“Without music, life would be a mistake” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Music is undeniably a big part of our lives. Nowadays, we have numerous music genres and artists that we can all relate to at some points. There are: pop, rock, country, heavy metal, rap, jazz, folk etc. catering to different personal interest. To many people, music helps them escape from the reality and open up in front of them a world full with creativity and new ideas. Through music, many people find themselves at peace and relaxing.

From the marketing side of the music industry, it is not easy to produce a great hit due to various reasons. First of all, in order for a song to become popular, the mainstream American must fall in love with it. In other words, the song needs to fit well with the customers’ preference. However, many musicians and artists can never articulate 100% for sure what mainstream American would like. There is no measurement when it comes to predict the customer preference. Secondly, before the digital age, a song was often launched via specific radio station which was arranged by a record label and its network. Without these connections and ties, no matter how good a song was, it would never rich mainstream American and gain mass visibility. Finally, revenue was often generated due to the sales of CD in major retail stores, such as: Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc.

However, the growth of the Internet and digital marketing has impacted significantly on the music industry. In fact, it has altered the way that people listen to music as well as keep up with the current music news. For example, nowadays, people witness the birth of music streaming through Pandora, Spotify, or Apple Music Radio.No longer do we see the spike in sales of CDs after a new song is released. Everything is slowly becoming digital. In fact, even some of the most successful music albums are being advertised strongly on nontraditional media channels. Securing airtime or radio spot is not the only way to market music to American people anymore. With the help of social media and YouTube video advertising, a no-name band/ singer can become the superstar(s) tomorrow. In addition, the increase of mobile usage also allows people to get access to multiple music apps or platforms easily. Despite what being said, in order for a new song to get attention, investment in digital marketing and advertising is very needed.

However, in the end of 2013, “Queen” Beyonce did something that has never been done in the music industry. She launched a music album without investing a cent in advertising. Despite being on tour and filming for the new music video at the same time, she managed to produce videos for all the singles within the album. She also successfully kept all the songs from leaking before releasing date. She took the risk that could jeopardize her career just because she wanted to surprise her fans during the Christmas holidays. In the end, magic happened and the risk paid off. She broke the U.S iTunes sales record with 617,000 in 3 days.