a 'forever artist'

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Hey! Big news this week about Warner Music and TikTok’s expanded licensing agreement. The major labels have been eager to earn more for their music from the short-form video app, especially since TikTok pays the music industry less money than Peloton! Crazy.

This week’s memo and podcast episode are about Travis Scott. He’s ready to drop his upcoming album, Utopia, but a lot has changed since his Astroworld run. Can hip-hop’s resident rager recapture that energy? I broke it all down on the episode with Stan's Denisha Kuhlor. Let’s dive in.

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IN COLLABORATION WITH PRIMARY WAVE​

The leader in music catalog activations

Classic hits are more popular than ever. The streaming growth for back catalog music proves it. The keys to an older song’s resurgence are strategic placements and catalog activations.

In 2019, Doja Cat’s single, “Freaks” sampled Paul Anka’s 1959 hit, “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” And in 2021, after the viral TikTok #SilhouetteChallenge, she released “Streets,” which sampled Anka’s classic again. “Freaks” was later featured in a Super Bowl ad that year for Coors Seltzer.

In the three-year period from 2019 to 2021, Paul Anka’s original song streamed 300% higher than the three-year period prior. That’s the impact of a great placement. It drives revenue for both the original and sampled track.

​Primary Wave leads the way with great placements that will bring your catalog to life. From James Brown to Coi Leray, they bridge the gap between yesterday and today’s hits.

Learn more about the legends Primary Wave works with here.

Travis Scott's distribution game

“First-time founders focus on product. Second-time founders focus on distribution.” That phrase has been etched in the brains of startup leaders everywhere (even if they struggle to execute it). Travis Scott took that advice to heart and built his career on it.

The Houston rapper is one of streaming’s biggest success stories. He proved himself from SoundCloud to “Sicko Mode,” from the Super Bowl to strategic partnerships with PlayStation.

But it’s been five years since his last album, Astroworld. A lot has changed in music, a lot has changed for Travis, and many factors he took advantage of have evolved. How will the hip-hop rock star adapt?

the stars aligned and he took advantage

Travis Scott was dealt the perfect hand and played it wisely. He had the G.O.O.D. Music co-sign from Kanye West. He leaned into hypebeast culture with endless merch drops for his young millennial male fanbase. And he had a high-profile relationship with one of the most-followed people in the world, Kylie Jenner. If ChatGPT was prompted to construct a commercially successful artist for the 2010s, the output look like Travis.

His 2018 to 2020 run was a flex on corporate America. He finessed the Billboard rules, performed on the biggest stage in music, launched a music festival, released a Netflix documentary, performed on Fortnite, had his own McDonald’s meal, dropped his own Nike Air Jordans, and had a song on the Tenet soundtrack. The only thing missing was a viral TikTok challenge.

Travis put in work to reap those rewards, but he also relied on short-lived trends that were out of his control. Like the ever-changing charting rules, hip-hop’s first-mover advantage in music streaming, the fickleness of hype fashion, the COVID-19 quarantine lockdowns, and the aging of his youthful 18-24-year-old fanbase.

It’s similar to a startup that’s too dependent on Google and Facebook to drive its growth. Sure, those platforms can offer quick and efficient returns. But if either company tweaks its algorithm—which happens often—the startup is left hanging. It exposes the company’s lack of foundation and vulnerability to changing market conditions.

In 2021, the Astroworld Festival tragedy was a shock to the system. It’s especially challenging to navigate for an artist who built his rager brand off of the wild antics at his shows. Travis laid relatively low in the festival’s aftermath, but now that he’s back, where does his brand go from here?

​You can listen to the episode here or read below for more takeaways.

Is Travis Scott a ‘forever artist’

Travis will perform at the Pyramids of Giza to promote Utopia. He has numerous “fan packs” to maximize the latest Billboard rule change. And he has the biggest names in the world featured on his album. This is no surprise. Travis always does it big.

Unfortunately, the tactics that Travis Scott maximized in the late 2010s have now become table stakes. Other artists have performed at the Pyramids too, every other artist in 2023 with have their album bundles, and superstar collaborations don’t move the needle.

What Travis needs is another song like “Sicko Mode.” A true #1 single. Not a song that releases at #1 and then falls off, but a hit with staying power that dominates airwaves for months. It’s harder than ever to achieve in 2023, but Morgan Wallen and SZA prove it’s possible.

In a recent interview with Kevin Hart, Dr. Dre talked about how Kendrick Lamar is a ‘forever artist.’ Even if K.Dot only drops once every five years, it doesn’t matter. He’s Kendrick. He’ll always have an audience because of his body of work. Even if his latest album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is less acclaimed than others, his product has built enough of a reputation.

Is Travis Scott a forever artist? Utopia can help answer that question. The culture has evolved quite a bit since Travis Scott’s music and brand were inescapable. Let’s see if he can recapture that moment.

Make sure you check out the rest of the episode. Denisha and I talk more about the following:

• What happened to the Travis Scott A24 movie?
• Could Travis have launched a company under Cactus Jack
• Over/Under sales predictions for Utopia

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coming soon from Trapital

Hip-hop’s 50 greatest moguls. For hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, Zack O’Malley Greenburg and I will compile the list of hip-hop’s best moguls. We reached out to some top minds in the game to share their thoughts. We’ll share the results in August!