Linkin Park’s Streams, Sales Jump After Reunion & New Single
Written by djfrosty on September 10, 2024
Attention for Linkin Park’s catalog has soared following the release of the rockers’ comeback single “The Emptiness Machine” on Sept. 5.
On Sept. 6, the first full day for U.S. streams after “The Emptiness Machine” premiered at 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 5 and following a multi-song concert and livestream introducing new band members Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain, Linkin Park’s catalog earned 11.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to initial reports to Luminate.
That’s a 71% gain in streams over Sept. 5, which saw the band rack up 6.9 million streams. And it’s a 103% leap over Sept. 4, the day before the new song, livestream and album/tour announcement, when the band accrued 5.8 million streams.
Attention around Linkin Park’s catalog continued into the weekend, when the overall count was 10.1 million streams on Sept. 7, 14% down from Sept. 6. Its streaming sum on Sept. 6-7 was 21.8 million, nearly as much as the preceding four days (Sept. 2-5), during which period the band accumulated 22.8 million listens.
Of course, a not-insignificant chunk of those streams on Sept. 5-7 is from “The Emptiness Machine” itself; after a partial Sept. 5 of 680,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, the song received 2.8 million on Sept. 6, followed by 1.9 million on Sept. 7.
Removing “The Emptiness Machine” from the equation, the band’s pre-Armstrong and -Brittain catalog still sports meaningful movement: 9 million streams Sept. 6, up 46% from Sept. 5 (6.2 million) and 55% from Sept. 4 (5.8 million). On Sept. 7, its music earned 8.2 million streams, down 9% from Sept. 6, and its two-day count (17.2 million) nearly outpaced the preceding three days (Sept. 3-5, 17.5 million).
“Numb” is the most-streamed song of the group in the measured time frame. It received 858,000 official U.S. streams on Sept. 6, up 25% from Sept. 5 (689,000) and up 30% from Sept. 4 (662,000). On Sept. 7, it added another 851,000 streams. “Numb” is one of 12 No. 1s for Linkin Park on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart, reigning for 12 weeks beginning in late 2003. It also peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100 in March 2004.
There’s interest in purchasing music from Linkin Park’s catalog past and present, too. On Sept. 5, digital song sales of the band’s output totaled 2,000 downloads, with 1,000 from “The Emptiness Machine.” On Sept. 6, that number swelled to 4,000 (2,000 from “The Emptiness Machine”), followed by another 4,000 on Sept. 7 (2,000 again from the new single).
As for digital album sales, the band sold 1,000 copies Sept. 5-7 across its entire catalog, a 791% leap from the previous three-day period (Sept. 2-4).
Myriad chart activity for Linkin Park will occur on the Sept. 21-dated Billboard rankings, which includes consumption from Sept. 6 to 12. That includes first-full-week numbers for “The Emptiness Machine,” which is challenging for strong starts on the Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay surveys after debuting at No. 24 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay list dated Sept. 14 after just one day of data, as previously reported. Its aforementioned stream and sales count was also enough for a No. 7 premiere on the multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs tally.
From Zero, Linkin Park’s eighth studio album, is due Nov. 15, the six-piece’s first release since 2017’s One More Light. Singer Armstrong and drummer Brittain join the band after the 2017 death of co-frontman Chester Bennington as well as the departure of longtime drummer Rob Bourdon this year.