The Brooklyn-born rap and business mogul Jay-Z stunned the world once again with his just released album, 4:44, going Platinum in less than a week.
Shawn Carter, who released his debut album Reasonable Doubt in 1995, has ever since build a stunning empire as one of the world's most successful rappers and best-selling musicians of all time. Not only being a rapper, Jay-Z is also a business genius: he owns New York's 40/40 Club sports bar, is the co-creator of Rocawear, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, he is a certified sports agent, founded an entertainment company and marrried Beyoncé - just to name a few of his biggest deals. Let his longevity in the rap game speaks for itself!
But how does Jay-Z go Platinum within less than a week?
How does a 47-year old man manage to engage his, mainly adult, fans in a music world dominated by Taylor Swifts and Justin Biebers?
I repeat: Jay is a business genius!
Preparing the release of 4:44, Jigga teamed up with Sprint - one of America's leading telecommunication companies. He released his masterpiece exclusively through Roc Nation's streaming service Tidal before making it available to a wider audience. Customers had to send in their E-mail address along with the code "SPRINT" in order to receive a free copy. Free to the customer - paid for in advance by Sprint!
The brilliant marketing prior to the release is quite noticeable (magazines and billboards placed 4:44 ads without any further explanation, triggering curiousity) as well as the HD visuals, especially the "Story of O.J." and rumour-spreading lyrics of Jay-Z's adultery making fans all over the world curious about his ever-so-perfect looking romance with Queen Bey.
I have 4:44 on repeat while doing housework. Solid as always - let me hear your reviews!