In a move that was no doubt actioned to ensure a #1 debut, Rihanna‘s new LP ‘Rated R’ is now selling for a paltry $3.99 on Amazon MP3. Yet, despite Ms. Fenty’s team pulling all the stops for a #1 charting on the Billboard 200 next week, Interscope’s Lady GaGa‘s sophomore effort ‘The Fame Monster’ is currently sitting comfortably at #1 on iTunes – which serves as one of the biggest music retailers overall. {Source 1} {Source 2}
Oh RiRi! After all the publicity, big budget videos and all that jazz, stunts like this still need to be pulled to garner decent sales. From a business standpoint, I can’t hate on her label’s game. Yet, from an artistic standpoint – which is where the bulk of my critique of Ms. Fenty stems from – it really says a lot about her label’s belief in how many folks will part with their cash to buy her album. I mean, correct me if wrong, but you don’t see the Alicia’s, Beyonce’s, Whitney’s and co selling their album a fraction of the cost to save face. I mean how embarrassing would it be after all the hype, 20/20 interview etc for her not to pull in some seriously decent/great numbers first week?
Randomness: While my review of the AMA’s will be up later today; if Rihanna’s performance wasn’t the night’s worst, I really don’t know what was. A mess.
