Here’s the deal: lots of hype doesn’t move product unless people want it.
Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” was hyped all summer. He had social media buzzing. And then, finally, the album dropped on Friday at 2am. You’d think the pent up energy would have busted the charts.
“CLB” sold 26,000 copies on Friday. Now maybe Saturday’s numbers will be massively higher. But so far, it was a mediocre album launch.
The singles are selling, thanks to streaming. “Girls Want Girls” is 150,000, all streaming. Individually, all 20 tracks take up the Spotify top 20. They’re all above 100,000 streams since Friday.
But no one is buying “CLB.” What’s the difference? Royalties, yes, are much higher on downloads and CDs. But also, so far no wants Drake’s album in their home, in their hand, on their phone. They’re paying a subscription price to the streaming services and hitting the play button over and over.
Meanwhile, to stoke sales, Drake and Kanye West are having some kind of “feud” totally manufactured, set up, organized to keep interest in their respective albums. “Donda” had a big first week, now has cooled off considerably. “CLB” will do the same. What are they missing? Actual songs. But that is so old fashioned. Like most rap records of the the last 30 years, these tracks are dead ends down the line. In Drake’s case, who wins? The Beatles.