[4th Update] How Global Clouds Can Order ‘Vol. 6 – Rain Effect’ & Help Rain Comeback with a BANG in South Korea
~Cloud Cover by Terri :-}, Managing Editor
4th Update
Well, Clouds. I’m terribly sorry to have to bring you this update.
Currently, there is no place to purchase Rain’s Rain Effect album online here in the U.S.A. The album was up on U.S. iTunes through sometime yesterday, and then it was suddenly taken down. We have no idea why. We’ve asked the powers-that-be in Korea. We’ll let you know what they say, but please be patient as everything is chaos with Rain’s TV appearances right now.
Also, Soribada’s English site still says that they can’t offer Rain Effect right now because all of the details of their contract negotiations with the copyright holder hadn’t been worked out. We will keep checking on that though.
You can still buy the physical album online, at the sites listed below.
Terri :-}
3rd UpdatePlease do NOT use PayPal to purchase your album from any source online. PayPal indicates that the normal payment processing time is 3 to 5 days. However, some sellers have indicated that it can take significantly longer than that for payments to process.
If you purchase your album now using PayPal, it is highly likely that your album sale will NOT get reported to the Korean music charts during the initial sales period that is critical to Rain’s release. That is because companies selling the albums can’t report their sales to the charts until the sale is actually COMPLETED.
Clouds we are learning as we go here. This is the first time we have been intimately involved in the charting process. So, please bear with us.
Thank you.
Terri :-}
2nd UpdateClouds there is a rumor going around that YesAsia does not report to both the Hanteo and/or the Gaon charts in Korea. I found a FAQ page on YesAsia that indicated that they DO report to both charts, but just in case that was incorrect information, I e-mailed their CEO and asked. I received the following reply today:
That being said, there are also Clouds indicating that YesAsia is known for separating the albums they sell from the “free poster” that fans usually get in Korea with albums and that they are selling them separately for an additional charge.
I don’t know if Rain’s new album will come with a new poster. I have pre-ordered some albums from Kpopmart.com and those did not appear to come with a poster either. I have sent another e-mail to YesAsia asking them if they do this and if so, why. I will let you know what they say whenever I receive a reply from them.
I’m being persistent regarding these rumors about YesAsia, because Cloud USA has been an affiliate partner with YesAsia and YesStyle for quite some time. If Clouds are having trouble with them, we really need to know and rethink our position with them.
Thank you for your patience and for working so hard to support Rain with his new album release. Your efforts are greatly appreciated, Clouds. ♥
Terri :-}
Lovely Clouds,
If you’re anything like me, you have been anxiously awaiting the release of Rain’s 6th Album, “Rain Effect,” for quite some time now. The good news is that the wait is finally over. The bad news is…well…there actually is no bad news. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. 😛
First, I need to make one extremely important announcement. Cloud USA will NOT be placing a bulk order for our members via The Cloud after all. Stephe and I have decided not to do this after lengthy discussion with each other and with supporters of The Cloud for the following reasons:
- The Rain Effect album is already readily available for pre-order from several popular K-Pop websites on our side of the globe. On the particular sites that we will be recommending, your album purchases will count towards Rain’s “official” sales numbers in South Korea and help him rise on the music charts and win on the music shows there.
- These websites are well-known and reputable.
- The cost of international shipping from these websites is extremely reasonable.
The main reason The Cloud was offering a bulk-order option to global fans (that’s us) in the first place was so that the albums we purchased would be counted in Rain’s official numbers during his comeback in South Korea. Since we actually have access to websites where our numbers are going count anyway, none of us can think of a good reason to stress out everyone and complicate Rain’s comeback with overseas bulk orders. So, we have made the decision not to participate in that effort.
Instead, we are going to give you some advice on how you can order Rain’s new album in a way that will actually help Rain. After all, you do want your purchases to count in Rain’s official numbers and help him comeback with a bang, don’t you? I know I do. But first, let me tell you a bit about how all of this of this works, so that you’ll understand better what you are going to be doing—and why. (Please bear with me. This is going to be a LONG post…)
Please note: If you would still like to order an album directly from The Cloud, please visit the Cloud. There is a post somewhere there about how to do that. If you have any questions about ordering your album from The Cloud, please contact Heidi (huhuhuhu), one of The Cloud’s overseas fan coordinators, at raincloudworld@gmail.com.
How music comebacks work in South Korea:
In South Korea, competitive music shows are popular. Extremely popular. However, unlike our competitive music shows here in The States (like “American Idol,” for example), these shows are not about finding potential or unknown talent. Instead, they are fierce competitions between both debuting rookies and highly successful idols like Rain for domination in the music market (sort of like a “professional” American Idol on speed).
On these music shows, like KBS’s Music Bank, MBC’s Music Core, MNet’s M! Countdown and SBS’s Inkigayo, a winner is chosen every week using a ridiculously confusing formula. For example, on KBS’s Music Bank the scoring system includes counts from digital music charts (65%), album sales (5%), number of times broadcast on KBS TV only (20%), and viewers choice charts (10%). MNet’s M! Countdown/Mwave’s scoring system includes counts from digital single sales (50%), album sales (10%), global fan votes via Mwave/MNet America, and Mnet Japan (5%), age preference (20%), live show preferences (10%), and SMS Votes (5%).
It is our understanding that 2014’s January competition is going to be vicious, with many top singers/groups making their comebacks at the same time as Rain (I.e., Psy, TVXQ, 2PM, Girl’s Day, Girl’s Generation, T-ARA, etc.). Comebacks usually last a month or two. So, prepare yourself, Clouds, because January and February 2014 are going to be insanely busy with Rain appearances.
Every week is a new week and every show is a new chance to either rise or fall—no matter who you are or how long you’ve been working in the business. Thus, fans of idols in South Korea take these musical competitions extremely seriously. Rain’s loving Clouds in South Korea are no exception to this rule. At this very moment, they are preparing in every way they possibly can to make Rain’s comeback in South Korea a total, full-on success. (Go Clouds!)
So, how can we help from way over here in the U.S. and other countries that are NOT South Korea? Well, I thought you’d never ask. Below are the steps you can take to show Rain that his global fans also mean serious business.
1) Buy a physical copy of Rain’s album from an online source that reports its sales to at least ONE of the music charts in South Korea.
Buy a physical copy of Rain’s album from one of the following websites:
Both YesAsia and DVD Heaven report their sales to both the Hanteo and Gaon charts in South Korea. Kpopmart reports its sales to the Hanteo chart. So, purchases on any of these site will do. The deals are different, so just choose the one that you like the best. Rain’s album is already available for pre-order on ALL of these sites.
Please note that some Clouds are saying that YesAsia reports to only the Hanteo chart, but according to their customer support, that is NOT true. See screenshot below from YesAsia’s FAQ page.
If you are concerned, then you may purchase your album from DVD Heaven. However, their shipping costs are so high for us in North America, that Cloud USA does not want to ask you to do that unless you simply want to. This is why I have recommended that you decide.
What Cloud USA did was purchase 2 albums from KPopmart (which reports to Hanteo). Then, we sent in a club donation to The Cloud for the support project, so that The Cloud could use that money to actually purchase albums from stores or digital downloads when the time is right. (We’ve also heard that digital downloads won’t count in the initial period, and so the timing of purchasing those is critical. We are still trying to find out what the “initial period” actually is.)
We just feel that sending money to The Cloud directly to use, rather than sending money to a company to ship our packages to us, would do more for Rain at this critical time, because The Clouds in Korea know where to shop in Korea to make the most impact on the charts. We obviously do not.
Both Stephe and I have used YesAsia in the past and they have always proven to be reliable. Cloud USA is an affiliate of YesAsia, so if you order from them, then we get a few pennies from your purchase too. Click on the link above or visit Cloud USA’s Store and click on the YesAsia logo in the sidebar to access our affiliate “Rain Effect” page.
Other K-Pop fans frequent Kpopmart and DVD Heaven, and they say that both of these sites are reliable too. I’ve never ordered anything from DVD Heaven myself, but I just pre-ordered two Rain Effect albums from Kpopmart. I’ll let you all know what my experience was with them after the albums arrive. Hopefully, all will be well.
These are the most dependable sites we know of, but if you have another site that you like better, and you are absolutely positive that it reports to the South Korean music charts, then please let us know, and we’ll be glad to add it to our list.
2) Buy a digital copy of Rain’s album immediately after its release from an online source that reports its sales to at least ONE of the music charts in South Korea.
Buy a digital copy of Rain’s album from Soribada at Kpop.soribada.com immediately after it is released and appears online, because it is going to take several weeks for your physical album to get to you from Asia. If you’re like me, you’ll want to hear Rain’s music the day it is available. So, if you wait for your album to arrive, you will miss out on a lot of the fun. Besides, buying two albums helps Rain even more than buying one does. I guarantee you I’M not waiting that long to hear his new music myself.
Soribada is like a Korean iTunes, but the site above is the “English” or “global” version of Soribada’s Korean website. I e-mailed Soribada just to make sure that our purchases from their site would help Rain’s comeback. This is what they said—and I quote:
“If you download music at Kpop.soribada.com, your purchase will be reflected in the Soribada chart and on the Korean TV program charts like Music Bank. However, repeated downloads from the same account only count ONCE.
The chart available at http://kpop.soribada.com is same as the chart at http://www.soribada.com/#/, but the one on http://kpop.soribada.com is from the previous day, due to the time difference. Your downloads from http://kpop.soribada.com will be reflected in the chart available at http://www.soribada.com/#/ as soon as the sales are recorded.
Also, our streaming service of http://kpop.soribada.com is intended to assist users with selecting and downloading music. At the moment, there is only a one-minute-long preview of each song available. Please keep in mind that our one-minute preview streaming will not be reflected on the charts. We do plan to provide full streaming service (I.e., sound sourcing) in the future, but for now, it is unfortunately not currently available for global fans. Should you have any questions or any inconveniences with our service, please feel free to contact us. ~Soribada Customer Service”
Please note that the global Soribada site is a “subscription-based” service. So, to order Rain’s album, you will be required to purchase at least a one-month subscription that is at least equal to the purchase price of Rain’s album on the site. If you don’t want recurring charges, then do not set up your membership account to renew itself automatically, or you will find yourself being charged for another month.
Rain’s album is not listed yet as it has not been released. As soon as it is released, the album should appear on the website. Please keep an eye out for it and alert other Clouds you know as soon as you see it is available for download. (We have no idea if you can create multiple accounts on Soribada to purchase multiple albums for more chart impact.)
So far, Soribada is the only source for digital downloads that reports to the Korean music charts that we have found. If you know of another reliable, online digital source for Korean music available in North America that reports to Korean music charts, please let us know, so we can add it to our list.
3) Vote for Rain for MNet’s M! Countdown every single day each week that he is scheduled to appear via Mwave/MNet America.
Every week, during Rain’s comeback, Rain’s musical show appearance schedule will be posted somewhere on either The Cloud and/or Rain’s official website. Please make a note of when Rain is going to appear on MNet’s M! Countdown. Keep an eye on the Mwave/MNet America website. When Rain’s name appears on the list, please vote, vote, vote like crazy for him to win. Here are the site’s rules for voting:
- You must register for the site to be able to vote.
- You must be logged in to vote.
- Each registered ID may vote ONCE PER DAY during the voting period each week. (YES, you may register multiple ID’s with multiple e-mail addresses and YES, you can use this method to vote multiple times.)
- The voting period runs Friday 11 AM through Monday 9 AM.
- Current ratings are updated every 30 minutes and are based on votes from MNet Global, MNet Korea and MNet Japan.
4) View Rain’s music video(s) on YouTube every day and OFTEN.
As soon as Rain’s music video(s) are posted by one of his official agencies on YouTube, watch them every day and watch them OFTEN. Watch them on your desktop, your laptop, your cellphone, your Roku. Watch them at the office (but please don’t get in trouble :-P). You get my drift. Do I need to mention what Psy’s YouTube views did for him? I didn’t think so. Note: We have no idea where Rain’s music video(s) will be released on YouTube or when, but we will let you know as soon as we find out which one we should watch to pump up the views.
5) Donate funds to The Cloud’s Rain Effect Support Activities Donation Project.
The Cloud is asking all world clouds to unite and help Rain’s Korean Clouds ensure that “Rain Effect” tops all of the Korean pop charts as soon as it is released. As I mentioned earlier, purchasing the album accounts for only a small percentage of the scores on the music shows in Korea. A much larger percentage of the scores is derived from the purchase of digital downloads and/or live streaming of the music (I.e., from sound sources). Digital sound sources for the listening and/or downloading of Korean music for us global fans are extremely scarce.
Thus, the Cloud is seeking voluntary donations from Clouds around the world to be used to support the release of Rain’s album in South Korea. Cloud USA has already donated $100.00 to this cause on our club’s behalf. If you can join in with your own donation, we encourage you to do so. It doesn’t matter how small your donation is, because all donations will be combined to make the biggest impact possible. (Did I mention that Rain’s Korean Clouds are serious about this? As a heart attack. Did you think I was kidding? :-P)
Your donation should be sent to The Cloud’s Overseas Fan Coordinator, Heidi (huhuhuhu), via PayPal. The PayPal account is: heidi.shanghai@hotmail.com. Choose the payment option for friends and family and please pay the PayPal fee, so that The Cloud doesn’t have to. Please indicate in the message section of your payment that your payment is for the “Rain Effect Support Activities Donation Project.”
Heidi will acknowledge all contributions when payment is received. Contributions will be converted into Korean Won and will be transferred to the Cloud Executive. Heidi will also prepare a full contributor’s list and submit it to the Cloud Executive for their official record. If you have any questions about this initiative, please contact Heidi at raincloudworld@gmail.com.
There are several posts on The Cloud with tips about how to help Rain Effect top the charts, but please keep in mind that these tips are only applicable to Clouds in Asia. If you want to make a real impact as a global Cloud, then you need to follow the steps we’ve outlined above for global Clouds.
If you need any help with anything at all related to this endeavor, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of Cloud USA’s staff members. We will be delighted to assist.
Clouds, let’s all join hands across the globe to help make Rain’s first comeback after his military service his most spectacular comeback EVER. I know we can do it. Aja, aja, fighting!
What we know about the “Rain Effect” album so far:
- The album’s publisher is Loen Entertainment.
- This new album is being publicized as a home studio album.
- The lyrical tunes are designed to let Rain’s stellar vocals shine through.
- It is an album that fans of all ages can enjoy.
- The album includes 11 tracks, but so far, only three tracks have been identified. They are: 1) Rain Effect, 2) 30 Sexy (title track) and 3) LA Song (title track)
And if you’ve gotten this far, you are truly a dedicated Cloud and I salute you. 🙂
Terri :-}
terri@cloudusa.org
Cloud USA 
HI
1.I have noticed something weird on both Rain mvs 30sexy and LAsong you can´t look at the statistics link WHY is that?also i have so many friends in europe,southamerica,vietnam.japan watching both mvs simultaniosly on diff devices all day since first day but it counts really weird and sporadic
and we can´t really tell cos the statisiccount isn´t working
2.Henecia friends told me there are possibilities to vote directly on the shows with some korean phone-app if Rainoppa gets nominated for possible nr.1?
3.and also how to gather gaon sns points?how to post/vote properly the message must in hangul so it really counts for sure?how to get gaon account?hmm..
4.is it true that searching rains name and songtitel in hangul on Naver,Melon, it helps for social media points?
Want really help Rain as much as possible I already bought 2 physicals lucky i paid with direct creditcard i bought his digitals on itunes now on soribada but i have the feeling that wont be enough so im trying to find more ways to help him with everything i can
PLEASE could you do a detailed Rainsupporttutorial with picturers you know for dummies?because i really don´t want to have to go to exo sites to learn all that korean chartsshow stuff
Thank you
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Hi there, Katinka. Thank you for your good support of Rain. Unfortunately, we aren’t much more knowledgeable about the ways to help him in Korea than you are. We only really know how we can best support him from here in the U.S. We can’t sign up for any of the Korea sites like Gaon or Hanteo well from the U.S.
Have you tried posting your questions on English Talk on The Cloud’s website? That’s his official fan club in Korea and their site is here: http://www.rain-cloud.co.kr/. There are likely more people over there who might be able to answer your questions better.
Are you watching the music videos on YouTube? I do know that the YouTube view counts do have a bit of delay, especially if you are watching the videos from overseas. But at some point, YouTube should catch up with the views and post them. I’m not sure what statistics you are saying you can’t see.
Terri :-}
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Katinka, there is a really good tutorial on how to vote on the chart sites, at least, on Rain’s Little Cloud blogspot. It looks really helpful. http://rainslittlecloud.blogspot.com/
Those ladies are amazing over there. 🙂
Stephe ^@@^
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Hold on!! Did you say ROKU?!?! You mean I can watch Rain on my ROKU?!?! How????
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DILEMMA!! So I pre ordered with Heidi but our honey is on iTunes!! GET THAT! My buy it fingers are itchin cause the music I sampled and its calling to me!! SO! I think I’m keeping my order with Heidi but also purchasing from iTunes!!
I’d like to think with his new funky sound he’s gearing up to hit us hard in the US ladies!! ^_~ Wouldn’t that be just the sweetest!!
I gotta say every time I watch these video I cannot stop smiling. I love how sexy and suited up he is in 30 Sexy and I love how he does his little “get my groove on” in the beginning LA Song. Does this man ever disappoint?!?! I think not.
OKAY! I missed the scrap book project much to my dismay but I’ll try and keep up with the voting on MNET and I’ll start with purchasing two albums! ^_^
And yay on the Cloud recruiting!! I’m so there!!!
Hahahe so it wasn’t really a dilemma was it…
LADIES!! Keep us posted! We love you!
Rain… WOW! WE LOVE YOU!!
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hana72? T_T what the heck! It’s Rain4Flowers!!
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Hana you can still do a “digital” copy of a scrapbook page and email it to Terri and Stephe to get it in the book.
Just cut an paste a bunch of pic’s onto a word document add some supportive text to go with it and don’t forget your name and location. Save the file and send it off to Cloud USA ‘s email.
Hope you join us in the scrapbook.
Dot
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ITUNES!! Woo Hoo!……Honey baby Bi thank you boo! Finally. I type this as listen to the slow groove of “Dear Mama Don’t Cry.” I’m beside myself tonight. (*Fan girl tingles right now….SMILES*)
The “Rain” is falling tonight! *SMILES*…………………………..
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I agree BiA, JiHoon has really done it this time. ITunes! I love him so much for that. But honey Rain is killin me! This music is sick… He truly has out done himself. I’m not sure what time I fell asleep but it was to Rain Effect😘
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Lotus, you said. That “30 Sexy teaser”….now THAT beat is what’s SICK. It makes a noona want to hit the dance floor and this noona is so Not the “hit the dance floor” type (at least not in public..LOL). But that beat, and “OPPA” had me trying to call up some dance moves I’ve long forgotten about. LOL!!
Actually, I’m really liking the groove of “Marilyn Monroe” (*gotta find the words in English to that one*). Makes me think Bi did check out our “Fantasy Playlist” posts. It’s like he’s managed to walk that line between what would appeal to his Korean fan base, but at the same time give his growing Western fans “the tingles” too. Yes Lotus, Bi “put a hurting” on us with this one (*I feel like a John Cougar Mellencamp song…..yeah You know the one*)……….*SMILES*
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Hey I love Mellencamp, yes…. But I would hit the floor girl and have been since I bought RainEffect. But” baby “is my fav. That’s what I want the words to. And I think this is Jihoon’s type of music. He has an old soul and a sense of music. And for the record 30sexy is my next fav. But the whole thing is the best! I just love this man.
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You can find all of the English lyrics here for now: http://tuneuplyrics.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/album-lyrics-rain-rain-effect/. This is the fastest I’ve seen English lyrics pop up EVER.
I’m going to add them to our discography soon.
But be prepared. Baby is a break-up song. I was NOT prepared and it was a serious downer. LOL.
Terri :-}
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Ya know its funny how we gravitate to certain things. But I love this song still as I’ve went threw some crappy stuff myself. I just hope for JiHoon this is a meta fore and not his. Women can get over bad relationships even though it may take min. But men once bitten forever shy?
And JiHoon’s vocals on this tune are amazing…plus with his beautiful Korean language, phew…. Lawd just knocks me out. Awe and LAsong, “I’m an obedient cutie” just kills me! God I love this man. Hahahahaha he’d be a blast to hang out with. We’d get into a lot of trouble. Fun trouble. And Marilyn is beautiful.
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I agree on the “hanging out with him” part. Trouble indeed. I think I’d end up experiencing a lot of new things. I’m not being sassy either. I know he’d have us laughing our heads off. *SMILES*………………………………………
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Terry, btw thanks for the link. I meant to thank you earlier but I’ve been running like a chicken with my head cut off.😘
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No worries. You’re welcome.
I’ve been busy myself. 🙂
Terri :-}
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I tell ya, I LOVE “Oppa.” Talk about a super dance tune. I don’t even like to dance and found myself moving to it. Now THAT’s a strong song, hey. LOL. I would absolutely LOVE to see Rain and Hyuna do a special stage of this song, especially after seeing her in Troublemaker and doing “Now.” She is so “sexy” by Korean standards and she doesn’t CARE what anyone thinks of her, that I think she and Rain would sizzle.
BiA, the lyrics to Marilyn Monroe are lovely, even in English and you know that’s saying something when it comes to Korean Pop. LOL. That’s a Kim Tae Hee song if there ever was one. Awwww. ♥♥
Terri :-}
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Yeah Terri, the lyrics to “Baby” are a trip. I agree about “Marilyn Monroe.” I did go earlier yesterday to the site link that you have listed above. So I did know about “Baby.” I was like “dude your romantic life has obviously been “off the chain”….LOL and that’s putting it mildly.
Now, Terri don’t start “rumors” we don’t know for sure if “Marilyn Monroe” is about KTH (unless he said it and I didn’t hear). Could be about a past girlfriend…..LOL. Artists get real “cryptic” when it comes to song lyrics. You may think they are singing about the sun when they’re really singing about the moon. LOL!!
*SMILES*…………………………………
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I’m diggin “Oppa”, but the whole cd is BOMB!
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Yeah, “Oppa” is Hot! I’m not a dancer (in the real sense) either, but “Oppa” just makes your body want to move. LOL! It’s crazy.
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You can also order on MWaves new shop once you register which is free. I dont know about if they count towards all the charts or whatnot though.
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About the poster issue, I am 90% sure I ordered the BigBang Alive album from YesAsia and it did come with a poster. They tell you that the poster will be folded not in a special tube. I didn’t have any issues with their site and got my poster 😀 Hopefully it will be the same this time 😀
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Okay just verified I did buy it from YesAsia with the poster 😀
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I just ordered Rain Effect off of YesAsia, decided to go there because I wanted to order DaeSung’s Album to and Kpopmart didn’t have it. (sssshhhh don’t tell RAIN I’m two timing him)
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D’OH!!!! I PREORDERED WITH PAYPAL!!!! BLOODY HELL!!!! T_T
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Thanks Ladies,
You are always amazing and so very, very helpful! Just placed my order on YesAsia…already have an account and they give great service, so it is all good thanks to you!!! RAIN Love, DD
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Ok i’ll ordering fron Yes Asia. Do you think Rain finally will appear in itunes????
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Thanks, lluviakOr3ana.
We don’t know if his music will be on iTunes, but even if it is, purchases on iTunes will only count on our American charts, and not in Korea. Of course if I see it on iTunes, I will let everyone know.
Terri :-}
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Hi Terri,
I have been told not to order from Yesasia as it does not count towards Hanteo ??
Regards, FiFi
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Fifi,
That’s not true. I’ve updated the post. See step 1.
Thanks,
Terri :-}
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I read last week that Yesasia on 3rd line,May fallout in counting of hanteo chart,so now they are in .. Hope no change on that by Hanteo chart. So far I read Sinnara direct on/off line at direct stores,& off line of Hot tracks are counted as1st line.. It may have changed. I ordered to Heidi for album ,and sent donation for support activities together.. And I read that Cloud Korea is buying at direct store(Sinnara store,so far I know)as soon as album comes out as that counted in 1st line .. I may be wrong,, as I read it last week,and decided to send payment to Heidi,, while I was waiting to hear for bulk order pending from Cloud USA,and I thought I can buy another album,too if counted.. Sorry, this is my story on purchasing album.. I didn’t know any updates yet,till today.. Hope I don’t disturb to anyone with my story before updates
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Hi, Suhe. Thank you for your comment.
This is all very confusing. I don’t know where the information came from that said that YesAsia does not report to Hanteo and Gaon, because according to the company’s spokesperson, they do. All I can do is trust that they are telling me the truth.
Will the physical albums that we buy online be counted during the initial week of release in Korea? They should be. Even pre-orders should be included in the “day one numbers” and credited on the day of an album’s release. At least, that is the way it works here in the United States. Hopefully, that is the way it works in South Korea too. I don’t know. I’ve been told that’s the way it works, but I am not an expert in South Korean album sales, so I can’t swear to that.
Unfortunately, digital sales and sound source sales will NOT count during the initial sales period. They will count later, but not during the initial period. That is why I have recommended that everyone send The Cloud some money with which they can purchase more “physical albums” directly from stores there in Korea.
Ordering from The Cloud is cool. They are buying directly from stores in Korea, so those albums will definitely count. So, if you’re worried, then that’s what you should be doing.
Like I said, all we can do is trust what our album sources who we CAN buy from tell us. Unfortunately, U.S. fans can’t order from any Korean stores directly, so we have to just do our best to help in any way that we can.
Terri :-}
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AH HA. I just thought of something. IF we are purchasing our albums via PayPal, then the albums we purchase via PayPal may NOT count during initial period IF the payout from PayPal isn’t RECEIVED by the album distributor during the initial period.
I’ll bet that is where this rumor came from. Sometimes PayPal payment take awhile for companies to receive and the company selling the albums can’t report a sale to the charts until the sale is actually COMPLETED.
Does this make any sense at all? Anybody have any more info on this subject?
Bottom line is I think that IF you are considering buying an album online for Rain you SHOULD NOT USE PAYPAL.
I just Googled it and PayPal says that sometimes it can hold seller’s payments for up to 21 days. A normal processing time is 3 to 5 days. UGH. JUST DON’T USE PAYPAL.
Terri :-}
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Terri,
Thank you for clarifying about Paypal, that I had problem last time, money sent to Heidi by Paypal as requested to use,came back to my account a month later ,and Paypal said they didn’t have Heidi’s account,, now I am concerned, and i will e mail to Heidi, didn’t want to bother her as how she is busy now,, but I don’t want same thing happen as before..
about previous notes,as it’s confusing myself ,i am not sure about information I got was correct as I read from someone’s notes at gall.dc.inside , whether I read correctly ,and mistake I made with Yesasia, actually it reads Yes24 instead of Yesasia,
I feel bad about it..as I misread
I didn’t explain that 1st line of counting in hanteo chart are 2 stores in Korea, and people only can buy going that stores,and 1 on line was impossible to order by foreigners as all were in korean words mainly only shipped within Korea,and I know Yesasia is huge for online shopping,and you confirmed with letter,and Clouds outside of Korea
working so hard with so many different things…
I apologize everyone for disturbing re this matter..
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Suhe,
Please don’t feel bad. We are all just desperately trying to help Rain. I know that you are like me and you want all of our purchases to count for Rain as soon as they can. Thank you for your help. It is greatly appreciated.
I’m SO excited about the album release tomorrow. You all will have to carry on without me though because I have to go back to work tomorrow after my vacation and I will probably be way too busy to even think about the album until I get home. Sigh.
Terri :-}
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Just placed my order for “Rain Effect” CD as well from Yesasia and it’s my first Rain CD. I’m so excited and can’t wait to get it. I’ll do my part to support our boy any way I can to ensure that he’s number 1 on everything 🙂
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Thanks, Talitha. I’m excited for you.
Terri :-}
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Hey Talitha, this is my first Rain CD purchase too… and after 4 years of fangirling. I’m just glad his wares are becoming more accessible to those of us in the West without having to “give away our first born” to get them.
*SMILES*………………………………
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I know right! I’ve been wanting to purchase other items but they are so expensive. I’m so looking forward to receiving this. It’ll be my Christmas present to myself 🙂
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Yes, I agree. I “love” some Rain but I’ve never been willing to go bankrupt to support him. Besides, Mr. Man would never let me hear the end of any kind of “Rain over indulgence.” I choose not to hear that “yickety-yak” in my ear. LOL!
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I will order from YesAsia tonight! Been looking for a good reason to order from them. Will also donate to the Cloud.
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Thank you, Alisa. ♥
Terri :-}
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Ok, I just went to YesAsia site and pre-ordered Bi’s CD. Estimated ship date Jan. 11, 2014.
Boy, Rain Bi you are damned lucky I like you. I have spent more money on you this December than I have on my own damned husband. What in the hell does that say about me huh??……LOL!!
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I know that’s right. Rain is a damned expensive “hobby,” as you all well know.
Then again, I could be spending my money on Starbucks and Beyonce and Kanye West albums and bad Hollywood remakes.
Nah. I think I’ll stick to Rain, TYVM. 😛
Terri :-}
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I don’t drink coffee, so no Starbucks lattes for me…but hey hubby did download Bey’s album for me from Itunes. Bey is from H-town and never forgets her hometown that’s one reason why I support her music.
Kanye, on the other hand, will never get my money. Only the things (people, places, things) I deem worthy (in my personal world) get my money. Since, I don’t have buckets of it I must be very discerning about where it goes and who/what gets it. Since Rain Bi makes the cut on my list of “favorite things”, he gets my personal stamp of approval (*translation….he gets my money*). Lucky him!
*SMILES*…………………………..
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Lucky, indeed.
Terri :-}
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I concur…..I’ll stick with Rain 🙂
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