Kreayshawn's rapid emergence and major label signing included the involvement of a whole team in her seemingly fairy tale rise. I spoke with Audible Treat team members who shared the process of helping Kreayshawn take Gucci Gucci to viral fame and a shot at major label success.
Gavin Rhodes, Michelle McDevitt and Dan Friedman of Audible Treats, based in Brooklyn, discussed their involvement with Kreayshawn which began via her Bay Area manager Stretch. He also brought in Eyes & Ears for graphic design and web development.
Audible Treats began working with Kreayshawn in March. She had mostly appeared behind-the-scenes in such roles as video director and her first public performance was at Audible Treats/Prefix Mag's SXSW Showcase. At SXSW she met a variety of "influential writers, bloggers, and other artists."
In April, Audible Treats began spreading the word to key influencers via the mp3 for "Gucci Gucci" and the video for "Bumpin Bumpin." They followed with Kreayshawn's first New York performance opening for Bay Area rappers Andre Nickatina and Roach Gigz.
On May 17th, The Fader debuted "Gucci Gucci" and the video received approximately 100k views in the first 24 hours with over a million in 8 days. Audible Treats received calls from A&R's all over the country. Several more influencer sites came on board early in the campaign including Complex and GQ.
From late May to early June, "video goes viral, receives almost 2 million views. Song is played on key radio stations in LA and SF…through her manager's connections. Major label bidding war begins."
On June 8th, Kreayshawn signs with Columbia Records.
Audible Treats continues to work with Kreayshawn as she builds to her debut album. Getting to this point took a small team with solid connections that worked to maximize the effects of Kreayshawn's talent and appeal while recognizing that timing and luck were with them.
Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith is a freelance writer and blogger. He is currently relaunching Flux Research to pursue his long-standing obsession with web business models. To suggest music services and related topics for review at Hypebot, please contact:
clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
