The Marketing Artistry Behind Rosalía's Ambitious Rollout for New Album, LUX:

Rosalía’s new album LUX – arranged in four movements and sung in 13 languages – arrived last week to near-universal acclaim. Pitchfork called it “classical pop that roars through genre, romance, and religion.” The single, “Berghain,” a collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra, showed that Rosalía is once again pushing the boundaries of what pop can be, creating something few artists attempt at her level of fame.

Whenever something this ambitious lands, it’s worth looking at the marketing artistry behind it. How did she end Taylor Swift’s Life of a Showgirl 35-day run as the most-streamed female artist on Spotify?

The Pre-Release Strategy
During Paris Fashion Week, Rosalía was photographed sitting alone at a café, studying a sheet of music. Fans zoomed in and speculated online. Weeks later, she shared her own sheet music, revealed as “Berghain,” exclusively on Substack. Musicians and fans around the world performed it on an array of instruments and posted their interpretations. It was a radical shift in fan engagement. Instead of teasing the song with a short clip, she gave her audience the tools to play it themselves. Each rendition became part of the album’s launch story.

The Launch
Then came the reveal. Billboards covered in baroque sheet music and the hidden face of Rosalia appeared in New York and Madrid. On October 20, she ran through the streets of Madrid and staged a blackout on Gran Vía that ended with a live countdown unveiling of the album cover. The reveal streamed across TikTok and Instagram, driving millions of impressions and turning a local stunt into a global moment.

Platform Mastery
Each digital platform had a unique storytelling purpose:

• Instagram: High-fashion photography from the Berghain shoot.

• TikTok: Short-form videos that have nothing to do with her album or her music. Just Rosalía being Rosalía.

• Substack: Sheet music and early insights that rewarded close followers.

• Twitter/X: She deleted her account on October 14 (!!)

Takeaway
Most artists market their albums like products. But Rosalía marketed LUX like scripture, full of religious iconography and spiritual overtones of self-discovery, making her fans co-creators of her launch story.