The incident displaced 21 families, mainly families of color, in the dead of a Minnesota winter. Negligence leading up to and after the incident left the roughly 50 displaced people with little else but each other and their voices in their fight for justice against their landlord and the City of Minneapolis.
Like the Bell Lofts residents, hundreds of millions of Americans have been left to fend for themselves in a variety of traumatic ways.
There was no better place in the Twin Cities to set the “My Fellow Americans…” music video as the song marches through defeated American streets, begs people for compassion, and curses the few leaders truly responsible for the common citizen’s woes.
Not everyone’s struggle is the same, but a few of the same things influence everyone’s struggle. Our votes and money feel powerless, and we are too socially ill to build real community and make those resources powerful again. Everyone in the world has recently had to live through inflation and a pandemic, but the American epidemic of loneliness persists. Our most advanced socialization tools encourage antisocial behavior like trolling and spreading misinformation, so all of these colleagues, friends, and relatives of ours go deeper and deeper into their shells.
Even the Christian Bale American Psycho types suffer in a society like this — hollow porcelain projections of people that only grow colder and more fragile as the landscape becomes more uneven.
Those who just want comfort can’t get it, and those who have it are too ill to resist wanting more stuff. Even reclusive yet mainstream moral leader Kendrick Lamar couldn’t resist a chance to run up the score, agreeing to play the gig of all gigs (Super Bowl) and dropping an album full of bangers that does not suggest he wants to “Watch The Party Die.” “My man, the party might be at your crib now,” suggests Pitchfork writer Alphonse Pierre.
What’s more American than bag-chasing? And road rage? And not looking a homeless person in the eyes, let alone greeting them? What’s more American than living in your own reality at the expense of everyone else’s? The only thing more American than getting it out the mud is taking it from someone else. The only thing more American than buying the latest stuff is buying what’s next, and it likely won’t be a house.
If saying hello to your neighbor, fact-checking, and de-escalation are un-American things to do, then maybe I should change my stage name. As I ponder that, I’ll be following my ChatGPT-designed job search strategy while tracking my Vanguard ETF investment and smashing a Double Butterburger with cheese.
Stream “My Fellow Americans…” by Zander, an American everywhere an algorithm tells you what to listen to
The phrase “milk it for all its worth” wasn’t taken lightly in previous music eras. Once an artist released a project, they and their team were committed to spreading the word about the work they carefully crafted and put blood, sweat, and tears into. In other words, the traditional album rollout was the formula for artists to work toward achieving a best-selling album.
What Is A Traditional Album Rollout?
The New York Times detailed the marketing strategy which consisted of “An upbeat lead single ready for radio. An album title and release date with plenty of notice. A magazine cover story, followed by a personal mission statement…”
The typical timeframe for a tour ranges from a few months to over a year. Alanis Morissette’s Can’t Not Tour in promotional support of her now 16-times platinum album Jagged Little Pillwent on from its release year of 1995 until 1997 — totaling a whopping 17 months. What’s more, the Canadian-American singer-songwriter leveraged the album’s 10th anniversary by releasing an exclusive acoustic version along with launching her first-ever acoustic tour, per Billboard. Then, fast forward to 2020, Jagged Little Pill’s deluxe version came along.
Taking the 25th anniversary celebration for the critically acclaimed album to the next level, there was a tour that took place in 2021 and 2022 after being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Playing the long game took Morissette’s album from a nostalgic musical treasure to a classic that transcends eras.
Morissette at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 9, 2022 (courtesy of unofficial fan site Alanis Morissette Archives, photo uploaded by “Elliott”)
When speaking of longevity, Beyoncé knows all about it — going from a history-making girl group to solo stardom. Beyoncé’s initial step into solo artistry closely followed the rulebook of a traditional album rollout. While promoting her debut studio album Dangerously in Love in 2003, the global superstar “was virtually inescapable,” as NYLON previously described.
How The Internet Helped Artists Disrupt Album Marketing
From performing at the BET Awards to making an appearance on Saturday Night Live, Beyoncé’s first solo album rollout set the foundation to not only promote her sophomore album B’Day in 2006, but also to publicize its deluxe version the following year — marking her first re-release. Following up with the commercial success of I Am…Sasha Fierce and 4, Beyoncé had the pop marketing formula on lock: radio friendly singles, live TV performances, and timely visuals. This was until her 2013 self-titled album which not only disrupted her own rollout model, but shifted the industry as a whole. After her groundbreaking surprise release, the industry made Fridays the global record release day instead of Tuesdays.
The 2010s marked the rise of ingenious music marketing and Kanye West was one of the artists to lead the pack. Ahead of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010, West coined “GOOD Fridays.” For the series, he put out a new free, downloadable track each Friday up until the album officially dropped. Rolling Stone named My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as one of “15 innovative album releases that shook the music industry” during the start of the digital transformation in the music industry. The release led to West performing the innovative album on some of the biggest stages including Coachella, Lollapalooza, and SXSW. Ahead of the performances, the deluxe edition of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was released, which featured the short film Runaway.
Three different artists, genres, and music eras, what do they all share? An extensive album rollout with a deluxe album to match. In today’s music scene, with the overwhelming amount of album releases on a regular basis, it’s become normal for some artists to quickly abandon an album and move right on to their next project. With the disadvantages of streaming such as low payout, it’s a valid move for artists to shift their focus off actively promoting their albums. However, there are artists like Victoria Monét and Tyla who are sticking to the traditional album rollout, a process known to birth music icons.
Newer Artists Winning With Classic Album Rollouts
Following almost a decade from her first EP, Victoria Monét released her debut studio album Jaguar II in August 2023. The singer-songwriter’s hit single “On My Mama” was released two months before, taking off and leading to her GRAMMY nominations for “Best R&B Song” and “Record of the Year.” She ended up taking home wins for “Best New Artist,” “Best R&B Album,” and “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.”
Keeping the fire blazing for the GRAMMY-winning album, Monét released the album’s fourth single “Alright” in June 2024 — a year after “On My Mama.” Then, in October 2024 came Jaguar II: Deluxe, which was nearly a year after the album’s initial arrival. The deluxe album’s single “SOS (Sex on Sight)” featuring Usher debuted at No. 21 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart — marking her highest debut ranking on the chart as well as her third career entry.
Fifteen months after the release of Jaguar II, Victoria Monét’s presence has remained as strong as ever with the album’s deluxe version and recent single “SOS (Sex On Sight) featuring Usher
Once Tyla’s “Water” went viral, there were naysayers who may have thought she would have 15 minutes of fame. They were proven wrong as the South African songstress has become one of the biggest rising pop stars. Tyla is everywhere, from performing around the world to promote her eponymous debut album to her music landing historic wins such as a GRAMMY for “Best African Music Performance.” Moreover, her debut album dropped in the spring, became one of the albums of the summer, and the deluxe version Tyla + released in the fall. Following its release, its tracks “PUSH 2 START” and “SHAKE AH” debuted at No. 4 and No. 9 on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.
Will Albums and Traditional Rollouts Remain Valuable?
While the traditional album rollout has clearly worked in the favor of artists like Monét and Tyla, there are those who believe going the unconventional route is the more favorable option. According to Vulture, “Pop stars were still playing the release game with an old set of rules, and they were losing because of it.” Vulture praised Taylor Swift’s surprise release of Folklore in 2020 as it “has only given the pop industry a stronger case that the traditional rollout could justifiably be retiredin the 2020s.” What’s more, the outlet pointed out that the state of streaming aligns with artists dropping albums with little to no notice.
“The album as a format can at times feel incompatible with the instant gratification of the streaming-era,” Epigram shared.
As the pandemic further disrupted months-long traditional album rollouts, Rolling Stone reported that the quick releases trump thorough ones.
“But more and more, the orderly, tightly plotted public rollout looks like an artifact of a different time when the music industry moved at a leisurely pace,” the outlet wrote. “Expect listeners to keep you at the top of their minds for three months while they wait for an album? Retaining listeners’ devotion for just one week, from this New Music Friday to the next, is hard enough. TikTok seems to create a new micro-hit — or several — every few hours.”
Although the surprise album drop concept has worked in the favor of major stars, new artists don’t have that luxury just yet. Sticking to the traditional route aids in the likelihood of more streams, main stage performances, partnerships, advertisements, and other crucial aspects of artist development. Even seasoned artists have seen the payoff of going back to tradition, e.g. Beyoncé with Renaissance. The months of anticipation around her seventh studio album resulted in her snagging another best-selling album, four more GRAMMY wins, and one of the highest-grossing tours ever.
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It all goes to show that going the extra mile and keeping the tradition alive — whether it be releasing a deluxe album or promoting a project for over a year — gives both the artist and their work a better chance at longevity.
When MTV launched in 1981, it was the calm before the storm of the music video era. Fast forward to 1984, the legacy music channel held its inaugural Video Music Awards (VMAs). Among the winners was Michael Jackson for “Thriller.” The iconic music video is highly acclaimed by MTV, VH1, TIME, and the Library of Congress, and is one of the most popular music videos of all time. The 13-minute music video’s revolutionary impact was a huge wake-up call for artists about how quality visuals could propel their career trajectories.
The disruption resulted in artists and their teams bringing their A-game to viewers’ TV screens with the help of hefty music video budgets. From MTV’s TRL to BET’s 106 & Park, music videos were placed on a high pedestal and widely celebrated. However, as less revenue and digital streaming have greatly shifted the music industry, there has been a visible decline in the quality and effort towards music videos.
As music video premiere events have become way less of a trend, viewers aren’t as engaged as they were from the 1980s to the 2010s. In April 2024, The Guardian reported on the correlation between the decline in active viewership resulting in lower music video budgets. Photographer Olivia Rose shared with the outlet that while around $30,000 could be enough for a quality music video in earlier times, now, the money would go toward three visualizers for three songs instead.
Visualizers range in style: looped video clips, series of clips limited to one or a few backdrops, and animation are popular approaches that are taken. The massive trend of artists posting fewer official videos and more official visualizers spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a time when everyone was on lockdown, artists and their teams had to put their creative hats on. Moreover, similar to other industries, the music industry took a big financial hit leaving less money to create elaborate visuals and spawning more visualizers.
Official visualizer for “WILDFLOWER” from the Billie Eilish album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT (2024)
Clip of official visualizer for “Let’s Go (Remix)” by Key Glock posthumously featuring Young Dolph (2024)
The transition to more visualizers comes at a suitable time with the rise in artists landing breakout singles through TikTok. The social media app has been tied to dwindling attention spans.
While visualizers have served as a saving grace for indie artists who may not have the funding yet to create full-blown music videos, even global mainstream artists such as Drake, Tems, and Tyla have also been tapping into the trend.
For those who may question why artists of such status would be fond of releasing official visualizers, “time is money” is the reasoning. Instead of big artists and their teams taking weeks to both film and edit music videos, they can opt for a less intricate process and put more time and creative energy toward the studio or preparing for live performances, their bread and butter. It’s also a way to pump out numerous visuals at a time to coincide with album rollouts. Along with official visualizers, lyric visualizers and official performance videos are additional newer ways artists keep fans engaged with their music. Since the days of the pandemic, artists have been laser focused on the power of online engagement.
Despite the pros of visualizers such as lower costs, people question if visualizers have as much replay value as music videos. It’s a potential downside since it’s more likely for a fan to rewatch a music video with a compelling storyline and top-tier cinematography rather than a mundane loop. Also, does the plethora of visualizers contribute even more to the oversaturation of visuals? If so, this may decrease the likelihood of visualizers standing out and helping artists’ songs sell.
Whether or not visualizers have more pros or cons remains a question, but according to a report from Business Research Insights, the music visualizer market is expected to grow significantly over the next decade due to technological advances.
There is a group of music industry professionals who believe music videos are a necessity for those who want to have longevity in the game, but it’s clear that artists aren’t letting up on visualizers anytime soon.
