Album Rollouts: Trends That Work and Those That Are Going Out

Situation

Releasing an album is an incredible accomplishment for artists and their team that takes time and dedication. At Universal Music Group, we are constantly evolving and learning about how album rollouts should change in order to keep fans interested and engaged. There are many strategies that worked this year and many that are most likely no longer going to work in the future. UMG is a leader for trends, so it is crucial we keep up with how fans react to different album rollout tactics.  

What’s Working: Trends That Hit the Right Notes

Exclusive Physical Releases

Items like special-edition vinyl, signed copies, collectible photocards of artists, and lyric booklets are one of the best creative strategies that create excitement and drive up sales. UMG has seen success with this especially through vinyl records. Our artists Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Sabrina Carpenter have released multiple variants of their hit albums this year helping them reach a number-one album in 2024. Fans want to support artists any way possible and if they get an exclusive item during it they are more likely to spend money on it as they feel a higher connection with the artist.  

“The different variants definitely make a difference in whether people buy it or not,” said Maria Rivera from Fingerprints, a record store based in Long Beach, Calif. She has seen first-hand how consumers react to different strategies. “Taylor Swift, for example, she gets a lot of different variants of her albums and people come in and buy all of them…  people are more prone to getting these special variants.” The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has reported a decrease of recorded music sales volumes over the past 10 years, however, the only format to be increasing are LP/EP vinyl records. 

Surprise Drops/Breaking the norms

Although a risky move, surprise drops seem to grab the attention of the public and have a high pay-off. “When there's a surprise drop for the consumer that brings a lot of people in,” said Rivera. This year, Tyler, the Creator surprised the public by releasing a single on a Monday and then his album “Chromakopia” two weeks later on a Monday as well. This is an unusual act as the normal release date for new music is Fridays, causing it only to have four days in its first tracking week, nonetheless it was a success for his team as he debuted No. 1 on Billboard 200 with 299,500 album unit sales. UMG can learn from this when working with established artists. Coming up with new and innovative ways to release an album whether it is out of the box will work to bring eyes on artists releasing the predecessor album to a successful one to ensure the new one does just as well or even better. 

What’s Out: Trends Going Out of Style

Standard Black Vinyl Records

People would much rather buy a vinyl with a beautiful press than a plain regular press. Unfortunately, vinyls with color pressings have a riskier chance at coming out wrong and cost more to produce. However, there is higher pay off. Releasing a limited amount of color pressed vinyls is more likely to make more money than mass releasing plain vinyls. “I am so tired of boring old plain vinyls. Newer generations feel less inclined to buy records because so many albums lack the creative designs and interactive details that come with listening to music on their phones.” a major consumer and fan of music, Jay Chen, said. 

Too Many Pre-Album Singles

Bombarding the public with multiple songs prior to the release can be detrimental. Singles act as teasers and create hype around artists, but releasing most singles before the album comes out will be a strategy going away. Fans like Chen have commented that they will skip over single tracks when listening to the album for the first time. This ruins the artists’ trackflow of their art. We love to see the numbers roll in but we do not achieve anything if the artist doesn’t feel like their work truly captivated the public. When captivating an audience to engage with an album, there should be one or two singles prior to the official release. 

Evolving for the Future

At UMG, every individual has the opportunity to bring up ideas and be creative. We understand that these strategies also depend on who your artist is and their audience. Learning fans’ wants and needs through research can create an incredible outcome for planning and implementation. As the leading music company in the world, we will only continue to succeed in bringing music to fans everywhere by being creative, innovative, and accepting to adapt.