We previously worked with Anzu on a campaign for another artist Babyface Ray and saw huge success and interest from players for his music. When we learned that Anzu was able to bring our latest campaign to the most popular sports title on iOS and allow us to hone in on our target audience of World Cup fans, working with them again was a no-brainer. - Peter Kadin, SVP Marketing, EMPIRE
As independent music reaches $160B in market value and commands nearly half of the global music industry, a critical disconnect persists: while indie creators now generate 47% of all recorded music revenue, catalog financing remains concentrated among the top 1% of artists. This gap forces emerging and mid-tier creators to choose between waiting years for streaming royalties that may never materialize at scale or signing away their rights through exploitative deals with hidden terms and recoupment structures.
The Harlem rapper's strategic use of the platform goes beyond promotional posts, creating conversational moments that transform passive followers into active participants in his narrative. His approach demonstrates understanding of X's unique ecosystem: quick-fire responses, cultural commentary, and the platform's preference for unfiltered personality over polished messaging. By engaging directly with fan theories, sharing candid thoughts, and responding to viral moments in real-time,
"The photoshoot we did with Mert and Marcus was so extraordinary, and I was so happy with it, that I just wanted fans to have as many images from this world, this album era, as possible," she says in the video on Instagram above "I really spent a lot of time figuring out how I could make the best vinyl product, the best packaging, the best CD experience that they could have ... I hope the fans are happy."
After last summer's BRAT attack, it felt like minimalist album art was back with a bang (for better or for worse). While I'm all for the rise of anti-design, there's a stark difference between counter-cultural creations and plain underwhelming art, and sadly, pop star Justin Bieber's latest album fits into the latter category. Swag II, the successor of Bieber's recent album, Swag, features a painfully innocuous album cover that's undoubtedly functional but disappointingly flat.
But the sheer volume of variants we're seeing right now feels not only calculated to maximise sales (imagine that), but it's also diluting the aesthetic identity of individual album eras. Whereas the best album art of all time is immediately recognisable, I couldn't tell you what the cover for Life of a Showgirl actually looks like. Same goes for Sabrina Carpenter's new album - just days after the provocative original variant prompted outcry, came the bait-and-switch, as Carpenter revealed a several safer versions.
