From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The buzz was on, a full-scale discussion unfolding.

Surrounding August Thirty-First Band and their song "Another Light," the clamor was incessant.

No one could predict the ultimate heights this single would reach, because everything was new.

There were no benchmarks or points of reference; the scene unfolding was a brand new world.

Perhaps three million would be the limit, with momentum flagging and unable to sustain further growth, the rampant piracy quickly halting the single's rising download numbers.

Or perhaps ten million?

Allowing people to rediscover the music market's return to the ten-million sales level, using the brilliance of digital music to awaken the market's prosperity?

Currently, people only have a rough idea of the enormous potential of the digital music market through pirated data; but the extent to which this potential can be realized, where the ultimate limit lies, and how to tap into it are all unknown.

What lies ahead is a completely new industry.

Everything is possible.

A brand new era is slowly unfolding.

The entire industry could feel it, but no one ever imagined that August Thirty-First Band would complete this groundbreaking feat.

The aftershocks created since the Grammy Awards performance were gradually exerting their power.

Previously, everyone marveled that Norah Jones was the biggest winner of the Grammy effect; the sales of "Come Away With Me" had more than tripled, and global sales had already exceeded ten million and were still rising.

This record will probably be unprecedented.

But now, it seems that August Thirty-First Band is the real winner.

Not only did they drive their own sales, but they even leveraged the entire industry!

The entire North America was paying attention.

No wonder!

No wonder even the Oscars couldn't steal the limelight from August Thirty-First Band, no wonder even though the awards ceremony's ratings created a seven-year best and returned to its peak, it was still overshadowed by Anson, no wonder the academy's high-level officials were furious but still dumbfounded and helpless.

Who can stop August Thirty-First Band like this?

Standing in the face of the tide of the times, even the Oscar Awards ceremony must step aside.

However, here is a question—

What about "Another Light's" Billboard performance?

Since Billboard has not yet included digital music downloads in its chart formula, the historical records created by "Another Light" are meaningless on Billboard.

Is it really okay for this history-making single to be directly submerged in the Billboard torrent?

It is precisely because of this that singers have always refused to cooperate exclusively with digital music platforms.

If you can't land on Billboard, you can't further promote the single, and you can't really make money through royalties.

After all, you can't make much money from digital music because of piracy.

Now, "Another Light" seems to be facing such a dilemma?

However, this time the situation is slightly different. The music industry quickly learned that iTunes and August Thirty-First Band had signed an exclusive cooperation agreement.

Currently, the profit-sharing ratio between the two parties is confidential and temporarily unknown; but industry rumors are rife.

Some say that August Thirty-First Band's income from digital music downloads of "Another Light" alone exceeded three million—before taxes—while others say that the number was just over five hundred thousand.

Among them, the most outrageous and shocking statement is that August Thirty-First Band's music download revenue exceeded four million, because in order to persuade exclusive cooperation, iTunes ceded benefits, giving Anson an irresistible condition, and with this wave, August Thirty-First Band became the most profitable singer in the entire recording industry this year—

This is still without concert revenue.

This data is so outrageous that no one in the recording industry believes it.

In fact, if "Another Light" creates such waves, but the result is that it cannot be found on Billboard, then it should be Billboard's loss, not August Thirty-First Band's.

Imagine, the blockbuster single that swept the entire music industry last week actually failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100?

Then, where is Billboard's authority?

Billboard: ... shivering!

Of course, a single song alone will not make Billboard lose face, and its authoritative position is still difficult to shake; but Billboard must realize the necessity of change, and the era of digital music is unstoppable.

Millions of eyes are once again gathering towards Billboard, but this time the eyes are a bit inquisitive and a bit scrutinizing, with a slight sting in the heat. The entire music industry, inside and out, can feel the storm is coming.

In the first week of March, Billboard's new weekly chart arrived as scheduled.

Singles Chart, #1, "Another Light," August Thirty-First Band.

Album Chart, #1, "Midsummer Midnight" Special Deluxe Edition, August Thirty-First Band.

Debuting at number one, double chart champion!

August Thirty-First Band unlocked another achievement, America was shocked!

On the Billboard charts, most singles need a charting process, gaining public attention through radio airplay and distribution promotion; but there are also exceptions from time to time.

A small number of works have already attracted much attention before their release, and once they appear, they detonate a heat wave and debut high on the charts.

In this situation, debuting directly from the sky and entering the top ten or even the top five shows the singer's appeal and the market's explosive power.

And within this, a very, very small number of works may directly debut at number one, which is undoubtedly a feat among feats in the fiercely competitive Billboard charts.

Like now—

August Thirty-First Band debuted at number one on both charts, joining the ranks of a group of legends, demonstrating their unrivaled momentum in the North American music market.

It is hard to imagine that it took "Ho Hey" more than half a year to successfully break through and enter the top ten in the fierce Billboard singles chart. Just one year later, "Another Light" carried the unparalleled momentum of the Grammys and debuted at number one on the Billboard singles chart, writing a new miracle.

Shocking, exciting!

To this end, Billboard breathed a long sigh of relief, fortunately not embarrassing itself.

Facts have proved that "Another Light" not only has considerable digital music downloads, but also has devastating album sales and radio airplay performance, but because the performance of digital music is too outstanding, people have temporarily ignored these.

Then, surprise appearance!

Now, a new topic is in front of us:

The era of digital music has fully begun, how should musicians and record companies adapt in the new era?

Perhaps, Anson has the answer?