He technically broke 0 rules and capitalized on loopholes and the wave created by him waiting in silence. I was gonna say rules are made to be broken but he just executed this shit like a chess player.
it’s frustrating how few people talk about how much of a masterpiece endless actually is... it’s not just a throwaway album to get out of his label, it’s a genuine album that gets mercilessly overshadowed by its big brother
He didn't finesse the music industry he basically got what he was supposed to get out of the music industry while most other artists don't. they end up getting finessed For their royalties publishing and masters.
You know, this is actually a ridiculously good way to send a message to a company. He felt neglected by a record label, so he made a deal with them to release a new album, released an album that is locked behind either a really long visual livestream or Apple Music, got out of the contract, and used the album he just released to point directly to his REAL next album, releasing it independently from that contract. That's creative. Now, Endless is still a GOOD album, but it's clear that he didn't intend it to stand on it's own as his work, instead mostly intending it as a giant advertisement for the project he ACTUALLY wanted to put time into.
The funny part is that endless is most likely his most avant-garde album ever, but makes sense why he dropped it under def jam because very few can understand it which equals less revenue but still keeps his reputation in tact
Constantly refreshing Reddit along with other sleep deprived fans slowly going insane watching a livestream of an empty white room was one of the most surreal times of my life
Found out about this guy only recently from a really important person to me. I am so blown away by his raw talent, but more so I really respect him for being who he is. He isn’t faking any social media persona, he is proving that YOU are NOT the selling point of your brand, but the work you put out is. I highly respect him and it feels weird barely even knowing him, but the impact this dude has had on so many people just through his music speaks for it self. Frank is and always will be a legend and a true example of how hard work, intuition, talent and doing your own thing pays off.
I think the most important thing to recognize is that he was able to pay back his $2M advance. I’m sure a lot of other people have tried to get out of deals in a similar way, but because FO was financially smart, he won.
All he did is work on two diff projects and drop the decoy one first to get out of the deal, then drop the real album right after. Great that this worked for him, but this is not a SO incredibly smart move he did there.
He kinda did. Endless was turned in just to keep Def Jam away from the apple deal. smart. He had to repay 2 million to get out the contract and hide the 20 million ace In The hole that def jam would have wanted a massive cut of, then on top Blond came out just a day later killing Endless in sales and mindshare. Def Jam lost big time.
@@duragbu830 No clue. If Def Jam knew there was 20 million ready to be laid out on the table they never would have let Frank go when they did. Frank just needed Endless out the door so DefJam would have no say so in signing the apple deal or a claim to any of the money.
Its funny how people are now talking about this, when this was almost 3 years ago when it happened. Frank Ocean changed the way streaming and contracts worked for big labels forever.
For the life of me. I struggle to make sense out of why the fuck people idolize them so much. They are just fucking people. I bet you her shit smells worse than yours. Their bank balance is the only difference.
Don't forget that ENDLESS is still a very good album though. Experimental, beautiful and dreamy. Its not as good as blond in my opinion, but its still easily in my top 10 albums of all time.
yeah, exactly. endless was simply some "decoy." it was an incredible album, the finesse was from the fact that he knew blonde would have much more popular appeal and that is where the check would really be coming from
nah probably not cause frank didnt really fuck with the label he was in and if he puts it out he will be basically giving the label money cause maybe the label has all the rights to endless
@lillightskin303 lmaooooooo you clearly don't know what your talking about there was no handing shaking at all. cb jumped him and frankie fought back end of story
Endless is almost as good as Blonde, and that’s saying a lot, considering Blonde is one of the Best albums of the ‘10s. Wither is one of the most beautiful tracks I’ve ever heard and U.N.I.T.Y is as Epic as Nikes. Also, Comme Des Garçons is catchy as hell
Finally, an entertainingly informative, ridiculoulsly dry witty channel I can watch without feeling like I've lost I.Q points. First time subscriber to any channel ever, binge watching your content.
I remember i met frank ocean in new york last year (2018) of may 28th. i was riding the train and i missed my stop then i got of around 6th st in manhattan (wasn't my stop) then i seen frank ocean out the corner of my eye. i was scared to talk to him at first lmaooooooooo. then my mind was telling me go for it, it keep saying the same thing. then i went for it and asked if he was "frank ocean" just to start the conversation off right lmaooooo he mad chill good vibe and also guy's i didnt get a photo with him :/ .
@@TrapLoreRoss as i think about it now yesssssss. i'll meet him once again. he told me he's from new orleans (7th ward) i'm also born and raised in new orleans (lower 9th) not far from him. i know the next time meet him he will remember me then boom we go from there lolllll.
He's not the first to do a decoy album to get out of a contract though. He was just smart & creative enough to do so and pull it off effortlessly. Classic Scorpio, get accepted at a better job, while enjoying you last days at your old.
I'm glad he was able to get over in this manner. Now I know why we didn't hear much about him recently. He has enough money to live comfortably, write & produce songs & pick what projects he chooses to do.
PhrAntoine nah he’s with GenerationNow/Atlantic records. After is trash ass contract expires he’s either going solo or with YSL or XO. He’s always happy around XO crew compared to his label
this is one of the most professionally done analyses done about frank. thank you for sharing your thoughts. There are endless (get it?) layers to this man.
