Talk:If You're Reading This It's Too Late

Recording Locations
Organize the Studio locations. 216.181.154.198 (talk) 06:30, 11 February 2019 (UTC)

Mixtape or Album?
Is this a mixtape or an album, different news sites are saying different things & it currently says its an album on this page but it was under mixtapes on his discography. I think it should be called a mixtape but how will we decide.

GRosado 16:11, 13 February 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by GRosado (talk • contribs)
 * I personally think it's both considering the fact that OVO Sound (and all affiliates) personally refer to it as a mixtape, as do about half the news sites reporting. However, since it's on iTunes and directly list as being copyrighted by Cash Money, I believe it should also be considered his fourth album or at least his fourth with them. Edit: Spotify is calling it a mixtape as well. -- Bobit13 16:59, 13 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Drizzy just confirmed it as a mixtape on twitter -- Bobit13 06:24, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

Mixtapes aren't sold for 12.99 on iTunes. It's kind a rule, an identifier of sorts. If you sell it commercially, and especially if it is released by the record label, it's an album. Drake can call it a giraffe if he wants to, it doesn't change the facts surrounding the project's release. J-Rocnamsayin (talk) 14:47, 24 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Well, that would be original research. Seeing as reliable sources calls it both a mixtape and an album (with Billboard calling it both in the same article) and Drake calling it a mixtape, it appears it is called a mixtape in most cases. -- Joseph Prasad (talk) 09:07, 3 April 2015 (UTC)
 * It is not original research to refer to a commercial release of more than four songs as an album. Drake may consider it a mixtape, additionally, but that does not make it not an album by any widely-accepted definition.
 * I am familiar with the definition of mixtape in the hip-hop context being used here, but in researching this article I found that Wikipedia's coverage of the topic is rather vague and outdated. I would encourage anyone wishing to further this debate to instead devote their efforts to improving the relevant material.
 * I have updated the article's coverage of this discussion to reflect this common definition while still including the confusion and speculation regarding the release, and have removed a number of poor-quality and irrelevant citations. I have also edited all the poor grammar throughout the article, so I will be removing the attention-needed flag. --Walkersam (talk) 03:26, 10 May 2015 (UTC)
 * --One more Update-- I've just realized this same discussion is spread between several headings on this talk page, so I will be collating them. --Walkersam (talk) 03:51, 10 May 2015 (UTC)

So far, from what I've gathered, each of the labels involved with the album consider it a different type of work. Young Money considers it an EP, Cash Money considers it an album, OVO Sound considers it a mixtape, and Republic has yet to even acknowledge it as an official release under them. Bobit13 20:57, 13 February 2015 (UTC)
 * And Billboard in the same article (can't find it at the moment, will look) calls it both a mixtape and album, and other reliable sites have had it as example: Site 1 would say mixtape, Site 2 would say album, Drake himself calls it an album, I see it called mixtape in most cases. -- Joseph Prasad (talk) 09:09, 3 April 2015 (UTC)
 * In response to this argument, I've not been able to find evidence, either in the article's cited sources or elsewhere, that any label beyond Cash Money (who are listed on the official release) had anything to do with this project. I am aware of the relation between YME/CMR/Replublic/UMG, and between Drake and OVO, but that does not make any of them 'involved' parties nor authorities on this release, and in any case I've not seen any official materials from any which would clarify the issue. I also do not think it's standard practice for Republic to release materials regarding any particular release by their dozens of subsidiary labels. --Walkersam (talk) 03:51, 10 May 2015 (UTC)

I don't think it matters what type of information the labels communicates -- by pure definition this is an album; it consists of original songs, cleared and shipped to retail for monetization. It's an album. At this point we're just messing with the credibility of Wikipedia. DrizzyDrizz (talk) 19:30, 16 February 2015 (UTC)
 * That is original research, and the definition can be disputed, in real life, and on Wikipedia, same with the definition of anime. -- Joseph Prasad (talk) 09:11, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

There's no real evidence that the project should be considered a studio album, it's been cited as a mixtape by multiple sources, including Drake himself, what arguments do people have that this should be considered a mixtape?

I've thought of some counter-points people may contribute and I've already thought of responses:
 * "'Insert web article' referred to it as an album" - Yes, but just because an independent music blog or news source called the project an album does not make it so, referring to the sources cited on the article such as Consequence Of Sound and Business Insider. We should take precedent of Drakes classification of the album over an music blog.


 * "It charted on 'insert country' ALBUM chart" - Yes, but this means pretty much nothing, songs don't have to be singles to chart on the Hot 100, which is a singles chart, and mixtapes have charted before, understandably less high key, but Lil Wayne's mixtape Dedication 3 charted at 111 on the US album charts, and is still considered a mixtape.


 * "Mixtapes use other people's songs! This is all original material" - True in many cases yes, most notably, Lil Wayne loves to take beats of popular songs and make them his own for mixtapes, but plenty of mixtapes (In Case We Die, Iggy Azalea's two mixtapes, and Drake's own Room for Improvement are all original content, still mixtapes)

Onel5969, any thoughts? (Simply tagging you because you were the one to revert my edit citing the project as a mixtape, anyone else feel free to join the discussion)

Azealia911 (talk) 15:20, 21 April 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks - and glad to see you brought this to the talk page.  My reverts were based solely on the existing content of the article.  I think this issue, however, is addressed in the final sentence of the opening paragraph, which would give credence to why it might be considered an album (due to his contractual difficulties with his then current label).  Onel5969 (talk) 15:31, 21 April 2015 (UTC)
 * I do see why some may view it as an album, but I solely think it was commercially released to meet these contractual requirements with Cash Money, so by that I'd still continue to argue that it's simply a commercially released-mixtape. Things like this are hard to determine, but with the main artist classifying it as a mixtape on more than one occasion (which is pretty much the only reason I'm debating the point) I think it should be classed as such. Azealia911 (talk) 15:39, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

New development on the album/mixtape classification
The guy who runs Datpiff has just released a statement to HipHopDX stating that Cash Money is officially counting this towards Drake's contractual album requirements for them. Along with the fact it's received a full retail release, surely this should be classified as a studio album and not a mixtape? I Am Rufus  &bull;  Conversation is a beautiful thing.  19:11, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Note on Sales
In the article, the current sales of the album is pegged at 720,225. This is a number that includes sales determined based on streaming data, individual song sales etc. It was announced last year in December that SoundScan is going start using additional methods to count sales.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/business/media/billboard-changing-the-charts-will-count-streaming-services-.html?_r=0

Thus, sales can no longer be broken into 'pure' sales [physical and digital copies] because Soundscan is also counting additional sales towards the total, regardless. no point in posting sale of the album without the sales determined from other factors. As the saying goes, a sale is a sale is a sale.

Wreiad (talk) 07:00, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Charts on talk pages for redirects
Should any of the following tracks become eligible for articles of their own, see a stub draft / chart position on the talk page:

--- Another Believer ( Talk ) 17:24, 4 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Talk:6 Man
 * Talk:Now and Forever (Drake song)
 * Talk:Used To (song)
 * Talk:6 God
 * Talk:Preach (Drake song)
 * Talk:No Tellin'
 * Talk:Know Yourself (song)
 * Talk:10 Bands
 * Talk:Legend (Drake song)
 * Talk:Energy (Drake song)
 * If it can be made into more than just a stub, at least a C-class article, than yes. -- Joseph Prasad (talk) 09:04, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Writing credits
Why are musicians who didn't aid in the composition of the music credited as writers? They were only sampled so shouldn't their names be removed? Such as Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Eazy E etc. GRosado 16:33, 30 December 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by GRosado (talk • contribs)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.nme.com/reviews/drake/15948
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20161230202617/http://hitlisten.nu/top2016.asp to http://hitlisten.nu/top2016.asp

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 02:18, 9 April 2017 (UTC)

Why is it called “if youre reading this its too late”
why is the album called this 2600:387:0:902:0:0:0:26 (talk) 22:32, 13 March 2022 (UTC)

If your reading this we are dating
Love 2603:8000:6B3F:BFEF:3C18:8D18:71CA:9BCF (talk) 05:19, 16 May 2022 (UTC)

His last good project
iyrtitl > honestly, nevermind — Preceding unsigned comment added by DOMINATOR1000 (talk • contribs) 18:45, 19 June 2022 (UTC)