Jay Z and Beyonce Close Down the Louvre to Make a Video

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Ah, few people in this world have the power to close down an entire museum, much less the Louvre, only to shoot a video. Who could do such a thing? Well, Beyonce and Jay Z, a very rich pair of people. Not only a pair of people, but partners in life, who have been together since 2008, married with 3 children.

They are very popular, with plenty of successful albums and singles on both sides. In 2018 they released a video of their song called Apeshit. This is following the release of their album Love is Everything. Yes, the two of them are in a band, actually a duo, called the Carters, which is their last name.

Apeshit – The Song Itself

The song called Apeshit, or rather Apes**t, as it is on sensitive social media sites, is simply a song about how great they are, how powerful they became and how grateful they are for having an audience which goes apeshit. The song is a typical trap song, with heavy use of auto-tune, something which is dearly popular in this day and age. The song is criticized for the use of it, and for Beyonce jumping on the trap bandwagon. The song was not only co-produced by Pharrell Williams, but also co-written.

The Louvre Going Apeshit

The Louvre is, contrary to popular belief, a common place for shooting music videos and similar footages. They even have a document which lists the pricing of using the Louvre for such events. Their most likely price of shooting the video was around 10000 euros.

The video itself shows them performing around famous monuments and paintings like the Mona Lisa, or the Consecration of The Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of Empress Josephine. This is in line with their lyrics, which are about success and money. But, they are also critical of the colonial era and colonialism, flaunting their money in front of such paintings, standing up for their ancestors, with both the song and their success.

The video was very well received, now sitting at 156 million views. It was released simultaneously with the album, on June 16.

The Aftermath

The aftermath of such a video is not only great for Beyonce and Jay Z, the Carters, but also for the museum itself. The Louvre got a staggering 25% increase in annual visitors. Their annual count at the end of 2018 was 10,3 million visitors, which is the new record, breaking the previous one from 2012. The museum benefited from such a music video, which is evident in the increased number of visitor count, 50% of which were under 30.

The Louvre organized a special tour for the visitors who watched the video, visitors who wanted to see all the paintings and artwork that were shown in the video. Because the special tour was so successful, the permanent collection which was used in the video got the branding of “cool”, according to the thoughts of a museum worker.

Being rich and famous has its benefits, especially if you want to turn the attention of the youth towards history and museums. The Carters knew what they were doing, something which ended up benefiting them, the museum itself and a whole lot of other people who went to the Louvre after watching the video.