The Nature of Music Industry
In 2013, the market for recorded music in the USA was worth about $15 billion. Out of that number, nearly 60% belonged to live music revenues, which were likely to increase. What concerned recorded music, revenues had been falling for several years, which led to their small share (15%) at the market. However, digital music has the potential to increase the revenues, its sales being accountable for the third part: 25%. The leading company in the digital market was Apple’s iTunes. Along with that, streaming was gaining a growing success, so such services were becoming popular, the most influential of them being Spotify.
There was also a market for paid downloads, in which Apple’s iTunes occupied the first position. As of February 2013, the service reported that 15,000 songs were being downloaded from the service every minute, which made the revenue of $1.7 billion in the last quarter of 2012. Therefore, the shift to the digital market was considerable, and companies tried to gain success in that sphere. The movement also held the potential for companies to compete Spotify and similar services that were gaining success with the consumers. While iTunes held a prominent place in the digital music market, it became able to enhance its options in the overall music market. Apple had the greatest share there (40%), but there were several other important shareholders: Walmart (10%), Amazon (9%), and Target (5%).
As for the music releasing process, it was common for singers to sign contracts with record companies that were responsible for recording, distributing, and advertising. There were three major players in the market in 2013: Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music. Each of the three had a number of labels within the system. For instance, Sony had such leading labels as Epic, Columbia Records, and RCA. The most common marketing approach was creating hype by means of promotional performances and radio presentations.
The Development of Beyoncé’s Career
Beyoncé (full name: Beyoncé Giselle Knowles) was born in 1981 into an upper-middle-class family. Her father was a sales manager, and her mother owned a hair salon. The family lived in the Third Ward district of Houston, Texas. The girl’s singing talent was first noticed by her dance instructor. Beyoncé’s parents did their best to promote their daughter’s talent, so since the age of seven, the girl participated in numerous dancing and singing competitions. At the age of nine, she became a member of a girl band called Girl’s Time. In 1992, the group took part in the TV show Star Search. Although the girls did not win, their performance was a starting point in gaining nationwide success. The group later changed its title to Destiny’s Child and signed a contract with Columbia Records in 1996. The group’s success was growing rapidly, and by the end of the 1990s, they became the best-selling female band of all time. However, in 2001, each of the members of Destiny’s Child started a solo career.
Between 2003 and 2011, Beyoncé released four studio albums: “Dangerously In Love,” “B’Day,” “I AM… Sasha Fierce,” and “4.” In her career, the musician continued working in the genres she preferred since childhood: pop and hip-hop. However, she also performed ballads, rhythm-and-blues, and funk compositions. Beyoncé insisted that her career was not so much about hype as it was about an emotional connection with the fans.
Beyoncé’s Producing Capabilities
Apart from being a popular artist, Beyoncé had great leadership skills, which she decided to reflect in the creation and governing of her own company. In 2008, the singer founded Parkwood Entertainment, which had several departments and employed professionals from different spheres. After having been managed by her father for all those years, Beyoncé now felt that she could handle the business on her own. She herself collected a team of people, which included Lee Anne Callahan-Longo as a general manager and Jim Sabey as the head of worldwide marketing. It took some time to arrange relationships with partners, but Beyoncé spared no effort to develop her company. As the director and CEO, she participated in almost every significant activity and led many of them by herself.
The Strategy for the “Surprise” Album
Almost everything about Beyoncé’s surprise album, which she named after herself, was unusual. The artist wanted it to be special and wanted each of her fans to have equal rights in evaluating the songs with the established critics. She did not want it all to be only about promotion and hype. Hence, the production and release of the album were accompanied by a series of peculiar features. The singer rented out a house and invited the people working on the album to live there with her for several weeks. The main point Beyoncé wanted to make was being closer to the audience. She did not want songs from her new album to be just a few-minute listen for people. Thus, she created a video for each of the songs on the album to arrange spiritual and physical connection. Another decision the artist made was quite risky: she said she would not release any single but would rather release all of the songs together as an integral system.
Because of such requirements, Beyoncé’s partners found her ideas crazy and were afraid that the launch would be a failure. However, the persistence with which the singer defended her position was outstanding. Beyoncé reached out to Apple, the executives of which decided to make the release with the help of iTunes. Then, she contacted Facebook and arranged for the announcement about the album to be made immediately after its iTunes release. The major concerns about the album were the probability of technical glitches, the lack of a large advertising campaign, and the unpredicted reaction of international markets and other retailers. However, despite all of these apprehensions, the album was likely to prove a real surprise and a huge success.
Recommendations for Future
Beyoncé has proven that she could make unusual but resolute decisions, which led to highly positive outcomes. Although the case with the surprise album was sensitive, it is obvious that it was worth it. Therefore, the main recommendation for the future is not to lose her grip, her exquisite ability to sense the fans, and her willingness to take risks. At the same time, another advice is for the artist to consult with someone before taking such important decisions since a second look at the plan may be quite useful and can lead to a more constructive decision-making process. Overall, the recommendation for Beyoncé as a producer of her own music career is to be creative and special but, at the same time, not to lose the sense of responsibility when making crucial resolutions.