The relationship between music and sports has always
been a close knit one. As the market for music is becoming less profitable
artists are looking to venture into the sports market. Recently Jay-Z received his
sporting agent license and already signed big name athletes, such as Kevin
Durant, Robinson Cano, and Skylar Diggins. Now other artists including Drake,
Nelly, and Jennifer Lopez have some form of ownership or partnership with a
sports team. This should be something to expect from more artists down the
line.
Who said you needed a major record deal to be a mainstream
success? Over the years we have seen independent artists tap into the
mainstream market without the backing of a major record company. None have
reached the heights that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis had this past year. The duo landed
three singles off their platinum debut album, The Heist on the Billboard Top 100 year end chart with “Thrift Shop”
at No.1 and “Can’t Hold Us” at No. 5. It doesn't stop there; Macklemore and
Lewis are nominated for seven Grammy awards at the 56th Annual
Grammy Awards next year.
The internet has allowed artists to breakout and distributes
their music. Major labels are no longer needed if artists can build a solid fan
base. As seen with another artist like Mac Miller, independent artists are able
to sell plenty of albums and perform on tour without being signed to a label.
Every artist may not be able to reach the level of success
of Maclemore and Lewis, but it does prove that independent artists are able to
generate profit on their own. Major labels should also be a little concern however
given how many artists may follow their formula and go the independent route.
What do you think, are more artist inclined to go the independent route to sell
more records.
Who run the world…Girls! Okay, not necessarily, but
they are running the world of pop music especially in 2013. With new music from
everyone from Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, to Lorde the female pop fan
base should be more than satisfied with the plethora of new music in the genre.
In fact there’s at least one female pop artist nominated for a Grammy for
Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. Also not that four
of the top five biggest YouTube hits of the year is from a female pop artist. Last week Beyonce added to the star power by
dropping a surprise album which has already broke the iTunes first week sales
and is likely to break the first week sales of this year.
Is there anyone who had a bigger year than Pharrell
this year? Whether he was producing or behind the microphone he was featured in
some of the biggest records this year. This comes to no surprise as he is
nominated for seven Grammys and has won countless of awards already. And if you
think he’s finished just wait until next year where he is slated to release solo
album through Columbia. Here are just a few of the records that Pharrell was a part
of in 2013.
Pharrell teams up with Daft Punk for their Grammy Nominated Record Get Lucky.
Pharrell produces
and provides some vocals for one of the biggest songs of the summer and the
year.
Pharrell
also dropped a song included in the Despicable Me 2 Soundtrack.
Last week the music industry shook up
when Beyoncé dropped a surprise album. The album consists of 14 new songs and
17 videos. It didn't take long for the album to break the iTunes first week
sales and is likely to outsell every other album this year.
Not only is this a big move for Beyoncé,
but a very clever one. Artists have to find new ways to get their fans excited
about releasing a new album. We have seen other artists use new ways of
promotion this year. Jay-Z released a million copies of his album for free
through his deal with Samsung. Eminem announced the release the release of his
new album and music video during a college football game. Respectively, both
albums did very well going gold within its first week.
Presuming that Beyoncé new album
outsells everyone else we may see a change in how artists market their new
music. Can you see more artists using new forms of promotion when releasing an
album or are the days of high record sales dead?
With 2013 coming to the halt and the Grammys just 50
days away it’s time to take a look back at this past year in music that has
been nothing less than impressive. Some of the biggest names have topped the
charts this, but who had the biggest opening week so far? Take a look back on
who cashed in the biggest sales week of the year.
5. Luke Bryan struck platinum with his fourth studio
album, Crash My Party, which released
on August 13, 2013. The album had great commercial success selling 528,000
copies in its debut, but as of October 23, 2013 has sold 1,069,000 copies in
the U.S. Its leading single, Crash My
Party, was just the push the album needed topping the charts on the U.S
Billboard Country Airplay and Canada Country Billboard.
4. Rap artist Jay-Z seen similar numbers this summer
with the release of his twelfth studio album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. It was able to sell 528,000 copies despite
making it available for free for Samsung customers. The album was certified
platinum on the day of its physical release with the shipment of a million
copies through the Samsung deal.
3.Everything is the same for Drake as his third studio
album goes gold in its opening week. Drake had the third highest opening week
selling 658,000 units. Nothing Was the
Same was assisted by six successful promotional singles leading up to its
release on September 24, 2013. Nothing
Was the Same was certified platinum just five weeks after its release.
2.Speaking of everything staying the same, Eminem picked up where he left off with the highly anticipated Marshall Mathers LP 2. This is the second installment to the MMLP series, selling 792,000 units in its debut week. The MMLP 2 only took four weeks to go platinum.
1.Nine months later Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience still has the biggest
sales week of the year, with 968,000 copies sold back in March. It was quite
the comeback for Timberlake who released three singles, released two albums, and
collaborated with Jay-Z in the Legends of the Summer Stadium Tour to further
promote the album. 20/20 Experience is Timberlake’s best selling debut week of
his solo career and second number one album on the chart.
When it comes to streaming music the
choices are almost unlimited because of the many different services available. Everything
from Pandora Radio to Spotify gives listeners a large library of music to
access both online and on a mobile app. Itunes Radio and Google Play Music All
Access came a little late, but both companies are big enough to make a major
impact in the market.
Most people are listening to their
favorite songs using one of the many streaming services available without
downloading it. Streaming services takes pressure off of record companies since
they don’t have to worry about people illegally downloading music. Many
services offer a free and paid service with extra cost if they want to access
their music on their phone.
