had conquered Billboard, their popularity was also great in China. Above all, management costs such as fandoms were low because it was close to Korea.

For this reason, they continuously and drastically increased their investment scale. It was an investment that looked forward to future profits, even if it meant losses in the short term.

In fact, the response was good, and profits were increasing.

However, this period of prosperity abruptly turned into a nightmare in 2017 when China imposed the Korean Wave ban in retaliation for political reasons.

Not only were all local schedules canceled, but dramas, variety shows, and movies that had already been filmed or invested in were all scrapped.

The impact was devastating.

The stock price plummeted, of course, and all investments became worthless, completely depleting the company’s assets.

To compensate for these losses, Youngchan had to relinquish a significant portion of his shares.

This event had a profound psychological impact on him, who was already battling depression.

“Just thinking about it makes me shudder.”

Therefore, even though the response was gradually increasing in China, he had no intention of re-entering that market.

Furthermore, given the current entertainment landscape, it was difficult to effectively manage Southeast Asia, so he planned to conclude this promotional cycle with domestic activities.

Then, Black Tiger unexpectedly gained traction in Japan.

Despite being K-pop, a craze for them was blowing up in Japan, which still had a strong closed-off tendency.

This was truly unexpected.

The catalyst for this strange phenomenon was Mashiko, a hugely popular Japanese actress, who directly mentioned Black Tiger on a broadcast.

Mashiko was known as a pro-Korean celebrity who was generally supportive of Korean culture.

She enjoyed K-dramas as well as K-pop music.

Knowing this, the MC asked her which artists she was currently following, and she answered with a shy, girlish expression.

“I like Black Tiger, who are very popular in Korea these days.”

“Black Tiger? Are they an idol group?”

“No. They’re a rock band. The average age of the group is over 45.”

“45 years old!”

The MC nodded at the mention of ‘rock band,’ then widened his eyes at the average age.

“That would make them a very mature band.”

Mashiko shook her head at the seemingly obvious question.

“No. They debuted this year. They’re a rookie band that hasn’t even been active for a week.”

“Hee-ik!”

As expected of a comedian-turned-MC, he reacted dramatically to the unexpected answer, then continued with an amused expression.

“I didn’t know Mashiko was an *ojicon* [someone attracted to older men].”

*Ojicon* is an abbreviation of *ojisan* (おじさん, uncle) complex, and generally refers to a woman who has feelings of affection for middle-aged men around 40 to 55 years old.

Of course, it meant ‘feeling and loving as a member of the opposite sex’, going beyond the general meaning of ‘liking’.

The fact that Mashiko, one of the highest-paid female actors, had an *ojicon* taste could be considered front-page news the next day.

Mashiko lightly shook her head at the MC’s playful question and answered.

“That’s not it. To clarify, because I think you’re misunderstanding, I like ‘Park Youngchan’, the vocalist of Black Tiger. And he’s only 30 years old.”

“Oh! What a shame. I thought I was about to break a big story. But if Mashiko likes him so much, even though he’s not an idol, he must be incredibly charming, right?”

“Charming… it’s beyond words. I’m sure that anyone who has seen his music, or even just his music video, will have no choice but to fall in love.”

“Hahaha. Is it that good?”

She gave a playful smile at the MC’s exaggerated reaction.

“I heard that you usually enjoy rock music, so please listen to them as a favor. You won’t be able to help but become a fan.”

“To say that much. Hmm. Okay! Then I’ll listen to the music and post about it on my SNS [social networking service].”

“Thank you.”

“Hahaha. It probably won’t be easy. Because I’m not easily impressed.”

Despite the MC’s confident attitude, Mashiko maintained her smile until the end.

And the MC’s SNS post, which went up shortly after the broadcast, became a trending topic.

-Mashiko was right! Black Tiger, those people are chariots carrying the god of rock! No one can stop them!-

Since no one expected him to say something like that, people were naturally curious.

And they naturally started watching Black Tiger’s music video, even without Japanese subtitles.

Fortunately, or perhaps not, subtitles weren’t essential to enjoying Black Tiger’s music video.

Even if there were subtitles, few would have the mental bandwidth to read them. The music video was that well-made, and more importantly, Youngchan’s presence resonated deeply with the Japanese audience, who admired strong and exceptional individuals.

Within two days, the term ‘YC *sama*’ (様, 様) became a trending topic.

In the process, articles imitating the MC’s SNS post, inspired by Mashiko, also gained traction.

For example, articles like these:

-Mashiko was right! YC *sama* is the god of rock! No one will be able to help but worship his music!-

-Mashiko was right! YC *sama* is the god of *ikemen* (イケメン, Japanese slang for handsome man (美男))! No one will be able to help but worship his appearance!-

With interest in K-pop growing year by year, and fueled by this trend, interest in Black Tiger spread like wildfire.

The most dramatic change was in the number of views on the music video.

While the view count, which had plateaued due to the Black Cat fandom, was showing a slight increase, it began to surge as Japan, a massive market, also showed interest.

Before the end of the third week of activities, it exceeded 30 million, and as the fourth week began, it surpassed 50 million and was heading towards 60 million.

And in the fifth week, surprisingly, it began to approach 100 million.

Around that time, the number of views exploded as China also began to show a response, not just Japan.

As the situation evolved, foreign languages like English and Japanese gradually replaced Korean in the comments section.

But the most significant development was that the 30,000 albums printed for the third run sold out as if it were a lie.

Newly converted domestic fans showed enthusiasm, but more importantly, overseas album purchases were substantial.

In particular, most of these purchases were made by Japanese fans through overseas distributors.

YC Entertainment, which only became aware of the unusual reaction in Japan due to the album’s sell-out, hurriedly began preparing for overseas expansion from that point on.

Since a syndrome-like response was occurring in Japan, which boasts the world’s second-largest music market, it was natural to consider entering the Japanese market.

Amidst the need to act quickly, Youngchan’s leadership shone through.

“First, add overseas subtitles to the music video and YouTube videos. Contact the places I’ve written down to schedule interviews. After the fourth week of activities, we need to hold a press conference in Japan immediately.”

“Director, please contact Red Sun Entertainment in Japan and ask for their cooperation. We’ll be active in Japan for two weeks through this company. Even though it’s a small agency, the president has good connections, so they’ll secure the opportunities we want. Set the contract terms roughly like this, and we can be a little more flexible if they want.”

“Is it necessary to concede this much?”

“It’s okay. I’m planning to acquire them anyway if things go well.”

“…That means… hmm.”

It meant that he would turn the agency into the Japanese branch.

When entering Japan from Korea, the most difficult thing is securing a cooperative entertainment company.

While Korea tends to operate on connections, Japan is even more so.

It’s not for nothing that a few large entertainment companies virtually dominate the Japanese entertainment industry.

Recently, they have been dividing the revenue structure and operating through Japanese branches created by large entertainment companies, but this is not a welcome direction.

That means that they are unknowingly influenced by large entertainment companies.

However, cooperating with Japanese entertainment companies is costly in many ways. This is because they often demand that they operate according to Japanese entertainment industry standards.

So, buying a small agency with good connections like this is not a bad idea.

However, this is not a welcome choice because there is a problem of having to maintain and manage maintenance costs. In some cases, the tail can wag the dog.

The Director was concerned about that point, but soon thought that it would not be unreasonable for the current Black Tiger craze.

Above all, with Black Tiger’s successful debut, the contract with the G1 band, which had been the subject of much talk, was also completed.

Considering the G1 band, which is a good match not only for Korea but also for Japan, it was right to establish a position this early.

‘It wasn’t just the music that was amazing!’

The Director was very surprised because he was not lacking as an entertainment company president.

This was because Youngchan had shown him the direction so easily at a time when the Director, who valued the domestic market, was struggling due to his lack of experience in the overseas market.

“Japan… Japan.”

The Director couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement at the prospect of entering Japan, which had seemed like an impenetrable fortress just a few years ago.