Is Artist Rivalry Good For The Music Business?
Drama in the music industry driven by rivalry or beef, has a way of keeping fans excited and on the edge of their seats.
Over the years, we’ve seen artists in various genres globally build up a rivalry that spirals into a big competition for who’s more successful or bigger.
Let’s start with Hip hop; one of the most talked about rivalries to date is the West Coast-East rivalry that saw Biggie and Tupac as poster boys for both sides. This rivalry tragically led to the demise of both rappers.
In some cases, members of the same group or band feud. Some notable examples of such feuds are John Lennon vs. Paul McCartney of the Beetles, Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys, and even among twins with Nigerian group P-square, a standout example that even blood brothers can have a major fallout.
Women are not left out of all the fun; we’ve had beef between the likes of Lil Kim and Foxy Brown, which majorly originated from comparisons. Also, vocal powerhouses like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston had a subtle beef when Carey’s self-titled 1990 debut had sold 15 million copies worldwide, 5 million more than Houston’s I’m Your Baby Tonight.
Responding to questions on Carey outselling her album, Whitney’s dismissive response on not knowing who Carey was at the time didn’t sit well with the crowd.
The beef, which was conjured up by comparisons on tabloids, was short-lived as producers of the 1998 animated biblical epic, The Prince of Egypt, booked Carey and Houston to duet on “When You Believe” for the soundtrack, leading to a string of public goodwill gestures between the two.
In Nigeria, we have one of the most talked about rivalry between Davido and Wizkid.
What started as a genuine friendship between these two spiraled into a competition on who makes the biggest sales or hottest songs. Both with vast followerships, these two musicians are undoubtedly the biggest Afrobeat artists in Africa.
Also, on the fringes of this feud between Davido and Wizkid is Burna Boy, who has not held back in taking shots at Davido.
Other notable examples of music rivalries globally are Prince vs. Michael Jackson, 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule, Nas vs. Jay Z, Meek Mill vs. Drake, and Remy Ma vs. Nicki Minaj, just to mention a few.
The fallout between artists in most cases is similar; from Creative differences, financial disputes, drug abuse, and love triangles, the opportunities to butt heads in the music industry are limitless.
The bigger the star, the bigger the ego, and when two tangles, you get a supernova of spite and bile that holds the world in rapture.
What are the positives of artist feuds?
More record sales.
Fans eagerly purchase or stream their music to keep tabs on which artist is winning the war of punchlines or who has more bragging rights from sales. This could, in return, grow their fanbase as more people take sides on who to support.
In some cases, fans give themselves a name to represent or signify fellow loyalists to the artist.
It’s good for the news.
The media blows feuding between artists out of proportion, which increases their visibility on platforms across the board.
The artists get More attention for any project they work on and appearance at events.
Gossip blogs and news outlets pick up any news that concerns the artists in question because it generates more traffic on their websites or gets more viewers tuned in for the latest news on them.
Let’s look at a few negatives.
Some artists take the beef to their graves as they become sworn enemies from something that might have probably started from mare comparisons or a clash of egos.
Fans make the most of it.
Most of the feuds between entertainers are instigated by and exacerbated by fans. Music lovers take sides to the point they start vile campaigns on social media against artists, as they form different factions.
The artists are willing to do whatever it takes to get an advantage over each other.
In conclusion, artist rivalry is good for the music business as it breeds competition and is also a good marketing tactic. Beyond the music, fans also pay close attention to the lifestyles of the artists involved.
Rivalry in music will never stop as there will always be a clash of egos; it is something fans relish, and it’s also the bread and butter for the media to capitalize on.
