We covered this a little on the podcast today, but I wanted to dive further into the recent album wars that have swept this past week. Not necessarily the music itself or even the potential stock increases that will surely come after the sales. But albums are the last thing music has now. Seriously, think about it. No touring, minimal space in bars, the elimination of physical music. The proof is in the pudding baby, digital sales and streams through album releases seem to be the only thing left. “WhAt AbOUt VIrtuAL ConcERTS ??” What about them? What the fuck are you asking that for? You really need ME to tell you that it was a shitty idea from the get-go? Virtual tours or concerts are a liability and fucking dumb. Name ONE friend you know well that has paid for and attended a virtual concert, and I swear to God if you say Travis Scott on Fortnite I will bite off your ear Mike Tyson style.
Wow, went hard in that paragraph but it was for good reason. Albums are the last thing left, and I want to focus specifically on the two that will be more successful coming up. Kanye’s “Donda” album and T Swift’s “Folklore”. Swift is already off to a great start and I imagine Yeezy will do well in his own right. The interesting thing about these are that there was such a beef between the two artists but also the method in which they released.
Kanye did what Kanye does. He made a spectacle out of the album and his own life, on the way to this release (I thought it should have already been released?). He made an announcement on running for president, he made a fucking CRAZY ass campaign speech, and most recently he tweeted a shit load about his wife Kim Kardashian West, or as I like to call her that one girl that sucked off ray jay, hilarious. But it all seemed to run a formula that Kanye has used in the past when he makes pretty much impossible sized hype, drops some decent/to god-tier shit and then goes onto his next venture.
Taylor, that bad bitch, did a total opposite of Kanye. She said nothing, did nothing, advertised and marketed absolutely nothing. She was silent, leaving fans to probably think nothing was being worked on or wouldn’t be worked on until some sort of announcement. Then, conveniently after Kanye’s hyper drive of public relations, ole T Swift said “album is coming bitches.” And as the stans of T Swift always do, they lost their fucking minds. Folklore is out now (again, is Kanye not released yet? The fuck?), and so far, it is crushing it as usual. Taylor cannot seem to miss and with her legion of fans it doesn’t seem like she could fail.
What’s interesting to me is how similar these artists are in terms of fame but how differently they drop music. Kanye is more traditional, but if traditional took a hit of PCP in the morning. He over-hypes, and tries to fill digital shopping carts prior to the release. Taylor Swift, however, made a move that it seems like only Beyoncé and Kendrick have done before, releasing an album without practically saying anything. But it seems to work. These artists are both masters of marketing in their own right, they pull eyeballs and ears, and gain fans, AND haters alike (I swear to Christ I will never use the word haters again). These talented individuals are bound to make another small fortune and help the investors along the way.
It's the weeks like this that keep the music industry interesting. An industry that desperately needs to innovate on how they make money. Well your artists could be the focus, to start.
Anyway, that’s my take on it. Until next time. -GS
コメント