The Genius that is Beyonce Knowles-Carter! Full Studio Album Released Today, No Promotion!

 

 

Yes I said it! I'm going to have to bow down to the queen today! Beyonce has single handedly turned the long tested and true princples of the business of the music industry, upside down on its head. Long upheld has been the established practice of creating an album, then proceeding with EXTENSIVE promotion, leading up to an album release. Not today. Beyonce released a full studio album with 14 tracks and 17 videos. Available exclusively on iTunes.

Honestly, when my friend texted me the news this morning, my first reaction was "is she crazy?" In today's climate that just seemed like a shaky move. The music industry has seen tremendous declines in album sales over the years and the industry has had difficulty adjusting to technology. Long are the days of running to the record store to buy a particluar CD on its release date. Plus, we've seen the death of the music video. The money is just not there, so artists are forced to do other stuff (fake scandals, sex tapes, random relationships, tipping off paparazzi, etc) to promote their work. Beyonce herself professed her disgust for the indutry in her HBO Documentary "Life is But a Dream," earlier this year. So today's move doesn't come as a surprise to me at all.

 

I find it bold, refreshing, and pure genius! I just purchased the album myself.

 

Upon hearing that 17 videos accompanied the tracks, I immediatly dismissed them. Beyonce tried this back in 2006 with the release of B'Day. That album also contained a video for each recorded track, and the videos were pure garbage. The quality was lacking. No story lines, just Beyonce modeling and singing. Anyone remember Dru Hill's "Stranger in My Bed Room" or R Kelly's "Down Low?" I'm from that gnereation of music videos. I need a story line, and an "ah ha" or "oh shit" moment at the end.

 

Looks like i'm going to have to bite my tongue...