Earlier today, Frank Ocean launched blonded Radio on Apple Music’s Beats 1. So fans were shocked when Ocean’s surprise guest was none other than TIDAL owner and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Jay Z.
Hova, one of the most celebrated artists of all time, appeared on the show in snippets, talking about the music business and the state of modern radio.
“Radio, for instance, is pretty much an advertisement model,” he said in one clip. “You take these pop stations. They’re reaching 18-34 young white female, so they’re playing music based on those tastes. They’re taking those numbers and going to advertising agencies. People are paying numbers based on the audience they have. These places are not even based on music. Their playlists are not based on music. A person like Bob Marley, right now, probably wouldn’t play on the pop station, which is crazy. It’s not even about the DJ discovering what music is best.”
In another clip, Jigga continued to talk about the effects of traditional music business models on artistry, seemingly praising Ocean for going independent.
“There should be a better way that music, musicians, radio, and these things that are supposed to be instruments for the arts, should exist and it shouldn’t be about advertisements,” he said. “The more times someone like yourself can bypass that, it’s better for the arts, and it’s better for the audience because you have to have a level of discipline and a belief to put music out in this place. People want to shoot for that and then they’re making music that’s not really conditioned to who they are so they can reach a certain platform.”
Frank and Jay have had a strong relationship for years. The two collaborated on songs like “No Church in the Wild,” “Oceans,” and “Made in America.”
Recently, Jay Z sold a 33 percent stake of TIDAL to Sprint for an unconfirmed sum. He also launched a venture capital fund with Roc Nation co-founder Jay Brown. On top of all of this, he and his wife Beyoncé are expecting twins and he is reportedly working on his own new album, expected this year.