Esperanza Spalding: Exposure
In 2017, Grammy-winning artist Esperanza Spalding created an album in a way no one's ever done before.
changing the way albums are made
When Esperanza and I first started working together, many of our initial conversations were about how, in a time when people are putting up more walls than ever, we could take down the one between artist and audience.
After about eight months of brainstorming, the idea that tumbled out of this thought was Exposure, an album created entirely in front of a live audience on Facebook.
HOW IT Worked
Esperanza would live in the studio for three days, concepting, writing, recording and releasing an album without anything prepared.
It wouldn't just be an important achievement musically, but a defiant act in a time when the music industry was more polished, more over-produced, more photoshopped than ever.
After all, today's world has a way of teaching us that who we are is not good enough as it is. It tells us that we're better when we look our best. But the truth is, the creations that come from us are at their most powerful, at their most potent, the moment they surface.
HOW IT WENT
The end result was a little overwhelming.
Millions tuned in, many of them day and night. Some even calling in sick to work to be present start to finish.
When Esperanza counted down her last 10 seconds, she walked outside, and a huge crowd people were standing at the gates, most of them crying.
The event was covered by every major news outlet, including long profiles in the New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, et al.
And most importantly, the album sold out every available copy before it was even written.