The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 341

Glorious Tides – Episode 34

# 34 Before the Storm

Watermelon.

Searching for it overseas will bring up detailed images of the familiar green fruit, but in Korea, it’s different.

In Korea, no matter which search engine you use, the paid music streaming service ‘Watermelon’ will appear first.

Launched on April 1, 2000, Watermelon is the oldest commercial music platform in Korea, boasting the largest number of subscribers among domestic platforms.

Although it doesn’t have the same reputation as it used to due to the emergence of international platforms and controversies over chart manipulation, Koreans usually think of Watermelon when they think of ‘music charts,’ just like Americans think of Billboard.

Hundreds of songs are released on Watermelon every day.

Among them are songs by famous idols and popular singers, as well as songs by indie musicians who consistently engage in music activities. Also, ordinary people upload songs to Watermelon as a ‘bucket list’ item.

To provide subscribers with better songs amidst the flood of music, Watermelon created a chart called Top 100. The chart’s aggregation criteria were hourly usage, and it was updated every hour.

Clearly, Watermelon’s Top 100 chart had higher music credibility than Billboard, at least in Korea.

However, as everyone knows, Watermelon reorganized its chart aggregation service after a controversy erupted.

To prevent chart distortion caused by chart manipulation and the coordinated efforts of some fans, they included daily usage in the aggregation unit.

In addition, they tried to prevent distortion by limiting the amount of usage per ID per day.

The attempt was successful.

Chart distortion decreased, and subscribers were satisfied.

However, as the chart stabilized, the range of changes in music rankings narrowed. Although chart distortion was prevented, the probability of new songs surpassing existing popular songs became lower than before.

Above all, since the new charts were provided on a 24-hour basis at 9 PM, there was a difference from the previous service where new songs could enter in just one hour.

As you went higher in the rankings, the entrenchment became more severe.

So, Kim Kyung-jin predicted that it would take more than a few days for Show by Show to enter the chart.

Currently, songs by strong competitors are positioned at the top, and even without intentional offensives, there was a clear difference in recognition.

Although the viewership ratings on cable were decent, S.O.U [Show Your Show] was a drop in the bucket compared to well-known terrestrial entertainment shows [broadcast television shows].

So, Kim Kyung-jin doubted his eyes when he saw the chart released at 9 PM on Saturday.

“Huh?”

[(NEW) Show by Show (Show your show 3. Support Song) │ JJ]

The S.O.U support songs were registered as music at noon.

That meant there were only nine hours to play this music.

The reaction was good in the hip-hop community and the S.O.U bulletin board, but these numbers were impossible with the users there.

Kim Kyung-jin rubbed his eyes and checked the ranking.

Still, ‘Show by Show’ was at the very end of the chart.

99th place. It was a very precarious number, but it was definitely on the chart.

“No way…”

Samjang’s voice flashed through his head.

-But I don’t think it will take a few days.

The meaningful voice.

Did the CEO know something? It gave him goosebumps.

At the same time, a vibration rang out from somewhere.

“!”

Kim Kyung-jin, startled as if someone had touched him from behind while playing a horror game, realized it was just his phone ringing.

[Raon]

He was very embarrassed. Kim Kyung-jin stealthily looked around and answered the phone.

“Raon, what’s up?”

[Hyung!]

A cheerful voice was heard as usual.

[Hyung, hyung, hyung, hyung! Did you see it?]

“See what?”

[Jin-soo’s song is on the chart! I have to send Jin-soo a KakaoTalk [Korean messaging app] to congratulate him.]

“…You have his number?”

[Of course! He’s my friend!]

Kim Kyung-jin realized that Gil Raon was an ‘insider’ who was also a class president in middle school.

He said he woke up and became the class president.

I don’t know when he got the number.

Kim Kyung-jin, the representative of ‘outsiders,’ was simply amazed by this sociability. Is this the sociability of celebrities that I’ve only heard about?

“Aren’t you disappointed?”

Kim Kyung-jin asked without realizing it, and soon regretted it.

The most concerned person is the artist, but the manager is saying this. No matter how young Gil Raon is, he knows everything. Besides, he’s quick-witted.

[About what?]

A bright voice was heard from the other side.

Kim Kyung-jin thought he didn’t notice and tried to move on.

“No, never mind.”

[My song?]

He’s quick-witted after all.

When Kim Kyung-jin closed his mouth with a guilty conscience, he soon heard a nonchalant voice from the other side.

[To be jealous, Jin-soo’s song is a song that really needs to go up. I want to sing a song like that too.]

Kim Kyung-jin was still worried.

This damn mouth. It causes accidents periodically, so it would be better to tear it off.

[Hyung, should I ask Jin-soo to teach me how to compose? Or should I get a 1-on-1 lesson from Nokjin hyung… Ah! Jin-soo replied! Hyung, I’m hanging up.]

Gil Raon said only what he wanted to say and really hung up.

Kim Kyung-jin chuckled because it was just like Gil Raon.

Then, with a lighter heart, he watched the ‘Show by Show’ music.

The higher the ranking of Show by Show, the more interest in S.O.U will grow.

“But…”

Kim Kyung-jin, who was looking at the album quietly, tilted his head.

“Didn’t he say he didn’t have a company?”

The name of the agency was not written. However, the information of the song was structured like a singer with an agency.

“Who is Noh Hae-il?”

#

The reaction was good.

And above all, it was fast.

It may be due to the influence of the broadcast, or it may be because the weekend is more relaxed than weekdays.

In any case, ‘Show by Show’ was on the chart, albeit at the very end, which was released at 9 PM on Saturday night.

Because of that, the S.O.U group chat was also noisy.

[Top 100 in one day ㄷㄷ]

If it was a rookie from a certain agency, they might have just passed it over.

However, the song was by a middle school student, and the first episode of S.O.U was so popular that clips were uploaded to various social media. In particular, a lot of reaction videos were uploaded.

Well, a dramatic reversal. It would have been good to react to because of the catharsis that comes from it.

[I’ve been listening to Spotlight for 26 hours, even though I used to say <<