It's hard to believe that it was almost one year ago that Watch The Throne, the collaborative album between hip-hop heavy-hitters Jay-Z and Kanye West. Some people are still heavily playing "...in Paris" on repeat and trying to memorize the fast-paced lyricism of "Otis"
What made this album a great success wasn't just the producers (Kanye West, Pharrell, Swizz Beatz) or the household names that were part of the musical project. What gave the album staying power on the charts was the fact that it was released digitally - before its physical release and before the album could even leak.
It's no surprise that with the invention of the torrents, Youtube, P2P filesharing sites and closed filesharing services it is hard for an artist's albums to not get into the wrong hands before its official release date. So when it came to Watch The Throne Jay-Z and Kanye did something a tad unorthodox by releasing the album themselves about a week beforehand.
The result? An array of praise and a flurry of first week sales. (436,000 to be exact) It would become platinum one month later.
So one year later, it is Watch The Throne guest vocalist/OFWGKTA member Frank Ocean that would follow in their footsteps - releasing his first full length album Channel Orange (not to be confused with his mixtape) a week before its official release. As a result, the album is already getting praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Huffington Post and Telegraph. Despite not being sold in some retailers, this album is expected to push over 100k copies.
Like the singles "Thinkin' Bout You" or "Pyramids"? Chances are you may be able to grab as a gift on a custom imprinted Digital Media Card - Music Download Card.
Are you more likely to buy an album if released or leaked early? Have an opinion on Frank Ocean or his new album?
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