Pop sensation Beyoncé stunned the music industry and her fans with her self-titled album released in December 2013, without much ado. The album was hidden under wraps and was revealed only on the day of its release, much to the amazement of fans all over the world. For this new album, Beyoncé did away with the conventional style of release involving cliché promotional techniques like promos and teasers.
According to Beyoncé, this out of the blue release made her connect with her fans much more than ever before. This album was an overnight hit and there were 1.2 million tweets in just 24 hours of its release. All the social networks were flooded with comments about the beautifully shot videos and tracks and this album soon became the talk of the town.
The music album, comprising 14 tracks and 17 videos, was a treat for music lovers all over the world. It was available for sale on iTunes on December 13th, the very day of its release. CD/DVDs could be bought from the retail stores from December 20, but it was not available in Target. The album was a delight for music connoisseurs during Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The fifth music album was special in many ways for the star. Her daughter, Blue Ivy, appears in the video for ‘Blue’ while several other renowned industry faces grace other videos. These stars include Pharrell, Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland, Frank Ocean, Timbaland and her husband, Jay Z.
The album sold a record number of 828,773 copies in three days, without quintessential marketing, and this was enough to prove the success of this unconventional album launch. The hit brought a smile to the faces of producers and technicians of Columbia Records who helped devise this new strategy. The sales figures for the album on iTunes, reported by Apple, are the highest ever for the singer.
“Springing [an album] on the world without anybody knowing, that sort of turns decades of music marketing on its head,” said Music-Industry Consultant Mark Mulligan.
Echoing his opinion, Research Analyst Mike McGuire of Gartner averred that decades of A&R practice kind of got thrown out the window!
This new strategy has become a game changer in the music industry with its record sales figures and never-ending praises on social networks. Beyonce’s hard work and dedication have paid off once again and the queen of pop undoubtedly deserves a toast from the friends, fans and fraternity.
Sources:
http://www.beyonce.com/
http://mashable.com/2013/12/13/beyonce-releases-visual-album-itunes/
http://mashable.com/2013/12/13/beyonce-album-videos-tweets-stats/
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/13/entertainment/la-et-ms-beyonce-surprises-internet-with-secret-album-20131212
http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/13/why-beyonce-kept-her-new-album-secret/
~ by Deepika Sharma Grover