In an era where many believe the album is dead and the market for music crumbling, the expectations for music sales are certainly not as high as they once were, but the expectations for music quality are as high as ever (though many would argue that it's nowhere near what it "used to be"). Funny how things work isn't it? Mix tapes are starting to sound more and more like albums while albums aren't living up to expectations, this is a vicious cycle that artists can only hope gets broken. However, some artists have the ability to build such a following that no matter the music they put out, they get non stop support from their fans (we call this the "Stan effect"). The latest, and certainly one of the most interesting cases of this is Logic.
The Maryland rapper Logic has had many comparisons brought up musically (one of the most intriguing being Drake), but his story is unlike many. He certainly documents it in his music, discussing things like growing up in the hood, witnessing violence, hard drug use in his family (including his dad smoking crack), and ultimately chasing the dream of becoming a rapper. He's built an incredible fan base through 4 fantastic mix tapes, with his Sinatra series being critically acclaimed and the main reason behind the peaked interest in him, and his fans are behind him 1000% no matter what he does it seems.
This is a fascinating way for an artist to come up. In Logic's push for his debut album Under Pressure, Twitter was a big help in getting the word out (as it usually is for news nowadays), but up to this point Logic has shown appreciation to his fans unlike anything I have ever seen. Meet and greets, signed posters and even phone calls to his fans are just a few of the things that highlight the Under Pressure campaign. Who else has done anything else remotely like this? Can you even imagine getting a phone call from your favorite rapper or musician? How about getting an exclusive signed poster just for pre-ordering 2 copies of the album? The appreciation Logic has shown for his fans is unreal and is certainly a huge reason why he will be a top rapper within the next few years.
And this is what brings me back to the "Stan effect". No matter what happens, people will love their music and have their choices, and listen to their favorite music and buy their favorite musicians' albums (whether you want to believe it or not, people still buy albums. I certainly do, I don't believe the album is dead, but it is certainly a dying breed). A great way for these musicians to enhance the fans' experience is to simply give back. This is why what Logic is doing is genius. If you're a great musician who puts out great music, your music will be heard and bought. Downloading sites are waaaay too unreliable to know what you're getting (most of the time). Get your music the right way. Who knows, if you come across a musician as humbled as Logic, you may get some music free of charge anyways. Logic certainly is in the beginning stages of what will be a very long and successful career if he keeps finding ways to innovate the fan experience.
(*Note: I'm writing this knowing very well that Logic's album is out, yet I have not listened to one song off of it because I want to wait to buy. It's not so crazy seeing what Logic is doing now, is it?)
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