R&B singer Tank had a public revelation and he sparred no expense in his rant. Tank stated, “I’m deeply saddened and disappoint (sic) that Stronger will not get a video or the continued promotion it deserves! I’d love to blame Atlantic Records but that would be a lie! It’s tough for record companies to continue to fund music that people don’t support.”
Tank has a right to be angry, he has a right to be disappointed, but pointing fingers at consumers is not the solution. Why some artists sell records and some don’t remains a mystery to everyone. Tank’s album, Stronger, released on August 12th, and only sold 16,621 copies in its first week.
Are album sales based on talent? No. Some artists sell millions of records and have very little or no talent. Is selling albums based solely on appearance? Of course not, beauty doesn’t always guarantee album sales.
Tank continued his rant by saying, “The artist that don’t give a (expletive) sale the most and do the most! Should that be my new route? Maybe I should have been born white then all of my music would go straight to mainstream and pop radio instead of urban ac… a format that continues to kill the true R&B artist!” Tank’s statement of ‘maybe I should have been born white’ is ridiculous. Come on Tank, let’s be real, race has nothing to do with it.
Do I need to name the plethora of wealthy black artists in the music business? Or better yet, I should name all the white artists who are struggling to sell albums too. If I had to analyze or take an educated guess why Tank isn’t as successful as he would hope, my guess would be that he lacks superstar quality.
A superstar is someone who stands out in a crowd, he or she has an aura that is hard to explain. But when a superstar simply walks in a room, the whole room stops and stares. The superstar demands and receives that kind of attention. Tank doesn’t posses that aura. He’s very talented but he’s not a showstopper. It’s not Tank’s fault; superstars are born that way. You can’t teach “superstar,” either you have it or you don’t.
Tank’s closing statement read, “please enjoy my last real R&B album Stronger cause you’ll never get another one!” Does that mean Tank is retiring? According to Tank, he’s not retiring from music. I may not agree with everything Tank said, but I somewhat understand where he is coming from. No matter what happens with Tank’s career, I support his music and other artists who are making music with substance.