Music feuds can be a lucrative marketing tool

By J.S.

“THE STORY OF ADIDON” is an unrestrained verbal attack. Rapper Pusha T (pictured, left) condemns Drake, a fellow musician (pictured, right), for his music (“ghostwritin’ aside”, “full of lies”), personal life (“you are hiding a child, let that boy come home”) and choice of partners. The song’s artwork is similarly inflammatory, with a photograph of Drake in blackface. It was the climax of a years-long dispute between the pair, played out in a trading of diss tracks.

Those songs boosted the profiles of two already established artists. At the height of the feud, between May 27th and June 2nd, the number of Google searches for Drake almost quadrupled, while the number of searches for Pusha T was nearly 50 times greater than in any other week in the previous year (see chart). That interest seemed to translate into sales and streams. “DAYTONA”, released on May 25th, is Pusha T’s highest-charting album on the Billboard 200. “Scorpion”, Drake’s new album (which addressed some of his rival’s complaints), achieved platinum status on the day of its release last month. The public airing of dirty laundry benefited both sides.