It's Yeezy Szn!!!
The one and only Kanye West recently released his newest album - "The Life of Pablo" (TLOP), and it's pretty dope. In my opinion, it trumps Yeezus and is almost on par with Graduation. If you haven't heard this hip-hop masterpiece yet, you should get on it. Oh wait, you can't... legally, at least.
Well, Kanye has released his album exclusively on Tidal - an online music streaming service that costs $9.99 a month to subscribe to. The fact that I had to provide a description of Tidal shows how relevant it is in the average music-listener's world - not relevant at all. Who, in their right mind, would subscribe to a random, irrelevant streaming service solely for Kanye's album that will probably be available on iTunes soon? No one. So, how have people been listening to this album? Illegally, of course! Over the past week, music-lovers everywhere have been scheming, plotting, and illegally sharing and streaming these coveted 18 songs.
The exclusivity of this album has created half of its hype, and, obviously, Kanye did this on purpose. Sure, he wanted to promote Tidal. However, we all know that he didn’t really care about promoting Tidal (let’s be real, when does Kanye care about something other than Kanye?). Kanye knew well that people would illegally download the album, and not pay for it on Tidal. Kanye’s sole focus was promoting his album. He did this by making it more exclusive. Confusing? Maybe. True? One hundred percent.
Why was Kanye’s decision to make TLOP exclusive a genius decision? Three reasons.
1. We’re more attracted to the things we have to work for.
Take a look at this example. You’re 10 years old, and you spot a jar of chocolate chip cookies on your kitchen counter. You take a few cookies, eat them, enjoy them, and carry on with your busy, 10-year-old day. Sure, they tasted good, but did you really appreciate them? Probably not. Let’s change it up a bit. You’re 10 years old, and you spot a jar of chocolate chip cookies on your kitchen counter. You reach for the cookies, but your mother pushes your hand away. “What do you think you’re doing, buddy?” she asks. You sigh as your mother lectures you about how you didn’t eat your vegetables at dinner, so you definitely cannot have dessert tonight. You’re not giving up, though. You form a beautiful argument against your mother, stating how you did well on a test in school and deserve a cookie. After about 5 minutes, she caves and allows you to have a few cookies. You savor every bite of the chocolatey goodness. The second that these buttery creations touch your taste buds, you smile. Yum. If you’re still reading this and haven’t left to get yourself a cookie, props to you. Anyway, I think we can agree that most things are more enjoyable when you have to work for them. This is exactly the case with The Life of Pablo. The album is pure hip-hop genius. TLOP is characterized by smooth melodies, straight rap verses, gospel choruses, killer collaborations, and sweet instrumentals, to name a few. So, of course, this album would still be successful if it were released straight to iTunes. We’d love it if it were easily accessible, but we love it more because we had to work and scheme for it.
2. Illegal activities create a sense of community and kinship among participants.
Probably not the best thing to advertise, but, whatever, it’s true. I’ll give you another example. Remember that time in high school when you and your friends started (underage) drinking? You had to figure out who would steal the alcohol from his/her parents, who would allow drinking in his/her house, and who’s parent would drive everyone home. So many decisions! So much teamwork needed. A true bonding experience. Similarly, with TLOP, people needed to work together. Without the ability to download the songs quickly on iTunes, people had to share the songs with each other, listen to the songs together, and love the songs together. Kanye has created a sense of community and worship, hyping up the album. Crazy, right? It’s genius.
3. Talk is definitely not cheap.
Kanye loves Kanye, and Kanye loves people talking about Kanye. In the case of TLOP, the illegal scheming and sharing of this album has created a cultural frenzy; a frenzy that Kanye had smartly predicted. Everyone is talking about the album, and everyone is talking about how to get it. The constant talk about the mysterious album that was only released on Tidal definitely contributed to its success.
I hate to contribute to Kanye’s already-over-inflated ego, but, I’ve got to give it to him. Releasing the Life of Pablo exclusively on Tidal was a genius idea. Might as well call Kanye a Saint. That’d be weird, though. ;)
