It’s not quite a ‘visual album’ on the scale of Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ or Frank Ocean’s ‘Endless’, but Latin American star Bad Bunny has partnered with Spotify to create what is being termed a “lookbook” for his third album, ‘Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana’ (translating as I Do What I Want).
The Puerto Rican artist used the project to tease the album’s release over the weekend and it is visually structured around five songs and storylines from the album. The different looks were created by Mexican stylist Nayeli De Alba and Storm Pablo (who is Bad Bunny’s personal stylist). (A lookbook for the uninitiated is used in the fashion world to show off a designer’s new collection and is distributed to media and retail for marketing purposes.)
There was also a real-world activation on Saturday (29 February) in New York, with screens at Elizabeth Street & Kenmare Street and then Essex Street & Rivington Street showing the different looks.
This is another move by a DSP to bring a visual element to an album. There is the Canvas feature on Spotify that can be used to add visual loops to tracks and this can, if used well, create a visual narrative across all the tracks on the album.
Last March, Spotify created the Billie Eilish Experience, an interactive take on her debut album, as well as assembling the Love Taylor, Lover Enhanced Album playlist to push Taylor Swift’s Lover album. Only certain albums will get such features and heavy promotion, but it is a sign that DSPs are finding not just new marketing hooks for albums but also ways to give them a visual impact that goes far beyond the sleeve art.
Image by JStone / Shutterstock.com
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