Beyonce’s release pushed 800,000 units through iTunes. Great for her. The massive drop—combined with limited upfront marketing and clever iTunes packaging—worked amazingly well for her. When you think of what an A-lister can do for their true fans—this is a great example.
So are Nine Inch Nails with The Slip.
Your true fans are usually ready, willing, and able to support your next purchase. With millions of fans funneled through her platform—Beyonce could do this any time she wants until she retires. Assuming she stays on the hustle.
But there’s another story about the hustle that’s more important to me. About a musician who’s succeeded with the concept of 1000 true fans in its most raw, unadulterated form: Nipsey Hussle.
For me—his is the bigger story of 2013:
“Last month, unsigned rapper Nipsey Hussle made $100,000 by selling 1,000 copies of his latest mixtape, Crenshaw, for $100 each. Hussle — real name Ermias Asghedom — shifted every single CD in less than 24 hours at a pop-up store in his hometown of L.A. (Jay Z bought 100 copies.)” —Natalie Robehmed, Forbes
If you read Billboard’s breakdown of Nipsey’s campaign—they’re right comparing it to a Kickstarter campaign. It’s amazing—Nipsey took a traditionally free medium (the mixtape), and created a luxury experience for his fans. Yes—having an A-Lister like Jay-Z helps move units. It’s not even pennies for Jay—but being blessed by a gatekeeper isn’t the point. The point is Nipsey’s fans were willing to pay.
Did I forget to say he earned the trust of his fans to pay $100 for a mixtape day early than the free drop?
Imagine this—they were willing to pay $100 to get the mixtape and everything else it came with. There was no line or middleman—and few people outside of his fan base and insiders were aware it was going on.
That’s a true hustle—that’s the kind of success achievable for any of us.
How could you take Nipsey’s example for your own work? How ready is your platform to push an edgy campaign like this? What are you waiting for to make your platform perform?
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