Nielsen Music Mid Year 2018 Report

[Gary]

Post Malone, Ed Sheeran & Drake Dominate Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Charts

7/6/2018 by Keith Caulfield

www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8464189/post-malone-ed-sheeran-drake-nielsen-music-mid-year-2018-charts

Plus: Overall equivalent album units grew 14%, on-demand streams rose 42% and R&B/hip-hop continues as music’s most popular genre.

Post Malone’s beerbongs & bentleys, Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” and Drake’s “God’s Plan” dominate Nielsen Music’s 2018 mid-year charts. (See lists, below.)

Post Malone’s ‘beerbongs’ Rules: For the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 through June 28, 2018, beerbongs & bentleys leads as the most popular album in the U.S. The set — Post Malone’s second studio effort — earned 1.791 million equivalent album units in the first half of the year. (Equivalent album units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums [TEA] and streaming equivalent albums [SEA]. Each unit — through June 28, ahead the previously announced weighting change — equaled one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from one album, or 1,500 on-demand audio streams generated by songs on an album. For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts.)

beerbongs & bentleys granted Post Malone his first No. 1 on the weekly Billboard 200 albums chart, and launched with 461,000 units earned in its first week.

Post Malone performs during Voodoo Music + Arts Experience at City Park on Oct. 29, 2017 in New Orleans.
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The Greatest Showman soundtrack stands as the No. 2 biggest album of 2018, so far, with 1.602 million units, while Cardi B’s debut studio set Invasion of Privacy is No. 3 with 1.113 million units.

Equivalent Album Units Grew 13.8 Percent: Overall equivalent album units in the first half of 2018 grew 13.8 percent as compared to the first half of 2017 (270 million units vs. 237.2 million units). (If one adds on-demand video SEA units into the mix, the 2018’s mid-year sum equals 360.1 million units, up 18.4 percent compared to a year ago: 304.1 million.)

R&B/Hip-Hop Still Music’s Biggest Genre: The R&B/hip-hop genre continues to maintain its lead as the U.S.’ most popular genre of music. The genre has a 31 percent marketshare of the combined sector of album sales, TEA and SEA on-demand audio and video. The next biggest genre is rock, with 23.1 percent of that market.

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‘The Greatest Showman’ Is Top-Selling Album: As far was the top-selling album, that honor goes to The Greatest Showman soundtrack, which sold 1.064 million copies in the first half of 2018 — and is the only album to have sold a million this year. The album is a rare success in terms of traditional album sales, as fewer and fewer titles sell in relatively great numbers anymore. Comparatively, in 2017, the industry had to wait until November for its first million seller: Taylor Swift’s reputation., which sold 1.2 million copies in its first week (ending Nov. 16). 2017 finished with just two million sellers: reputation. and Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide).

Overall Album Sales Decline 17.6 Percent: Overall album sales — physical and digital combined — are down 17.6 percent in 2018 compared to the same point a year ago. (68.8 million vs. 83.5 million.)

Jack White’s ‘Boarding House’ Hot on Vinyl: The top-selling album on both CD and digital download is The Greatest Showman, with 367,000 copies sold on CD, and 676,000 copies sold via digital album. The top selling vinyl LP is Jack White’s Boarding House Reach, with 37,000 copies sold on the format.

Jack White photographed on June 4, 2015 in Nashville, Tenn.
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On-Demand Audio and Video Song Streams Continue to Increase: As for total on-demand audio and video streams, the market grew 41.6 percent. Combined, on-demand audio and video streams totaled 403.4 billion in the first half of 2018, as compared to 284.8 billion in the first six months of 2017.

Of the total mid-year 2018 streaming sum, on-demand audio streams comprised 268.2 billion (up 45.4 percent from 184.4 billion), while on-demand video streams equaled 135.2 billion (up 34.7 percent from 100.4 billion).

‘God’s Plan’ Sizzled on Streaming Services: Drake’s “God’s Plan” rules as most streamed song of the first six months, with a whopping 1.121 billion streams in combined on-demand audio and on-demand video streams. It’s the only song to have tallied more than a billion streams in 2018. “God’s Plan” also rules as the top streamed song by on-demand audio streams (655 million) and on-demand video streams (466 million).

Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Charts:

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Albums (Based on Overall Equivalent Album Units*)
1. Post Malone, beerbongs & bentleys (1,791,000)
2. Soundtrack, The Greatest Showman (1,602,000)
3. Cardi B, Invasion of Privacy (1,113,000)
4. Migos, Culture II (1,088,000)
5. Soundtrack, Black Panther: The Album (1,058,000)
6. Ed Sheeran, ÷ (Divide) (845,000)
7. J. Cole, KOD (794,000)
8. Post Malone, Stoney (788,000)
9. XXXTentacion, ? (769,000)
10. Justin Timberlake, Man of the Woods (664,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Albums
1. Soundtrack, The Greatest Showman (1,064,000)
2. Justin Timberlake, Man of the Woods (403,000)
3. Jason Aldean, Rearview Town (328,000)
4. Dave Matthews Band, Come Tomorrow (316,000)
5. P!nk, Beautiful Trauma (287,000)
6. Post Malone, beerbongs & bentleys (258,000)
7. Ed Sheeran, ÷ (Divide) (254,000)
8. J. Cole, KOD (241,000)
9. Soundtrack, Black Panther: The Album (209,000)
10. Keith Urban, Graffiti U (199,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Vinyl Albums
1. Jack White, Boarding House Reach (37,000)
2. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. (30,000)
3. Soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (28,000)
4. Michael Jackson, Thriller (28,000)
5. Fleeetwood Mac, Rumours (28,000)
6. Panic! at the Disco, Pray for the Wicked (26,000)
7. Justin Timberlake, Man of the Woods (26,000)
8. Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain (Soundtrack) (25,000)
9. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (25,000)
10. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (23,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Digital Songs
1. Ed Sheeran, “Perfect” (1,013,000)
2. Drake, “God’s Plan” (959,000)
3. Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, “Meant to Be” (846,000)
4. Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug, “Havana” (658,000)
5. Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey, “The Middle” (621,000)
6. Imagine Dragons, “Whatever It Takes” (618,000)
7. Bruno Mars & Cardi B, “Finesse” (592,000)
8. Imagine Dragons, “Thunder” (579,000)
9. Camila Cabello, “Never Be the Same” (510,000)
10. Jason Aldean, “You Make It Easy” (493,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Song Streams (Audio and Video Combined)
1. Drake, “God’s Plan” (1,121,025,000)
2. Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign, “Psycho” (576,224,000)
3. BlocBoy JB featuring Drake, “Look Alive” (542,548,000)
4. Post Malone featuring 21 Savage, “Rockstar” (542,186,000)
5. Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug, “Havana” (486,839,000)
6. Drake, “Nice for What” (484,468,000)
7. Ed Sheeran, “Perfect” (480,383,000)
8. Bruno Mars & Cardi B, “Finesse” (428,922,000)
9. XXXTentacion, “Sad!” (422,655,000)
10. Post Malone, “I Fall Apart” (419,075,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Audio Streams
1. Drake, “God’s Plan” (654,993,000)
2. Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign, “Psycho” (381,742,000)
3. BlocBoy JB featuring Drake, “Look Alive” (361,484,000)
4. Drake, “Nice for What” (339,141,000)
5. Post Malone featuring 21 Savage, “Rockstar” (331,468,000)
6. XXXTentacion, “Sad!” (270,821,000)
7. Migos, “Stir Fry” (269,060,000)
8. Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, “Meant to Be” (259,401,000)
9. Kendrick Lamar & SZA, “All the Stars” (258,404,000)
10. Bazzi, “Mine” (256,663,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Video Streams
1. Drake, “God’s Plan” (466,032,000)
2. Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug, “Havana” (285,013,000)
3. Ed Sheeran, “Perfect” (225,446,000)
4. Bruno Mars & Cardi B, “Finesse” (223,913,000)
5. 6ix9ine, “Gummo” (221,117,000)
6. Lil Pump, “Gucci Gang” (211,876,000)
7. Post Malone featuring 21 Savage, “Rockstar” (210,718,000)
8. Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign, “Psycho” (194,482,000)
9. Migos featuring Drake, “Walk It Talk It” (191,922,000)
10. Lil Dicky featuring Chris Brown, “Freaky Friday” (191,670,000)


Source: Nielsen Music, for the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 – June 28, 2018.
* Note: Nielsen Music’s consumption unit totals for albums include SEA and TEA for an album's songs registered before an album's release, but during the tracking period. For example, Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy album unit total includes SEA and TEA for "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)" for Dec. 29, 2017 through April 4, 2018, before the album was released on April 5.

[areyoureadytojump]

I'm always looking ahead.

What big artists have albums coming out in the next 6 months?

[kanfad]

Jul 6, 2018 8:52:36 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

I'm always looking ahead.

What big artists have albums coming out in the next 6 months?

Rihanna maybe? Justin? 

[Gary]

Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Charts: U.S. Vinyl Album Sales Grow 19%, Led by Jack White

7/6/2018 by Keith Caulfield



In the first half of 2018, vinyl album sales grew 19.2 percent in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music -- as compared to the first six months of 2017.

In total, for the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 through June 28, 2018, there were 7.6 million vinyl albums sold; up from 6.4 million in the comparable frame a year ago (Dec. 30, 2016 through June 29, 2017).

Notably, the vinyl format's 7.6 million albums sold in 2018, so far, represent 11.2 percent of all albums sold (68 million) and 18.7 percent of all physical albums sold (CD, vinyl, cassette, etc.; 40.6 million).



In the full year of 2017, vinyl album sales hit another Nielsen Music-era record high, as the format sold 14.32 million copies (up 9 percent compared to 2016’s then-record haul of 13.1 million). 2017 marked the 12th straight year of growth for vinyl album sales. (Nielsen Music began tracking sales in 1991.)

The top selling vinyl album for the first half of 2018 is Jack White’s latest studio effort, Boarding House Reach, which has sold 37,000 copies on vinyl.

Vinyl sales in 2018 have also been aided by the usual surge of sales generated by the annual Record Store Day festivities. The 11th annual indie music store holiday, staged on April 21, helped yield a whopping 733,000 vinyl albums sold in the week ending April 26 -- a record for Record Store Day week, and the third-largest weekly sum for vinyl albums since Nielsen Music began tracking sales in 1991.

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Vinyl Albums
1. Jack White, Boarding House Reach (37,000)
2. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. (30,000)
3. Soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (28,000)
4. Michael Jackson, Thriller (28,000)
5. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (28,000)
6. Panic! at the Disco, Pray for the Wicked (26,000)
7. Justin Timberlake, Man of the Woods (26,000)
8. Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain (Soundtrack) (25,000)
9. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (25,000)
10. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (23,000)

Source: Nielsen Music, for the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 – June 28, 2018.

[Gary]

Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Charts: Ed Sheeran's 'Perfect' Reigns at Radio as AC, Latin, R&B/Hip-Hop Surge
News
By Gary Trust | July 06, 2018 5:46 PM EDT

A look at the top trending radio formats & most-heard songs in the first half of 2018.

Adult contemporary, Latin and R&B/hip-hop radio scored a strong first half of 2018, while Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" was the most-heard song on all radio formats in the year's first six months, according to Nielsen Music.
Here's a look at some of radio's highlights over the first six months of 2018.

Adult entertainment: In the 50 biggest markets by population, adult contemporary ranked as the most-listened-to music format overall in the first half of 2018, after only news/talk, with country in third place.
Nationally, across all markets, country was the top-ranked format, leading even news/talk in total share of listening.

Latin leaps: Latin music has benefited from the "Despacito" boom of 2017 (as Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's juggernaut, featuring Justin Bieber, spent a record-tying 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last year). Latin earned a 15 percent gain in share of total audience between the first half of 2016 and the first half of 2018.

R&B/hip-hop's continued climb: With rap songs having led the Hot 100 for a record-extending 23 weeks and counting (through the chart dated July 7), R&B/hip-hop is likewise rising at radio. Among persons aged 18 to 49, the average quarter-hour audience share of R&B/hip-hop stations has increased by 15 percent in the past four years.

'Perfect' for radio: As for the top songs among all radio formats in the first half of 2018, Sheeran's "Perfect" ruled with a massive 2.86 billion in cumulative overall audience impressions. The song led the Hot 100 for six weeks and this week notches its 20th week at No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, making Sheeran the first artist in the tally's 57-year history with two songs that have led for at least 20 weeks each (following the 24-week command of "Shape of You" in 2017).

Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line's pop/country crossover hit "Meant to Be" ranked second in radio audience in the first half of 2018, followed by Bruno Mars and Cardi B's "Finesse."
TOP 10 RADIO SONGS IN FIRST HALF OF 2018, BASED ON AUDIENCE

Rank, Title, Artist, Audience
1, "Perfect," Ed Sheeran, 2,861,250,000
2, "Meant to Be," Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, 2,294,858,000
3, "Finesse," Bruno Mars & Cardi B, 2,148,973,000
4, "Havana," Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug, 2,126,814,000
5, "The Middle," Zedd, Maren Morris, & Grey, 2,040,210,000
6, "God's Plan," Drake, 2,025,720,000
7, "New Rules," Dua Lipa, 2,023,348,000
8, "Lights Down Low," MAX feat. gnash, 1,746,318,000
9, "Never Be the Same," Camila Cabello, 1,677,640,000
10, "Bad at Love," Halsey, 1,502,420,000
Source: Nielsen Music, for the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017-June 28, 2018

[velaxti]

Meant To Be hasn't done that badly on streaming after all if it's #8 on the YTD On-Demand chart.

[fhas]

Jul 7, 2018 11:58:23 GMT -5 velaxti said:

Meant To Be hasn't done that badly on streaming after all if it's #8 on the YTD On-Demand chart.

MTB's longevity is insane, tbh. It peaked at #13 on Billboard's on-demand chart, but has spent 32 weeks in the top 50 and it's at #25 this week.

[thabb]

is it me or are the #'s for this report a bit iffy? the Top 10 Artists chart says Post Malone did 2.625m album units while the Hip-Hob/R&B Artists chart says Post did 2.560m units. he's not the only case neither. what's up with the discrepancies?

[Gary]

Jason Aldean & Kane Brown Top Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Country Charts

7/9/2018 by Keith Caulfield


Jason Aldean’s Rearview Town finished the first half of 2018 as the most popular country album in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music, while Kane Brown’s “Heaven” ruled streaming services among country tunes.

In the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017, through June 28, 2018, Rearview Town earned 522,000 equivalent album units, and it leads Nielsen Music’s Top 10 Country Albums tally (see below). The album was also the biggest-selling title in terms of traditional album sales, with 328,000 copies sold.

Equivalent album units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit -- through June 28, ahead of the previously announced weighting change -- equaled one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from one album, or 1,500 on-demand audio streams generated by songs on an album. (For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts.)

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The top 10 selling country albums of 2018, thus far, are dominated by sets from Chris Stapleton, as the singer-songwriter has three out of the top five. From A Room: Volume 2, From A Room: Volume 1 and Traveller stand at Nos. 3, 4 and 5, respectively. The top-selling digital country song is Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s smash “Meant to Be,” which sold 846,000 downloads.

On the streaming side of things, Kane Brown’s “Heaven” crowns all three country streaming roundups. It’s the overall biggest country streaming song (combining on-demand audio and video streams) with 242.1 million streams, and it’s also the top on-demand country audio streaming track (136.3 million) and on-demand country video streaming track (106.6 million).

Overall equivalent album units for the country genre totaled 22.25 million for the first half of the year -- up 5.5 percent. Traditional album sales fell 22.9 percent to 7.32 million, while country digital song sales dropped 31.5 percent to 25.96 million.

Total country on-demand streams grew 50.5 percent to 23.74 billion, while audio streams alone climbed 58.1 percent to 18.5 billion and video streams increased 28.6 percent to 5.24 billion.

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Country Albums (Based on Overall Equivalent Album Units*)
1. Jason Aldean, Rearview Town (522,000)
2. Kane Brown, Kane Brown (432,000)
3. Luke Combs, This One’s For You (394,000)
4. Chris Stapleton, Traveller (326,000)
5. Thomas Rhett, Life Changes (325,000)
6. Keith Urban, Graffiti U (277,000)
7. Luke Bryan, What Makes You Country (257,000)
8. Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 1 (241,000)
9. Brett Young, Brett Young (235,000)
10. Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 2 (227,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Country Albums
1. Jason Aldean, Rearview Town (328,000)
2. Keith Urban, Graffiti U (199,000)
3. Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 2 (177,000)
4. Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 1 (153,000)
5. Chris Stapleton, Traveller (133,000)
6. Luke Bryan, What Makes You Country (133,000)
7. Kane Brown, Kane Brown (120,000)
8. Kenny Chesney, Live In No Shoes Nation (115,000)
9. Dierks Bentley, The Mountain (113,000)
10. Alan Jackson, Precious Memories Collection (101,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Digital Country Songs
1. Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, “Meant To Be” (846,000)
2. Jason Aldean, “You Make It Easy” (493,000)
3. Kane Brown, “Heaven” (450,000)
4. Thomas Rhett, “Marry Me” (317,000)
5. Dan + Shay, “Tequila” (274,000)
6. Luke Bryan, “Most People Are Good” (264,000)
7. Chris Stapleton, “Broken Halos” (254,000)
8. Morgan Wallen featuring Florida Georgia Line, “Up Down” (219,000)
9. Kane Brown featuring Lauren Alaina, “What Ifs” (204,000)
10. David Lee Murphy & Kenny Chesney, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” (202,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Country Song Streams (Audio and Video Combined)
1. Kane Brown, “Heaven” (242,091,000)
2. Thomas Rhett, “Marry Me” (186,359,000)
3. Kane Brown featuring Lauren Alaina, “What Ifs” (175,600,000)
4. Chris Stapleton, “Tennessee Whiskey” (158,932,000)
5. Dan + Shay, “Tequila” (150,032,000)
6. Sam Hunt, “Body Like a Back Road” (141,743,000)
7. Luke Combs, “When It Rains It Pours” (125,297,000)
8. Jason Aldean, “You Make It Easy” (124,253,000)
9. Brett Young, “In Case You Didn’t Know” (117,618,000)
10. Dustin Lynch, “Small Town Boy” (105,968,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Country Audio Streams
1. Kane Brown, “Heaven” (136,260,000)
2. Jason Aldean, “You Make It Easy” (115,161,000)
3. Dan + Shay, “Tequila” (106,994,000)
4. Kane Brown featuring Lauren Alaina, “What Ifs” (106,748,000)
5. Thomas Rhett, “Marry Me” (103,116,000)
6. Sam Hunt, “Body Like a Back Road” (96,098,000)
7. Brett Young, “In Case You Didn’t Know” (88,266,000)
8. Luke Combs, “When It Rains It Pours” (86,615,000)
9. Luke Combs, “Hurricane” (82,300,000)
10. Old Dominion, “Written In the Sand” (77,390,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Country Video Streams
1. Kane Brown, “Heaven” (106,641,000)
2. Thomas Rhett, “Marry Me” (83,243,000)
3. Chris Stapleton, “Tennessee Whiskey” (81,773,000)
4. Kane Brown featuring Lauren Alaina, “What Ifs” (68,852,000)
5. Jason Aldean, “It Ain’t Easy” (47,672,000)
6. Sam Hunt, “Body Like a Back Road” (45,646,000)
7. Scotty McCreery, “Five More Minutes” (45,576,000)
8. Dan + Shay, “Tequila” (43,039,000)
9. Keith Urban, “Blue Ain’t Your Color” (39,892,000)
10. Luke Combs, “When It Rains It Pours” (38,682,000)

Source: Nielsen Music, for the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 – June 28, 2018.

* Note: Nielsen Music’s consumption unit totals for albums include SEA and TEA for an album's songs registered before an album's release, but during the tracking period.

[Gary]

Imagine Dragons Lead Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Rock Charts

7/9/2018 by Keith Caulfield


It’s all about Imagine Dragons on Nielsen Music’s mid-year 2018 rock charts, as the band leads multiple lists thanks to the continuing popularity of the group’s Evolve album and its singles.

In the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017, through June 28, 2018, Imagine Dragons’ 2017 album Evolve ranks as the most popular rock album in the U.S. During the first six months of the year, the set earned 634,000 equivalent album units. The set also finished the first six months of the year as the second-largest-selling album, with 194,000 copies sold (behind only Dave Matthews Band’s Come Tomorrow, with 316,000 sold).

Equivalent album units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit -- through June 28, ahead of the previously announced weighting change -- equaled one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from one album, or 1,500 on-demand audio streams generated by songs on an album. (For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts.)

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Notably, four out of the top 10 most popular rock albums so far in 2018 are greatest-hits compilations. Elton John’s Diamonds (No. 5), Queen’s Greatest Hits (No. 7), Five Finger Death Punch’s A Decade of Destruction (No. 8) and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Greatest Hits (No. 9).

Imagine Dragons’ Evolve single “Whatever It Takes” was the top-selling digital rock song of the first six months of 2018, with 617,000 downloads sold. The album’s lead single, “Believer,” rules as the top on-demand rock streaming song (audio and video streams combined; 297.2 million streams), as well as the top on-demand rock audio song stream (140.4 million) and on-demand rock video stream (156.8 million).

Overall equivalent album units for the rock genre totaled 61.51 million for the first half of the year -- up 6.6 percent. Traditional album sales fell 9.3 percent to 26.59 million, while rock digital song sales dropped 24 percent to 47.74 million.

Total rock on-demand streams grew 31.9 percent to 59.03 billion, while audio alone jumped 36.6 percent to 45.22 billion and video alone increased 18.7 percent to 13.81 billion.

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Rock Albums (Based on Overall Equivalent Album Units*)
1. Imagine Dragons, Evolve (634,000)
2. Dave Matthews Band, Come Tomorrow (332,000)
3. Fall Out Boy, Mania (233,000)
4. Panic! at the Disco, Pray for the Wicked (232,000)
5. Elton John, Diamonds (229,000)
6. Imagine Dragons, Night Visions (213,000)
7. Queen, Greatest Hits (201,000)
8. Five Finger Death Punch, A Decade of Destruction (198,000)
9. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Greatest Hits (190,000)
10. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface (189,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Rock Albums
1. Dave Matthews Band, Come Tomorrow (316,000)
2. Imagine Dragons, Evolve (194,000)
3. Fall Out Boy, Mania (162,000)
4. Jack White, Boarding House Reach (159,000)
5. Panic! at the Disco, Pray for the Wicked (151,000)
6. Metallica, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct (142,000)
7. Breaking Benjamin, Ember (123,000)
8. Greta Van Fleet, From the Fires (109,000)
9. Soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 (106,000)
10. Five Finger Death Punch, And Justice for None (100,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Digital Rock Songs
1. Imagine Dragons, “Whatever It Takes” (617,000)
2. Imagine Dragons, “Thunder” (579,000)
3. Bad Wolves, “Zombie” (394,000)
4. Portugal. The Man, “Feel It Still” (332,000)
5. Imagine Dragons, “Believer” (297,000)
6. Alice Merton, “No Roots” (207,000)
7. Foster the People, “Sit Next to Me” (190,000)
8. Disturbed, “The Sound of Silence” (137,000)
9. Walk the Moon, “One Foot” (132,000)
10. Panic! at the Disco, “Say Amen (Saturday Night)” (118,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Rock Song Streams (Audio and Video Combined)
1. Imagine Dragons, “Believer” (297,207,000)
2. Imagine Dragons, “Thunder” (274,866,000)
3. Portugal. The Man, “Feel It Still” (159,715,000)
4. Imagine Dragons, “Whatever It Takes” (115,928,000)
5. Imagine Dragons, “Radioactive” (113,624,000)
6. Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens” (104,328,000)
7. Foster the People, “Pumped Up Kicks” (95,335,000)
8. Twenty One Pilots, “Stressed Out” (94,329,000)
9. Skillet, “Monster” (89,728,000)
9. Bad Wolves, “Zombie” (85,529,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Rock Audio Streams
1. Imagine Dragons, “Believer” (140,419,000)
2. Imagine Dragons, “Thunder” (133,858,000)
3. Portugal. The Man, “Feel It Still” (125,125,000)
4. Imagine Dragons, “Whatever It Takes” (86,198,000)
5. Imagine Dragons, “Radioactive” (65,491,000)
6. Foster the People, “Sit Next to Me” (61,634,000)
7. Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’” (56,742,000)
8. The Killers, “Mr. Brightside” (55,308,000)
9. Eagles, “Hotel California” (53,561,000)
10. Imagine Dragons, “Demons” (53,039,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Rock Video Streams
1. Imagine Dragons, “Believer” (156,789,000)
2. Imagine Dragons, “Thunder” (141,008,000)
3. Skillet, “Monster” (67,597,000)
4. Smash Mouth, “All Star” (55,234,000)
5. Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens” (53,138,000)
6. Foster the People, “Pumped Up Kicks” (51,639,000)
7. Bad Wolves, “Zombie” (50,085,000)
8. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Simple Man” (48,318,000)
9. Imagine Dragons, “Radioactive” (48,133,000)
10. Twenty One Pilots, “Stressed Out” (47,997,000)

Source: Nielsen Music, for the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 – June 28, 2018.

* Note: Nielsen Music’s consumption unit totals for albums include SEA and TEA for an album's songs registered before an album's release, but during the tracking period.

[Gary]

Post Malone & Drake Rule Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 R&B/Hip-Hop Charts

7/10/2018 by Keith Caulfield


Post Malone’s smash album beerbongs & bentleys and Drake’s hit single “God’s Plan” rule Nielsen Music’s mid-year 2018 R&B/hip-hop charts. The former finishes as both the most popular R&B/hip-hop album and the top-selling R&B/hip-hop album of the first six months, while the latter is the top-selling digital song and the most streamed tune in the genre.

In the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017, through June 28, 2018, beerbongs & bentleys earned 1.79 million equivalent album units. Of that sum, 258,000 were in traditional album sales.

Equivalent album units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit -- through June 28, ahead of the previously announced weighting change -- equaled one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from one album, or 1,500 on-demand audio streams generated by songs on an album. (For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts.)

Post Malone performs on stage at Day 1 of the 2018 Governors Ball Music Festival on June 1, 2018 in New York City.
Read More
Post Malone, Ed Sheeran & Drake Dominate Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Charts

Overall equivalent album units for the R&B/hip-hop genre totaled 70.13 million for the first half of the year -- up 21.6 percent. Traditional album sales in the genre fell a sizable 26.9 percent to 10 million, while R&B/hip-hop digital song sales dropped 29.3 percent to 46.56 million.

Total R&B/hip-hop on-demand streams grew 46.3 percent to 121.3 billion, while audio alone on its own vaulted 48.3 percent to 83.2 billion and R&B/hip-hop video streams gained by 42 percent to 38.1 billion.

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Based on Overall Equivalent Album Units*)
1. Post Malone, beerbongs & bentleys (1,791,000)
2. Cardi B, Invasion of Privacy (1,113,000)
3. Migos, Culture II (1,088,000)
4. Soundtrack, Black Panther: The Album (1,058,000)
5. J. Cole, KOD (794,000)
6. Post Malone, Stoney (788,000)
7. XXXTentacion, ? (769,000)
8. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. (640,000)
9. Bruno Mars, 24K Magic (528,000)
10. Khalid, American Teen (527,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
1. Post Malone, beerbongs & bentleys (258,000)
2. J. Cole, KOD (241,000)
3. Soundtrack, Black Panther: The Album (209,000)
4. Cardi B, Invasion of Privacy (178,000)
5. Bruno Mars, 24K Magic (150,000)
6. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. (150,000)
7. Eminem, Revival (126,000)
8. Kanye West, ye (117,000)
9. The Weeknd, My Dear Melancholy (117,000)
10. Migos, Culture II (95,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Digital R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
1. Drake, “God’s Plan” (959,000)
2. Bruno Mars & Cardi B, “Finesse” (592,000)
3. Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign, “Psycho” (491,000)
4. The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar, “Pray for Me” (386,000)
5. Post Malone featuring 21 Savage, “Rockstar” (378,000)
6. Drake, “Nice for What” (378,000)
7. NF, “Let You Down” (341,000)
8. Post Malone, “I Fall Apart” (297,000)
9. Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin, “I Like It” (296,000)
10. Kendrick Lamar & SZA, “All the Stars” (281,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand R&B/Hip-Hop Song Streams (Audio and Video Combined)
1. Drake, “God’s Plan” (1,121,024,000)
2. Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign, “Psycho” (576,223,000)
3. BlocBoy JB featuring Drake, “Look Alive” (542,548,000)
4. Post Malone featuring 21 Savage, “Rockstar” (542,186,000)
5. Drake, “Nice for What” (484,468,000)
6. Bruno Mars & Cardi B, “Finesse” (428,922,000)
7. XXXTentacion, “Sad!” (422,654,000)
8. Post Malone, “I Fall Apart” (419,075,000)
9. Migos featuring Drake, “Walk It Talk It” (418,139,000)
10. Offset & Metro Boomin’, “Ric Flair Drip” (409,021,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand R&B/Hip-Hop Audio Streams
1. Drake, “God’s Plan” (654,993,000)
2. Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign, “Psycho” (381,741,000)
3. BlocBoy JB featuring Drake, “Look Alive” (361,484,000)
4. Drake, “Nice For What” (339,141,000)
5. Post Malone featuring 21 Savage, “Rockstar” (331,467,000)
6. XXXTentacion, “Sad!” (270,820,000)
7. Migos, “Stir Fry” (269,060,000)
8. Kendrick Lamar & SZA, “All the Stars” (258,404,000)
9. Post Malone, “I Fall Apart” (255,099,000)
10. Offset & Metro Boomin’, “Ric Flair Drip” (253,122,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand R&B/Hip-Hop Video Streams
1. Drake, “God’s Plan” (466,032,000)
2. Bruno Mars & Cardi B, “Finesse” (225,446,000)
3. 6ix9ine, “Gummo” (221,117,000)
4. Lil Pump, “Gucci Gang” (211,876,000)
5. Post Malone featuring 21 Savage, “Rockstar” (210,718,000)
6. Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign, “Psycho” (194,482,000)
7. Migos featuring Drake, “Walk It Talk It” (191,922,000)
8. Lil Dicky featuring Chris Brown, “Freaky Friday” (191,670,000)
9. Childish Gambino, “This Is America” (181,851,000)
10. BlocBoy JB featuring Drake, “Look Alive” (181,063,000)

Source: Nielsen Music, for the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 – June 28, 2018.

* Note: Nielsen Music’s consumption unit totals for albums include SEA and TEA for an album's songs registered before an album's release, but during the tracking period.

[Gary]

Ozuna & J Balvin Loom Large on Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Latin Charts

7/10/2018 by Keith Caulfield



On Nielsen Music’s mid-year 2018 Latin charts, Ozuna and J Balvin loom large. Plus, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber, continues to rake in big streaming numbers.

In the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017, through June 28, 2018, Ozuna’s Odisea earned 313,000 equivalent album units, making it the most popular Latin album of the first half of the year. Of that sum, 14,000 were in traditional album sales -- as the album’s unit total was largely powered by streaming activity for its songs.

Equivalent album units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit -- through June 28, ahead of the previously announced weighting change -- equaled one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from one album, or 1,500 on-demand audio streams generated by songs on an album. (For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts.)

Ozuna and J Balvin both feature prominently on Nielsen’s mid-year songs charts (see below), with multiple tunes on each list.

Post Malone performs on stage at Day 1 of the 2018 Governors Ball Music Festival on June 1, 2018 in New York City.
Read More
Post Malone, Ed Sheeran & Drake Dominate Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Charts

The top-selling Latin album at the mid-year point is CNCO’s self-titled release, which sold 17,000 copies. It also finishes as the No. 8 most popular Latin album overall, with 62,000 units.

“Despacito,” which spent a record 52 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, continues to show its incredible popularity -- well over a year after its release. The song leads as the biggest-selling Latin track of the year (246,000 downloads sold), the top on-demand Latin streaming song (308.98 million streams), the top Latin audio stream (119.8 million) and top Latin video stream (189.2 million).

Overall equivalent album units for the Latin genre totaled 9.2 million for the first half of the year -- up 31 percent as compared to the first half of 2017. (That’s a percentage increase larger than genres like country, which gained 5.5 percent and R&B/hip-hop, which rose 21.6 percent.) Traditional album sales in the Latin genre dropped 34.1 percent to 992,000, while Latin digital song sales declined 25.6 percent to 5.8 million.

Total Latin on-demand streams (combining audio and video streams) vaulted 50 percent to 33.2 billion. Latin audio streams alone gained 61 percent to 11.3 billion and Latin video streams were up by 44.7 percent to 21.8 billion.

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Latin Albums (Based on Overall Equivalent Album Units*)
1. Ozuna, Odisea (313,000)
2. J Balvin, Vibras (145,000)
3. Maluma, F.A.M.E. (85,000)
4. Romeo Santos, Golden (83,000)
5. Shakira, El Dorado (77,000)
6. Nicky Jam, Fenix (73,000)
7. Aventura, Todavia Me Amas: Lo Mejor De Aventura (67,000)
8. CNCO, CNCO (62,000)
9. Christian Nodal, Me Deje Llevar (58,000)
10. Wisin, Victory (57,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Latin Albums
1. CNCO, CNCO (17,000)
2. J Balvin, Vibras (15,000)
3. Ozuna, Odisea (14,000)
4. Luis Miguel, Mexico Por Siempre! (14,000)
5. Christian Nodal, Me Deje Llevar (13,000)
6. Victor Manuelle, 25/7 (10,000)
7. Maluma, F.A.M.E. (10,000)
8. Juan Gabriel, Mis Numero 1… 40 Aniversario (8,000)
9. Shakira, El Dorado (8,000)
10. Selena, Ones (8,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Digital Latin Songs
1. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito” (246,000)
2. Daddy Yankee, “Dura” (120,000)
3. J Balvin & Willy William featuring Beyoncé, “Mi Gente” (114,000)
4. Nicky Jam x J Balvin, “X” (91,000)
5. Luis Fonsi & Demi Lovato, “Echame La Culpa” (87,000)
6. Ozuna x Cardi B, “La Modelo” (62,000)
7. Casper Magico, Nio Garcia, Darell, Nicky Jam, Ozuna & Bad Bunny, “Te Bote” (59,000)
8. Ozuna & Romeo Santos, “El Farsante” (58,000)
9. Becky G featuring Bad Bunny, “Mayores” (44,000)
10. Reik featuring Ozuna & Wisin, “Me Niego” (40,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Latin Song Streams (Audio and Video Combined)
1. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito” (308,980,000)
2. Ozuna & Romeo Santos, “El Farsante” (212,042,000)
3. Daddy Yankee, “Dura” (198,437,000)
4. J Balvin & Willy William featuring Beyoncé, “Mi Gente” (195,776,000)
5. Nicky Jam x J Balvin, “X” (156,952,000)
6. Casper Magico, Nio Garcia, Darell, Nicky Jam, Ozuna & Bad Bunny, “Te Bote” (149,214,000)
7. Ozuna x Cardi B, “La Modelo” (149,126,000)
8. El Chombo featuring Cutty Ranks, “Dame Tu Cosita” (148,941,000)
9. Luis Fonsi & Demi Lovato, “Echame La Culpa” (127,763,000)
10. Natti Natasha x Ozuna, “Criminal” (124,303,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Latin Audio Streams
1. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito” (119,802,000)
2. J Balvin & Willy William featuring Beyoncé, “Mi Gente” (97,766,000)
3. Ozuna & Romeo Santos, “El Farsante” (78,091,000)
4. Nicky Jam x J Balvin, “X” (77,113,000)
5. Casper Magico, Nio Garcia, Darell, Nicky Jam, Ozuna & Bad Bunny, “Te Bote” (75,764,000)
6. Daddy Yankee, “Dura” (73,993,000)
7. Ozuna x Cardi B, “La Modelo” (71,955,000)
8. Almighty, Ozuna, Bad Bunny & Wisin, “Solita” (52,760,000)
9. DJ Luian & Mambo Kingz Presentan: Bad Bunny, J Balvin & Prince Royce, “Sensualidad” (51,503,000)
10. Luis Fonsi & Demi Lovato, “Echame La Culpa” (51,503,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Latin Video Streams
1. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito” (189,178,000)
2. El Chombo featuring Cutty Ranks, “Dame Tu Cosita” (147,694,000)
3. Ozuna & Romeo Santos, “El Farsante” (133,951,000)
4. Daddy Yankee, “Dura” (124,444,000)
5. J Balvin & Willy William featuring Beyoncé, “Mi Gente” (98,010,000)
6. DJ Kass, “Scooby Doo Pa Pa” (90,570,000)
7. Nicky Jam x J Balvin, “X” (79,839,000)
8. Ozuna x Cardi B, “La Modelo” (77,171,000)
9. Luis Fonsi & Demi Lovato, “Echame La Culpa” (76,260,000)
10. Natti Natasha x Ozuna, “Criminal” (75,189,000)

Source: Nielsen Music, for the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 – June 28, 2018.

* Note: Nielsen Music’s consumption unit totals for albums include SEA and TEA for an album's songs registered before an album's release, but during the tracking period.

[thabb]

anyone know if they fixed the #s yet or are they still messed up lolz

[Gary]

What #'s are wrong?

[thabb]

Jul 10, 2018 16:26:21 GMT -5 Gary said:

What #'s are wrong?

is "Total Album Equivalent Consumption" not the same as "Album + TEA + ODS SEA" is what i'm trying to get at, because if they're determined by the same exact formula, why should there be any discrepancies in the first place?

discrepancies like these are scattered all over the place on the report

unless "billboard mid-year" is not the same as a nielsen mid-year?? which makes this all the more inconvenient

or does the "billboard mid-year" chart come with the new reweights???

[Gary]

Nielsen mid-year is the first 6 months of the ACTUAL calendar year


Billboard Mid-year ---- Not the same

[thabb]

Jul 10, 2018 16:49:56 GMT -5 Gary said:

Nielsen mid-year is the first 6 months of the ACTUAL calendar year


Billboard Mid-year ---- Not the same

so what exactly is the billboard mid-year? the start billboard chart year to [whatever date is considered the "midpoint"]?

[Gary]

Jul 10, 2018 16:51:20 GMT -5 thabb said:

Jul 10, 2018 16:49:56 GMT -5 Gary said:

Nielsen mid-year is the first 6 months of the ACTUAL calendar year


Billboard Mid-year ---- Not the same

so what exactly is the billboard mid-year? the start billboard chart year to [whatever date is considered the "midpoint"]?

Billboard does not do a mid-year report

However the 6 month point is roughly at the end of May

[thabb]

Jul 10, 2018 16:54:11 GMT -5 Gary said:

Jul 10, 2018 16:51:20 GMT -5 thabb said:

so what exactly is the billboard mid-year? the start billboard chart year to [whatever date is considered the "midpoint"]?

Billboard does not do a mid-year report

However the 6 month point is roughly at the end of May

i see. thank you tons for clarifying, i was way confused :)

[Gary]

Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey's 'The Middle' Dominates Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Dance/Electronic Charts

News

By Keith Caulfield | July 11, 2018 10:02 AM EDT
Zedd Maren Morris Grey


Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey’s “The Middle” finds itself on top of multiple charts in Nielsen Music’s mid-year 2018 dance/electronic roundup. The smash collaboration was the biggest selling song in the genre in the first half of the year, as well as the most streamed song (in total on-demand streams). (See charts, below.)

The track, which has spent 23 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (through the latest tally dated July 14), sold 621,000 downloads in the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 through June 28, 2018. It sold more than twice the tally of the second-largest selling dance/electronic song at the mid-year point: Selena Gomez and Marshmello’s “Wolves,” with 213,000 downloads.

“The Middle” did big business on streaming services as well, collected 312.72 million on-demand streams (audio and video combined) in the first six months of the year, making it the most-streamed dance/electronic tune at the mid-year point. “Wolves” was the second-most streamed dance/electronic track, with 166.51 million clicks.

“The Middle” also rules as the most streamed on-demand audio cut in the dance/electronic genre, with 217.16 million streams.

In terms of the most popular dance/electronic albums of 2018, thus far, The Chainsmokers rule with three out of the top four positions, including No. 1: Memories… Do Not Open. The set earned 161,000 equivalent album units in the first six months of the year.

Equivalent album units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit — through June 28, ahead the previously announced weighting change — equaled one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from one album, or 1,500 on-demand audio streams generated by songs on an album. (For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts.)

Overall equivalent album units for the dance/electronic genre totaled 8.31 million for the first half of the year — down 9.3 percent as compared to the first half of 2017. Traditional album sales in the dance/electronic genre fell 34.8 percent to 1.05 million, while dance/electronic digital song sales dropped 51.9 percent to 7.38 million.

Total dance/electronic on-demand streams (combining audio and video streams) gained 5.8 percent to 13.9 billion. Dance/electronic audio streams alone rose 8.5 percent to 9.78 billion and dance/electronic video streams were up by 0.1 percent to 4.1 billion.

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Dance/Electronic Albums (Based on Overall Equivalent Album Units*)
1. The Chainsmokers, Memories… Do Not Open (161,000)
2. Calvin Harris, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 (129,000)
3. The Chainsmokers, Collage (EP) (114,000)
4. The Chainsmokers, Sick Boy (EP) (106,000)
5. Lady Gaga, The Fame (101,000)
6. Above & Beyond, Common Ground (91,000)
7. Odesza, A Moment Apart (84,000)
8. Kygo, Kids In Love (76,000)
9. Avicii, True (67,000)
10. Gorillaz, Demon Days (60,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Dance/Electronic Albums
1. Above & Beyond, Common Ground (79,000)
2. Gorillaz, Demon Days (21,000)
3. Lady Gaga, The Fame (19,000)
4. Various Artists, Now That’s What I Call a Workout 2018 (17,000)
5. Odesza, A Moment Apart (14,000)
6. The Chainsmokers, Memories… Do Not Open (14,000)
7. Daft Punk, Discovery (14,000)
8. Various Artists, Now That’s What I Call Hits & Remixes 2018 (12,000)
9. Lindsey Stirling, Brave Enough (11,000)
10. Daft Punk, Random Access Memories (10,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Digital Dance/Electronic Songs
1. Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey, “The Middle” (621,000)
2. Selena Gomez x Marshmello, “Wolves” (213,000)
3. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line & Watt, “Let Me Go” (165,000)
4. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay, “Something Just Like This” (144,000)
5. Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa, “One Kiss” (140,000)
6. Sofi Tukker featuring NERVO, The Knocks & Alisa Ueno, “Best Friend” (127,000)
7. Marshmello featuring Khalid, “Silence” (114,000)
8. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey, “Closer” (64,000)
9. Avicii, “Wake Me Up” (62,000)
10. Zedd & Alessia Cara, “Stay” (59,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Dance/Electronic Song Streams (Audio and Video Combined)
1. Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey, “The Middle” (312,724,000)
2. Selena Gomez x Marshmello, “Wolves” (166,514,000)
3. Marshmello featuring Khalid, “Silence” (148,158,000)
4. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay, “Something Just Like This” (147,360,000)
5. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line & Watt, “Let Me Go” (137,306,000)
6. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey, “Closer” (132,002,000)
7. Alan Walker, “Faded” (121,162,000)
8. Gummibar, “I Am a Gummy Bear” (120,327,000)
9. Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa, “One Kiss” (110,733,000)
10. The Chainsmokers featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down” (106,069,000)

2018’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Dance/Electronic Audio Streams
1. Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey, “The Middle” (217,164,000)
2. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line & Watt, “Let Me Go” (113,755,000)
3. Marshmello featuring Khalid, “Silence” (108,950,000)
4. Selena Gomez x Marshmello, “Wolves” (104,600,000)
5. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay, “Something Just Like This” (101,480,000)
6. Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa, “One Kiss” (84,658,000)
7. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey, “Closer” (82,158,000)
8. Clean Bandit featuring Julia Michaels, “I Miss You” (64,655,000)
9. The Chainsmokers featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down” (56,179,000)
10. Zedd & Alessia Cara, “Stay” (55,946,000)

Source: Nielsen Music, for the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2017 – June 28, 2018.
* Note: Nielsen Music’s consumption unit totals for albums include SEA and TEA for an album's songs registered before an album's release, but during the tracking period
Background Media:
Background Media:

[Gary]

Drake Cleans Up & Streaming Continues to Grow in Nielsen Music Canada's Mid-Year 2018 Report

7/12/2018 by Karen Bliss


Two Drake singles, "God's Plan" and "Nice For What," have spent a combined 14 weeks of the first 26 of 2018 in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, with 98 million and 49 million on-demand streams, respectively, according to Nielsen Music Canada's mid-year report.

The Canadian rapper's double album Scorpion notched 33 million streams for its 25 tracks the first weekend of the June 29 release, and "God's Plan" is the top-streamed song to date this year (on-demand audio) with 73 million streams.

The data, which covers the six-month period ending June 28, provides key insights into industry trends in sales and streaming, social media, and consumer engagement by Canadian music consumers, including the charts presented by Billboard.

Of note, the mid-year report reveals on-demand audio streaming is up 53 percent in 2018, while album sales have decreased by 17 percent and digital track sales by 22 percent.

Post Malone performs on stage at Day 1 of the 2018 Governors Ball Music Festival on June 1, 2018 in New York City.
Read More
Post Malone, Ed Sheeran & Drake Dominate Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Charts

Weekly on-demand audio streams surpassed one billion for the first time, during the week ending March 1 and peaked at 1.2 billion during the week ending June 28. The mid-year total reached 26.8 billion, up from 17.5 billion a year ago.

"Music in Canada continues to flourish, with fans listening to their favourite artists at unprecedented levels," Paul Shaver, vice-president, Nielsen Entertainment Canada - Music & Sports, said in a statement. "Access to music has never been easier, with a diverse array of channels and technologies for engagement, and we're seeing these factors drive record consumption year over year."

Total album audio consumption is higher than it was for 2017. Overall album audio consumption -- albums + track equivalent albums (TEA) + on-demand audio streaming equivalent albums (SEA) -- increased 18 percent to 27 million units, up from 23 million during the same period in 2017.

Nielsen defines the term "total album equivalent consumption" in this report as "the number of physical and digital albums that were sold and the total number of album equivalent songs from downloads and song streaming volume" and "does not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts."

Canadian stars The Weeknd and Shawn Mendes both landed their third consecutive No. 1 albums, The Weeknd's My Dear Melancholy with 19,000 album equivalent units and Shawn Mendes' self-titled release with 32,000 album equivalent units. Another Canuck Tory Lanez attained his first No. 1 album with Memories Don't Die. Canadians Jim Cuddy, Éric Lapointe and Coeur De Pirate also had top selling album sales totals the first week of their respective album releases.

American Post Malone set a one-week record for on-demand audio streams from an album for his Beerbongs & Bentleys, notching 43.4 million streams, topping Drake's previous record of 42.8 million for More Life. He also leads in total audio album equivalent consumption so far this year with 206,000.

For more insights on everything from vinyl to hip hop and individual artists, -- such as Daniel Caesar, Jessie Reyez, Nav, Tory Lanez, as well as veteran Tom Cochrane, the late XXXtentacion, and politically outspoken Childish Gambino -- go here to see the full Nielsen Music Canada mid-year report.

[forg]

Looking like we won't have another 1 million pure sales this year unless a Christmas album blows up