Michael Jackson streams skyrocket following biopic release

NEW YORK (AP):

Michael Jackson once sang Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough, and fans appear to be taking that advice to heart. Streaming of his catalogue in the US surged 95 per cent over the weekend compared with the same period the previous week. The spike comes according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics firm that tracks shifts in music listening behaviour. The boost appears linked to the release of Michael, the big-budget Michael Jackson biopic, which debuted in theatres last Friday. The film earned an estimated US$97 million in its opening weekend in the US and Canada, according to studio figures.

Earlier projections had placed the film’s opening closer to US$50 million, later revised upward to about US$70 million in the weeks leading up to release.

As a result of the movie’s popularity, Jackson received 31.7 million streams on Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 in the US and 16.3 million streams the previous weekend, Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18. That’s a 95 per cent increase.

But before Michael Jackson was the ‘King of Pop’, he was the youngest member of The Jackson 5. The classic boy group also received a huge jump in streams. The group earned 2.4 million streams on Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 compared to 1.3 million streams the previous weekend.

Jackson also saw a boost in plays on Apple Music. According to the streaming giant, on Monday, Jackson had eight songs on Apple Music’s Daily Top 100 Global Chart. Billie Jean led the pack at number 11.

And Shazam found that Jackson streams were 140 per cent higher in volume last weekend, April 24 through April 26, than the previous weekend. As a result, there are currently seven Jackson songs on Shazam’s global top 200.