Michael Jackson's Thriller (album)
The album was one of the first to use music videos as successful promotional tools—the videos for "Thriller", "Billie Jean", and "Beat It" all received regular rotation on MTV.
Michael Jackson's Thriller (music video)
It was directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Jackson.
It was
MTV's first world premiere video. Voted as the
most influential pop music video of all time, Thriller proved to have a
profound effect on popular culture, and was named "a watershed moment for the [music] industry" for
its unprecedented merging of filmmaking and music. Guinness World Records listed it in 2006 as the "most successful music video", selling over nine million copies. In 2009,
the video was inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the first music video to ever receive this honor, for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.
Madonna's SEX (book)
Sex is a coffee table book written by American singer Madonna, with photographs taken by Steven Meisel Studio and film frames shot by Fabien Baron.
The book was an instant commercial success,
managing to sell over 150,000 copies on its first day of release and topping the New York Times Best Seller list. It was received negatively by both critics and fans of the singer, who felt she had "gone too far." Through the years, however, critical reception towards Sex has become more positive, with
academics deeming it a defining phase in Madonna's career. Sex is noted for its impact on society and culture as well as on Madonna herself, and is
considered a bold, post-feminist work of art. The book has since become one of the most sought-after out-of-print books ever released and still
remains the best and fastest-selling coffee table book of all time.
Beyoncé's BEYONCÉ (suprise visual album)
Developed as a simultaneous audio-visual medium, Beyoncé's songs are accompanied by non-linear short films that illustrate the musical concepts conceived during production.
Beyoncé was released digitally to the iTunes Store without prior announcement or promotion. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, earning Beyoncé her fifth consecutive number-one album in the country. The record sold 828,773 copies worldwide in its first three days of availability,
becoming the fastest-selling album in the history of the iTunes Store. It received rave reviews from critics who
praised its exploration of sexuality, production and Beyoncé's vocals. It was ranked as one of the best albums of the year and
described as one of the greatest albums of the decade.
The
surprising release caused "hilarious, honest and hysterical" reaction among Beyoncé's fans, and "shock" among other musicians.
Music journalists have noted that the album's release led to other artists adopting similar strategies, including Drake, D'Angelo, Azealia Banks, J. Cole and Kid Cudi. In September 2014,
Harvard University's Business School published a case study on the release strategy of the album which examines its difficult planning and execution, as well as its short-term and long-term impact.
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