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Kanye West is redefining albums in the streaming age

When Kanye West launched his latest album, the focus was on his protective approach to distribution. The strategy was controversial at best, especially given the immediate wave of piracy the title faced. But in the weeks following the official release, West has been less obviously changing how his fans perceive the very idea of an album in the streaming age. Continue Reading

Germany’s half-year report shows continued streaming growth

Germany’s music sector posted gains from streaming and sales in the first half of 2015, according to a report by the Federal Music Industry Association (BVMI). Streaming services now account for 12.8% of the country’s music revenue, up from 7.7% in the first half of 2014. “The 87 percent increase in music streaming even exceeds the forecast contained in the streaming study we published back in March,” the group’s managing director Dr. Florian Drücke said. Continue Reading

UK’s half-year data shows nearly 80% streaming growth

The British Phonographic Industry released half-year data about music sales in the UK. The report showed that there have been 11.5 billion tracks played in the first six months of 2015, compared with 14.8 billion plays in all of 2014. Dedicated audio streaming services see about 480 million streams a week. Stream Equivalent Album consumption for the first half was 11.49 million, up 79.5% from the year-ago period. Continue Reading

UK Albums Chart to reflect streams with complicated math

The Official Albums Chart in the UK announced that the beginning in March, it will incorporate data from streaming services into its calculations. The equation it will use for determining rankings is designed to reflect the success of a whole album rather than seeing boosts due to a couple popular singles. The unique formula will downweigh the top two singles from an album to the average of the rest of the top 12 most-streamed tracks. Continue Reading

Spanish music association launches unified chart to include streaming counts

One of Spain’s music charts announced the launch of a new Top 100 Songs list that will incorporate streaming numbers as well as downloads and physical sales. PROMUSICAE (Productores de Música de España) will use the new joint chart to replace its weekly Top 50 Songs and Top 100 Streaming charts. Several charts organizations worldwide have made shifts to include data about streaming. Continue Reading