13 Album Publicity Stunts You Keep Falling For
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Real Or Fake Beef
Taking aim at roughly 16 different musicians both dead and alive worked for 50 Cent when he dropped 2005’s The Massacre. And 50 used the same tactic on Before I Self Destruct by engaging Kanye West in a sales battle. While the beef leading up to both Jay Z’s The Blueprint and Nas’ Stillmatic was real, it also gave both emcees a nice bump in sales due to the surrounding controversy.
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The Non-Album Cut
Remember when J. Cole hit you with “Be Free” or Big Boi teased the long awaited OutKast reunion on the “Lookin’ For Ya” remix? Then you realize those songs aren’t even on the album. Womp, womp. Granted, sometimes these are legal or legit sample clearance issues. But if you bought a copy of Nastradamus expecting heat and only got “Shoot ‘Em Up,” you’re probably nodding in silence right now.
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The “Surprise” Release Date
Everybody wants to “pull a Beyonce” and drop an album out of nowhere. Here’s the thing, bragging about how you’re avoiding the gimmick of a pre-album press rollout is a gimmick in and of itself. Most people knew Drake’s latest joint was dropping either an album or a mixtape way back in December.
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Secret Shows And Guests
A lot of recent “secret shows” have been branded with MySpace. Generally, such shows are geared at hardcore fans with the locations kept under wraps as long as possible. Meanwhile, the likes of Travis $cott and Fashawn have benefitted from having OGs like Kanye West and Nas as secret, featured guests during their official album release shows. Who doesn’t like surprises?
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An Album “Leak”
From Angel Haze, Azealia Banks, and now Kendrick Lamar, there’s a decent list of artists that have actually leaked their own albums out of anger or spite. Granted, Banks and Haze unceremoniously parted ways with their labels, but most of us saw those splits coming. Album leaks are an inevitable consequence of the Digital Age, but leaking your own album is on par with retail suicide.
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A Free Preview Stream
There’s nothing worse than feeling you’ve been tricked into buying a dud of an album. In that regard, allowing fans to “try before they buy” through sanctioned streams on NPR, The New York Times, and Spotify has been great. Yes, it’s a gimmick—especially since someone uploads a rip to a torrent site within hours—but it’s hard to knock getting a free preview.
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Fake Controversy
Few things get people talking like fake controversy. This comes in the form of Nas’ Hip-Hop Is Dead and naming his album after a racial epithet. It can also come in the form of your fans holding a protest for your album, you making an album full of pop drivel, and then blaming said pop drivel on the label.
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The Retirement/Comeback
Here’s an oldie but goodie from the sports world: you want to go out on top so this will be your final album. But alas, it’s all an elaborate ruse for your inevitable return and the sales that come along with it.
