The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 254

< Verse 40. Unknown Factors >

***

From LPs to portable cassette tapes.

From cassette tapes to high-quality CDs.

From CDs to virtually free MP3 files.

This was the evolution of music media from the 1970s to 2008.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) report on music consumption in 2007, CD usage accounted for approximately 70% of all music consumption.

However, the RIAA’s survey only covered ‘music purchased for money,’ excluding the vast number of MP3 files downloaded for free.

The industry consensus was that the actual percentage of CD usage was around 25-30% of all media.

These figures indicated that album sales were dying.

It wasn’t just that albums selling 3 million copies were now selling 1 million.

It meant that while mega-hit albums that would sell 3 million copies were still selling 1.5 to 2 million, an ‘era of polarization’ had arrived, where albums that would sell 300,000 copies were now selling only 10,000.

In this era of polarization, the self-sufficiency of underground musicians weakened, and agencies became less willing to take risks based solely on music.

Naturally, fewer underground musicians armed with freshness made their way into the mainstream, and similar-sounding musicians began to dominate the scene.

It wasn’t as extreme as in Korea a couple of years later, where the entire music industry was dominated by agency-produced singers, but the American public couldn’t help but think, ‘Music these days all sounds the same.’

However, it was clear that the public’s interest and demand for new faces had not disappeared.

In this situation, audition programs began to boom.

A way to introduce new musicians to the public more dramatically and stably.

This was the backdrop for the launch of X-Factor US, which originated in the UK and was heavily promoted in the US by FOX.

***

‘What should I do now?’

Hadel Reins had never experienced this before.

Usually, the challenge in promotion is public indifference. In other words, promotion is a battle to turn public ‘indifference’ into ‘interest.’

However, H&R INC was not fighting the public now. The target of H&R INC, or Hadel Reins, was ‘FiveSix’s momentum.’

Originally, Hadel’s plan was for Sanghyun to finish the Curtain Call tour and go to New York to work. After making a name for himself in New York, he was scheduled to participate in X-Factor US, which would begin filming in New York.

This was why Sanghyun participated in the tour as a hype man for the somewhat difficult Plan Paper.

The plan to eliminate prejudice against people of color and showcase his skills, the No Color Project.

In fact, the primary target of this project was not the public.

While the public was important, the more important target was the staff of EMI Music and Sony Music, who would be involved in X-Factor US after the tour.

Some might wonder why there were hardly any high-ranking executives among the staff who participated in the Curtain Call tour.

But that’s because they don’t understand broadcasting well.

The people who really control the ‘atmosphere’ of the filming are not the high-ranking executives of the production company, but the on-site staff.

A lot can change depending on how the staff, who directly hold the camera, create the stage, and write the script, view the performers.

The No Color Project, with this purpose, was a success.

Much bigger and faster than Hadel had expected.

Hadel had no idea it would go this well when he gave Sanghyun the opening opportunity and uploaded videos to various hip-hop sites.

Of course, he had expectations, but he thought there were limits, no matter how well it went.

But Sanghyun broke those limits.

‘The next step will be much easier, right?’

X-Factor US has a subtitle.

That is America Dream [American Dream].

The name ‘America Dream Project,’ which would follow the ‘No Color Project,’ originated from here.

However, unlike Hadel’s plan, Sanghyun wanted to stay in LA, not New York. Hadel was happy to accept Sanghyun’s request because the results from the Curtain Call tour were beyond imagination.

Thinking positively, it wouldn’t be bad to further solidify the foundation of being ‘from the LA underground’ and collaborate with LA musicians.

However, this collaboration shattered Hadel Reins’ plan.

Not in a bad way, but in a good way.

The goal of the America Dream Project was clear.

To make Sanghyun’s name known to the national public, to show his face, and to showcase his rap. To increase awareness. To be more specific, to get one of the X-Factor competition songs on the Billboard charts.

But the problem was that Sanghyun had already achieved all of this with MTB.

Much faster and to a greater extent than Hadel’s plan.

17. Mix Them : Black.

22. No Color(FiveSix Solo)

29. Ni**a, Yellow Mon**y, F**p

993,120 Units

These were the amazing records MTB was setting in its 8th week of release.

In Hadel’s opinion, the album chart , which was ranked 17th, had room to go higher.

With the exception of Lil Wayne, there were no major hip-hop albums scheduled for 2008. Most of the highly anticipated albums were released in the first half of the year and failed to avoid negative reviews.

This was not limited to rap, but also included black music albums other than Rihanna and Usher.

Therefore, if he was really lucky, MTB might be able to aim for the top 10 on the album chart.

However, anything more than that was impossible.

Coldplay’s was too strong, and soul musicians were too strong. Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Leona Lewis, and so on.

‘Maybe it’ll peak at 12th or 13th. If I’m really lucky, it might hang around 10th for a week…….’

Compared to the album chart, which had room to go higher, the singles chart seemed to have peaked. It would only go up by one or two steps.

The Billboard Hot 100 has a high ‘radio play score,’ so with a promotional push, it was easy to land in the top 20. Existing major singers could even reach the top 10.

Nevertheless, it was really amazing that ‘No Color’ was ranked 22nd and ‘Ni**a, Yellow Mon**y, F**p’ was ranked 29th. MTB was an achievement made solely by rookies with their songs.

Also, the songs that went up with promotion had a huge drop.

It was quite embarrassing for singers to debut in the top ten and fall out of the top 50 the following week.

However, there was no need to worry about MTB’s singles.

Hadel was confident that MTB’s singles would stay in the top 50 for a very long time, even as they declined. These sincere songs could do that, and they deserved it.

Finally, album sales were at 990,000 copies.

It was as good as platinum (1 million copies), but 1.5 million copies seemed impossible. It would probably converge at around 1.2-1.3 million copies.

Hadel’s concern started with these great records.

The speed at which Sanghyun was building his career was outpacing H&R INC’s promotion plan.

In fact, the behind-the-scenes work Hadel had done for X-Factor was by no means simple.

Of course, it wasn’t about unfairly winning, but about creating a stage where he could properly show his skills. In addition, creating a few talking points.

‘But I can’t make him walk a dangerous path just because the things I prepared are a waste, can I?’

An unknown musician has a reason to take risks, but a rising musician should avoid risks.

As Sanghyun performed, worked, and prospered in LA, Hadel pondered for quite a while.

And he came to a conclusion. There was only one answer.

“Hey, Five.”

“Oh, it’s been a while, CEO Ha. Where have you been?”

“To New York because of Jay Cole’s manager.”

“Ah, right. Has the contract been agreed upon?”

“All that’s left is to sign, but that’s the hardest part.”

Sanghyun nodded.

Hadel somehow felt that his expression was more like ‘I know that feeling well’ than ‘I guess so.’ But that wasn’t the important thing.

“I have something to ask you. What do you think about X-Factor?”

“Hmm……. Is it because of the high risk, high return?”

“If you ever get tired of rapping, tell me. I’ll hire you as a COO (Chief Operating Officer) to oversee the business within the company.”

Hadel, who expressed indirect admiration for Sanghyun’s insight, waited for an answer.

Sanghyun, who was organizing his thoughts for a moment, opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry for what you’ve prepared, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to participate. Wouldn’t it be better to work on another project with the Golden New Era friends? There’s an expression in Korea that says, ‘Row when the water comes in’ [seize an opportunity when it arises].”

“That’s an appropriate expression. There’s nothing to be sorry about. I was also 고민 [agonizing] because both sides have different merits.”

“That’s a relief then.”

Hadel nodded lightly.

‘It’s good that the musician is smart.’

Since his insight and judgment are as good as his own, he could reflect the musician’s preferences at the crossroads of choice.

The X-Factor was, as Sanghyun said, high risk, high return.

The moment he participated in the audition, Sanghyun could be labeled as a ‘commercial rapper.’ Even more dangerous was that MTB could be seen as behind-the-scenes work just before appearing on The X-Factor.

Of course, these were the American hip-hop enthusiasts who had this perception. The general public didn’t care much about that.

If it were Korea, it would have been advantageous to ignore the niche fanbase and participate in The X-Factor, whether it was good or bad. This could be seen through the numerous underground musicians who went out to .< The subculture scene in Korea was so small that it was much more advantageous to show your face on TV for a few months than to do music in the underground for 10 years. The 'public' who lightly enjoyed hip-hop was overwhelmingly larger than the 'mania [hardcore fans].' But in the United States, the proportion of 'public' and 'mania' was not as extreme as in Korea. Just thinking about the fact that more than 90% of blacks were semi-maniacs of hip-hop music, you could roughly guess. Although it cannot be said to be a meaningful survey indicator, the first black president, President Obama, and the First Lady also loved hip-hop. If the ratio of the public to mania in Korea is more than 9 to 1, then in the United States, it can be thought of as about 7 to 3. So, Sanghyun's appearance on The X-Factor could be a self-defeating move that would captivate hip-hop maniacs with and then commercially change his image. Of course, this possibility was the story of when Sanghyun failed on The X-Factor. If it went well, he could get a lot of things without having to explain. A typical high risk, high return. With the success of MTB, the risk was greatly increased and the return was relatively low. 'Yeah. It might be better not to appear.' Hadel decided to refuse to appear on The X-Factor according to Sanghyun's decision. But the very next day, Sanghyun reversed his opinion. "CEO Ha. Is this true?" What Sanghyun brought was an article that decorated the front page of an internet news that came out early yesterday morning. "I don't know? I haven't heard of it, but I'll check it out." After a while, Hadel said that the contents of the article were true. As soon as Sanghyun heard that story, he said. "I have to appear on X-Factor." "Is it because you want to collaborate with this musician?" "Yes." "I don't know. I don't want to recommend it. This friend has as many haters as he has fans. You know the image, right?" "The most I've imagined since coming to America is standing on the same stage as this person. In a way, I'm embarrassed that the opportunity came so easily." Hadel burst into laughter at Sanghyun's words. "It can't be easy. You have to pass about 6 stages and then be selected there again, right?" "It would be better if it was difficult. Then it becomes more uncertain." Hadel was amazed that Sanghyun had a high level of knowledge, cool reason, and excellent insight, but also had an impulsive side. Sanghyun, who had been watching for a long time, never ignored his impulses. But usually, cool reason and strong impulse are difficult to coexist. 'Is that why FiveSix's unique music is born? It's hard to explain in words…….' Hadel first thought that Sanghyun refused to appear on X-Factor because he was afraid of the risk. No. Sanghyun just didn't have an impulse. If it's an audition program, he's experienced it to the point of being 질리도록 [sick of it] in Hip Hop The Vibe. And a few days later, Sanghyun announced his appearance on The X-Facotr US at World Star Hip Hop. Sanghyun's interview caused quite a stir. PM : You've already started to make a name for yourself not only in the LA underground but also on Billboard, so why did you choose such a dangerous path as an audition program? FiveSix : Because I want to stand on the same stage as Eminem. PM : Eminem? FiveSix : I saw an article that said that from the top 12 of X-Factor, there will be an opportunity to collaborate with 4 famous singers. The moment I saw that, I decided to appear on X-Factor. PM : Only because of Eminem? FiveSix : Yes. It would be a good enough reason that he is my hero and I grew up listening to his music. But for me, some musicians sometimes feel like a wall. Ah, I like this person's music so much, but can I really rap better than this person? Something like that. PM : Then……? FiveSix : Yes. I want to beat Eminem. If White Trash [a derogatory term for poor white people] and Yellow Monkey [a derogatory term for East Asians] fight over black culture, what kind of message could it be to the American popular music scene? The genre of rap, which was born in black culture, has already left black and is worldwide. Eminem, who shocked the entire American rap scene as 'White Trash' in the rap scene of the black cultural sphere. FiveSix, who appeared in the same rap scene as 'Yellow Monkey'. Sanghyun's bold interview began to spread, creating many subtexts. < Verse 40. Unknown Factors > End

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