Travis Scott schools the music biz in experiential marketing

As far as marketing rollouts go, this one sets a new record.

A 10-minute performance by Travis Scott in Fortnite has received rave reviews from players, with 12.3 million concurrent viewers on Friday.

That’s well over two million more than Marshmello pulled last year, a true indicator of Scott’s star power and the platform’s popularity during the lockdown.

A video posted on his YouTube channel offers a glimpse inside the event, although reports suggest the in-game experience was “considerably more interactive”.

Over 12.3 million concurrent players participated live in Travis Scott's Astronomical, an all-time record!

Catch an encore performance before the tour ends: https://t.co/D7cfd2Vxcc

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) April 24, 2020

Scott used the opportunity to launch a new collaboration with Kid Cudi, playing a snippet of ‘The Scotts’ during the stream and sending fans into a frenzy.

The track was produced by Daytrip, Dot Da Genius and Plain Pat with co-production by Scott and Mike Dean, and follows his Billboard #1 Jackboys pack.

The Texas-born rapper is no stranger to experiential marketing.

From his Astroworld tour to the launch of his Astroworld Festival, Scott continues to find innovative ways to push the boundaries and connect with new audiences.

Prior to the single arriving on streaming platforms on Friday afternoon, his fans could purchase ‘The Scotts’ on vinyl, cassette, CD and other formats via D2C.

Rolling Stone writer Charles Holmes, who attended the spectacle, received an email immediately after to find “a $65 Travis Scott x Fortnite Nerf gun was for sale next to a $75 action figure”.

In lieu of an official clip, label Epic Records has released four videos in line with the track.

There are two lyric videos, the pseudo video, and video using Fortnite footage with the full version of the track, which was already trending at #3 on YouTube in Australia by Sunday.

The build-up to Scott’s Fortnite concert propelled his hits back into the Spotify charts around the world last week, with six records reentering the Spotify Global Top 200.

According to Alpha Data, Scott ‘s streams increased by 26%, with some previous hits like ‘Stagazing’ jumping over 50% ahead of the Fortnite show.

Afterwards, he was trending on Twitter around the world, including in Australia.

The album Astroworld debuted at #1 in Australia and recent single ‘Highest in the Room’ at #3.