The first-ever album to go platinum thanks almost entirely to streaming has just been crowned, and it will probably come as little shock The Life of Pablo by Kanye West earned the title.
West’s eighth studio album has been streamed over three billion times since it was released last year, according to Billboard, which verified the certification with the Recording Industry Association of America. The platinum status amounts to one million album units, Billboard says.
Though some claim The Life of Pablo is the first streaming-only album to reach platinum, digital downloads of West’s latest have been available to buy, including on his website. Still, the vast majority of listening took place via streaming; it reached Number 1 on the Billboard 200 when over 70% of its early earnings came via streaming.
Streaming take over
Launched as an exclusive to Jay-Z’s Tidal streaming service before coming to other platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, the success of The Life of Pablo could pave the way for more music to reach the upper echelons of the music business without traditional sales backing them up.
There’s certainly a sea change taking place in the music industry, and streaming continues to gain ground on traditional mediums.
For one, streaming revenue edged out both digital downloads and CD sales in the US for the first time last year. And just last week, Drake’s More Life playlist shattered streaming records, challenging how we think about new music releases while at the same time giving us incredibly catchy tracks.
At the same time, streaming services are having to adjust their business model in order to appease customers, artists and record labels. Earlier Tuesday, Spotify announced a deal with Universal Music Group to bring some albums exclusively to its paid-tier customers before releasing them to all users. This is seen as an attempt by Spotify to remain in artists and publishers’ good graces ahead of an expected IPO.
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