The Rapper Bucks The System: Lil Wayne debut at No. 1 with a million units sold. “There’s no logical answer,” said Universal Motown President Sylvia Rhone of why consumers are snapping up Lil Wayne albums, but few others. “This is one of the most anticipated hip-hop records of all time. He’s more of a household name than people give him credit for.” Just think about it, every club goer is grinding to ‘Lick Me Like A Lollipop‘.
WWE Spikes Music Sales: ‘It broadcasts television shows in 130 countries and in 20 languages. It averages a weekly global audience of 47 million viewers.’ Impact on music sales from a WWE placement can be immediate. For instance, WWE featured the song “Leave the Memories Alone” by veteran hard rock band Fuel and spiked downloads to 8,000 during the next two weeks, according to SoundScan. WWE music director Jim Johnston wants to get the word about just how much music is used in WWE and said “The labels will stumble over themselves to get on MTV, but no one’s watching MTV.”
New Music Stream: Thriving Ivory’s album is now streaming on Vh1.
The Decline: Read the article ‘A brief history of the album’s recent decline in value‘ that appears in the Los Angeles Times. ‘Less than 10 years ago, it was common for albums to cost $15 and above. Apple helped redefine what the price of an album could be in the minds of consumers, but Steve Jobs’ company is far from the only reason that albums are costing less and less.’
There is a very logical answer as to why Lil Wayne is selling so well. When people buy a Lil Wayne album, they expect an album. And they get it. Rap is a hard genre to make a cohesive album with, but he does it. I’m one of those people who hate mainstream rap, but I think Lil Wayne is genius. He’s the only mainstream rapper on my iPod.
Lil Wayne’s album is more than a single, and people know that from all of the mixtapes he’s released since his last album. Those mixtapes are probabaly the main reason he’s selling so much. The industry should take a cue from Da Drought 3 and start thinking about free, online releases. Considering that an artist can take 2-3 years between albums, a free mixtape or an EP is not a bad promotional idea. It might not work for all artists, but those who write their own material should look into it.