Most artists want career growth too fast, often to a fault.

Curren$y is an outlier. Here’s how his balloon growth strategy helped him have staying power. I had Curren$y and his manager, Mousa, on the Trapital Podcast. They talked about “balloon growth.”

Blow air in too fast, it pops and fizzles out. But blow in slowly, it stays inflated. Here are a few ways they make that happen.

I’m a firm believer that hip-hop’s mixtape culture helped set the tone for how music is released in the streaming era. 1. They lowered the barriers to entry for artists.

Mixtapes helped artists build buzz without major labels. G-Unit did that with their early 2000s mixtapes. DJ Drama did the same with Gangsta Grillz in the South.

Lil Baby didn’t start rapping until 2017. Three years later, his album My Turn was the most popular album of 2020.

Here's how his career grew like a rising tech startup. A few months ago, Stan’s @denishakuhlor broke down how Lil Baby found “artist-market fit”:

• Young Thug was his angel investor
• Early adopters were locals in Atlanta
• Motown Records offered him global distribution
• Quality Control helped bring the pieces together

Rihanna announced the return of Fenty X Puma.

Even though Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty have succeeded, here are a few reasons why this Puma collab may be more challenging. Her successful $1B+ brands worked because they were accessible to a wide range of people.

Fenty Beauty reached women of all shades and Savage X Fenty reached women of all shapes. Prices were affordable. The brands were inclusive.

Tyler Perry wants to buy BET Media Group.

Paramount Global is exploring a sale of the business that includes BET, VH1, and BET+.

There’s some upside for Tyler, but there would be challenges too. Tyler already owns a minority stake in BET. That partnership has worked well for him.

BET Pictures was a producer for “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

His shows “House of Payne,” “Sisters,” “The Oval,” “Ruthless,” “Zatima” and “Assisted Living” are currently available on BET+.

When Beyonce and Adidas partnered on Ivy Park, many believed it could be as big as Yeezy.

But Ivy Park – Adidas partnership has struggled. 50% sales decline since 2021.

I have a lot to say, but I’m not too surprised. The Wall Street Journal said that Parkwood, which owns Ivy Park, wasn’t on the same page with Adidas.

Ye voiced his own recent frustrations with Adidas over Yeezy, but those complaints got drowned out by Ye’s broader controversies.

It’s still impressive that Rihanna has TWO billion-dollar brands.

• Fenty Beauty: $2.8 billion. She owns 50%
• Savage X Fenty: $1 billion. She owns 30%

They have unique success stories which makes it even better. Fenty Beauty came together with LMVH’s Sephora cosmetic brand and Rihanna.

Sephora team knew that their cosmetics could be much more inclusive. Rihanna noticed that makeup artists struggled to find the right shades for her skin and others with darker skin tones.

Apple Music, Tidal, Luminary, Gimlet, and Spotify have all had mixed results with their exclusive audio strategies.

Here are a few reasons why. Remember when we had to subscribe to multiple music streaming services to hear both Drake’s Views and Beyonce’s Lemonade?

Universal Music Group banned exclusives for signed artists in 2016, but consumers were already frustrated.

The 2000s were dark days for the music industry, but not for Lil Wayne.

Here’s how he grew demand with mixtapes to break records with album sales and ringtones. In 2005 Wayne teamed up with DJ Drama to drop ‘The Dedication,’ the first of many mixtapes the two would release together.

Drama had followed DJ Whoo Kid’s playbook with the popular the 50 Cent G-Unit mixtapes but adapted it for the South with artists like Wayne, Jeezy, and T.I.

Justin Bieber's music rights sale is official. Hipgnosis paid $200M+ for Bieber's masters, publishing, and neighboring rights for his full back catalog with 290+ songs.

I have a lot to say on this one but I'll keep it brief. Bieber's only 28. He's one of the youngest to sell.

There's a case to make that he can sell high now and still has a full career ahead. On the flipside, other young artists are holding. They feel no rush, still make hit albums, and can sell for more in the future if they want.

Quinta Brunson made sure that Abbott Elementary didn’t sound like your Twitter feed.

She reached a much bigger audience as a result. Here’s why. Since the beginning, Quinta was intentional about Abbott Elementary's voice. She didn't want to make another show that sounds like a viral topic on your timeline.

Here’s a segment of her 2022 interview with The New York Times:

In 2010, Jay Z turned his book release into a guerilla marketing masterclass.

Here’s a breakdown on the rollout for his autobiography, Decoded. Jay Z wrote Decoded to give fans a window into his past and how he built his empire.

But instead of publishing the entire autobiography at once, Jay teamed up with Microsoft Bing and @droga5 to release it into the physical world, a few pages at a time.

Here's how it worked.

Beyoncé starting Parkwood Entertainment was one of the best career decisions that a superstar artist has made.

Here’s how it led to bigger payouts and more creative control. In 2009, Beyoncé was ready for a change.

She was already successful, but wanted more creative control. She was managed by her father, Mathew Knowles. She often felt like “she couldn’t mess up.”

Ownership in Hollywood is rare for most actors, but Issa Rae found a way to own what matters and still form strong partnerships.

Here’s how her moves led to her 8-figure deal with WarnerMedia. After the success of Awkward Black Girl, major networks started calling. Some tradeoff is expected with big partners, but several of them tried to hijack ABG’s concept.

Here’s her telling the story in a @NYTimes interview:

Tyler, The Creator’s career is a blueprint for longevity. For 15+ years, he worked on his craft, served his true fans, and ignored everyone else.

Here’s why his run on top will last longer than most artists. First, here are a few of Tyler’s accolades:

• 1 of 5 artists to win two Best Rap Album Grammys
• Biggest vinyl sales week for a rap album
• $33M revenue from his last tour
• Sold out MSG multiple times

These results are 15+ years in the making.

For years, Cash App lagged behind Venmo. But that was before it teamed up with rappers as influencers.

Here’s how hip-hop helped Cash App become a $73B+ business. When Cash App launched in 2013, it was very buttoned-up.

Users needed phone numbers or emails to transfer money. There was no social element, which made it lose money even with a new sign-up.

In 2004, Jay Z and Damon Dash went separate ways after Roc-a-Fella Records. Their breakup was infamous, but its impact lives on.

Here’s how their split influenced a generation of hip-hop artists. When the Roc was at its peak, hip-hop was focused on building its own brands.

Everyone pushed their own clothing line. Even the Roc had Rocawear, Roc Films, and other divisions.

It was hip-hop’s dot-com era, and Dame was in his element.

The Weeknd’s career is a classic case study in mystery marketing. “Even no branding is branding,” he once said in an interview.

Here are the tactics that helped him become a superstar. In 2010, Abel Tesfaye’s first three songs—‘The Morning,’ ‘What You Need’ and ‘Loft Music’— were uploaded to YouTube by the anon user, ‘xoxxxoooxo.’

There were no traces of his name or face. He hid everything.

Spotify launched a new site for artists to sell tickets directly to fans—no intermediaries.

So far, looks more for small venues and events though. It’s more competition for Eventbrite than it is for Ticketmaster. Here's the Spotify Tickets website to check out:

tickets.spotify.com

Tyler Perry's first six plays were massive flops. He lost all his money and became homeless.

But after those failures, he put in the work to better understand and reach his customers.

Here's the strategy that led to his billion-dollar empire. 1992’s ‘I Know I Have Been Changed’ was Perry’s first crack at theater.

As he pooled together his $12k life savings, he hoped 1,200 people would show up on its opening weekend.

Only 30 people did, all of whom were his friends and acquaintances.