A few weeks ago I was live on BBC Radio London reading the papers with the sunlight that is broadcaster Jacqueline Shepherd.
As we picked through the stories, I took my career in my hands and picked the news stories around the release of ‘Yonce’s album cover as people fawned over the Queen Bey on a horse. I then risked life and limb by asking London “Do we even still care?”
Here’s the thing. I’ve enjoyed Beyonce for years like many have. Her live show on Netflix is my go-to when I need a boost of creativity, inspiration and ‘f**k you, pay me’ energy. She has consistently produced anthemic records to be sung shouted. However, in a world that now is so driven by personal connection, Beyonce is sorely lagging behind.
Now I’m old enough to remember a time where access to artists were limited to carefully curated interviews in magazines and I believe Beyonce is (successfully) trying to set boundaries with her audience. However, in the process I believe she’s losing that connection with her audience.
Now known for only posting images and videos with limited, if any, captions, it’s hard (for me at least) to connect with the Queen, losing the opportunity to understand the person behind the music.
I’m use to read the messages in cassette and CD album sleeves to learn more about the process to create the album and who they wanted to acknowledge. Streaming removed this opportunity.
It’s quite possible that the dawn of social media people can feel a little over exposed and to be quite fair Bey owes us nothing, not even the art. However, in any brand connection is so important.
