Rollout Roundup: The Best Marketing Rollouts of the Week (Part 5)
This week I review the rollout of one of my own clients, for the first time ever.
I had SO much good music and rollout content to write about this week, it’s possible this was the biggest New Music Friday of 2021. 3 artists who define the music industry all dropped groundbreaking singles last night. I normally keep these short and sweet, but I could have written a novel this week if time (and reader’s attention spans) permitted.
3. Isaiah Rashad - Lay Wit Ya (SINGLE)
We’ve all been watching excitedly to see who TDE’s mystery drop is, and it’s become clear.
Photo by Pitchfork
Strengths: His intimate cover story with FADER gave us a look into his absence, and into what we can expect from him in the future. He gave us visuals, backstory, and a solid track to match. We are all going to be watching for him on May 14th.
Weaknesses: Isaiah, could we get you on TikTok?
2. J Cole - Interlude (SINGLE)
There comes a point when an artist is so big, that a tweet counts as a rollout. J Cole is back, and we’re all on the edge of our chairs for the album.
Photo by Complex
Strengths: He’s J Cole. And we’ve been waiting forever. Startvation marketing is an interesting concept that I’ll discuss in more depth at a later date, but as he has become active online again, he’s given fans a reason to pay attention. His instagram story post claiming he was listening to his unreleased album while driving around his city received a high amount of reposts, and got fans excited for his next move. While the album was announced, the single came as a surprise, which gave us a sense of authenticity from Cole.
Weaknesses: With his last single notably garnering criticism for his subtle treatment of Noname, J Cole has something to prove to fans who stood by Noname and were put off by his tone-shaming track. Will his next album go back to his classic flow and relatable lyricisms? We need that side of him rather than the sly-critical side we saw on “Snow on tha Bluff”.
1. Trippie Redd - Miss The Rage ft. Playboi Carti (SINGLE)
The one you’ve all been waiting for me to talk about. And I’m excited to go over it with you.
This is a fun one because it’s my first time writing about a rollout of my own client.
Photo by XXL
After Trippie first dropped the snippet on Instagram in February, and the internet has not stopped talking about MTR since. Fans made memes on twitter begging for the record, the song went viral on TikTok with multiple trends attached to it, and some of the internet’s top creators have used and discussed the audio. Every box of the digital space was checked.
Since then, internet-favorite Playboi Carti has hopped on as a feature, adding to the viralability of what was already sure to be a classic record. Mix the above with Trippie’s signature Instagram marketing push and it’s not wonder the record reached over 2.2 MILLION STREAMS in a short period of less than 12 hours.
With a new white heart emoji and an experimental classic as his first song of 2021, Trippie Redd enters a new era. Watch this space for his next move.