Beyoncé stopped the world when she dropped her self-titled album on Dec. 13, 2013.
The legendary entertainer arguably changed the music industry forever, and the moment is still talked about today.
The release of “Beyoncé” is a time in music history when everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when the album magically appeared on iTunes in the wee hours of the night — long before there were platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, or TIDAL in place.
What’s more, she dropped the album during a time when people still had to purchase them, whether digitally or physically, and in an era when music promotion was vital.
“I was terrified and I already envisioned, like, the worst things that could happen. ‘People are gonna hate it. Why didn’t I say anything?’ It’s just all things that we go through. It’s just human,” Beyoncé explained in a resurfaced clip shared to TikTok. “I was just really nervous because this was a huge risk. When I landed, I saw it actually live on iTunes and, you know, you’re just waiting for the first comment. The next morning I just was… thank you, Lord Jesus.”
@virgos.groove Happy 9th anniversary to Self-Titled 💕 #beyonce #beyhive #viral #renaissance #cuffit #breakmysoul #aliensuperstar #beyonceknowles #beyonceselftitled ♬ CUFF IT – Beyoncé
“It was just a lot of craziness we went through,” the “Love On Top” songstress admitted in the clip.
Launching Parkwood Entertainment
Furthermore, this was Beyoncé’s second musical release under her own Parkwood Entertainment, an entertainment and management company.
2. Creative control on future albums
Beyoncé released four albums with Parkwood: 4, Beyoncé, Lemonade, and Renaissance.
She owns her masters for all four and changed the game with the digital drop in 2013. Those albums had much stronger themes of Black empowerment and feminism.
— Dan Runcie (@RuncieDan) September 28, 2022
According to its LinkedIn page, the company launched in 2010. However, its first project was “Cadillac Records,” which was released under the name Parkwood Pictures, in 2008. Beyoncé starred as renowned soul singer Etta James, and she also co-produced the film.
Since then, Parkwood has expanded and had multiple projects under its belt.
Today, “the company houses departments in music and video production, management, marketing, digital, creative, philanthropy, publicity and a newly formed record label, Parkwood Music.”
“I started my own company and my father taught me so, so much,” Beyoncé explained in the clip. “When I decided to manage myself, it was important that I didn’t go to some big management company. I felt like I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Madonna and be my own powerhouse and have my own empire and show other women when you get to this point in your career, you don’t have to go sign with someone else and share your money and your success.”
She continued: “You do it yourself. So, I found a team of underdogs. A team of women. A team of people who no one believed in, and we stayed up all night and we were progressive and we didn’t follow the rules and we said, ‘Why can’t we do it?’”
How Much Is The Company Worth?
As previously reported by AfroTech, Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment is said to generate around $12 million in revenue per year.
With that in mind, it may be safe to say she is living out her dreams of having her own empire while continuing to surpass music industry standards.
