If you think about all the big releases from last year, most of the ones which were called flops were really just the product of being overhyped. Everyone expected Artpop to be along the lines of 'Aura' and 'Stache' and a heavy EDM record with a political message like Born this Way. Gaga hyped it up so much, saying its some of her best work, the album was full of great tracks, and we waited for over a year to actually hear the songs. Then when people heard it they were all disappointed because nothing could have lived up to the hype we had in our heads. Same with Britney Jean. Her team promised us Blackout 2.0 but the final album was nothing like that, or Work Bitch. All of the collaborators they'd told us about were replaced so will.i.am could step in and there was no promo like we expected. As such that album is a flop as well. Meanwhile, Beyonce releases an album with absolutely no promo and after the hype for her new album had pretty much fizzled out. She slays, even though the album really isn't that good. Britney Jean and even Artpop are both much better pop albums, have stronger songs and are more cohesive. But because we weren't expecting anything from Beyonce, we took it as a present and loved it. So what do you think? Is hype killing the music industry? And if so, how can artists circumvent it without doing a Beyonce and having no promo, singles, music videos, interviews, or anything at all?