You Should Have Secretly Released It: A Music Lesson from Mrs Carter
On Thursday night Beyonce released her fifth, self-titled, studio album. Several things make this release stand out; it is available only on i-Tunes, comprises of 14 tracks but also 17 videos (' I SEE music' - Beyonce explains) and the whole work can only be purchased for $15.99, only in its entirety, but most importantly it was done secretly, without warning and without the usual months of hype. This certainly has challenged the industry norm.
What caused Beyonce’s rejection of the traditional method of an album campaign? She claims she was bored of the usual way and wanted to connect directly with her fans, no fanfare. This is in stark contrast to other big name albums this year. Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP album, for example, saw months of digital sound bites, YouTube clips and album art stills, building up to the release date. Does this new way (also used by David Bowie earlier this year with his comeback single) signal a shift in the way music will be released – a move away from big label marketing to direct, no fuss, connection with fans?
Beyonce returned and blew iTunes records out of the waterThere is no doubt it is another magnificent business move by the formidable Beyonce. i-Tunes nearly crashed under the weight of demand, over 800,000 copies were sold in 3 days, and she will almost certainly go to #1 in the Billboard Charts. She has got people talking, and more importantly buying.
For this tactic to have any impact though, it relies on a certain level of fame, as well as the size of the fan base. Most acts, especially new ones, could ‘secretly’ release their album tomorrow and other than a small base of hard core fans who are part of a mailing list, it would hardly make a splash. It certainly would not make the newspapers. In fact most musicians feel as if their releases might as well be done in secret, when they are desperately trying to make more noise... Most musicians rely on a level of pre-planned hype to spread their music, and gain new fans. Beyonce is one of the most famous women on the planet and her album would have probably gone to #1 regardless of which format she released it in. It has worked for her, but the 'secret' release is not the way forward for most emerging talent.
However, I think Beyonce’s decision does reflect the consumers appetite for immediacy - which makes the old idea of a three month album tease, both tedious and self- indulgent. Maybe the days of the hype machine are over – perhaps we are starting to find it patronising to be told what we are going to like all the time or maybe it is more that the shelf life for the golden 'next big thing' is getting shorter and shorter? Either way, with her latest release, Beyonce has shown us what we all already knew anyway - Queen B reigns supreme!
This feature was written exclusively for Female First by Lydia Baylis.
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