From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Tick-tock, tick-tock, the clock hands were moving, and my heart was almost stopping. I sat quietly in front of the computer, my palms sweating continuously.

Blair Miller stared at the iTunes page, refreshing it every three seconds, both nervous and excited, her body trembling slightly uncontrollably.

On the computer desktop, a message came from the MSN chat group.

"Blair, tell me again, why is downloading data so important? Didn't you say that these mp3s don't count towards the Billboard singles chart data?"

Blair glanced at it; it was Karen.

It was obvious at a glance that Karen couldn't contain her excitement and was getting agitated again.

Blair was about to respond when Gloria preempted her in the chat group.

"It's called digital downloads."

"Karen, in short, we just need to trust Blair, she knows what we're doing."

Since the last time they went to Sony Columbia headquarters to blockade and demonstrate, this group of friends had gathered to form a loose fan organization, hoping to give Anson the most comprehensive and powerful support.

And Blair, because of her calm and wise performance last time, had won recognition. She took on the role of strategist, and Gloria was responsible for gathering them together.

Today was no different.

They gathered early, waiting for "Another Light" to go live.

Blair quickly typed on the keyboard.

"Because this is Anson's plan, hoping to unify the chaotic digital download market through exclusive single cooperation and protect the rights of musicians."

"We need to give our full support, let people see Anson's appeal, and also make people realize that Anson's cooperation with iTunes can bring a one plus one greater than two effect, which is helpful for subsequent development."

Although Blair couldn't explain the intricate interest patterns behind it in detail, Blair believed in Anson. With Anson's intelligence, he couldn't possibly not know the impact of exclusively releasing digital downloads. It was also impossible for him to just release a single song. Everything had a deeper meaning.

So, the only thing they needed to do was wholeheartedly support Anson.

"Ah, Blair, I still don't understand what you're saying, anyway, we'll fully support Anson."

"Karen, no matter what, we're all going to download 'Another Light', right? So there's no difference."

"That's right, that's right. By the way, I'm going to buy the special deluxe edition of the album later. Are you guys going? I hope Warner Records will display their money-grubbing spirit and take more photos of Anson. My allowance is here, they can take it all."

"Go! Why not! I've been wondering why the album doesn't have a special edition. Is it because we're not worthy? Now Warner Records has finally figured it out. We definitely can't miss it."

In the center, Anson's face was close at hand, reaching out his right hand to touch the screen. His right hand seemed to be breaking the screen, forming an interaction with the screen.

Those distinct features, bright eyes, and relaxed brows were presented in every detail, and screams broke through her throat unexpectedly.

Ah! Ahhh!

Subconsciously, she tried to reach out her right hand to break the screen and shake hands with Anson.

It wasn't until her right hand was about to touch the screen that she realized this was "The Creation of Adam." On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museum, that world-famous painting was now being completed by them and Anson together. That wonderful touch made her heart beat wildly and was about to explode.

Unexpectedly, in the picture, starting from Anson's fingertips, it turned into dust, his palm, arm, and face, slowly scattering and disappearing in the light.

Finally, it evolved into a lyric—

"Yes, I care."

Below, the words "Another Light" appeared as if emerging from the water.

In the center was the download link.

Heart surging, blood boiling.

Even though Blair had prepared herself and had high expectations, she was still amazed at this moment. I have to say that this time iTunes was full of sincerity and even specially created a welcome page for the August 31st band.

Snap.

Click to buy, download, and clear and moving strings flowed from the speakers, her heartstrings were plucked again, and she couldn't help but close her eyes and immerse herself in it.

"I've finished buying it, what's next?"

"Blair? Blair!"

"What's next?"

That guy Karen really had zero romantic cells, and there was no atmosphere left. The MSN message notification sounds came one after another, completely ruining it. Blair helplessly opened her eyes.

"Let's go, go to the record store to buy physical albums."

Blair took a deep breath, grabbed her coat, and rushed out of the room impatiently.

Just as she reached the door, she turned back, picked up her iPod, put on her earphones, clicked play, and rushed out with a light step, her mood soaring.

This was just the tip of the iceberg. The entire North American continent was fully popularized and spread.

There were even radio music programs adding gimmicks, clicking to download during the live broadcast, and sending the new song of the August 31st band to the listeners for the first time—

Of course, this was Warner Records' publicity strategy.

"Listeners and friends, 'Another Light,' the song performed by the August 31st band at the Grammy Awards, is officially online. We can finally enjoy this song again and see the difference between the studio version and the live performance version. This is an exciting moment. I hope the music of the August 31st band can wake up everyone's morning."

In the Internet age, there is often such an illusion:

Something happened, but it seemed as if it hadn't happened, lacking a sense of reality.

Because everything is virtual, and you can't really touch it.

Spending money is the same. In places you can't see, your salary is already gone.

The same is true in front of you. Click to download, and it seems like something happened, but it also seems like nothing happened. This is different from the feeling of buying a physical album.

However, everything was calm and uneventful, and a thunderclap exploded—

Boom!

iTunes Official: "Another Light" digital download volume officially exceeds 500,000!

Boom boom boom!

A clamor, the entire North America was shocked.

Five hundred thousand, what is this concept?

In 2004, there was no authoritative platform for statistics in the market for the time being. There was no official authoritative number as a reference for the download volume of a song. In addition, piracy was repeatedly prohibited, making statistics even more difficult; but there was a consensus in the industry that a song with more than one million downloads was a big hit. This was the threshold that everyone longed to cross.

The one million downloads mentioned here refers to the total number, the regular download volume through legal channels throughout the year.

However, now?

"Another Light" had only been online for less than four hours, and the download volume had actually exceeded 500,000?

Inconceivable! Shocking!

However, this number did not stop there. It soared all the way to one million downloads at an alarming rate. The shock and impact simply couldn't stop!