Bundle Deals Have Been Around Forever
Artists have been using bundle deals as a strategy to boost album sales for years. However, every so often the merits behind this strategy reappears as a topic of debate. Opinions flew after Jay-Z secured a deal with Samsung where they purchased a million copies of his album before it was even publicly available. Barbs around the world were outraged when Nicki Minaj’s album Queen failed to secure the number one spot largely due to the success of Travis Scott’s bundle deals for Astroworld. Consequently, the topic emerged earlier this month when DJ Khaled’s bundle deals for Father of Asahd were disqualified, leading to his album landing at number two on the charts. While the increased promotional lift that Father of Asahd would have benefitted from had it become number one can not be disputed, his vocal disdain negatively impacted his main constituents, his fans. DJ Khaled’s reaction to the commercial success of the album left many of his supporters questioning if so many of his messages that they resonated with were truly authentic to the artist they have been supporting.
DJ Khaled’s Introduction to Mainstram America
DJ Khaled has been in the industry for decades but ultimately rose to stardom as a result of strategically using Snapchat to own his artist narrative while prospering from the rise of the platform. With consistent content and repeatable sayings DJ Khaled’s sayings quickly went viral. Most of his sayings resonated around this concept of “they” to describe people or universal factors that bet the odds against an individual's success. His broad advice and words of inspiration resonated with millions of people and solidified his brand as an artist. Fans of DJ Khaled were able to support him and each other as they shared common goals of ambition, helping others, and working towards success. However, DJ Khaled’s reaction to being number two eroded so much of the fan equity that he has worked so hard to build.
The Reputational Risk of Khaled’s Reaction to The Number Two Spot
Artists have constantly faced a dilemma when discussing their ambitions for commercial success, as many struggle to discuss the monetization of their art in a way that does not make their fans feel reduced solely to customers. We’ve seen many artists frame the conversation around being proud of the art they created regardless of how well it sells and while that may be true for some it is definitely not true for all. Hip hop has been more embracing, in comparison to other industries, of friendly competition around album sales especially when it involves an underdog (i.e J. Cole vs. Kanye West). A competition around sales tends to be more beneficial for the underdog as it inspires their fanbase to use their dollars precisely to make a statement about the unrealized power of that artists fanbase.
DJ Khaled’s reaction to not being number one turned many fans and casual listeners off and amplified a larger debate that questioned the overall quality of DJ Khaled’s music. As he continues to highlight his disdain with Father of Asahd not being number one with an alleged planned lawsuit against Billboard, reports that he threw a tantrum at his label, and a since deleted video discussing the situation Khaled’s reaction is helping him more than it is hurting him. On the surface it appears that Khaled and his team did not assess the reputational risk of DJ Khaled being viewed as the “they” he has so often encouraged people to oppose.
The best way for DJ Khaled to have expressed his unhappiness with the situation was through his label rather than being so vocal about it himself. By allowing his label to be publicly vocal about Billboard’s lack of clarity regarding the bundle deals it would honor, he would have sparked a conversation relevant for all artists. Although all artists would benefit, DJ Khaled would still be able reap the benefits of holding Billboard accountable without alienating his greatest constituents in a move that appeared to be all about him.
My Favorite Stan Moments:
- [VIDEO] J.Cole Fans Asking for the Dreamville Album
- [Instagram Post] The Barbz Trying to Decode Nicki Minaj’s Megatron Posts
- [Website Link] Summer Walker Treats Fans to a Full Day of Glam
What I am Listening To:
Best,
Denisha Kuhlor (@denishakuhlor)
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