Being an iTunes and Apple Music exclusive can have its benefits, as “Views,” Drake’s latest album, has topped 1 million in sales within its first five days of release.
The Wall Street Journal reports the lion’s share of that 1 million, (around 632,000 downloads), was racked up in the first 24 hours of availability. Apple Music users have streamed the album over 250 million times, with 200 million of those in the United States.
The results fly in the face of industry fears that paid streaming services might hasten the continuing decline of music sales, which have fallen by more than 60% in the past 15 years, according to data from Nielsen. While that could still eventually happen, plenty of fans purchased the $13.99 Drake album last week even though they could also access it immediately, along with some 30 million other tracks, by subscribing to Apple Music for $9.99 a month—or even just by signing up for a free trial.
Apple content honcho Larry Jackson says the numbers were spurred by Drake’s use of Apple Music to market his album, and gather fans into one place. While the rapper has regularly promoted the album via his “OVO Sound” Beats 1 Radio show, Apple has also helped out quite a bit by displaying the album front and center on iTunes, and by running spots during television coverage of the NBA Playoffs.
The Apple exclusivity deal ran out Friday, so other vendors are now selling the album, and starting this coming Friday, listeners should begin seeing the new tunes begin appearing on other streaming services.
(Via AppleInsider)
