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26 Jul 2023

Billboard’s Fan Army Face-Off Enter Quarterfinals | Billboard News

The 2023 Billboard Fan Army Face-Off is at a fever pitch. Billboard’s annual Fan Army showdown sees 64 artists’ fan armies enter the battle fray to find out – whose fanbase is strongest? Those fan armies made their voices heard throughout the week, and when all was said and done, an Elite Eight — made up of the fan armies for Cardi B, EXO, Selena Gomez, Nicki Minaj, SB19, SEVENTEEN, Shakira and TWICE — emerged victorious to compete in the Quarterfinals, which began July 26 at noon ET.

Tetris Kelly:
Y’all have been voting and we’ve been counting them. Now, Billboard’s Fan Army Face-off is heading into the quarterfinals, and you aren’t going to believe some of these matchups.

After besting Jack Harlow and RiRi’s Navy, the Barbs said “Miley, what’s good?” and sent Nicki Minaj to the quarterfinals. And their opponent, none other than Bardi Gang. Cardi beat out BTS and her partner in “WAP,” Megan Thee Stallion, giving stan Twitter the matchup they’ve been fighting over for ages.

In our next face-off, the Little Monsters and Arianators were no match for SEVENTEEN’S CARATs. But can they beat out Selena Gomez’s fans, who helped take out her ex and her bestie?

SEVENTEEN aren’t the only K-pop boys to make the top eight: EXO bested Kim Petras to be matched with Filipino boy band SB19, who’s already surpassed Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey.

And in our last bracket, Shakira is repping for the Latin artists, after taking down a tough opponent in TXT. She’ll face off with TWICE, who’s bringing the girl power after knocking out ENHYPEN’s ENGENEs who bested the BLINKS.

These eight will duke it out to become the ultimate fandom, a title that went to Stray Kids last year.

Stray Kids:
“We’re really thankful, it’s really touching! Yeah!”

Starting tomorrow, we’ll be breaking down each quarter-final matchup in detail. Who’s got your vote?

Watch the full video above!

25 Jul 2023

Spotify Revenues Rise 11% on Larger Than Expected Subscriber Growth in Q2

Spotify reported its revenues rose 11% for the second quarter as surging monthly active users and growth in premium subscribers tamped down costs from staff cuts in the previous three months.

The company’s total revenue €3.2 billion ($3.53 billion) was up 11% from the year ago quarter, or up 14% in constant currency, a measure that strips out the effects of foreign exchange fluctuations. Monthly active users, or the total number of unique visitors to Spotify every month, rose 27% to 551 million in the quarter, while the number of premium subscribers grew 17% to 220 million, up a net of 10 million in the quarter.

The growth in premium subscribers modestly beat company guidance by 3 million and was enough to offset quarterly operating losses of €247 million ($272.7 million), as the company incurred numerous one-time costs related to staffing and cuts to its podcast programs meant to reduce long-term expenses.

Spotify’s executives will discuss the quarter’s earnings — and the impact of the recently announced premium subscription price increases — in greater detail on a call with investors at 8 a.m. EST.

The company reported gross margin of 24.1%, below its guidance of 25.5%. When adjusted to strip out one-time expenses related to cost cuts in the quarter, Spotify said its margin was in-line with guidance at 25.5%.

  • Spotify’s monthly active users were up 27% to 551 million, well above the company’s 530 million target. 
  • Premium subscribers rose 17% to 220 million, beating company expectations of 217 million premium subscribers for the quarter.
  • Total revenue rose 11% to €3.2 billion ($3.53 billion) and met the company’s internal targets. 
  • Adjusted Operating Loss of €112 million was better than guidance, excluding charges related to actions in the quarter to streamline operations and reduce costs.

21 Jul 2023

Here Are 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Big Freedia | Billboard

Big Freedia reveals five things you didn’t know about the rapper to Billboard.

Big Freedia:
Hey, this Big Freedia the Queen Diva, and here are five things you might not know about me.

I eat a lot of ice is one.

I have five dogs is another.

I grew up on Josephine Street in New Orleans. Central City.

My favorite kind of food is cabbage and cornbread. I love a good old smothered cabbage, honey. You can give me cabbage any day and I will devour it.

And the last thing that you might not know: I have a new collaboration with Black Opal with lashes and press-on nails and makeup. so be looking for it. You heard me!

Watch the full video above!

17 Jul 2023

Nearly 1 in 4 Albums Sold Last Week Were Taylor Swift’s Re-Recorded ‘Speak Now’

Taylor Swift’s third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), was a hot seller in its first week of a release in the U.S., according to the data tracking firm Luminate. In the week ending July 13, the set sold 507,000 copies across all of its physical and digital retail formats (CD, vinyl, cassette and digital download album). That sum represents nearly a quarter of all album sales in the U.S. that week (2.131 million).

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Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s share of the album sales market is similar to when she dominated the landscape during the debut week of Midnights in 2022. That album sold 1.14 million copies in the week ending Oct. 27, 2022 – accounting for 41% of all albums sold in the U.S. that week (2.79 million).

Swift can capture a large chunk of the album sales market in a given week because she remains a solid seller at a time when yearly album sales have declined in 10 of the last 11 years, as more music fan adopt streaming services as their primary means of consuming music. Thus, Swift’s outsized album sales dwarf the rest of the industry.

In 2022, Swift was the top-selling act for the year in terms of total album sales, with 2.93 million copies sold across her entire catalog – about 3% of total album sales across all albums from all artists (100.09 million). She also had the year’s top-selling album, with Midnights selling 1.818 million copies (more than twice the sum of the year’s second biggest seller, Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, with 757,000).

In 2023 so far, through July 13, Swift’s total album sales across all of her releases stands at 2.096 million – 3.8% of all album sales this year, by all artists (54.519 million).

Swift’s selling power is further evidenced on Billboard’s latest 100-position Top Album Sales chart (dated July 22, reflecting the sales week ending July 13), where Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) debuts at No. 1 with 507,000 copies sold, the Nos. 2-100 titles – combined – sold just 381,000.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new July 22, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 18. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is a re-recorded version of Swift’s 2010 studio album Speak Now, which topped both the Billboard 200 and Top Album Sales chart. The 22-track re-recorded edition includes new recordings of the original album’s 14 standard tracks, along with bonus cuts and previously unreleased “From the Vault” recordings. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) follows Swift’s re-recorded Red and Fearless albums, released in 2021.

Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 507,000 copies sold, physical sales comprise 410,000 (268,000 on vinyl; 134,000 on CD and 8,000 on cassette) while digital album download purchases comprise 97,000. The album’s vinyl sales mark the second-largest week for a vinyl album since Luminate began tracking data in 1991 – only the debut week of Midnights posted a bigger vinyl week (575,000).

Swift announced the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on May 5, the same day she began taking pre-orders for the album via her official webstore. The set sold as a digital download album, double-CD, double-cassette and in three color vinyl LP variants (orchid marbled, violet marbled and a Target-exclusive lilac marbled color). The iTunes Store also carried an exclusive edition of the album with a short video clip as a bonus feature. On the final day (July 13) of the album’s debut tracking week, Swift released a deluxe digital album download of the set exclusively sold through her official webstore, which added two bonus live tracks recorded during her ongoing The Eras Tour (“Dear John” and “Last Kiss,” both of which were originally released in their studio form on the Speak Now album in 2010).

All told, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is the 12th No. 1 on Top Album Sales for Swift.

Elsewhere on the latest Top Album Sales chart, Swift has five more titles in the top 10, as her former No. 1s Midnights (a non-mover at No. 3 with 18,000; up 49%), Folklore (8-6 with 13,000; up 45%), Lover (10-7 with 12,000; up 50%), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (14-9 with 11,000; up 81%) and Red (Taylor’s Version) (19-10 with 10,000; up 89%). It’s the second time Swift has placed at least six titles in the top 10 concurrently. She did it previously on the July 22-dated list. No other act has charted six or more albums in the top 10 at the same time.  

As for the non-Swift titles in the top 10: Stray Kids’ former No. 1 5-STAR is a non-mover at No. 2 (27,000; up 70% after the release of a new CD edition), aespa’s MY WORLD falls 1-4 in its second week (14,000; down 65%), Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. jumps 33-5 (13,000; up 265% after a new vinyl edition of the album was released) and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation debuts at No. 8 (11,000).

In the week ending July 13, there were 2.131 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 22% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.729 million (up 21.8%) and digital albums comprised 402,000 (up 23.2%).

There were 705,000 CD albums sold in the week ending July 13 (up 8% week-over-week) and 1.008 million vinyl albums sold (up 33.4%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 18.893 million (up 4.1% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 25.371 million (up 21.7%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 54.519 million (up 8.1% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 44.556 million (up 13.4%) and digital album sales total 9.962 million (down 10.5%).

17 Jul 2023

Here Are 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Kevin Gates | Billboard

Kevin Gates reveals five things you didn’t know about him.

Kevin Gates
Hey what’s happening? For those who don’t know who I am, my name is Kevin Gates. And here are five things that you may not know about me.

Kevin Gates
I like black coffee in the morning.

I eat one meal a day.

I got a crazy workout routine, like really crazy.

I’m super into yoga and animals and nature — I guess that all go in the same category.

And you can look forward to seeing me on big and small screens, no kidding. It’s a big secret. It’s a secret.

13 Jul 2023

aespa Achieves Second No. 1 on Album Sales Chart With ‘MY WORLD’

aespa achieves its second No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated July 15) as the Korean group’s latest release MY WORLD: The 3rd Mini Album debuts atop the list with 39,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending July 6, according to Luminate.

Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape bows at No. 4, Phish nets its highest-charting album ever as its 2000 studio album Farmhouse re-enters at No. 5 after a vinyl reissue, and Lucinda Williams earns her best sales week in over seven years as Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart debuts at No. 9.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of MY WORLD’s 39,000 copies sold in its first week, physical sales comprise effectively all of that sum – and all on the CD format. Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of MY WORLD was issued in collectible CD packages (more than 16, including exclusive editions for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart and the act’s webstore), each containing a standard set of branded merchandise items and randomized branded elements (such as photo cards, posters and stickers).

Stray Kids’ chart-topping 5-STAR rises 3-2 on Top Album Sales with 16,000 sold (down 17%) while Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Midnights climbs 5-3 with 12,000 (up 9%). Lil Uzi Vert’s latest studio set Pink Tape arrives at No. 4 with a little over 11,000 sold, marking their third top 10-charting effort.

Phish’s studio album Farmhouse, released in 2000, returns to Top Album Sales at a new peak, as the set re-enters at No. 5 with a little over 11,000 sold (up 26,731%) – basically on in vinyl LP sales – after a new vinyl reissue. The set was reissued on 180-gram colored (blue and nebulous green) double-vinyl on June 30. Farmhouse also debuts at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart (a little over 11,000 copies sold) – marking the band’s third leader on the list and its best sales week on vinyl ever.

Farmhouse originally debuted and peaked at No. 12 on the Top Album Sales chart in 2000. With its re-entry at No. 5, it marks Phish’s eighth top 10 on the tally.

ATEEZ’s former leader The World EP.2: Outlaw falls 2-6 on Top Album Sales with 11,000 sold (down 65%), ENHYPEN’s Dark Blood dips 4-7 with 9,000 (down 19%) and Swift’s chart-topping Folklore is pushed down 7-8 with nearly 9,000 (despite an 11% gain).

Lucinda Williams’ Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart bows at No. 9 on Top Album Sales with the singer’s best sales week in over seven years – 8,500. She last sold more in a week when The Ghosts of Highway 20 launched at No. 16 on the Feb. 27, 2016-dated chart with 16,000 sold. Stories is Williams’ third top 10 on Top Album Sales.

Rounding out the top 10 on the new Top Album Sales chart is Swift’s former No. 1 Lover, which falls 8-10 with nearly 8,000 (though up 10%).

In the week ending July 6, there were 1.746 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 2.2% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.420 million (up 4.2%) and digital albums comprised 327,000 (down 5.5%).

There were 652,000 CD albums sold in the week ending July 6 (up 5.2 % week-over-week) and 756,000 vinyl albums sold (up 2.9%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 18.189 million (up 4% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 24.362 million (up 21.2%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 52.387 million (up 7.7% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 42.827 million (up 13.2%) and digital album sales total 9.560 million (down 11.3%).

12 Jul 2023

Peso Pluma on His Rise to No. 1, Working With Bizarrap & More | The Power of No. 1 | Billboard Cover

Peso Pluma opens up about reaching No. 1 with his tracks “Ella Baila Sola” with Eslabon Armado and “BZRP: Music Sessions Vol. 55” with Bizarrap, how his life has changed since his recent success, achieving his dream and more.

Peso Pluma:
It was a dream to me. I’m very happy to be up there, but I think the most important thing is to stay and be consistent.

I’m Peso Pluma, and this is The Power of No. 1.

The first few times I stood up in front of a lot of people, in auditoriums and arenas, obviously I was nervous, it’s always there. My heart beats faster, I’ve always been like that. But once I hear people singing they push me to carry on. I wanted to become an artist and share what I feel, what I write from my soul, and what I am. I’m really grateful for this wave. It’s a new era, just as my new album is a GENESIS. It’s just the beginning of what we can do.

George Prajin:
I first met Peso at my studio in Anaheim. I had been pitched Peso three years prior, I thought that there was immense talent at that time. I just wasn’t at a point in my career, that I was going to be able to give a developing act the kind of attention that was needed. Fast forward three years later, when I saw him in person, I saw him play the guitar and I heard him sing everything just clicked and I knew that I had to take this opportunity.

Watch the full video above.

12 Jul 2023

Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ & Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ Lead Luminate’s 2023 Midyear Charts

In the first six months of 2023, Morgan Wallen’s monster album One Thing at a Time was the most popular album, while Miley Cyrus’ smash single “Flowers” was the most-streamed song (by on-demand streams, audio and video combined), respectively, at the midyear point in the U.S., according to Luminate. “Flowers” was also the most-heard song on radio airwaves, with over 2.4 billion in radio audience impressions.

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Read more about midyear metrics in the 2023 Luminate Midyear Music Report.

‘One Thing’ is Tops: For the tracking period of Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023, Wallen’s One Thing at a Time was the most popular album in the U.S. The country star’s latest studio effort was released on March 3, 2023 via Big Loud/Mercury/Republic Records and earned 3.312 million equivalent album units in the first half of 2023. (See full top 10 chart, below.) One Thing at a Time spent 15 nonconsecutive weeks atop the weekly Billboard 200 chart in March-July – the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since Adele’s 21 racked up 24 nonconsecutive weeks in 2011-12.

Concurrently, the One Thing at a Time single “Last Night” was the most-streamed song by on-demand audio streams in the first half of 2023 in the U.S., with 588.7 million on-demand audio streams (inclusive of user-generated content streams). “Last Night” spent 13 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the weekly all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart from March through July – the singer-songwriter’s first leader on the tally.

The most-streamed song by total on-demand streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of user-generated content streams) was Cyrus’ “Flowers,” with 750.7 million clicks in the first six months of the year. “Flowers” led the Hot 100 eight nonconsecutive weeks from January through early April. It marked Cyrus’ second chart-topper, following 2013’s “Wrecking Ball.”

Equivalent album units – for album titles and chart rankings cited below (but not industry volume numbers) – comprise traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sales, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album, or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official and audio streams generated by songs from an album.

Equivalent album units cited for album titles below, and in the “Midyear Top 10 Albums in U.S.” chart do not include user-generated content (UGC) streams. UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry volume numbers and its midyear song streaming rankings. (UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.)

For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts. All numbers cited in this story are rounded, and for the U.S. only. Programmed streams are not included in any of the data in this story.

Luminate (formerly MRC Data, Nielsen Music and SoundScan) began tracking music consumption in 1991. Luminate’s sales, streaming and airplay data is used to compile Billboard’s weekly charts.

Of One Thing at a Time’s 3.312 million equivalent album units earned at midyear, SEA units comprise 3.024 million (equaling 4.023 billion on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 242,000 and TEA units comprise 46,000.

The top five most popular albums at the midyear point in the U.S. are One Thing at a Time, SZA’s December 2022 release SOS (1.982 million equivalent album units), Taylor Swift’s October 2022 release Midnights (1.876 million), Wallen’s January 2021 release Dangerous: The Double Album (1.172 million) and Metro Boomin’s December 2022 release Heroes & Villains (1.038 million). In 2022, Midnights and Dangerous were the Nos. 2 and 3 most popular albums of the year in Luminate’s year-end report.

2023’s Midyear Top 10 Albums in U.S. (by Equivalent Album Units)
1. Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time (3.312 million)
2. SZA, SOS (1.982 million)
3. Taylor Swift, Midnights (1.876 million)
4. Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album (1.173 million)
5. Metro Boomin’, Heroes & Villains (1.038 million)
6. Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti (967,000)
7. Drake & 21 Savage, Her Loss (898,000)
8. Zach Bryan, American Heartbreak (769,000)
9. Karol G, Mañana Séra Bonito (716,000)
10. Taylor Swift, Lover (711,000)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023. UGC (user-generated content) streams are not included in this chart, but are included in Luminate’s on-demand streaming charts (below). Luminate’s equivalent album unit totals include SEA and TEA for an album’s songs registered before an album’s release, but only during the tracking period.

Total Album Consumption Increases 13.4% at Midyear: Year-to-date, total equivalent album units stand at 538.9 million – up 13.4% compared to the first half of 2022 (475.4 million in the tracking period of Dec. 31, 2021, through June 30, 2022).

Album Sales Up! Total album sales across all formats (physical CDs, vinyl, cassettes, etc., along with digital album downloads) increased by 7.9% in the first half of 2023 as compared to the same point in 2022. At the 2023 midyear point, 50.6 million albums were sold – up from the 49.6 million sold in the first half of 2022. The top-selling album of 2023 so far is Swift’s Midnights, with 607,000 copies sold

In total, there were 41.6 million physical albums sold (up 13.3% compared to 36.7 million at midyear 2022) and 9.234 million digital albums sold (down 11.2 percent compared to 10.4 million at midyear 2022).

CD album sales grew by 3.8% in the first half of 2023 (17.5 million vs. 16.9 million at midyear 2022), while vinyl album sales jumped by 21.7% (23.6 million vs. 19.4 million at midyear 2022). Even cassette tape album sales perked up. The mostly dormant format sold 212,000 in the first half of 2023 – up 5.8% compared to the 200,500 sold in the first half of 2022.

The top-selling album across all physical formats (CD, vinyl, cassette, etc.) at the midyear point is Swift’s Midnights, with 430,000 sold. It’s also the top-selling digital album (177,000) and vinyl LP (251,000). The biggest-selling CD album in the first half of 2023 was TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION with 395,000 copies sold.

Taylor Swift was the top-selling artist by total album sales in the first half of 2023, with 1.45 million albums sold across her entire catalog across all formats. Swift was also the top-selling in total physical album sales (1.19 million), vinyl album sales (808,000) and digital album sales (256,000). Stray Kids was the top-selling act in CD album sales (509,000).

2023’s Midyear Top 10 Selling Albums in U.S. (Physical & Digital Album Sales Combined)
1. Taylor Swift, Midnights (607,000)
2. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION (399,000)
3. Stray Kids, 5-STAR (327,000)
4. TWICE, Ready to Be (286,000)
5. Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time (242,000)
6. SEVENTEEN, SEVENTEEN 10th Mini Album: FML (236,000)
7. Metallica, 72 Seasons (215,000)
8. Agust D, D-Day (200,000)
9. Jimin, FACE (152,000)
10. Melanie Martinez, Portals (194,000)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023.

  1. Taylor Swift, Midnights (251,000)
  2. Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. (132,000)
  3. Taylor Swift, Folklore (107,000)
  4. Tyler, The Creator, Igor (104,000)
  5. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (103,000)
  6. Boygenius, The Record (100,000)
  7. Melanie Martinez, Portals (93,000)
  8. Michael Jackson, Thriller (85,000)
  9. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (85,000)
  10. Lana Del Rey, Born to Die (84,000)

On-Demand Streaming Up 15%, ‘Flowers’ Most-Streamed Song: “Flowers,” Cyrus’ Hot 100-topping single, was the most-streamed song in the first half of 2023 in the U.S., with 750.7 million on-demand streams (inclusive of UGC). SZA’s “Kill Bill” (701.2 million) and Wallen’s “Last Night” (642.8 million) round out the top three.

Total on-demand streams (audio and video combined) at midyear grew 15% in the U.S. as compared to the same point a year ago (713.5 billion vs. 620.2 billion). On-demand audio streams rose 13.5% (616.5 billion vs. 543.2 billion) while on-demand video streams grew 26% (97 billion vs. 77 billion).

UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry streaming on-demand volume numbers (above) and its midyear streaming song charts (below). UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.

In general, all songs in the below charts combine the assorted remixes of a song into one overall total. Thus, PinkPantheress’ “Boy’s a Liar” includes activity for its remix with Ice Spice, “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2,” The Weeknd’s “Die for You” includes activity for its remix with Ariana Grande,” and so forth.

2023’s Midyear Top 10 Most Streamed Songs in U.S. (On-Demand Audio & Video Combined)
1. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (750.7 million)
2. SZA, “Kill Bill” (701.2 million)
3. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (642.8 million)
4. PinkPantheress, “Boy’s a Liar” (580.7 million)
5. Lady Gaga, “Bloody Mary” (531.7 million)
6. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (486.3 million)
7. Twisted featuring Oliver Tree, “Worth Nothing” (462.7 million)
8. J. Cole featuring Amber Coffman & The Cults, “She Knows” (455.6 million)
9. Fifty Fifty, “Cupid” (427.7 million)
10. Lil Uzi Vert, “Just Wanna Rock” (416.1 million)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023. Includes UGC streams.

2023’s Midyear Top 10 Most Streamed Songs in U.S. (On-Demand Audio)
1. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (588.7 million)
2. SZA, “Kill Bill” (567.6 million)
3. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (464.6 million)
4. PinkPantheress, “Boy’s a Liar” (370.4 million)
5. The Weeknd, “Die for You” (349.8 million)
6. Zach Bryan, “Something in the Orange” (331.2 million)
7. Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’” (308.3 million)
8. Eslabon Armado x Peso Pluma, “Ella Baila Sola” (307.4 million)
9. Morgan Wallen, “You Proof” (303.3 million)
10. Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero” (302.8 million)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023. Includes UGC streams.

Digital Song Sales Drop 13%: Digital song sales fell 13% in the first six months of 2023, dipping to 69.57 million, as compared to 79.98 million sold in the first half of 2022. The top-selling digital song at the midyear point is Cyrus’ “Flowers” with 380,000 sold. Six songs sold more than 100,000 downloads in the first half of 2023. At midyear 2022, there were eight songs that sold in excess of 100,000.

2023’s Midyear Top 10 Selling Digital Songs in U.S.
1. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (380,000)
2. Jimin, “Like Crazy” (289,000)
3. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (217,000)
4. Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (126,000)
5. Beyoncé, “Cuff It” (119,000)
6. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (110,000)
7. Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero” (97,000)
8. Lainey Wilson, “Heart Like a Truck” (89,000)
9. Ice Spice, “Princess Diana” (87,000)
10. Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor” (86,000)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023.

‘Heat Waves’ Hottest on Radio: The most-heard song on U.S. radio in the first half of 2023 was Cyrus’ “Flowers,” with a cumulative 2.409 billion audience impressions across all formats monitored by Luminate. The single was released in early January and became one of the biggest radio hits in the modern era. It spent 18 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s all-format Radio Songs chart, tying Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” for the second-most weeks at No. 1 since the chart began in 1990. The song with the most weeks at No. 1 on Radio Songs is The Weeknd’s enduring “Blinding Lights,” which ruled for 26 weeks in 2020.

2023’s Midyear Top 10 Radio Songs in U.S. (Based on Audience Impressions)
1. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (2.409 billion)
2. Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’” (2.359 billion)
3. SZA, “Kill Bill” (1.909 billion)
4. The Weeknd, “Die for You” (1.877 billion)
5. Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero” (1.730 billion)
6. David Guetta & Bebe Rexha, “I’m Good (Blue)” (1.691 billion)
7. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (1.580 billion)
8. Harry Styles, “As It Was” (1.362 billion)
9. Sam Smith & Kim Petras, “Unholy” (1.275 billion)
10. Chris Brown, “Under the Influence” (1.142 billion)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023.

11 Jul 2023

A Guide to Amazon’s Invite-Only Prime Day Deals: How to Get a 43-Inch Fire TV for $99

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Prime Day, Amazon’s biggest sale of the year, kicked off at midnight Tuesday (July 11) and runs until midnight local time on Wednesday night (July 12).  

Whether you’re shopping for a new television or another must-have item, Prime Day gives you a chance to save big. The only catch? Prime Day is for Prime Members only.

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If you’re not a member, click here to launch your free 30-day trial. Select new members will get a $10 shopping credit at sign-up to use for Prime Day.

Other than electronics like TVs, headphones speakers and earbuds, shoppers can save on Blu-rays, DVDs and Prime Video channels, apparel, movies, books, furniture, appliances, beauty and personal care products, office supplies, cleaning supplies, kitchenware, gardening essentials, pet supplies, fitness items, luggage, sports and outdoor gear, video games, toys, jewelry and lots more.

Save up to 75% on select Amazon devices, including Amazon’s invite-only deal on a 43” Fire TV Omni Series, and sales on Fire TV Stick (3rd Gen), Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen), Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) and Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, Pioneer and TCL smart TVs with Fire TV built in, and Kindle Scribe. Save up to 50% on select Sony headphones, speakers and home audio; up to 40% on select Bose headphones, speakers, and sound bars.

Amazon Fire TV 43″ Omni Series 4K UHD smart TV, hands-free with Alexa (invite-only)

$99.99 $399.99 75% OFF

This is one of the biggest Prime Day discounts that we’ve found on a TV of this size. Amazon’s 43-inch Fire TV Omni Series 4KUHD Smart TV usually retails for $400, but you can save a whopping $300 with this exclusive deal.

Keep reading for more details on Amazon’s invite-only deals.  

How to Request an Invite

Once you select an invite-only deal from Amazon’s deals page, navigate to the product detail page and click “Request invite.” You will receive an email notification confirming your request and if the request is accepted, you’ll receive another email (or mobile push notification).

If invited to participate in the deal, you will have until the end of Prime Day to purchase the product if your request is accepted but you can also choose not to purchase.

Only one invite can be requested per item, but you are allowed to request invites for multiple invite-only items. There are only a limited number of invite-only deal products available and not all invite requests will be granted. Be sure to keep checking your email or notifications as invites will be sent out throughout Prime Day.

Some of the other invite-only, Prime Deals include 60% off the Belova Men’s Marine Star Watch ($179.99), 25% off the Star Wars Darth Vader Limited-Edition Echo Stand ($29.99) and 15% off the Motorola Razr+ ($849.99).

10 Jul 2023

All the Musicians at the ‘Barbie’ Premiere

It’s a “Barbie World,” and we’re all just living in it! On Sunday, July 9, Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars descended upon the pink carpet for the world premiere of Barbie. Directed by Academy Award nominee Greta Gerwig, Barbie features acclaimed performances from Margot Robbie (Barbie), Ryan Gosling (Ken), Issa Rae (President Barbie), Dua Lipa (Mermaid Barbies), Will Ferrell (the CEO of Mattel) and Helen Mirren (the narrator), among others.

Sunday night’s premiere found attendees emulating the hundreds of variations of Barbie and Ken that fill out the doll’s iconic nearly 65-year history. In addition to the film’s stars, the scores of musicians who contributed to the accompanying soundtrack also graced the red carpet. Executive produced by Grammy and Oscar winner Mark Ronson, Barbie The Album features a plethora of music’s biggest stars across eras and genres.

Several songs have already been released from the soundtrack including songs from Charli XCX (“Speed Drive”), Karol G & Aldo Ranks (“Watati”), PinkPantheress (“Angel”), and Kaliii & Fifty Fifty (“Barbie Dreams”). Two of the soundtrack’s radio singles have also become hits on the Billboard Hot 100: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” (No. 31) and Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice & AQUA’s “Barbie World” (No. 7). The Barbie soundtrack will also feature songs from the likes of Lizzo, Tame Impala, Haim, Ava Max, Gayle, The Kid Laroi and more.

Barbie is set to open in theatres on July 21. Ahead of the film’s debut, check out this gallery of all the musicians that hit the pink carpet in their best Barbie fits.