It’s been proven multiple times through statistics: music is not selling like it used to. It was no surprise for albums to sell a couple hundred thousand copies during their opening week and claim the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart, a weekly chart that ranks the highest selling albums in the U.S. Nowadays, an album is considered commercially successful if it sells over a hundred thousand copies during its opening week.
Music experts have noticed that well-established performers in the industry have the power to sell large amounts of albums without much trouble. Rihanna is one of these performers. Many had high expectations for her latest release, “Anti,” but to their surprise, its release was a complete disaster. The long-anticipated album was leaked on Tidal, removed right after, and officially released a day after its leak once damage had been done. The album was only available on Tidal for streaming, then sent to all digital retailers two days after, and available in physical format a week later. Ultimately, it is this erroneous release that served as a huge marketing tool for the album.
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at #27. Many people understood the underwhelming placement because it was released on a Wednesday evening when the sales tracking period starts every Friday and ends every Thursday. With only one day to sell and stream the album on Tidal, it’s chart placement was nothing but expected. Things changed when the album soared to number one after being on the market for one full tracking week. Although many people knew that this would happen, some were unimpressed. Most people believed this placing on the Billboard 200 chart could’ve been accomplished in the first place. The argument was that this is Rihanna’s eighth studio album, has gone on world tours, and has been in the industry for years. She’s famous enough to have thousands of people buying her album. To make it more straightforward: if Beyoncé could do it back in 2013, then so can Rihanna in 2016.
To make things worse, more controversy started pouring in when people found out the true statistics of the album. Within the first day of its release, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the album platinum status. A platinum status for an album is achieved if it sells more than a million copies. Many were quick to celebrate, while others pointed out that almost all of the million copies were free downloads. Rihanna and her record label partnered with both Tidal and Samsung to giveaway her album to customers that used their services or electronics. Many saw this as unfair because it gave her an advantage that most artists don’t get when releasing albums. And then, another shocking statistic started circulating around the Web: the album only sold 460 copies in its first day of release. Again, with the fame that Rihanna has, many found this very disappointing.
When analyzing this scenario, people have to understand that there’s more to music than what they see. In an industry that is constantly changing, record labels and artists have to be innovative and find ways to promote and sell their music. The partnership between Rihanna and both Tidal and Samsung is nothing unusual. We see these in music videos and tours without paying much attention to them. But now partnerships are becoming common with album releases because they’re considered a win-win situation. They simultaneously promote a brand and music. Another thing to point out is that the album was released exclusively on Tidal. The music industry is changing because the consumer is now more inclined to stream unlimited music and make it all available offline for a flat, monthly rate than buying an album. Therefore, this is a perfect example of how multiple marketing factors can either positively or negatively affect the release of an album.
Power In The Music 