How Paul McCartney Landed First No. 1 Album in 36 Years
*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).
North Carolina is transitioning into an electric vehicle manufacturing hub, as Toyota plans to build its first North American lithium-ion battery plant. Machelle Baker Sanders, secretary of commerce for North Carolina, joined Cheddar to discuss the influx of tech-heavy businesses and what Toyota's 1,750 jobs mean for North Carolina's economy. Sanders said the carmaking giant's $1.29 billion project was contingent on it committing to align with the state's own climate goals for a greener future.
Just weeks after launching its IPO, Embark Trucks is looking to take trucking to the next level by establishing an autonomous truck lane between Houston and San Antonio, Texas. CEO Alex Rodrigues joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about the company's expansion into the Lone Star State and the efforts taken to make the driverless vehicles safe for the shipping corridor. "I think the biggest thing you'll notice as a person driving on the road is that they're going to be a little bit more patient, a little bit more law-abiding because they don't have to get there under the same kind of time pressure," he said. "They don't have the hours of service limitations." He also explained that the lane itself isn't a segregated road but a digital route on an existing roadway for the vehicles to follow.
A judge has granted Britney Spears the right to begin executing documents on her own behalf. For the last 14 years, Spears was unable to sign off on her own paperwork due to her recently terminated conservatorship.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri faced a bipartisan Congressional grilling this week as the Senate inquired about safety practices for protecting the mental wellbeing of young people on the platform. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Cheddar to talk about the hearing and how she was disappointed in Instagram coming unprepared with relevant information or documents. Blackburn also offered concern that the platform could continue with building a kids-only version despite having drawn significant opposition from the public.
Cheddar Innovates gets a look at the satellite that's searching for the earliest light from the big bang, plus a former Nike executive breaks down what the new era of sportswear looks like.
Research finds that the market for plant-based foods is worth $7 billion, but a lot of the plant-based and vegan options on our shelves aren't as healthy as they seem. Enter 'Cool Beans.' Tyler Mayoras joins Cheddar Innovates to talk about his whole-food, plant-based burrito brand.
Dominique Broadway, CEO and founder of Finances Demystified, joined Cheddar to talk about the rising number of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services that are available to online shoppers. She noted that the desire for instant gratification among younger shoppers is at least one driver behind these services but said that without restraint it can be easy to fall into a mountain of debt. However, Broadway said this reverse layaway concept could be a huge opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses to increase their sales.
Ford Pro has teamed up with Salesforce to launch 'VIIZR.' a new software service designed to help small businesses and tradespeople succeed. The newly launched tool will help small businesses simplify commercial activities including invoicing, scheduling and managing requests, from one integrated, cloud-based platform. Ted Cannis, CEO, Ford Pro, joined Cheddar to discuss.
