Dr. Dre's 'Compton' streamed 25 million times on Apple Music
Dr. Dre’s Compton was worth the wait. After 16 years without new music from the rap legend-turned-business mogul, fans listened to the album, which debuted exclusively on Apple Music an iTunes, a lot: The album was streamed 25 million times in its first week on Apple Music, the service told The New York Times. Apple also reported Compton sold half a million downloads on iTunes.
The numbers are solid for Apple Music, which launched in June and left skeptics wondering if it could rival other streaming services like Spotify. But, they weren’t enough to land Compton at the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s album chart. Luke Bryan’s Kill The Lights beat Dr. Dre’s first album in 16 years.
Billboard reports that Compton, which landed at No. 2, moved 295,000 album units in its first week. The album is only exclusive to Apple and iTunes in its first two weeks of release.
Compared to other hip-hop releases this year, Compton‘s plays are modest. As the Times points out, Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late was streamed 48 million times in its first week, and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly had 39 million streams. Both were available on Spotify, which has 20 million subscribers. Apple Music reports that it has 11 million trial members.