Mr Scott is hot property, there’s no denying that.
His newest album, UTOPIA, broke streaming records with 128 million plays in 24 hours.
Nike x Cactus Jack is one of the most popular and in-demand collaborations in recent memory. The average sale of a Travis Scott shoe is £566, based on the current resale market value.
And he has one of the most loyal fanbases.
Like, scarily loyal.
The ASTROWORLD Festival tragedy says it all. 10 deaths and 25 hospitalised which could be down to poor crowd management and Travis breeding ‘ragers’.
After all the man himself claims ‘it ain’t no mosh pit if ain’t no injuries’.
Yikes…
He also makes (or has them made for him) some questionable marketing decisions away from the stage. Do we all remember the Travis Scott x McDonald’s chicken nugget body pillow? The retail price was £69 (!!!!!) but the last sale at the time of writing was £266.
… yeah, this existed. It was literally a quarter pounder with bacon.
People can’t get enough of him. So much so, during the build-up for his latest release, there was an option on his store to add EVERYTHING to the cart. And his stuff ain’t cheap. We’re talking $60 socks and $250 rugs.
Travis literally had people speed-running checkout.
Oh, and he just brought Kanye West out at a show in Rome. And wasn’t he an anti-semite last time I checked?
So how is he getting away with this?
I’d struggle to name other global superstars who could walk away from a show that caused death and injury and still have a platform to create again.
Well, not to make my career the centre of attention, but I reckon his marketing is keeping him afloat.
Until UTOPIA, Travis hadn’t released a full-length solo record since 2018. People were hungry for more music.
So combining the hype of a new album with the almost radio silence since the festival tragedy, people were interested in what the man had to say.
And to be fair, the album is pretty good.
Travis Scott is good.
His reputation? Depends who you ask.
But there’s no denying he stands separate from other artists. No one quite creates an album that’s an experience.
You can immerse yourself in the album. Wear the album. Walk in the album. Play the album in every format known to humanity (yes, you can buy UTOPIA on cassette).
In the modern era of digital consumption of music, Scott offers bespoke merchandise for his die-hard following. And I can’t see that slowing down anytime soon.
The man is a true mystery. But he’s doing something right.
So what can we learn from this?
Firstly, don’t over-sell a festival.
Next, your marketing needs to be second to none.
Finally, give your listener, reader, or follower something they didn’t know they wanted. Something that’s unique, even novel.
I mean, the man managed to sell cereal at a POP-UP event…
Cereal.
I rest my case. You can sell anything with the right marketing. Keep that in mind.
Ah shit, I didn’t even mention his Fortnite skin.
Commenti