Zhi Jun Music's total fan base has surpassed 80 billion people, spread across more than 300 planets.
Zhi Jun Literature's fan base is smaller, reaching 10 billion people, distributed across over 70 planets.
In addition to this, Zhi Jun Music and Zhi Jun Literature have deep collaborations with a multitude of alien entertainment companies.
For instance, film and television production companies are eagerly acquiring adaptation rights for Zhi Jun's novels, and are pleading with Zhi Jun Music to create opening themes, closing themes, trailer music, and insert songs for their movies and web series.
Game development companies are no different; large-scale games nowadays heavily emphasize plot and musical scores.
Celebrity teams are even more so; securing a Zhi Jun song can effortlessly make a newcomer famous.
Upon Jiang Ye's command, Zhi Jun Literature and Zhi Jun Music began promoting Birong Star with frenzied intensity.
Soon, every city on Birong Star had a Zhi Jun album, with song titles mirroring the city's landmarks, main streets, and scenic spots.
As always, upon release, Zhi Jun albums immediately surged to the top of real-time trending charts within 24 hours. After a few days, their click-through and playback volumes were more than ten times higher than the second-place album. As long as no major unforeseen events occurred, Zhi Jun Music would sweep awards at music festivals and award ceremonies held across various regions.
To maximize the promotion of Birong Star's tourism, Zhi Jun Music devised another strategy.
The Hidden Album.
What is known as a hidden album is one where alien users can only see the album title. Upon clicking, they are unable to view or listen to the songs.
Only users on Birong Star can unlock the album's songs and enjoy them to their heart's content.
Once they leave Birong Star, these songs will revert to a ghost state and disappear from the page.
Therefore, the only way to listen to the tracks in the hidden album is to purchase a ticket for an interstellar spaceship and travel to Birong Star.
To cater to fans' tastes to the utmost, Zhi Jun also included several messages in the hidden album:
[This album can only be listened to on Birong Star. It contains a total of 68 tracks, all of which are the best songs from the Birong Star series. The other tracks released on music platforms can only be considered minor efforts and cannot compare to this album.]
[We have invested significant effort into these tracks, and it would not be an exaggeration to say they are our most meticulously crafted pieces to date. If you wish to understand our highest level of work, you must experience these songs.]
[If you visit Birong Star and listen to the tracks from this hidden album, your username will be visible to us. You will receive a "Zhi Jun Die-hard Fan" digital badge with 100% certainty, and there is a chance you will receive physical prizes. The prizes are currently kept confidential, but they will be of immeasurable value.]
After Zhi Jun Music City reported this measure, Jiang Ye exclaimed, "Brilliant!"
These fungi are incredibly intelligent to come up with such a tactic.
However, Jiang Ye also had a question.
"If tourists come to Birong Star and record the songs with recorders, what if they make pirated copies and release them?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Firstly, the audio for these songs has already been uploaded to the Universal Music Copyright Association, and they will automatically block illegal playback channels for identical audio," Zhi Jun explained. "Secondly, if they manage to create pirated copies through various means, they will face enormous compensation claims."
Jiang Ye was reassured.
In this era, there were indeed many ways to protect intellectual property.
Zhi Jun Literature also acted swiftly, with over ten long, medium, and short novels being published in a surge, all drawing inspiration from the archaeological research findings on Birong Star's insectoids.
Despite being hastily produced novels, Zhi Jun's quality remained high. Coupled with the extensive groundwork laid by their vast readership, the books became an instant hit upon publication. Publishers frantically reprinted them, and eventually, the prices of paper and ink in the market began to skyrocket, creating a phenomenon akin to "paper becoming as valuable as gold."
As the novels gained popularity, various copyrights were subsequently sold.
This included game adaptation rights and film and television adaptation rights.
Zhi Jun Literature specifically negotiated with the entertainment companies purchasing the copyrights, requesting them to display Birong Star tourism posters on their respective apps, websites, and games for a period.
Besides Zhi Jun Music and Zhi Jun Literature, Jiang Ye himself also made considerable efforts.
He began making frequent visits and holding phone calls with alien heads of state.
Leveraging relationships and influence, he persuaded major planets to assist in promoting Birong Star tourism.
Furthermore, various companies from Jiang Ye Star also contributed their humble efforts.
Network companies began advertising Birong Star on their websites.
Food companies included small advertisements promoting Birong Star within their products.
Activities such as prize draws for travel tickets to Birong Star were also widespread.
Through the unremitting efforts of all parties, the name Birong Star rapidly gained recognition.
Birong Star frequently trended on the internet across many planets.
Following this, there was a surge in tourist numbers.
On April 1st, the number of alien tourists entering was 3,500.
On April 2nd, the number of alien tourists entering was 10,570.
On April 3rd, the number of alien tourists entering was 29,280.
On April 4th, it was 50,000.
On the 5th, it reached 160,000.
Jiang Ye watched the daily tourist numbers soar, feeling immensely excited.
By Labor Day, the daily influx of alien tourists to Birong Star had reached 400,000 and was still climbing.
From late April onwards, these tourists were bringing at least 4 billion in liquid assets to Birong Star daily.
Jiang Ye found this data peculiar. With 400,000 tourists entering daily and generating 4 billion, it meant each tourist was spending over 10,000 yuan per day, a consumption level that was truly extraordinary.
After all, the cost of tourist hotels, dining, and attraction tickets on Birong Star was not particularly high.
Even high-end luxury hotels charged at most 2,000 yuan per night. For 10,000 yuan, one could secure a presidential suite, though presidential suites were rare. Most tourists stayed in suites costing a few hundred yuan per night with their families.
Many museums offered free admission, and scenic spot tickets were only a few hundred yuan, allowing for a full day of exploration. Dining options included many popular establishments with an average cost of less than 100 yuan per person. Souvenirs were mostly affordably priced, with only a select few luxury items, such as jade or insectoid fossils, reaching prices in the tens of thousands.
So, how were tourists spending so much money?
Upon discovering this anomaly, Jiang Ye specifically reviewed Birong Star's financial reports.
After reading for a while, he understood.
Real estate.
Many tourists, after visiting attractions, would walk into roadside real estate agencies and new development sales offices, and emerge with a property purchase contract.
The reasons for tourists buying property varied. Some felt Birong Star's environment was pleasant and wished to reside there. Others bought property as an investment, planning to rent it out and sell it when they needed funds.
Birong Star was a developing planet, and housing prices were still quite affordable. In the city center, an average apartment of 100 square meters in a regular residential complex fluctuated around 500,000 yuan. In contrast, the price of a similar property on the tourists' home planets had reached 500 times that, meaning 250 million yuan per unit.