{"id":2448414,"date":"2019-09-06T09:15:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T15:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=880480"},"modified":"2019-09-06T09:15:31","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T15:15:31","slug":"melanie-martinez-didnt-release-an-album-for-4-years-but-shes-bigger-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/music-news\/melanie-martinez-didnt-release-an-album-for-4-years-but-shes-bigger-than-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Melanie Martinez Didn\u2019t Release an Album For 4 Years, But She\u2019s Bigger Than Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Melanie Martinez accomplished a neat trick with her 2015 debut album,<\/span> Cry Baby<\/span><\/em>. Nothing from the album cracked the singles chart, which sometimes indicates that a release is a flop. But listeners kept returning to Martinez\u2019s tracks, savoring them over long periods rather than devouring them in a quick gulp.<\/span> Cry Baby<\/span><\/em> earned a platinum certification about 16 months after it came out, and there appears to be no expiration date on Martinez fandom: In 2019, 11 different songs on her debut have been certified gold or platinum.<\/span><\/p>\n

That type of long tail has allowed Martinez to remain quiet since 2016, an eternity in today\u2019s record-quick, release-quicker climate. The singer returned on Friday with a torrent of new material: An album,<\/span> K-12<\/span><\/em>, and an accompanying 90-minute film that premiered on YouTube<\/a>. The film includes music videos that correspond to each of the album\u2019s 13 tracks, and these will also be individually released, one every two weeks. In between these clips, YouTube is partnering with Martinez on a four-part mini-series, thematically tied to<\/span> K-12<\/span><\/em>, culminating in what\u2019s called an Artist Spotlight Story, which will demonstrate Martinez\u2019s approach to songwriting, acting, and directing.<\/span><\/p>\n

This deluge is by design. \u201c[Martinez] has a very strong fanbase, and we\u2019re gonna be introducing her to a new younger fanbase as well,\u201d says Julie Greenwald, chairman\/COO of Martinez\u2019s label, Atlantic Records. \u201cEvery week we\u2019ll be finding new people. We\u2019ll be seeing what they like about different songs. We get so much more information now which allows us to stay in campaigns for such a long time. That\u2019s the beautiful thing about streaming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

YouTube\u2019s Artist Spotlight Stories are one of several artist-support programs that YouTube has been developing over the last few years. In 2016, the platform launched the Foundry Initiative to help promising artists early in their career. In 2018, YouTube set up a next step, the Artist on the Rise program. Artist Spotlight represents the third tier. <\/span><\/p>\n

Martinez is an easy fit: She has relied on beguiling visuals since 2014\u2019s \u201cDollhouse,\u201d a meticulous, menacing video that has amassed 235 million views to date. \u201cShe came to us with that, and it was the most incredible video,\u201d Greenwald says. So the label encouraged her to make more. \u201cShe created every story line, worked with the set director, the art director, the stylist,\u201d Greenwald adds. \u201cShe built an entire community on YouTube with these videos.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Vivien Lewit, YouTube\u2019s Global Head of Artist Relations, also praises Martinez as a YouTube savant. \u201cShe\u2019s utilizing and leveraging the platform in new ways, not only through video uploads,\u201d Lewit says. \u201cConsistency of engagement is important, and she\u2019s maintaining a dialog with fans through the community feature on YouTube. That allows her to share content more casually \u2014 texts, images, GIFs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s why Martinez\u2019s three years off don\u2019t seem to have negatively impacted her at all. \u201cLeading up to the release of this film, Melanie has gained almost a million subscribers as a result of releasing three teasers across a month that are the precursor and build-up to the film release,\u201d Lewit says. And the<\/span> K-12<\/span><\/em> video amassed over a million views in its first 9 hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

But with an artist like Martinez, the first 24 hours aren\u2019t Atlantic\u2019s primary concern. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about week one,\u201d Greenwald says. \u201cWhere will we be in week 52?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n