Bob Marley’s Music Streams Surge Since Coronavirus Lockdown
What have you been listening to lately? Since the coronavirus wreaked havoc across the globe, causing many to stay indoors, you would expect music streaming numbers to increase. Contrary to that belief, there has been a significant decline, except for legends like Bob Marley.
Bob’s music seems to be the comfort many have turned to in these uncertain and dreary times. His music is reassuring as if he has lived through it all to tell the tale.
While there are his uplifting, soulful and sweet-sounding tunes like Jamming, Three Little Birds and One Love , his other renowned singles such as Catch a Fire and Concrete Jungle all speak to occurrences that are uncannily similar to the effects caused by the current pandemic. Like a premonition Natural Mystic , in particular, verses begin:
“There is a natural mystic flowing the air
If you listen carefully now you will hear
This could be the first trumpet, might as well be the last
Many more will have to suffer many more will have to die
Don’t ask me why
Things are not the way they used to be, I wont tell no lie. …”
War and Burnin’ & Looting directly register words for pandemics, protests, and global crises that can serve as a guide for those seeking answers and ultimately, solace.
The decline in music streaming, pegged at 28% for the week ending March 12 to the week ending April 16 according to Spotify data for the top 200 songs, can be attributed to several factors including considerable business closures, especially the ones that stream music all day like restaurants, coffee shops, clothing stores, gyms, etc. Many artistes have also delayed album releases since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.
Commuters also account for a large share of music streaming, and with nowhere to go these days, those streams have been put on halt.
The ones stuck at home now that are turning to music are evidently looking for something that teaches and calms. Online streaming metrics show that old-timers like Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, the Dixie Chicks, and Bill Withers are high in demand.
The United States has recorded a spike of 7.1% in audio and video streams of Marley’s music between March 13 and April 9, compared with the prior four-week period, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
Globally, streams of his catalog have experienced a boost, going up 23.2% through the weeks of April. In all, Bob’s music catalog has stockpiled 1.1 billion streams around the world in the first three months of the year.
The visionary that was Bob Marley has created such a timeless and divinatory catalog of music that, even four decades after his death, continues to provide comfort to many and slake discontentment in the face of adversity on a global level.
Fun fact…
Marley’s iconic album Legend, released in 1984, three years after Bob’s death, is the second-longest-charting album on the Billboard 200, currently sitting at No. 57 in its 622nd week.
It is also at the No. 1 spot on the Reggae Albums chart while another greatest-hits set of his, Gold, sits at No. 6.
Legend is also No. 7 on the Vinyl Albums chart (252 weeks) and No. 2 on the Catalog Albums chart, where it has been for 1,409 weeks — or over 27 years.