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Views From the 6 Drake !!!!!!!!

Marketing Team Ryan Carter

Grant Johnson Lexie Pritchard !April 18 2016 !!!!!

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!Contents

!Marketing Objectives !State of the Industry Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats !Project Facts Album Contact Release Schedule Track Listing !Background Information Albums Singles !Artist Biography !Exposure Overview !Social Media Evaluation !Retail !One Sheet !EPK for SoncBids !Press Releases !International !

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Marketing Overview !As the marketing team for Drake, we intend to not only promote the release of his upcoming album “Views from the 6”, but also maintain, sustain, and grow the hype surrounding this release. We also plan to remain adamant about the consistency of the OVO Sound brand and Drake’s relationship with his fans, while promoting true art and expression. !We will execute this through the release of “Views From the 6” on April 29th, 2016 exclusively to Apple Music for the first available week––then released to other streaming services on May 6th, 2016. We will not have a basic physical album package for sale, but we will have a limited special edition package. !This will be Drake’s 4th consecutive studio album, with a buzz of a new-developing sound, but a sound that rings true to what the album is supposed to represent: the roots and significance of Drake’s home and it’s symbolism of his growth as an artist. It is our mission to promote what this album represents as much as possible, to all corners of the world. !!—————————————————— !State of The Industry !Strengths When looking at Drake’s strengths, his dedicated fan-base come to mind first. His fans like to buy his merchandise, but they also consistently stream his music. !He has gained this strong fan-base through strong self-promotion skills and the current state of the industry, allowing him to be directly interactive online with his fans. Also, he has support from other high-profile artists and superstars who are never shy when showing their support on social media, another benefit of the growing online presence of the industry. Other support comes from his past acting experience, giving him access to different circles of people and gaining him respect from all types of artists in the entertainment industry. !His relationship with critics and fans is rare, considering that positive press is his strong suit. Pitchfork even gave him over an 8.0 on 3 of his albums, named 3 of his album “Best New Music” and “Best New Album” upon their release. Also, his pride and positive exploitation of his home in Toronto and his association with underground music has gained him respect among critics and fans alike. !

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USP: It’s the much-anticipated release of a new cluster of music within the genre only defined by Drake - the perfect blend between of R&B and soul foundations, a trap beat, emotional lyrics, and heavy rap. This is the culminating album of all elements that make Drake exactly who he is as an artist. Weakness!Overall, the state of the industry affects Drake’s marketing. With digital downloads and physical sales being down, it will affect revenue. In 2014, the industry’s global digital revenue increased 6.9%. For the first time, the industry derived the same proportion of revenues from digital channel (46%) as physical sales. !Looking at demographics, a downfall may be the generational and racial divide. This is a type of internal realism. Typically, his music appeals to a younger generation of black women and men. This means that the marketing and promotion may not reach certain groups of people, considering that the black community doesn’t see racial divide as a flaw, for they are the target audience. People who don’t like this genre or who don’t fall into the culture of people who relate to this type of music may not respond to his anticipated album release. !With this anticipated release comes a lot of room for error. This album has a lot of pressure built up around it and a lot of talk from Drake himself saying that this record will be the expression of a growing sound. This new sound may marginalize bandwagon fans from his core group of fans, making us ask ourselves, “how do you make something new and exciting without straying too far from the brand?” Opportunities With Drake having such a strong online presence, his success is linear to the growth of digital services. Also, we can see how Drake is such a progressive figure in the momentum of new streaming services with his exclusive partnership with Apple Music. This new outlet for listening to music and promoting an artist gives Drake an awesome opportunity to share his music with old and new fans. !With this also comes new funding available from his partnership with Apple Music. This is an extra source of revenue and the exposure he gains from this could lead to new partnerships and branding deals with different products, among his deals with T-Mobile and Virginia Black. Drake also has opportunities to perform at upcoming festivals. Alongside that, these upcoming festivals are introducing new technology incorporating virtual reality. This can open the door for so many fans to see his live concert experience, driving them to buy and listen to more of his music. !With the industry being so intersectional and overlapping, Drake’s multi-faceted empire with optimal outreach skills work in his favor to grant ultimate exposure. !Threats Drake is a major artist with a mastered niche that has been curating for years. This allows him to eliminate most threats, considering that his team is established and ready to maintain Drake’s

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high-profile status. This doesn’t prevent him from experiencing the industry changes, but he is overall more equipped to deal with them with a strong team holding him up. With physical sales being down, Drake will have to work harder to culminate digital sales. !From a marketing standpoint, the new releases in technology will work in Drake’s favor, providing new ways for his fans to experience his music. While other releases, such as Kanye and Future, may be threatening as a competitor with trending drop releases, they don’t truly tap into Drake’s established niche. That comfort will work in his favor as well. !—————————————————— !Project Facts !Album Title: Views From The 6 Arist: Drake Label: OVO Sound, Cash Money Records, Young Money Records, Universal Music Group Distribution: Republic Records !Contact: Oliver El-Khatib, Manager oliver@OVOSound.com !!Release Schedule !Apple Music Exclusivity April 29, 2016 - May 5, 2016 Spotify, Google Play Music, Deezer, Tidal May 6, 2016 Special Limited Edition Packaging May 6, 2016

!Track Listing !1. Paris Morton Music 3 2. Flow Through (feat. Popcaan) 3. Rep 4. One Dance (feat. Wizkid & Kyla) 5. One in a Million (feat. Kanye West) 6. Can I (feat. Beyonce) 7. 11 p.m. in Scarborough

8. Mind Over Matter (feat. Rick Ross and Future) 9. Pop Style (feat. The Throne) 11. Mercy 12. 2 Strategical 13. Crossed the Line 14. No Need feat. (Lil Wayne) 15. 6ix Lights

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Background Statistics !Albums !Thank Me Later Released: June 15, 2010 Formats: CD, digital download Sales; US: 1,800,000 Certifications; MC: Platinum, BPI: Gold, RIAA: Platinum !Take Care Released: November 15, 2011 Formats: CD, LP, digital download Sales; US: 2,260,000 Certification; MC: 2× Platinum, BPI: Gold, RIAA: 4× Platinum Nothing Was the Same Released: September 24, 2013 Formats: CD, digital download Sales; CAN: 108,000, UK: 120,000, US: 1,720,000 Certifications; MC: Platinum, ARIA: Gold, BPI: Gold, RIAA: 3× Platinum If You're Reading This It's Too Late Released: February 13, 2015 Formats: CD, digital download Sales; CAN: 89,000, UK: 120,000, US: 1,142,000 Certifications; MC: Platinum, BPI: Gold, RIAA: 2x Platinum What a Time to Be Alive (with Future) Released: September 20, 2015 Formats: CD, digital download Sales; US: 519,000 Certifications; RIAA: Platinum !!Singles !"0 to 100 / The Catch Up", 2014; Certified RIAA: Platinum- non-album single "Energy", 2014; Certified RIAA: 2× Platinum "Hotline Bling", 2015; Certified MC: Platinum, ARIA: 2× Platinum, BPI: Platinum, RIAA: 5× Platinum, RMNZ: Gold

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Overall Social Media Rankings (Source: Next Big Sound) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!Recent Social Media Rankings (Source: Next Big Sound) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Target Demographic !The ideal fan is from Greater London area of England or Toronto. He or She is African American and between 18 and 25 years old. He or she is active on Twitter and especially Instagram, but probably doesn’t care about Facebook that much. The ideal fan doesn’t buy music often, but he or she will stream it from a legal source and like to watch videos of the song.

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Artist Biography !Aubrey “Drake” Graham is a Grammy-Award winning, platinum-selling recording artist and multi-faceted entertainer. !Born in Toronto on October 24th, 1986, Drake is the son of Sandi and Dennis Graham, a drummer who worked with Jerry Lee Lewis. His father is African American, a native of Memphis, Tennessee and his mother is Jewish Canadian. Drake’s interest in performing began at an early age. From summers spent with his dad in Memphis, he gained an appreciation and understanding for music that would later influence the sound he would create in years to come. !Since first being recognized for his role on the highly-successful television series Degrassi: The Next Generation, and going on the road with rap star Lil Wayne after hearing Drake’s music in the summer of 2008, Drake has asserted himself as a trailblazer in the creative world. Drake released his mixtape So Far Gone in 2009 and his massive influence in the hip-hop and contemporary music space has commanded the market since, with no end in sight. Drake now holds the record for the most number one hits on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Chart. !!As The New York Times Jon Caramanica writes, “So it’s gone with Drake, hip-hop’s current center of gravity, his success a reminder of so many of the victories hip-hop has won in the last couple of decades: the right to be decadent, sure, but also the right to reimagine any style of music, the right to be emotionally complicated, the right to be unusual. He confounds expectations. He raps about soft things, sings about hard things. Thanks to his versatility, he is the glue that binds together all of urban radio.” !Drake has catapulted into stardom not only as an artist, but as a cultural maven with October’s Very Own. Sharing the story of the thriving music scene in Toronto, Drake has built out OVO from a small-scale blog about his crew to an all-encompassing lifestyle brand, including his clothing company, his record label OVOSOUND and his annual OVOFEST. !Drake has reached great heights in recent years and he continues to create and dominate the global market. As Drake says, “It’s about the experience. If the city isn’t talking about it five, six, seven days later, or if people don’t remember it for years to come, then I haven’t done my job…I’m going to find out what comes after this, but there’s definitely another evolution of Drake.” !—————————————————— !Exposure Overview Out of the top 10 on the maximum exposure list, three that would have an impact on album are a performance during the Grammy Awards Show, performance during the Super Bowl, and a performance on SNL. All three appeal to different audiences in a direct way. Performances on

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these platforms gives an audience a taste of what is on the album you’re promoting. It’s a very direct way to showcase what will be on your album. The Grammy Awards is a yearly showcase and award ceremony for the best music around the world. Performing during the Grammy awards gives an artist a stamp of approval from the highest musical standard and a platform to display their talents to music fans across the world. With the largest market audience, any artist that receives this honor is immediately talked about around the country. The Super bowl has become a cultural icon and the halftime performance itself is a spectacle inside of that. A performance on Saturday Night Live that has the potential to go viral can reach fans from every corner of the globe, with this come greater global market exposure and recognition. . These are the outlets that if used properly will push an artist into superstar status and beyond. !Drake’s core fans have proven they are willing to follow his every move so a subscription service could be integrated in the release of the album. Previous big name artists have released projects that were sponsored by brands outside the music industry such as Rihanna’s Anti album with Samsung, which Drake is a featured artist on. A sponsored streaming album release could be very successful if paired with the right sponsor. Drake already has brand affiliation to Apple Music with his weekly radio show, and the service is growing in its subscription numbers after his announcement of exclusive Apple Music streaming. Streaming is such a big component to the hip-hop genre and if Drake could execute it successfully, he would experience similar results as Samsung’s approach with Jay-Z. !—————————————————— !Retail !We plan to exploit the momentum of our Apple Music partnership and release Drake’s album exclusively to Apple Music before other platforms. After one week at Apple Music, we will release “Views From the 6” to multiple streaming services. !Kanye West’s release of Life of Pablo, has shown that a major album can be released without substantial physical sales. Given that Drake’s fan base’s preferred method of listening is streaming, we will not focus on physical sales. In order to capitalize on the top level of super fans, we will have a special edition of the album available. The Special Limited Edition Packaging included a limited pressing of white vinyl with gold lettering, liner notes written by Drake, and an OVO Sound polo and sports-cap. !The Special Limited Edition Packaging will be sold through the OVOSound website, and we are choosing not to release this album to major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy, nor web based stores like Amazon.com and iTunes. We understand the risk we are taking, but we believe that fans will not upset not fan base because they can stream it on their preferred service, the profit lost from lack of physical will be minimal and insignificant to our revenue, and we will benefit from the publicity this story will generate.

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Views From The 6Release: April 2016

Notable AchievementsA Grammy for Best Rap Album, and 27 Nominations

Eight BET Awards

Nominated for iHeartRadio Music Awards 2016 for the most meme-able moment

5 Juno Awards including Best New Artists and Best Rap Recording

Best Hip-Hop Video from MTV Video Music Awards 2014

GQ Man of the Year 2010

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo

Hal David Starlight Award for Songwriting

1. Paris Morton Music 32. Sound/Flow Through” feat.

Popcaan3. Rep4. One in a Million feat. Kanye

West5. Can I feat. Beyonce6. The Grace feat. Beyonce7. 11 p.m. in Scarborough8. Mind Over Matter feat. Rick

Ross and Future

9. Smeared feat. Justin Bieber10. Hotline Bling11. Mercy12. 2 Strategical13. Crossed the Line14. No Need feat. Lil Wayne15. 6ix Lights/You and the 616. The Vital17. Ending Sequence

Executive Producer: Noah "40" Shebib

OVO Sound Republic

ContactOliver El-Khatib, Manager

oliver@OVOSound.com

www.drakeofficial.com

SocialT: @Drake

FB: facebook.com/Drake

IG: @champagnepapi

“Drake doesn't sound like he wants to be remembered as one of the greats….he just is” - Rolling Stone

3 Best New Albums - Pitchfork

“With If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, Drake is giving a voice to the voiceless, spearheading Toronto as a mecca for creativity” - Pretty Much Amazing

“The album that best defines 2015” - Spin

“An affecting masterpiece” - NME

Drake, is a Grammy Winning R&B singer, rapper and actor from Toronto. Each of his three albums have topped charts worldwide. His 2015 mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late debuted at number one, while all 17 of its songs entered the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. His collaboration with Future What a Time to Be Alive, went straight to number one last September. With twelve number-one singles, Drake has more than any other artist on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart.

Drake

Social Media Evaluation !Drake has 5,093,489 twitter followers overall and it’s increasing consistently at about 2% each day. He received 189,356 followers just this week. He had 11,600 twitter mentions and 11,600 retweets just this week. Demographic wise, most of his twitter mentions actually come from the Greater London area of England in the past 30 days, as well as Toronto, Santa Monica Benford Park, Illinois, Houston, and Dallas. Overall, his twitter mentions usually comes from the United States. Drake performed best on Twitter, adding an average of 30,481 followers per day over the last 7 days, which is 12,705x the average growth for this network. As far as Instagram, Drake has 20,451,094 followers, gaining about 200,000 each week. He gets over 3 million likes per post and has 494,411,164 likes total as well as 9,878,448 comments. He also has over 34 million Facebook page likes total. When it comes to audience, his is pretty mixed. Younger people, ages 18-25 are the primary audience, but it is widespread. Since he is such a high profile artist, there really isn’t a division between who listens to his music and who doesn’t. Racially, his music is more common amongst African-Americans versus white people. !! Audience by Twitter !!!!!!!!! Top Countries Top Cities

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada !Choose one market outside of the U.S. where you think your artist will do well with their release. Provide a 2-3 paragraph overview explaining why you think your artist will find a receptive and engaged audience there. This should be based on research of how the artist’s releases have been received in previous years, concert reception in that region, or other past market data that supports your foreign market choice. !___ !It’s no secret that Drake takes pride in his roots of Toronto. While his album sales are strongest in the United States, his love and dedication to Canada is reflected, considering that Canada is the 3rd largest demographic of sales behind the UK and the US. According to Dake Bakula, Senior Vice President Analytics & Client Development at Nielsen Entertainment, for NPR, Take Care was released on November 15. It has already sold over a million albums: more than a million in the United States, and more than 100,000 in Canada. Roughly 40,000 of those sales have been in Toronto. As far as other sales, Nothing Was the Same sold 108,000 in Canada, 120,000 in the UK, and $1,720,000. Also, If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late sold 89,000 in Canada, 12,000 in the UK, and 1,142,000 in the US. Within Canada, Toronto's share of Drake's sales was roughly 40%. For the same type of major releases, Toronto is usually 15%-20% of total Canada While the UK is second in line in terms of sales, it doesn’t have the personal attachment or backstory that Toronto, Canada does. In 2006, he released “City Is Mine” referring to Toronto and yet, Canadian labels shunned him. "They thought that, just like any other Toronto rapper, he wasn't going nowhere," Kidd said. "Labels kinda gave up on hip-hop in Canada." said Rich Kidd, a Toronto producer and MC. "The overall vibe in the city is behind him," said Gavin Sheppard, the co-founder and executive director of the Remix Project, an incubator for Toronto youth in the arts. The Maple Leafs, Toronto's professional hockey team, listen to Drake during their practices. Also, The leading local urban commercial radio station, FLOW 93.5, plays Drake songs more frequently than just about any other artist. Sheppard said he works every day with 16- to 22-year-olds from poor neighborhoods, and they all like Drake. "These kids feel him, they support him," he said. "Some people say he ain't got the ghetto — he doesn't know what the ghetto feels. Well, he does. We're out there." Drake’s strong foundation in Toronto allows him to relate to a whole group of people in a way he can only do in Toronto. His support is strong there on a professional and personal level and we cannot match that in any other city. “He stands out because he’s so genuine about it. What’s the secret? That he doesn’t have to do it. But he did it anyway.” -CBC Radio host Matt Galloway http://pitchfork.com/features/article/9605-views-from-the-6-inside-drakes-toronto/ ! XIII. *Touring Give dates for touring period of the act (2-3 months). Format correctly.

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New York- June 11 Chicago- June 18 Las Vegas- June 25 Los Angeles- July 2 London- July 9 Paris- July 16 Toronto- July 30 !

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