The Game and his Marketing Strategy

It is interesting to see how much consumer behavior can affect the way that particular industries operate. The music industry, and more specifically hip-hop, has grown to become so competitive in the 21st century with major record labels and independent labels battling to gain fans and sell music. A lot of artists and musicians are forced to market their own music if they want to make sure people hear their music.

Much research is done within the business end of the hip-hop industry, whether it be when the most profitable time to release an album is or which media outlet will make the largest impact on their market. A good example of this type of research is the album (double album) The Documentary 2 by the California artist The Game.

He has set his album to release on October 16th, 2015. The Game and his business associates did not just pick October 16th out of thin air, rather they looked at different buying patterns within the US. They recognized the upcoming 2015 holiday season and how they want their album on the shelves for all the shoppers to purchase.

Considering The Game is already an opinion leader for both the hip-hop industry and young people alike, along with the anticipation of the album, he has the potential to sell a lot of units including merchandise as soon as the release. With the goal to reach as many people as possible, The Game was smart to make this album a double album rather than just 10-12 songs because with the larger amount content he is able to say more to his fans and build consumer retention, which is incredibly valuable in the music industry.

The Game uses different social media outlets, like Instagram and Twitter, to help promote his album and grow his fanbase even more. He also promotes the album’s merchendise like t-shirts and hats. A perk of marketing through social media is that it becomes an information source on the album, and the more times they post something the more word of mouth it creates.