*By Conor White* Paul McCartney is celebrating his first number-one album in nearly four decades. "Egypt Station," released on September 7, sold 153,000 copies during its first week, including an impressive 147,000 in physical sales. And it's not the 76-year-old former Beatle's core Baby-Boomer fan base behind his latest success ー it's streamers. Daily Dot managing editor Austin Powell says those numbers are certainly the ones to watch. "'FourFiveSeconds,' \[McCartney's\] track with Kanye and Rihanna ー that's been streamed nearly 500 million times on Spotify," Powell said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar. "So he has this other audience that he can tap into and that Spotify can push his music towards as well." Powell noted that with physical album sales dropping from over half a billion in 2007 to just 169 million last year, artists have sought help from the very platforms that damaged their sales in the first place ー McCartney, for instance, recorded a live performance specifically for Spotify. To date, "Egypt Station" has been streamed over 6 million times across all platforms, and that number will only continue to grow. "I'm sure he got a nice push from Spotify itself ーgiving those notifications, letting people know the new album was available to stream," Powell said. Spotify's power and influence continue to spread, as does that of its rival, Apple Music. The two services now account for more than 80 percent of paid streaming subscribers in the United States, leaving their competitors to fight for meager scraps. And those smaller players ー including industry pioneer Pandora ー don't have great odds, according to Powell. "I think there are only two that stand a fighting chance, and that's Google via YouTube, and that's Amazon," he said. "They can bundle streaming into an existing service," he said. For full interview [click here] (https://cheddar.com/videos/streaming-nation).

Share:
More In Business
EdTech Platform Multiverse Raises $220M to Expand Professional Apprenticeships
Tech apprenticeship platform Multiverse became a unicorn with a $1.7 billion valuation, after raising $220 million in a Series D round. As companies across the country face challenges in hiring and retaining tech talent, Multiverse says it's trying to offer a solution with a new way to train and hire workers that can serve as an alternative to college and corporate training. Sophie Ruddock, VP and GM North America of Multiverse, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Crypto Collapses Are an Ecosystem 'Stress Test,' Says Bitwise CIO
Bitcoin's price has fallen below $24,000, its lowest level since December 2020. Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise Asset Management, joined Cheddar News to discuss the future of crypto amid the latest high-profile point of concern, the halting of withdrawals at Celsius Network. "Last month we saw Luna collapse. This month we're seeing Celsius possibly collapsing," he said. "So this stress test is finding weaknesses in the crypto ecosystem and it will continue until we get to a strong foundation from which crypto can recover."
Ways to Improve Employee Engagement; Data-Driven Approach to Mental Wellness
On this episode of On The Job presented by ADP: Gemma Burgess, CEO of Ferguson Partners, explains what people are looking for in an employer, and how to convey positive work culture to potential employees; Amy Leschke-Kahle, Vice President of Performance Acceleration at The Marcus Buckingham Company, an ADP company, breaks down how encouraging employee engagement and empowering employee voices can benefit every workplace and busts a myth about employee engagement while working from home; Jim Huether, CEO of Hyperice, discusses Hyperice's new employee mental health initiative, known as the Workplace Alliance, with 100-plus companies to combat the ongoing mental health crisis and how they're taking a hands-on, data-driven approach to the mental health crisis.
Load More