With the exception of maybe one or two songs, there’s no need for DJ Khaled to promote any other song from God Did, his latest album — although the marketing is in full force. The inspirational hip hop project is littered with heavy hitting features, with Drake and Lil Baby leading the way on “Staying Alive,” the first single out the gate. “Staying Alive” debuted on the Billboard 100 at No. 5 before swiftly falling in the top 30 range since its early August drop.
Following the album’s release on Aug. 26, DJ Khaled has unloaded a series of official videos — “Big Time,” featuring Future and Lil Baby, “It Ain’t Safe” with Nardo Wick and Kodak Black, “Party” with Quavo and Takeoff, “TSKMN,” featuring Skillibeng, Buju Banton, Capleton, Bounty Killer, and Sizzla, “Beautiful,” featuring Future and SZA, and the recent “Way Past Luck” with 21 Savage.
Though Khaled’s commitment is admirable, the real draw of the album can be summed up with one single, “God Did,” period. Indeed, Khaled’s 13th studio album garnered a lot of recognition for “Big Time” and some other features — a personal favorite being “Keep Going” — but, nothing quite catapulted the way the title track did.
Even with it’s hit potential, so far, the Khaled team has only released a lyric video and the audio cut. Meanwhile, fast burners are getting VIP treatment with full rollout packages that include an audio cut, behind-the-scenes footage, official music videos, and social media promo. Perhaps Khaled figured a title track featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, and Jay-Z would sell itself… and it has. The lyric video for “God Did” has accumulated 1.3+ million views within five days, while the official audio published to YouTube amassed 5.7 million views. Despite this, the traction wasn’t enough to land DJ Khaled in the No. 1 spots on any Billboard charts.
Considered one of the hardest working men in hip hop, Khaled has created some solid records with even doper artists, and his persistence is undeniable. However, consumer tastes are changing. The man of the hour is Bad Bunny. His album, Un Verano Sin Ti, has dominated the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart for nearly three months (9 weeks total at the time of this writing).
Other album debuts peaked at No. 1 but quickly fell out of the position, including Beyonce’s Renaissance (Act i), which is currently in the No. 3 spot after four weeks on the chart, and Rod Wave’s Beautiful Mind, currently in the No. 2 spot in its second week. Meanwhile, other projects never had a chance in the No. 1 spot at all.
Megan Thee Stallion’s Traumazine debuted at No. 4 before falling to No. 9 in its second week. Eminem’s Curtain Call 2 peaked at No. 6, but fell 14 slots to No. 20 in three weeks since its release. Newer debuts are having a hard time, as well. Demi Lovato came in at No. 7 with her latest, Holy Fvck, and Panic! At The Disco’s Viva Las Vengeance charted at No. 13.
The writing is on the wall. Consumers are losing interest in music more expeditiously than they have in the past. Now that every artist is its own record label, a greater number of albums and singles are being released creating a kerfuffle of saturation that is giving the average listener looking for a driving or weekend vibe a headache and fatigue, instead.
Ambitious marketing such as that exemplified by Khaled is now painstakingly extra, but the long-awaited exclusivity tactics of others, such as used for Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, isn’t much of a charmer either. This, along with the fact that record sales are dwindling, and streaming platforms are all the rage, it may be time to restructure the music business altogether.
Cardi B’s strategy of releasing singles may have something to it, especially for artists signed to major labels. Why bust a budget for marketing and advertising to promote several singles with accommodating photo ops, music videos, appearances, and so forth surrounding an album, when artists can push one single at a time — although releases would have to be consistent?
Using this perspective on DJ Khaled’s “God Did,” a single rollout would’ve looked like the release of an audio cut distributed to multiple platforms, the official music video, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, a press tour, and then, a remix. All resources would be going to the hit single, making the most out of a saturated market.
There’s many quells to this strategy, but it’s safe to say that those quells combined are better than “throwing pearls to pigs” and risking an entire album being lost in a sea of competition simply because the consumers are fatigued with options. Some artists are exceptions to the rule — as it stands, Future’s I Never Liked You has had an incredible run, peaking at No. 1 and staying in the top 15 for over 17 weeks — and artists really won’t know what will stick unless they put their art out there.
With that said, it doesn’t take a genius to recognize when the tides are changing and for those who are slow to embrace that change may end up like the Sony Walkman, Blockbuster, FM Radio, and all the declining industries and businesses that refused to flow like water.
