Concert tours may have ground to a halt, but at least one source of revenue for the music industry remains strong while millions of people are at home during the coronavirus pandemic: streaming.
That is reflected in the latest Billboard album chart, which is dominated by huge online numbers for the Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert. “Eternal Atake,” the first half of a two-part album, opened at No. 1 with the equivalent of 288,000 album sales in the United States, according to Nielsen, including 400 million streams — the biggest streaming count for any album since Lil Wayne’s long-awaited “Tha Carter V” notched 433 million in October 2018.
Even the runners-up this week had big streaming numbers. The R&B singer Jhené Aiko opened in second place with her new “Chilombo,” which had 149 million streams, along with 38,000 copies sold as a complete package. “YHLQMDLG,” by the Latin pop star Bad Bunny, fell one spot to No. 3 with 146 million streams, and the rapper Lil Baby’s “My Turn,” last week’s top seller, is No. 4 with 145 million streams.
In fifth place this week is the K-pop group NCT 127, whose “NCT #127 Neo Zone — The 2nd Album” had just six million streams — but also moved 83,000 copies as a full package, thanks to sales bundles that included the album with merchandise and concert tickets.
“Suga,” a surprise release by Megan Thee Stallion, which came out amid a legal dispute with her record label, opened at No. 10.
Source: Music - nytimes.com
