The Billboard HOT 100 is a super important list for music. It's printed in the Billboard magazine every week. In America and Europe, it's the biggest, most professional music list. It's the one everyone trusts.
Back in the 90s, the list was mostly decided by two things: how many times a song was played on the radio and how many actual albums (like CDs) were sold in stores. Selling albums was super important back then.
(Later on, when the internet got big, this changed. People started downloading songs, so the charts had to change, too.)
The list is counted from Monday to Sunday. Because Eminem's album came out in the middle of the week, it didn't officially get the Number 1 spot... this week.
But... it didn't matter!
The new album sold millions of copies in just half a day. That was more than any other album on the list. Everyone knew it was the real Number 1. It was the "uncrowned king." It was already a sure thing for next week's top spot.
It was HOT! The album was so hot! It was sweeping across all of America.
Even Billboard magazine wrote about it on their website: "Eminem's new album is selling like crazy. It sold over a million in less than a day. This proves that this album is a huge hit, and it will surely become the most popular music album of 1997!"
...
Once Billboard said that, every other newspaper and magazine copied their story. The news exploded!
"California Entertainment" said: "This year's hottest album is here! What are you waiting for?" "National Music Weekly" said: "The strongest dark horse—Eminem!" The Los Angeles Morning Post said: "Explosive sales? Yes, it's predicted that this album will sell 30 million copies by the end of the year."
...
All this news made people who were "waiting to see" rush out to buy the album. But when they got to the stores, they were in for a shock. The lines were huge!
"Oh my gosh!" a young girl yelled. "I just slept in a little bit, and look at this line! Why are so many people here?"
The people in line around her started complaining.
"Don't you know how popular Eminem is right now?" "That's right! If I didn't have to go to class, I would have been here this morning. Then I wouldn't be stuck in this long line." "Haha! You think that's bad? I was here hours ago, but I went to the bathroom. When I came back, the line had gotten way longer! I wish I hadn't drunk so much water today."
...
This was happening at stores all across America!
All the store owners were so happy. This was all green dollars!
One store owner sighed, "I knew Eminem's new album would be hot, but I never thought it would be this hot." Another said, "This is as big as a new Michael Jackson or Madonna album!"
...
The next morning, Zane was back at Golden Sunrise Music, sitting in Domino's office. He was looking at the sales numbers with a huge, happy smile.
"This is amazing," Zane said, sighing happily. "I can't believe it. In just one day, we sold 1.5 million albums."
Domino smiled. "Boss, in recent years, only Michael Jackson and Madonna have ever sold more in one day. I can say it right now: Eminem is going to be the 'Newcomer of the Year'!"
"That's what I like to hear!" Zane laughed. He was so happy his eyes were squinted. This was all money!
Zane knew this was just the beginning. In his old life, Eminem had sold 30 million albums in 1999, and that was without a big company helping him.
But now? Eminem was a TV star, all the newspapers were talking about him, the fans were excited, and he had Zane's whole company helping him. Of course the album exploded!
...
Time flew by. After one week, the album "My Name Is" had sold 8.5 million copies! That was one of the biggest first weeks ever in 1997.
As the boss, Zane got the news first. He immediately sent a message to the whole company: Everyone at Golden Sunrise Music was getting a bonus in their paycheck this month.
The album "My Name Is" cost $15.99.
This was a fair price for an artist as popular as Eminem. This meant in just one week, the album had made $135 million!
This number was amazing to anyone!
Of course, that wasn't all pure profit. They had to pay the stores, pay the taxes, and pay for making and advertising the CDs.
But even after all that, Golden Sunrise Music was making a ton of money.
And remember! This was just the first week!
...
Wow! Even Zane was startled when he saw the final numbers.
"No wonder the big music companies are worth billions of dollars!" he thought. "Just the money from selling albums is enough to make anyone go crazy!"
Zane knew that this much money could make people do crazy things to get it. He sighed, thinking about how wild the music business was.
[Ding Dong!]
Just as he was thinking, a familiar sound chimed in his head.
[Congratulations, host. You have received a new future tip.]
Zane's heart jumped. The system! It had been quiet for so long. He was always excited to see what the system would give him next. After all, SpongeBob alone was making him rich.
What new gold mine was it this time?
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