When it comes to radio promotion, the historical rule has been to focus on one single at a given time.
Over the past year, Ariana Grande and her team have ignored that convention. They have issued new singles to radio even as previous releases were still climbing the charts.
It appears they are sticking with that approach.
“break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored,” the next single from the album, is going for immediate radio airplay. The song will officially impact the pop and rhythmic formats in conjunction with the February 12 add board (Mediabase/AllAccess first reported the impact date).
The launch comes as “thank u, next” remains in the Top 3 at pop radio — and recently released follow-up “7 rings” is rapidly climbing at both formats. Grande’s entire “thank u, next” album, meanwhile, will receive airplay on major pop stations all day Friday.
Beyond increasing Grande’s overall brand footprint, the new promotional strategy also accounts for the impact of the streaming age.
With streaming providing the masses with “instant” access to the entire album at once, songs are aging at a far faster rate. By the time early singles complete their radio run, potential follow-ups will feel “old” (and thus likely struggle to attract significant attention once they formally launch as singles).
The new strategy avoids that problem; songs go to radio when they are still “fresh” and capable of posting big sales and streaming numbers.
The downside, of course, is that it reduces the longevity of each single. A song like “thank u, next,” as an example, may have ruled radio for far longer had “7 rings” not entered the market when it did.
