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Ryan Leslie Sold Out Of $5,000 Albums In Less Than 24 Hours

This article is more than 8 years old.

For the release of his lifetime concept album MZRT, Ryan Leslie partnered up with Gumroad -- a direct-to-consumer selling platform that Eminem has also notably used to distribute material straight to fans. Leslie's concept was developed with the assistance of Fancy.com CEO, Joe Einhorn, programming the website himself in a day.

As Ryan discussed in part one of our interview, a select list of 1,000 fans were able to pledge between $1-$1,000 per song, on a monthly or annual recurrence. Supporters who claim a slot join the MZRT.life Music Club, wherein they receive varying levels of access to music, merchandise, performances and exclusive experiences.

Currently, over 2,100 people are on the waiting list to join the Music Club.

As an addition to the original release, Leslie announced the sale of four July 4th Edition albums. Each album was individually priced at $5,000, all of which sold out in less than 24 hours. Each supporter who pledged to purchase the special edition album was invited to celebrate on a private jet ride with Ryan as an appreciation.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Leslie

“How does a million dollars sound to a creator,” Leslie stated. “To most creators — to 97-99% — it sounds like a pipe dream. If you come and sit at my roundtable, I can show you how to get there with a small fraction of what you would need if you went with any other label.”

The combination of authenticity, added value, and consistency is what gives brands the ability to build growing communities of people who champion their products, messaging, and ideas.

With the sales pitch of every advertising agency emphasizing the importance of creating content, campaigns and experiences rooted in real human connections – the formula for getting audiences to evangelize your brand is less about persuasion, and more about real relationship building.

Understanding this, more creators, brands and digital marketers are experimenting with mobile direct-to-consumer strategies. Yet, while they are testing out this impactful and profitable approach, Ryan Leslie has been perfecting it.

Using a product called the Super Phone, he is able to keep track of an elaborate list of contacts expanding across the globe, both communicating and distributing to them directly.

The Super Phone is powered by his mobile app, Disruptive Multimedia, which empowers creators to take full control of their business. Creators distribute material straight to supporters, all of which pledge to pay a specific amount per piece of content released.

Watch the first installment of our conversation in full here.

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