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Now, let's jump right into the fun!

In this issue, we'll be breaking down the intriguing, and sometimes chaotic lead-up to one of the biggest records of the year - Travis Scott’s ‘Utopia’.

Also, in this week’s edition:

• Interactive Music Video.

• Music Catalogue Marketing 101.

• Lucky Fans Get Their Bills Paid.

FEATURE

The Road to Travis Scott’s ‘Utopia’

Just short of five years after the release of his acclaimed album ‘ASTROWORLD’, Travis Scott released his fourth studio album, ‘UTOPIA’ on July 28.

Scott confirmed the release of ‘Utopia’ during his set at Miami’s Rolling Loud, where he shared a trailer for the upcoming release.

@rollingloud

You just had to be there. #rollingloud #rollingloudmiami #travisscott

The release comes as Scott’s first solo album in five years, and arrives two years after the tragedies at ASTROWORLD Festival 2021, which the artist continues to face wide condemnation for.

Over the past few months, the road to Scott’s latest album has seen the artist and his team utilise some intriguing and chaotic album stunts.

The ‘Utopia’ Suitcase

A mysterious ‘Utopia’ labeled suitcase made multiple appearances in our feeds in the lead up to the album release.

Bodyguards for La Flame, The Weeknd, Travis Scott and SZA have all been photographed with the suitcase handcuffed to their wrists.

In June, producer Mike Dean shared a post on Instagram with the suitcase as well.

In June, billboards featuring the ‘Utopia’ suitcase also began to appear in Los Angeles.

Just last week, a New York strip club shared a photo of the ‘Utopia’ suitcase to their Instagram Story.

The Story included a caption that tagged Drake, claiming that he had left it behind at their venue. The story was later reposted by the Canadian artist.

Fans speculated that the suitcase contained hard drives for the ‘Utopia’ album.

Scott’s team haven’t confirmed if this is true, or if there was ever anything in the suitcase at all, but it was a creative way to generate an additional visual before the album was available.

Fans can now score their own version of the luggage piece too. Following the album release, a duplicate of the suitcases was released as merchandise on Scott’s web store.

Canceled Egypt Appearance

In early July, Scott announced his ambitious plans to perform at the Great Pyramids of Giza on the same day as the ‘Utopia’ release.

Two days ahead of the event’s advertised date, Live Nation Middle East announced that Scott’s performance would not go ahead, due to “complex production issues”.

Statements by Egypt’s Musicians’ Syndicate helped shed some light on the situation.

The syndicate describe themselves as “the entity responsible for issuing licenses for music and singing concerts in Egypt, in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture represented by the Censorship Authority for Artistic Works and the Ministry of Labor”.

They cited concerns about “peculiar rituals performed by the star during his performance, contradicting our authentic societal values and traditions.”

Scott took to Twitter to tell fans that “Egypt at the pyramids will happen But due to demand and detail logistics They just need a bit a time to set lay on lands. I will keep u posted on a date which will be soon love you alllll.”

Fans reportedly still showed up at the Pyramids of Giza, despite the cancellation. Only time will tell if Scott’s aspirations will ever materialise.

The ‘Circus Maximus’ Film

Last week, Scott announced the release of the ‘Circus Maximus’ film, which shares a name with a ‘Utopia’ track and features music from the album.

Directed by Scott himself, in collaboration with Gaspar Noé, Nicolas Winding Refn, Harmony Korine, Valdimar Jóhannsson, and Kahlil Joseph, ‘Circus Maximus’ is screening at a selection of AMC theaters in the US.

Confusingly, the film artwork credited A24 as the producers of the film, however a representative from the studio debunked this, telling Variety that the film is not theirs.

Following the cancellation of his Egypt show, Scott has announced a performance at Rome’s Circus Maximus that will take place later this week.

Streaming Superstars

With the release of the ‘Utopia’ lead single ‘K-POP’, Travis Scott drew on star power from superstars The Weeknd and Bad Bunny.

Respectively, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd held the positions of most streamed and fourth-most streamed artist on Spotify in 2022, and at the time of writing, ‘K-POP’ has 58.1 million streams on Spotify, 125 million views on TikTok and 18.2 million views on YouTube.

Scott is no stranger to mass streaming numbers, having released plenty of chart-topping hits over the past few years.

As a collaboration between three of music streaming’s key players, the ‘K-POP’ release was a great strategic move.

The Takeaway

The road to ‘Utopia’ has been bumpy, to say the least.

As Travis Scott continues to face controversy and criticism, he, alongside his team, have delivered a pre-release campaign that has left us both confused and intrigued.

But at the end of the day, he’s given fans and media plenty to talk about.

^{Written by Olivia Gliku}

NEWS

The Headlines

Interactive Music Video: WeTransfer, in a new partnership with British duo Jungle, has unveiled an interactive music video experience, claiming it to be the first of its kind. The video accompanies Jungle's latest single, ‘Back on 74’.

The most unique aspect of the video is its interactive art gallery, offering downloadable artwork.

Featuring six art pieces from a library of 10,000 created by band member Josh Lloyd-Watson, when a viewer clicks on the artwork, the file is downloaded to their computer.

Adding excitement for fans, the video also concealed 100 free tickets to Jungle's upcoming US and EU tour. The collaboration between WeTransfer and Jungle is part of an extended partnership that began in March, celebrating the band's album.

The video is available to watch here, and is also featured on WeTransfer's global platform, boasting an impressive 80 million monthly active users.

💡Insight - We gave this a go and it definitely felt very engaging and had our full attention. WeTransfer's intention to explore more partnerships of this nature is promising. - NL

Catalogue Marketing 101: Taylor Swift's track ‘august’ from her iconic album ‘folklore’ is experiencing a resurgence, and it is far from accidental.

The resurgence kicked off with a midnight tweet from Taylor herself on August 1, urging fans to "get in the car it's august," referencing the song's lyrics.

Swifties swiftly joined in, responding with more lyrics and sharing their excitement.

The tweet has garnered an impressive 46 million views so far and the track has received a noticeable bump in streaming activity across all platforms.

💡Insight - This is catalogue marketing 101. Being aware of, and highlighting key moments, anniversaries, or throwbacks that will create excitement and rekindle interest, while also attracting new listeners to rediscover the music. - NL

Lucky Fans Get Their Bills Paid, Kinda: Australian-Ghanaian rising star Genesis Owusu has come up with a distinctive pre-order incentive for his fans.

In a recent post, the singer announced that lucky winners will have their bills paid for.

The prize will be delivered in the form of Visa gift cards with a total value of $1000 AUD.

💡Insight - This incentive from Genesis Owusu definitely caught our attention! Who wouldn't want their bills paid? We were curious what the conditions would be, and now we know. Great idea. - NL

LEARN

YouTube's 2023 Culture & Trends Report

YouTube just dropped their Culture & Trends Report for 2023. It explores the transformative impact of rapid technological advancements on digital content creation and consumption.

Here are all the highlights in plain english:

1. Empowerment of Creators and Viewers: New technology is making it easier for anyone to create and share videos, leading to the rise of new tiers of fandom in online video consumption.

2. Evolving Audience Expectations: Viewers now want videos that are personalized to their interests and ther consume long-form, short-form, live, and pre-recorded content across mobile and connected TV screens. This has led to the growth of channels that offer a mix of video types.

3. Segmented Fandom: There are now different levels of fans growing in between casual watchers to super fans, thanks to new technology and a wider variety of video types.

4. Diversification of Content: Now that video content comes in many forms, this has led creators to tell their stories in different ways, allowing them to reach more people.

5. Personalized Viewing Experience: Features like subtitles and multi-language audio tracks are helping viewers to enjoy videos in their own way and creators to reach people from different cultures and languages.

6. Explosion of Video Tools: The availability of video tools has increased, enabling users to easily create and modify content, leading to more viewer engagement.

7. AI-Based Tools: Creators are using AI-based tools to extend their creative capabilities, leading to new ways of expressing ideas.

FAST FACTS

Impress Your Boss with This Fast Fact

👉 54% of people surveyed say they would prefer to watch creators breaking down a major event rather than the event itself (e.g., Oscars, Grammys).

This is from the above mentioned YouTube report. The secret to revitalising awards shows might be hidden in this stat.

KEY FINDINGS

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ICYMI

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