Ariana Shows How to Thrive as a Pop Star in a Hip-Hop Musical Economy

[BUtterfield 8 41,466]

Instead, she's still recording and releasing music when she feels like it, and personally letting fans in on the process nearly every step of the way. And while it's hard to imagine any of her most obvious top 40 compatriots playing so fast and loose with their new releases, it's all but the norm in the satellite world of hip-hop, where seemingly impromptu surprise releases are commonplace, fan engagement is frequently much more casual and stars are often expected to respond to real-life events with their music in real time. Grande quick-pitching "Thank U, Next" to her unsuspecting fans shows that she understands that the days of endless blockbuster rollouts for music's biggest stars are becoming a thing of the past, and that -- as countless recent big-name success stories have proven -- catching listeners with new music when they least expect it (like on a Saturday night two and a half months after your last album dropped) can pay off brilliantly.

Thank U, Next was streamed on Spotify in America over 3 million times on Sunday. It's exceedingly rare for a pop song to notch that many Spotify plays in one day.

it's the way the song was released that really shows why Grande is able to continue to perform at the highest commercial levels -- and keep ascending higher -- while so many other former top 40 regulars are showing signs of slippage. Pop music in 2018 has no offseason, and the most successful artists tend to be the ones who don't over-hype their own comebacks -- and often never really go away in the first place. Grande's understanding of this new pop economy shows she's been learning about more than just life and love in the past few years -- she's also figuring out how to keep fans from "next"-ing her anytime soon. 

https://www.billboard.com/amp/articles/columns/pop/8483363/ariana-grande-thank-u-next-pop-star?__twitter_impression=true

[Stephen 30,431]

Wow this is so true. I hadn't seen it articulated this way until now. 

[Wolf 1,328]

That's smart. People lose interest if they had to wait too long for a release.

[Pantera 743]

This is why Ariana dominated this year. She understands how the hip hop market works. She took notice and applied it to herself. This is why Gaga can’t have hits in this hip hop era. Billie Eilish is another artist getting bigger and she does the same.

[Stephen 30,431]

Not only did she have her full album + a new single, she was doing features:

 

[RAMROD 109,724]

The article missing one important thing, Ariana is using hip hop and R&B elements in her music to sell it.

[Chickens in Malibu 7,873]

How to thrive nowadays? Make a hook where you repeat the same thing x10. You give everyone hip-hop vibes and you sell well.

SAD.

Lowkey, now I realize why Aunty Dianne is resorting to that technique in WDYDTTM she's always ahead

[raragaga 8,119]

ɥsǝǝɥs ɥnʎ

[Karl 3,421]

This works for people like Ariana who are just throwing out cute bops but someone like Gaga needs more time to craft the album, and I think in the long run we’ll remember Million Reasons more than Thank You, Next.. 

[Guest]

I have been saying this for years, glad to know that I wasn't the only one and that this article proves that theory with sale figures. 

Dua Lipa is another good example - she has been releasing music since 2016, nonstop, which ultimately lead to her record still being bought and streamed at the end of 2018. 

Edit: Actually, the best example is Rihanna. She used to release an album every year and also collaborate with many different artists while recording new stuff. Some people may call this selling out, but, honestly, it is smart from a business point of view.

[guyzplzstaph 172]

As much as I like things to be done without a rush, let's stop pretending like Gaga is spending million years on her songs. Like she always bragged, she wrote just dance in 10 minutes blablabla. Sure, quality over quantity, but part of being great at doing something is possibility to do it quite fast if needed. 

That being said, I don't think she should be releasing songs few months apart, but being less restricted to cycles wouldn't hurt either.

And I quite agree with that article - Ariana did a smart thing, adapting to today's fast world. I personally don't really like 'thank u, next', but she will have quite a following. 

And stream 'when the party's over' by Billie Eilish cause I love it 

[Bolkins 4,125]

3 hours ago, Pantera said:

This is why Ariana dominated this year. She understands how the hip hop market works. She took notice and applied it to herself. This is why Gaga can’t have hits in this hip hop era. Billie Eilish is another artist getting bigger and she does the same.

I'm obsessed w/ Billie atm 

[Mirages 20,259]

I wouldn't take this as a compliment  it's basically saying keep putting out songs until something sticks. Kinda makes you question artist's integrity. 

[Fuffy 1,029]

To be honest that's not her doing, it's her management working behind the scenes to plan her releases.

The issue Ariana will face with this is that it may affect the quality of her music.

She evolved with Dangerous Woman, but 'thank u next' is at risk of being deemed Sweetener part 2 to the critics.

[SHALLOW 16,427]

50 minutes ago, guyzplzstaph said:

As much as I like things to be done without a rush, let's stop pretending like Gaga is spending million years on her songs. Like she always bragged, she wrote just dance in 10 minutes blablabla. Sure, quality over quantity, but part of being great at doing something is possibility to do it quite fast if needed. 

That being said, I don't think she should be releasing songs few months apart, but being less restricted to cycles wouldn't hurt either.

And I quite agree with that article - Ariana did a smart thing, adapting to today's fast world. I personally don't really like 'thank u, next', but she will have quite a following. 

And stream 'when the party's over' by Billie Eilish cause I love it 

The thing with Gaga, i think, is that she wants to treat the album and the Era more like art. She wants to give people time to take it all in and appreciate it overtime since most of the times her albums are quite different and fans don’t always understand them. ( i wouldn’t have loved ARTPOP so much if i wasn’t given the time to understand it and understand what it meant to me). Also she creates alter egos and concepts and  fashion also changes and is always quite appropriate for each era, not to mention the quality of the music and lyrics. Gaga is simply doing something else, she doesn’t want to dominate the charts but rather spread art.