R&B singer Tank, who as good as he is, millions have never heard of, recently released his sixth studio album only to have it “tank.” According to industry reports, the album sold only 16,621 copies in its first week. As a result, Atlantic Records, the label he is signed with, decided it made no economic sense to invest in further funding of the marketing and promotions of the album.
Instead of TANK to recalibrate, come up with some other alternatives of pushing his music across numerous digital distributions channels within and outside the US, he takes to instagram and says maybe he should have been born white. Well……
There are millions of white musician hopefuls who would give anything to be in Tank’s shoes i.e. have a record deal with a record label like Atlantic records. Is TANK’s sentiment misplaced? Is his very low album sales a reflection of the amount of work and strategy, if at all, that he has personally put into marketing and promoting of the album? Yes your label should do the marketing and promoting of your music but times have changed. As an artist, how are you staying connected and accessible to the fans and media?
Also, these days, you still have artists, publicists and managers that want to act elitist when it comes to making their talents available to the media. Take a page from Nigeria’s Davido, one of Africa’s most successful artists from a super wealthy family, who almost never turns down an interview whether it is from a small blog or a major media outlet.
Also, White artists, white system et al. can’t always be the culprit where low album sales are concerned otherwise there would simply be no hope for the Black artist.
Finally, does his venting make you want to go buy the album? For me, ‘no.’ What’s the incentive? As I always say, artists thank God you are talented but nobody owes you an obligation to feed your family when they are trying to feed theirs. If you want to make a persuasive case for why they should spend the money meant for their families or other personal goals with you, fine. But let’s be clear, nobody owes you anything.
Your thoughts?
-Uduak
My wife and I had a wonderful and hearty laugh about this over the weekend.
We see MULTIPLE African musicians–who, similarly to your example about white musicians, don't have any kind of label push behind them–release single after single, and video after video, every week. Many of them are full-time students at the same time. So why is Tank so special that he can't do the same? What a baby, he is.
Remember when Ajebutter22 dropped his first solo LP and shot to the top of the iTunes charts? He did that with no major label.
Even more recently, Fuse ODG, with his T.I.N.A. movement, dropped a heavily anticipated album. I don't know how he did, numbers-wise, but I know that I bought the albums from iTunes. I never even knew Tank was still doing music.
This is just another example of why African artists should have so much pride in their art and their brand. What we're seeing now in Africa is to be commended. Artists are not waiting for Atlantic Records, or Akon, to come and help them. They're doing it for themselves, and not crying about it on social media. They may not be as well-known as the foreign artists they emulate, but they're HUGE in their own lanes.
Learn a valuable lesson from Tank about what NOT to do with your career and your brand.