Beyoncé: The Iconic Success and Business Acumen of Queen Bey

On the giant screen, seven capital letters: B E Y O N C E. The public of a packed Stade de France exults. In the VIP square, Selena Gomez, Kris and Kylie Jenner or even Lenny Kravitz. And outside, ticketless fans gathered around the gates applaud at the sound of this long-awaited show. Queen Bey arrives in a dress as slinky as it is shiny and resounds her powerful voice in the arena. This Renaissance World Tour will be historic.

Fifty-seven shows worldwide, all filled to the brim in a flash. It took 45 minutes to overcome the French date. A rush towards the queen of R’n’B, despite exorbitant ticket prices: up to 3,000 euros in Paris for the right to be seated… on the stage! Add to that exclusive and excessive merchandising – 55 euros for a t-shirt, 105 for a tracksuit, 115 for a sweatshirt. A salty note, well above the prices charged by his singing comrades. Result of the races, according to the estimates of specialists, the tour could generate up to 2.4 billion dollars. An absolute record.

The Times named Beyoncé Knowles Carter the most influential woman in the world in 2014. Forbes, which has installed it in a ranking of the same type for years, estimates its fortune at 540 million dollars. Very far, however, from that of his dear and tender Jay-Z, the first billionaire rapper in history, who would have doubled his jackpot last year and would now be sitting on 2.5 billion dollars. This is why, like others are going to buy a dress, the power couple has just paid cash for the most expensive house in California, a concrete jewel of 3000 square meters signed Tadao Ando, ​​at 200 million dollars.

The “modest” property will serve as their “pied-à-terre for the weekend”, the Carters preferring their Bel Air estate, acquired in 2017 for an equally indecent sum. Beyoncé has business acumen. Real estate has no secrets for her, nor stock market investments. When the founders of a young ride-hailing company called Uber offered her $6 million to perform at a corporate gala in Las Vegas, she asked to be paid in stock. Smart, the investment.

A childhood on stage

But above all, Beyoncé has the art and the way of mastering her image. A family heritage: her mother, Celestine Beyoncé, was a talented stylist and seamstress. Sensing a certain artistic flair in her daughter, she enrolls her, tall as three apples, in dance lessons. For the anecdote, it is his teacher who, hearing him hum, detects his extraordinary vocal abilities.

From the age of 10, Beyoncé joined a group formed by a music producer with the ambition of making them win a telecrochet. The Girl’s Tyme will be out of the competition very quickly. The fault with a bad choice of song, according to Beyoncé, who already displays a sacred character. But the parents of the little one cling, her father even goes so far as to drop his job as a salesman of medical equipment in order to concentrate on the career of his daughter. And it paid off: after a quick stint in the Metallica and Doors record company, the girl and her girlfriends signed with Columbia Records. Destiny’s Child was born.

From its first notes to its separation, the trio will be dressed by Celestine. And mom has an eye. His trendy looks, typical of the early 2000s, will inspire a whole generation. Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams are sexy without ever falling into vulgarity. And don’t hesitate to send meaningful messages. It’s out of the question to be one of those girl bands who move only for the pleasure of the eyes, on lyrics without substance. They write their songs, make their decisions.

Faced with her forgotten comrades at the end of the ball, Beyoncé is already drawing the outlines of the one she aims to become: Queen Bey, the woman of all records, the voice of all minorities, the committed superwoman who never lets go of orders. “Every detail is intentional,” she says in Homecomingthe first of three documentaries commissioned by Netflix (for the whopping $60 million), which she wrote, produced and directed.

Each of his speeches is thoughtful, each public appearance thought out. Her concerts are played on a meticulous score that she designs herself, from the choice of dancers to the intensity of the lighting, including the height and shape of the sets. No hair should dare stick out.

The singer also disappears several times – six times on the Renaissance World Tour – so as not to let an unfortunate trace of mascara or a drop of sweat spoil the party. And while most of the artists wear the same stage outfits throughout their tour, she provides a complete 100% couture dressing room at each appointment. An electric blue dress and a blood red Off-White jumpsuit in London, a Valentino mermaid outfit in Brussels, a Balmain sequined bodysuit in Stockholm…

To see her in Loewe and Courrèges, in particular, the Parisian public had to wait long minutes filled with videos of the star moving in slow motion on a huge screen, broadcasting a committed speech. “Anyone who controls the media controls the minds,” it read. False: Only Beyoncé controls Beyoncé. And for the interpreter of Single Ladies, scandal is not an option. Something to reassure the brands, many of which have chosen her as their muse, from Pepsi to L’Oréal.

The latest robbery, the Carters, husband and wife, have become the faces of Tiffany & Co. A scintillating publicity stunt that allows Audrey Hepburn’s favorite jeweler to boost its sales volume. And the couple to succeed in a royal entry into the large LVMH family where Rihanna and Pharrell Williams were already enthroned.

Successes… and failures

But Beyoncé also knows how to take risks, and has sometimes paid a high price. In 2016, when launching her sportswear brand Ivy Park, she teamed up with Sir Philip Green, then owner of Topshop. The agreement provides for the shares to be divided equally, but the marriage breaks down and, barely two years later, the divorce is pronounced. The Houston native retains control of the brand and turns to Adidas. The German firm sees an unexpected opportunity to imitate Puma. The merger with Fenty, Rihanna’s brand, which began in 2015, had indeed boosted sales of women’s sneakers by 40%. Adidas promises $20 million a year to Beyoncé.

Only the addition will turn out to be much higher. Some members of the management criticize the star for going it alone and are annoyed that the three stripes logo is reduced to a Lilliputian scale on the Ivy Park pieces. Which would probably have remained a detail if the alliance had been a commercial success.

Alas, according to Wall Street Journal, sales remained well below expectations and even fell by more than 50% last year, leaving a gaping hole of 200 million dollars in the group’s figures. We have to believe that a known name, even Beyoncé, is not enough to seduce the customer… The German giant, already suffering the brunt of the fiasco of its aborted partnership with Kanye West, preferred to end its contract with M^rs Carter, who should have run until the end of 2023.

Except we don’t leave Beyoncé in a corner. Immediately after the announcement, the Queen unveiled a new collaboration, this time with Balmain. The house, worn by Olivier Rousteing, has designed, hand in hand with its stylist, a look that matches each of the 16 songs from its latest album, Renaissance. A genius marketing operation that allowed Beyoncé to remind everyone that she is the only female artist to have seen each of her records climb directly to the top of the American charts.

This incredible record did not prevent her from taking care of her three toddlers, the twins Sir and Rumi, born in 2017, and Blue Ivy, 11 years old. The kid accompanies him and dances alongside him during his tour. She too recently made headlines by bidding up to $80,000 for a pair of diamond earrings. In 2011, Beyoncé in Run the World asked: “Who rules the world? One thing is certain, for more than 20 years, in the realm of the music industry, it has been the Knowles-Carter.