Behind The Rollout: “Wunna”
It’s not a secret that that music is one of the most accessible commodities in this era. Musicians are able to record hits in their bedrooms, use social media to promote their singles and then have their fans listen to their catalog on-demand via DSP’s such as Spotify. With the advancement in technology, it’s not a secret that the market is oversaturated as 40k+ songs are uploaded to Spotify everyday. Everyone knows a good amount of people making music and with time, this number will continue to grow. This leads us to the million-dollar question… how does an artist breakthrough the noise today?
Musicians, I want to highlight two very important points:
- Good Music is No Longer Enough
Everyone has good music. Today’s game is no longer about talent but your ability to brand yourself and attract an audience that can actually resonate with you. Not to mention there are thousands upon thousands of people trying to grow their fanbase simultaneously. Yes, having funding and major-label support makes a “difference”, but it all comes down to what makes you different from other artists. If you’re interested in learning more about artist branding and where you should start, Haywenzo’s article is a must-read.
2. The Quality of Your Creative Content Matters
So what I’ve already discussed is not rocket science, but many musicians may ask themselves, “How can I begin to brand myself or what can I do to standout?” This answer comes from the content (cannot emphasize quality enough) that you upload to online such as:
A. Album art that you upload to Spotify
B. Music Videos that you upload to YouTube & trailers you preview on social media
C. Photos that are used on blogs (ie, DjBooth, Rolling Stone, etc) and on socials, specifically Instagram.
D. “Extracurricular” visual elements such as lyric videos and visualizers.
A, B & C all serve as the foundation of your digital presence online. You have to understand that the industry trend (that’s becoming the standard) is the emphasis placed on visuals. That’s why Spotify integrated the Canvas feature and why more and more musicians are using visualizers to keep their audiences engaged if they don’t have a music/lyric video to share yet. There’s a lot more expand on but let’s use Gunna’s latest LP to break down the details.
“Wunna” Breakdown
To provide you with some context, I am not the biggest Gunna fan. Not that Gunna isn’t a talented artist, I just find myself listening more to Afrobeats and underground artists. However, despite me not being an avid listener I will not deny the fact that the has been on fire, (verses, features, etc) out here reminding me of 2010 2Chainz! So what caught my attention? The album art!!!
Album Art
Okay boom. I’m scrolling through Spotify looking for something new to listen to and I see a lot of options. Astroworld has been out, High Off Life/Dark Lane was only a one-time full listen but the rest of the album covers are calling my name.
It’s very important to be meticulous with your album art because people are actually judging a book by its cover.
If your album art looks like it’s been made in Microsoft Paint or in five minutes by a free app, chances are I will never click on your song. When I saw Gunna’s album cover, both the colors and the cartoony character stood out to me… Why does Gunna have four legs? Why does he have four arms? Find out on the next DBZ! Out of my curiosity, I clicked on the album.
Music Videos
Typically when I find a new project/artist that I enjoy, I’m hopping straight to YouTube to see if they have any music videos.
If you have a good music video, your song will sound better. This is a hill I am willing to die on since I’ve seen so many videos that have changed my opinion on a single.
To me, I have a higher standard for music videos than movies. Why? If I wrote a book and it becomes a movie, chances are the author’s vision is somewhat off from the finished product. Now with musicians, even if you don’t have the budget, it is up to you to convey your vision by any means necessary.
I know Gunna is signed and he’s hot right now so he’s definitely a priority at 300. I spent some time watching (and re-watching) the videos he dropped for Wunna’s pre and post-release.
SKYBOX
Rockstar Bikers & Chains
One game I like to play with each video I watch is “Guess the budget of the video.” As an artist, you want people to either perceive your budget is low with a high creativity factor OR a high budget with a huge “wow” factor. Depending on your genre and the “feel” of the video, this may/may not apply to you. Gunna definitely had a budget with these videos as each both started with an animation and had various scenes per video. They key questions you should ask yourself (and team) when producing your videos is:
Will people come back to watch?
Will people share my music to their friends?
Will people be confused with my video?
Instagram is arguably the most important platform for a musician. People will not listen to your music if you haven’t convinced them on IG (unless they click off the strength of your album or a playlist placement). This includes the snippets that you upload, the photos that you share and the content that your produce pre and post release. Let’s look at Gunna’s highlight reel leading up to Wunna:
Of course, I’m not going to cover every photo, but wanted to highlight the content you don’t see everyday such as visualizers and promotional content such as the movie poster & the action figure. The key with Instagram and promoting your music is understanding how you’re different. You don’t see an action figure everyday. A movie poster will catch my eye. A visualizer with a snippet of Wunna’s album cuts will catch my eye and place your project under my radar. Just remember, IG is not only for promotion, it’s meant to build and connect with your fanbase.
“Extras”
I believe that dope album art, great photos and at least one music video (visualizer or lyric vid if the budget is low) should be the standard of a rollout. Anything other than that can be considered “extra” and with extras it’s important to understand the impact that it will have, especially if you’re an artist working with a low budget.
Gunna dropped a documentary to showcase who he is, share his story and to give his audience a new perspective into his life. Remember that Gunna is a pretty big and most people are ready to buy into his story. If you’re a smaller artist a documentary can work. Just ask, “Will my audience take the time to watch this?”
On top of the SKYBOX video, Gunna dropped the BTS to show how the video was made. Not everyone will care about this, but again, more content for the diehard fans.
Finally, as a compromise to lockdown that we’re in due to COVID, Gunna livestreamed a concert, which served two significant purposes; promoting his album & fundraising for social justice initiatives following George Floyd’s passing. Producing a concert with the same standard may not be feasible, but how will you continue to grow your base in the midst of COVID-19?
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It’s ya boy Vicraw, I’ve been out of the mix, I’ve been in the cut.. and I’m here to say, “What’s Up?!”
