Queen Bey is back. Her new single “Break My Soul” dropped on Tuesday, and her album Renaissance is dropping on July 29th.
While getting a new Beyoncé album is a reason to be excited in and of itself, it got me thinking about culture and how it moves just like… a pendulum.
Think about what a Pendulum does.
It swings back and forth from one extreme to another, eventually settling in the middle until someone makes it swing again.
Culture operates much in the same way, in every category from fashion to music. It swings from one extreme, eventually passing into a new norm, before swinging into an entirely new extreme. The process usually happens every few years, and good artists recognize when culture is swinging into a new extreme and catch the wave as the pendulum swings back to a new norm
Great artists make the swings happen, and when the new norm emerges it’s one that they now dictate. It’s the hallmark of an all-timer. It’s the hallmark of a Beyoncé.
She Swings The Pendulum from Surprise to Anticipation
Remember how Bey swung the pendulum of drop culture?
In 2016, without much explanation, Beyoncé announced that she had something premiering on HBO. Many speculated that it could be a music video, or possibly an album announcement of some sort. When it premiered everyone watched with cautious optimism of what it would entail
After the initial viewing the internet was in a frenzy when Bey announced the release of Lemonade with ZERO warning. The pendulum for album releases was now swung to a new extreme, and what followed was a new cadence for album releases going forward. No longer were artists opting for traditional rollouts (i.e. 2-3 music videos, plus an announcement stating that their album is “coming soon”. Instead, artists were now following suit with “surprise” album releases happening on Fridays when fans had more time to sit and digest music.
Now, Beyoncé is swinging the pendulum back to traditional rollouts.
Though fans aren’t necessarily tired of the “surprise drop” the reality is that the surprise now feels a bit… expected. First, the rumor mill starts with rumblings of a new album from your favorite artist, followed by Tiktoks of “organic” moments with the artists, song leaks, and then the announcement is made that _______ is releasing their next project that night. It’s the new norm.
The music industry was bound to swing back to Tuesday releases with planned rollouts that include big-budget videos and physical experiences just like the old days – all it needed was the right push.
She’s Swinging from Digital First to Experience First
Aye man. I don’t know what’s in these Renaissance boxes, but I might pick one up.
The world is getting bored with digital. After roughly 2 years of isolation, and distancing, digital experiences often feel too impersonal and leave real estate on the table in terms of storytelling and relationship building.
Consider what’s happening with Vinyl. While music sales, especially physical formats like CDs, have taken a dip for years, Vinyl is seeing some of its best sales in decades.
Is this partly fueled by nostalgia? Of course.
But it’s more so the experience that nostalgia offers: The smell, the packaging, the first time you put it on a record player.
These experiences have always been crucial to the consumer journey but, alas… the pendulum swung from music ownership to music renting (i.e. streaming), and while we have an entire world’s worth of music at our fingertips because of streaming, it comes at a cost: the fan experience.
Beyoncé is well aware of that and for the past few albums she’s made sure not to erase the fan experience. Lemonade’s rollout, for example, included a box set that included a 600 page coffee table book.
Only time will tell what fans get this time around. It could be more than what’s listed on the site. She could even do an NFT collection, but who knows.
Culturally, Music is Swinging From Trap to Dance… In Real-Time
Quick history lesson: Atlanta brought Trap music to the world and in the process moved the cultural hotbed away from New York who had music in a chokehold for over a decade. What followed was a new sound, a slew of new acts and the Atlanta’s cultural dominance for what’s currently going on 10ish years.
But now, the sound is shifting.
Going back to the pendulum, we now have two new extremes: At one extreme, rap is moving away from Trap, evolving into Drill. At the other extreme, rap is becoming more punk on the other extreme.
Suddenly sub-genres that received less love pre-pandemic now have a chance to shine as people have increased their screen times as a result of isolation, and moreover, said isolation had consumers waiting for the summer of 2022.
The pendulum is swinging again, and it’s time to get outside and dance.
So, what happens now?
The pendulum will eventually stop swinging, and we’ll find a new middle ground.
Beyonce’ is letting us know where the culture is going this summer and beyond. As a musician, I for or one am excited. As a marketer, I’m curious to see who picks up on the cues.
Anyway… If y’all know Bey, tell her to get at the kid. I’ve got beats & strategic thinking on deck (Seriously, like TELL. HER.)
See ya next week.
Peace.