Post Malone has been on a musical journey for most of his career, cycling through releases that have spanned hip-hop, pop, rock and alternative in recent years. And in his latest release, F-1 Trisshifted focus again — this time to country, releasing an album full of top-tier collaborators such as Morgan Wallen, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton and Hank Williams, Jr., among many others. And the result was one of the high points of his career: embraced by the Nashville community, Post delivered an album that became his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in five years, and his first Country Albums No. 1 , racked up 250,000 equivalent album units this week.
But it wasn't easy—the feat was the result of years of work to fit into the sometimes insular world of Nashville, with its entrenched traditions and long-standing customs. But Post was willing to do the work, making appearances at the ACM Awards, CMA Fest, the Grand Ole Opry and the Bluebird Cafe, all staples of the Music City circuit, while his list of writers and collaborators profile is proof of the hug that he was able to achieve. And with his top hit F-1 Trishis record label Mercury Records' Executive vp Alex Kosloff it is Bulletin board's Executive of the Week.
Here, Coslov discusses the work of Mercury — who has a deal with Big Loud Records for Wallen, and also has 2024 Best New Artist Grammy nominee Noah Kahan on the roster — on the Post album, as well as the four albums by Post , Wallen and Kahan which are in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 this week. “Mercury Records is a place where we support the vision of our artists and are passionate and committed to every artist we work with,” says Coslov. “We are a tight-knit team that understands what it takes for an artist to break through in today's climate, while recognizing that our strategies must constantly change and evolve.”
This week, Post Malone's F-1 Tris debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 250,000 units, his third No. 1 and his first in five years. What key decisions did you make to help make this happen?
First and foremost, we have an amazing team at Mercury Records led by the president Tyler Arnold and GM Ben Adelson. Much credit must go to my partner in crime Tyler Arnold, who signed the Post almost 10 years ago. When we started talking about F-1 Triswas already spearheading the music and set the target we needed to make a statement with this album bringing Post back to No.1.
Together with the Post management team, we have collaboratively shaped it F-1 Tris plan. Our core strategy was built around authenticating Post's entry into country music by highlighting his time in Nashville while writing and recording this album with an incredible list of collaborators, old and new. We created a world of Post Malone's Nashville centered around the music through key moments curated to appeal to his current fan base while respectfully winning over new country music fans. Post's performance of “America The Beautiful” at the Super Bowl was a great start, but then things like the writers' round at the historic Bluebird Cafe, his Grand Ole Opry debut, the ACM Awards performance, the CMA Fest moments , superfan the underplay, etc. all helped drive it home. All of these moments were captured by our partners at Trenches, which we then used for strategic content and social moments.
The Republic Corps was also instrumental, with officers such as Jim Ropo, Gary Spangler and our CRO, Kevin Lipsonworking with us. Kevin's commercial team is the best in the business and is absolutely integral to reaching the 250,000 number with innovative strategies, natural music experience, incredible partner relationships and a relentless idea of how to achieve our goals.
Post put a second, lavish part on the album with nine additional songs, all solo, hours after the main album. What is the strategy behind this? Is there any trade-off with putting out so much material at once?
Post had so much fun writing and recording this album with his key collaborators – the geniuses Louis Bell and Charlie Handsome — that he wanted to work until he stopped so that we could deliver the album. The collaborations were great, but the solo songs were honestly fantastic. Knowing we had them in our back pocket, we wanted to give fans a surprise and time to fully enjoy both. It also showed that Post could carry any country song on his own.
Most notably, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Hot Country Albums chart, matching his first entry there for his first country album. What was the most important thing about this shift to the country that you had to get right?
Our main priority for this project has always been, how do we respect the country culture and Nashville as much as possible? From the first meeting with the Post management team, we agreed how important it was for all of us, including the Post, to align as much as possible with the Nashville community. Post is a prolific songwriter and country music historian, so embracing him meant a lot to him. In many ways, Nashville has become a new home for Post, so these moments certainly aren't over just because the album is out.
Post's recent albums have included hip-hop, rock, alternative and pop. What is different about the country genre and how did you have to move differently for this release? And what have you learned from working with Big Loud that might have helped you?
Seth England and Big Loud have been incredible partners and advisors throughout this process as well. It goes without saying that their promotion executive, Stacy Blytheand her team has been crushing it with historic country radio stats with “I Had Some Help” and “Pour Me A Drink” (currently Top 10) and “Guy For That” climbing the Country Airplay chart right now .
Between this Post Malone album and albums by Morgan Wallen and Noah Kahan, Mercury artists have four of the top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 this week. How did you manage to achieve this in such a short time?
Mercury Records is a place where we support the vision of our artists and are passionate and committed to every artist we work with. We are a tight-knit team that understands what it takes for an artist to break through in today's climate, while recognizing that our strategies must constantly change and evolve. We are invested in building long-term trust and relationships with our artists throughout their careers.
The Wallen and Kahan albums in particular have been stuck at the top of the charts for a long time, which has been happening more and more lately. Why do you think big albums have such staying power these days and how do you continue to fuel their continued success?
Morgan builds unparalleled works that combine his powerful voice, unique sense of melody with some of the best songwriting of the modern era and the excellent production of collaborator/producer Big Loud Joey Moi. The seemingly endless stream of singles from both Dangerous: The Double Album and One thing at a time it's a testament to Morgan's musical prowess — he hears things no one else does. Major credit to our partners for Morgan, Seth England and his team at Big Loud, who lead his campaigns and have been instrumental in the historic success of the last five years.
With Noah, he's really built a world around him Stick Season album and fans relate to and feel seen by his lyrics. The personal connection his fans feel is beyond special and like nothing I've ever seen. THE Season Stick (Forever) The collaborations only added to the excitement of fans by highlighting Noah as an artist. The outpouring of support from his peers led to even more discovery, engagement and critical acclaim.
