In August, Travis Scott celebrated the 10th anniversary of his mixtape Days before the rodeo By making the project available on streaming services for the first time. It sold more than 361,000 album units in its first week as consumers were introduced to the star-making project—or heard it for the first time. Scott reached No. 2 on the charts with the decade-old mix, narrowly missing out on Sabrina Carpenter’s No. 1. Short and sweetThe re-release was a smart move on Travis' part, but it was also a sign that digital service providers, or DSPs, are still the main market for music, for better or worse.
Many artists have criticized streaming services for underpaying artists; rap veteran Method Man recently revealed that he hasn’t seen a dime from streaming. However, while DSP revenue share with artists is meager, the visibility can also be beneficial for some acts. Re-releases can serve a dual purpose for major artists like Travis, who can introduce their old catalogue to new listeners while also generating massive streaming numbers that can propel him to the top of the charts. Last week, after Sabrina Carpenter dethroned him from the No. 1 spot, Scott’s team sent a letter to Billboard Album streaming challenge.
Days before the rodeoTravis’s big entry into the DSP space is a great title for Travis, a popular figure in 2000s music, who had a rollercoaster 2020. The Astroworld disaster could have permanently hampered his ability to perform in large venues. Although Circus Maximus The tour seems to be moving along quickly, Utopia The album (and its release) was controversial. Some felt the album was well-produced but not a great showcase for him as a solo artist. Now, similar to Drake and his recent releases for 100Gigs, Days before the rodeo The re-release allowed fans to remember the Travis they loved, and to confirm that he is still one of the few best-selling rappers.
The buzz surrounding an album’s re-release can reshape listeners’ perception of the album, and ultimately the artist. This push is essential when art comes and goes more quickly than ever. Think about reasonable doubt Impact: In 2001, Jay-Z re-released his debut album to celebrate its fifth anniversary. The album, originally distributed through Priority Records, was immediately respected among hip-hop fans—but it wasn’t as big a hit as his later albums, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard charts. There’s a perception that the re-release, released in the midst of Jay-Z’s rise to musical stardom, caused some rap consumers to reconsider the album’s place in the New York rap pantheon. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a really good album, it was a classic debut on par with Nas. Illmatic And it comes ready to die.
The results may not be exciting for every artist, but re-releases can be beneficial nonetheless. He went awayNicki Minaj Send me up Scotty, Where are you? No ceiling De La Soul and Aaliyah’s songs have hit streaming platforms in recent years, sparking debate about how many artists they have influenced. Legacy acts like De La Soul and Aaliyah have introduced their streaming debuts to a new audience, cementing their status as icons of bygone eras into classic artists worthy of a place on younger listeners’ playlists.
Of course, these albums have always been available to be found if you have the resources, but some people’s brains seem wired to perceive DSPs as the frontiers of recorded music. These people don’t hunt for vinyl, they don’t search for obscure YouTube pages, they don’t use SoundCloud or Audiomack either. This means that there’s a world of artists and projects that are cut off from receiving their fair share of compensation. And as Spotify’s wrongful ban of artists for streaming fraud demonstrated, the whims of streaming services are unpredictable. A song that’s been played 20 times today could be gray tomorrow. So while it’s great for artists to put their work on DSPs, it’s also not great that some sects of music listeners will do it. only Recognize your work there.
As music director John Tanners said, Rolling Stone In an article about “album privilege,” the record label ecosystem relies on iconic artists controlling other businesses through their massive revenue streams. This dynamic works in part with constant marketing, playlists, and the algorithmic manipulation of DSPs. These days, unless you work in the industry, there’s no such thing as new or old music, only music you’ve heard or haven’t heard. Travis has just shown how the streaming barrier is intensifying this dynamic. Maybe some artist or other entity can crack the code to loosen streaming’s grip on the music industry (or maybe they can just pay artists fairly). But that day doesn’t seem as near as some hope.
