The Beatles’ arrival in streaming-land was regarded as a major global event, especially given it took place on Christmas Eve. They were the most streamed act on Spotify between December 24 to 26, and set a new record for simultaneous streams of a single artist.
Early data showed Come Together as their most streamed track, and that 79% of streamers were born after they finished their long and winding road in 1970. Also well streamed were Let It Be, Here Comes The Sun, Yesterday and Hey Jude.
Within the first month, the Fab Four had generated over 250 million streams. The latest data from Spotify shows that The Beatles mean all different things to many people.
Of the 58 countries sampled by Spotify, Australia most streamed Rubber Soul, followed by The Beatles (The White Album), The Beatles 1967—1970 and A Hard Day’s Night.
Interestingly, these do not tally with The Beatles albums which made the most impact in Australia on original release. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) was the third longest stayer in the Top 20, with 30 weeks. Abbey Road (1969) was 11th highest, with 18 weeks. The list was topped by The Sound of Music soundtrack (1965) which was 76 weeks on top, and Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms (1985) with 34 weeks.
Hey Jude / Revolution (1968) was their most successful single in Australia, staying at #1 for 15 weeks and second only to Abba’s Fernando (1976).
According to the new Spotify data, Rubber Soul was also most streamed Beatles album in Canada. But it was The Beatles (The White Album) that was top of the pops in the US and France, while the UK went for The Beatles 1962—66. It was A Hard Day’s Night for Bolivia and Let It Be for Sweden.
Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
In terms of streaming age groups, the Fabs are most popular with the 25 to 34 demographic (32%) and 18 to 24 (25%). The third highest are the 35 to 44 (16%). The Over 55 are 11%, 45 to 54 are 10% and the 17 and under are just 5%.
Their song choices are quite varied:
17 & Under
Here Comes The Sun
Let It Be
Hey Jude
Come Together
Twist And Shout
Yellow Submarine
Yesterday
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Love Me Do
Penny Lane
18-24
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Here Comes The Sun
Come Together
Penny Lane
You Never Give Me Your Money
With A Little Help From My Friends
Twist And Shout
Hey Jude
Let It Be
Yellow Submarine
25-29
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Penny Lane
You Never Give Me Your Money
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
Love Me Do
From Me To You
A Hard Day’s Night
Something
Can’t Buy Me Love
Get Back
30-34
She Loves You
Paperback Writer
Ticket To Ride
The Long And Winding Road
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Hello, Goodbye
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Day Tripper
Can’t Buy Me Love
Blackbird
35-44
We Can Work It Out
A Day In The Life
Ticket To Ride
The Long And Winding Road
She Loves You
Paperback Writer
Back In The U.S.S.R.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Please Please Me
Something
45-54
Back In The U.S.S.R.
We Can Work It Out
Ticket To Ride
A Day In The Life
Yesterday
Let It Be
Got To Get You Into My Life
I Feel Fine
She Loves You
Help!
55+
Rock And Roll Music
Back In The U.S.S.R.
Mean Mr Mustard
Nowhere Man
Drive My Car
Glass Onion
We Can Work It Out
Long, Long, Long
Do You Want To Know A Secret
A Day In The Life
Broken down in genders, Come Together, Let It Be, Here Comes The Sun, Hey Jude and Yesterday are equally shared by females and males. But there are slight variations, with the females’ list including In My Life and Hello Goodbye, while the males list also opted for Penny Lane and Sgt. Peppers intro.
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Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
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