Little Pink Starfish

In the past, before an album was released, no one knew what songs would be included.

So if you wanted to listen to the album, you had to wait for the release date, buy the physical album, go home, and play it.

Some called it the analog era, while others called it the era of romance.

But now things were different.

Usually, the tracks would be uploaded to music platforms first, promotions and activities would start, and only then would the physical album be released.

This wasn’t limited to idols or famous K-pop artists.

Even indie singers did the same.

Of course, sometimes bonus tracks would be released alongside the physical album, or there might be hidden tracks not released digitally.

But those were exceptions.

However…

Surprisingly, Sedalbaekil released their physical album before releasing the digital tracks.

In other words, the physical albums were stocked in offline stores before the songs were uploaded online.

They also timed deliveries for pre-orders so that most people would receive their albums on the same day. Not exactly at the same hour, but still on the same day as much as possible.

Of course, remote areas like Jeju Island or mountainous regions were exceptions.

There were two reasons behind this decision.

First, because the unit albums Side A, B, and C were still going strong.

It wasn’t just Han Si-on and On Saemiro’s recently released On & On unit album.

Masked Robber’s album, now in its sixth week, and Choi Jae-sung’s solo album, in its fifth week, were still solid.

Of course, Sedalbaekil’s unit albums weren’t topping daily charts.

Several major artists who released songs earlier in the year were also achieving impressive results.

But Sedalbaekil had formed the “first division.”

Though 2018 had barely begun, people were already calling it the era of tiers in the music industry.

Looking at the daily and weekly charts, Sedalbaekil’s songs filled ranks 5 through 20.

Choi Jae-sung’s “Drop,” with its short-form dance challenges, was still thriving. Other agencies were even trying to mimic it.

Masked Robber’s Side A had cooled slightly in buzz, but R&B fans continued to give it overwhelming support.

Many said they would definitely buy the physical albums once they were released.

On & On’s Side C, with its simple guitar backing, was proving timeless.

Though it hadn’t been long since its release, it was already being used in variety shows whenever a guitar accompaniment was needed.

This matched the broadcasters’ interests. Using overseas songs often created problems for international distribution due to licensing.

Contracts with foreign distributors typically only covered domestic broadcasting, with separate, very expensive worldwide licenses required for exports.

For songs ranking high on the Billboard Hot 100, just a few seconds could cost tens of millions of won.

But using On & On’s songs didn’t create such issues.

And did that mean their music was any lesser?

Absolutely not.

Compared to overseas tracks, it was just as good—perhaps even better.

Han Si-on’s guitar playing had shocked South Korea’s top guitarists.

They knew of Sedalbaekil and Han Si-on’s composing skills.

But since it was known that Eric Scott helped with the guitar riffs on the first album, no one could accurately assess Han Si-on’s true ability.

The Color Show video had shown him playing guitar, but it was brief and flashy.

So when guitarists heard Side C, they were stunned.

No one had imagined Han Si-on could play guitar this well.

Flashy playing could be edited, but subdued depth couldn’t be fabricated through editing.

Incredibly, the depth Han Si-on displayed on guitar surpassed any guitarist in Korea.

Some even joked that Side C would become the guitar audition piece for music schools for the next five years.

In this way, Side A, B, and C continued to thrive across music platforms.

And people began calling this the “barrier.”

-The barrier’s brutal lol

-Lol, I thought a few artists released new songs this week, but they got pushed back by tier difference again.

-Tch, a barrier huh.

-So frustrating. Why do these maniacs keep releasing albums…

-Another victim appears lol

-Streaming attacks don’t work anymore lol

-Come back when you’ve built up your tier lol

-You’re lighter than us??? Get down.

-lololololol

To break through Sedalbaekil’s music barrier, you needed not just good streaming attacks but excellent songs and a broad light-fan base.

You could rank on the real-time charts overnight with streaming power.

Even Sedalbaekil’s strong digital sales couldn’t prevent that.

But once the day began, those real-time chart songs would disappear without a trace.

You needed both quality music and a wide general audience to breach Sedalbaekil’s wall.

In this situation, the public even started saying that music platforms had improved in quality.

Because the songs that did break through into the top five were genuinely excellent.

So what would happen if Sedalbaekil’s full album Stage was released digitally?

It might gather the life force from Side A, B, and C like a Spirit Bomb and explode.

Possibly even etching itself into K-pop history.

But Han Si-on didn’t want to do that just yet.

He wanted the members to enjoy this success a bit longer and wait naturally until the unit albums lost steam.

This was the first reason why the Stage album was pre-released physically instead of digitally.

The second reason was more abstract.

He wanted to create a “culture.”

Every platform, market, and content seller puts enormous effort into securing that first payment.

The first purchase is always the hardest.

Someone who’s never bought bottled water will no longer hesitate once they buy it once.

Someone who never spent money on games finds the threshold lowered after the first in-game purchase.

Once people cross a psychological resistance line, they no longer feel resistance to the act itself.

Even for crimes, this holds true.

Han Si-on wanted to lower the hurdle for buying physical albums.

The first album sold incredibly well—over a million units domestically.

But that didn’t mean one million people bought it.

Among TT’s second-generation fans, some bought dozens or hundreds of copies, believing album purchases would determine fan signing slots.

Some bought the album just to get the CD player and only listened to it a few times afterward.

Though listed as domestic sales, many were actually overseas purchases from China or Japan.

Realistically, perhaps only 600,000 to 700,000 people in Korea had bought Sedalbaekil’s albums.

For Han Si-on, who aimed for 200 million sales, that was not enough.

So for the second album, they adopted a promotional strategy to make buying physical albums enjoyable for the public.

The album was carefully constructed.

It included plenty of fan goodies, but special care was given to the cover design and booklet.

They even urgently hired a famous French designer to take full control.

Even after tiring of listening to it, it could still serve as a beautiful interior decoration.

And once again, a CD player would be included.

But only in the all-package bundle of Stage + Stage Side A, B, and C.

The proceeds from the unit albums would go directly to the members.

And so, Sedalbaekil’s full second album Stage and the physicals of Side A, B, and C were finally released.

And this…

Became a trend.

---

HR Corporation CEO Andrew Bryant and Chief Manager of Management Alex Pereira were having coffee together.

While chatting lightly, the topic turned to the album.

“Did you listen to it?”

“Yes. I heard it a bit earlier. Eddie got a pre-release.”

“It’s fascinating. How can one person produce so many songs?”

“What’s more puzzling is his handling of genres. Except for Side A, none of the tracks stick to one genre.”

“Even Side A is only loosely categorized as R&B but feels very free.”

“The others are even more so.”

They were discussing Sedalbaekil’s Side A, B, C, and the full album Stage.

Frankly, it was quite absurd.

HR Corporation had occupied a portion of the Billboard chart for decades.

For the CEO and ace manager of such a massive company to be discussing the album of a Korean artist who hadn’t even debuted overseas…

But in a way, it was natural.

The music industry ultimately sells profitable music.

Sometimes the artist’s image and story are sold even more dearly.

But at its core, the business was about selling music.

And now, a hidden gem had appeared in Korea.

“We finalized the distribution contract smoothly, but the timing’s awkward. We’re supposed to push The First Day now.”

HR Corporation had decided to fully push Sedalbaekil’s first full album, TFD.

They genuinely aimed for 10 million copies sold.

But they weren’t betting that Sedalbaekil’s music would sell 10 million copies in America.

What Andrew Bryant and HR Corporation were betting on were the giants of Billboard and the Grammys.

Eric Scott, Yankos Greenwood, Mary Jones, and others…

Former stars who once represented their eras, now assembled like Avengers for a genre.

Han Si-on had gathered them for one album—but that was it.

Sales in America hadn’t even reached platinum.

Andrew Bryant wanted to re-record it in English and sell it properly.

He was convinced it could target HR’s core demographic—middle-aged white Americans.

But for that to work, Sedalbaekil’s image had to remain faint.

Sedalbaekil sang the songs, but the compositions needed to be credited to Billboard and Grammy veterans.

That way, American consumers wouldn’t feel resistant.

A stupid prejudice, but one that persisted.

“TFD needs Sedalbaekil to be faint, and Stage needs Sedalbaekil to be prominent.”

“If the second album had come out later, it would’ve been easier. But right now, we need to focus on the first album.”

Though it wasn’t entirely up to them, they tentatively reached that conclusion.

Still, as Sedalbaekil’s overseas distributor, they had to handle the basics.

If they wanted a lasting relationship, they had to do at least what any other distributor would offer.

HR Corporation made its decision—and that decision would lead to a very interesting future.

---

“……?”

“……?”

“Is it April Fool’s Day or something…?”

Gathered together, the members blinked dumbly.

Everyone had a stupid expression, myself included.

Director Seo Seung-hyun had just revealed the album sales for Side A, B, and C…

And the numbers far exceeded anything I had imagined.

“How much, did you say?”