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[BRockaBaby]

she looks like lil kim in that pic

[Barbie Dangerous]

The more I listen the more I get in...

Same here. It's such great album and so versatile!

[pop]

WTF this is a sneaky ass album every fucking day another fucking song snatch me,,, Well Fucking Traveled ,, this album is dark but light at the same time

[MAY]

WTF this is a sneaky ass album every fucking day another fucking song snatch me,,, Well Fucking Traveled ,, this album is dark but light at the same time

!!!

I was getting TOSSED & SNATCHED for filth over the weekend. This album is definitely a grower.

[MAY]

Like, I liked the album in the beginning, but now that it's marinating I'm beginning to really appreciate it.

It's very solid and I think it will start to grow on a lot of people.

[BAPHOMET.]

[Barbie Dangerous]

Janet Jackson has always been a leader in the music business. It was her much publicized $50 million recording contract with Virgin Records in 1991, that started a slew of big payday deals for artists in the music industry. Soon, Michael Jackson and Madonna would follow with their own $60 million recording contracts, only to be bested again by Janet when she resigned with Virgin records for an estimated $80 million in 1996.

That $80 million deal guaranteed Jackson a $35-million advance upon signing, along with an estimated $5-million per album, plus a 24% royalty rate on each record sold (about $2.50 per record). A landmark deal for artists in an industry known for handing out bad deals (See: TLC and Left Eye's explanation of how the group sold 10 million albums and ended up bankrupt)

​However, times have changed. Album sales are on a steady decline, and unless you are Adele, the days of selling over ten million copies of an album are over. Such is the decline, that the Billboard charts now include streaming from sites like Spotify and YouTube to represent the overall sales of singles and albums.

This sharp decline also means that record labels can no longer afford to hand out multi-million dollar contracts. Nor can they afford to pump millions of promo dollars into albums to generate sales. With less available money from the labels, dwindling sales, but more pressure than ever to have a hit record, how do commercial artists go about promoting their projects and making them profitable for all entities involved?

Look no further than Janet Jackson and Unbreakable.

Jackson's Unbreakable became her 7th number one album. Making her only the third artist in history (and the first African American) to have a number one album in four consecutive decades. With Unbreakable, Jackson again set the precedent and created a blueprint that the many artists can learn from.

Janet took control by cutting out the middle man: The traditional record label system

Rhythm Nation Records: Rewriting the rules

Jackson is among the first recording artists and the biggest worldwide superstar to quit the traditional record label system. Forming her own label, Rhythm Nation Records, she retains ownership of their recordings and full oversight of all costs and revenues.
​
Being the head of her own label, and controlling the amount of money spent on promotion, Jackson could have easily poured millions of her own dollars into a massive marketing campaign in support of this album. However, Jackson had to look no further than one of her contemporaries and biggest rival of the 80s to know this wouldn't work.

Madonna went on a massive worldwide promotional tour in support of her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart. She appeared on virtually every talk show and award show worldwide (most notably the Grammys, The Brit Awards, and a full week of appearances on the Ellen DeGeneres show). Not unlike the big budget label driven promo campaigns of the 90s.

The results? The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart with 121,000 units sold. To date, the album has moved 210,000 units in the US, and just over 800,000 copies worldwide.  ​

Decent numbers at first glance, especially considering the decline of sales overall. However, considering the extensive (and undoubtedly expensive) marketing campaign attached to the project, one wonders if Live Nation/Interscope have even reached the ?break even? point with the Rebel Heart album. In short, millions of dollars were spent pushing an album that hasn't even sold a million copies in total. 
​
Business 101: Orchestrating the Comeback

The traditional label system method of marketing albums simply doesn't work in an ever changing and declining market, and Janet Jackson understands this. Jackson has done little to no traditional promotion for the Unbreakable album thus far.

Her only public appearance, prior to the tour, was at the 2015 BET awards where she accepted the Ultimate Icon Award. A brilliant move as the BET tribute served as a 20 minute commercial for Jackson's return to the spotlight completely underwritten by the BET network. Meaning, not one dime was paid by Jackson or Rhythm Nation Records.
Picture
Janet Jackson receiving the Ultimate Icon Award at the 2015 BET Awards ​
Janet followed this with the 1st single from the project entitled ?No Sleeep?. A song that left many scratching their wigs. Why not return with the big splashy club banger? Why not teach these new girls how it's done?

Described by Pitchfork as evoking ?her richest and most breathtaking era: the mid-'90s stretch including 1993?s super-sensual janet., and especially 1997?s inimitable and deeply personal classic, The Velvet Rope?. Jackson understood that the public doesn't want to see her chasing trends, or trying to keep up with artists that are now attempting to follow her blueprint for pop stardom.

#ThatsHowIBurnItUp
Janet won by being the antithesis of everything currently on radio. Since it's release on June 22nd, No Sleeep has spent ten weeks at #1 on Urban AC radio stations, and is still in the top 3 heading into 2016 (The follow up single ?Unbreakable? is already top 10 on Urban AC stations, giving Jackson two top 10 hits).

Now an independent artist, Jackson took advantage of the unique opportunity that came with this. To equal the playing field for indie artists and those on major multi-billion dollar record labels, Billboard allows indie acts to sell albums at their shows (tied to other merchandise), which is counted toward their overall sales.

Janet Jackson playing before nearly 40,000 fans at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. 
Janet Jackson could be called an indie act on steroids, as she's not playing and selling her CDs in small clubs each night, but in arenas all over the world with her sold out Unbreakable world tour. It's biggest date thus far being the nearly 40,000 seat Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Another reason Jackson was brilliant in choosing to go the independent route as opposed to signing with a major label.

Jackson's success with Unbreakable, and her unique approach in selling the album, may also have a role in changing the landscape of the Billboard charts, as it's rumored Billboard will soon allow all artists to sell albums at their shows tied to merchandise.

Janet Jackson has once again blazed the path for artists to win in the music business
To date, Unbreakable has sold about 220,000 copies in the US. More albums than any of her contemporaries in the states. With only a few weeks left in 2015, Unbreakable remains the biggest debut by a black female artist in 2015, along with one of the best selling albums by female artists overall.

With little to no promotional efforts, Janet has once again blazed the path for artists to win in the music business. She's done it by not playing by the rules of the game, and instead writing her own.

According to BMG executive Jon Cohen, it's also just the beginning of a three year plan for Jackson.

?Of course, everyone at BMG wants to be #1 and is always striving for that, but what she really wanted was a team that wasn?t committed to something for weeks one, two and three; She wanted a team for the next 18 months to two and three years. And we have a three-year plan with Janet. It?s not just about this record, and the plan goes well beyond music. Bertelsmann is a hugely diversified company, from books to media, and we?ve been talking since the get-go about multiple initiatives with Team Janet. So she wanted someone who was not going to look at this in the short-term, but really look at what Janet Jackson is in 2015, 2016, 2017, and how she wants to express herself. And she wanted a company with a broad enough canvas to paint that picture.?

Janet Jackson has once again proven why many fans continue to call her The Blueprint

Some Sunday morning literature for you guys.

[AIDS!]

And she sold more than 28k copies in her first week!

[Barbie Dangerous]

And she sold more than 28k copies in her first week!

bccccc


And she outsold her peers within the first few weeks of its release. Currently taking a break before the second leg begins, this bitch is winning!

[Marilyn]

One of those future endeavors might include some holiday music from Jackson, according to sources. But Jackson isn?t the only thing BMG has on its upcoming release slate. They have a follow-up coming from Leela James, a Danny Gokey holiday music album. Next year, BMG executives say they will have a new album from Bad Suns, a priority developing artists; and they are hoping for a Blink 182 album, and its first big project in the new year will be a duets kind of album from Jakob Dylan.

what kind of flop roster. But at least Queen got the most priority and budget

[AIDS!]

Janet Jackson has always been a leader in the music business. It was her much publicized $50 million recording contract with Virgin Records in 1991, that started a slew of big payday deals for artists in the music industry. Soon, Michael Jackson and Madonna would follow with their own $60 million recording contracts, only to be bested again by Janet when she resigned with Virgin records for an estimated $80 million in 1996.

That $80 million deal guaranteed Jackson a $35-million advance upon signing, along with an estimated $5-million per album, plus a 24% royalty rate on each record sold (about $2.50 per record). A landmark deal for artists in an industry known for handing out bad deals (See: TLC and Left Eye's explanation of how the group sold 10 million albums and ended up bankrupt)

????

[Barbie Dangerous]

One of those future endeavors might include some holiday music from Jackson, according to sources. But Jackson isn?t the only thing BMG has on its upcoming release slate. They have a follow-up coming from Leela James, a Danny Gokey holiday music album. Next year, BMG executives say they will have a new album from Bad Suns, a priority developing artists; and they are hoping for a Blink 182 album, and its first big project in the new year will be a duets kind of album from Jakob Dylan.

what kind of flop roster. But at least Queen got the most priority and budget

But that's the thing, she funded herself and BMG distributed. No money needed to promote, just all profit!

[Marilyn]

d

[Marilyn]

Not "See Left Eye's explanation"

[Barbie Dangerous]

Janet Jackson has always been a leader in the music business. It was her much publicized $50 million recording contract with Virgin Records in 1991, that started a slew of big payday deals for artists in the music industry. Soon, Michael Jackson and Madonna would follow with their own $60 million recording contracts, only to be bested again by Janet when she resigned with Virgin records for an estimated $80 million in 1996.

That $80 million deal guaranteed Jackson a $35-million advance upon signing, along with an estimated $5-million per album, plus a 24% royalty rate on each record sold (about $2.50 per record). A landmark deal for artists in an industry known for handing out bad deals (See: TLC and Left Eye's explanation of how the group sold 10 million albums and ended up bankrupt)

????

f,mmg



Queen needs to run a course for these lessors on how to invest your money and not settle for the what a record label feels they owe you!