2 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
INTRODUCTIONWelcome to the Nielsen Music Mid-Year Report, which provides an exclusive glimpse at the music industry’s leading trends, data and insights from the past six months. The music industry is still in the midst of an exciting growth spurt that led to 15-year record revenues for the major label groups in 2017 and has continued to break new consumption milestones for the first half of 2018.
That included a 18.1% increase in total album equivalent audio consumption (album sales + track equivalent albums + audio on-demand streaming equivalent albums), led by a 53.3% increase in audio on-demand streams, which reached a six-month record of nearly 27 billion.
Canadian artists achieved major successes in the first half of 2018. The Weeknd, Shawn Mendes and Tory Lanez scored number one consumption albums, while Jim Cuddy, Éric Lapointe and Coeur De Pirate picked up chart-topping album sellers. At radio, The Weeknd, Dallas Smith, Dean Brody, The Sheepdogs and Arcade Fire landed format chart-toppers while Loud Luxury, Lindsay Ell and Black Pistol Fire scored their first airplay number one songs. And then of course there’s Drake, whose two singles “God’s Plan” and “Nice For What” spent a combined total of 14 weeks at the top of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.
And with streaming records still being broken on a regular basis in recent months, there’s no reason to expect this momentum to slow down any time soon. In fact, we’re thrilled to now have Amazon Prime Music fully integrated across our Music Connect desktop and mobile app platforms. For a full list of updates to our products and services, see the highlights on the following page.
Over the course of the next 20-plus pages, Nielsen Music has compiled all the essential learnings you need to power the rest of your 2018. And as always, we’d love to hear from you to learn how we can provide more tools to prepare you for the coming months.
CANADIANARTISTS
ACHIEVED MAJOR
SUCCESSES IN THE FIRST
HALF OF 2018
Paul ShaverVice PresidentNielsen Entertainment Canada - Music | Sports
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3Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
WHAT’S NEW FROM NIELSEN MUSIC
Amazon Canada is now fully integrated into Music Connect, informing Nielsen Streaming On-Demand (Total and Audio splits) data.
Music Connect subscribers in the U.S. and Canada can now upgrade for greater customization and control via real-time, direct access to the Music Connect API.
Plays measured by Nielsen Music on paid-subscription tiers of streaming services will be given more weight on Music Connect calculations than those on ad-supported services. These will be reflected on the Billboard charts as well.
Daily building charts are now available in Nielsen’s Music Connect Mobile app in the U.S. and Canada.
4 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
CONTENTS2018 MID-YEAR INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
2018 MID-YEAR MOMENTS
2018 MID-YEAR TIMELINE 2018 IN MEMORIAM
2018 MID-YEAR CHARTS
5
8
14
16
17
NOTE: The term “total album equivalent consumption” in this report describes the number of
physical and digital albums that were sold and the total number of album equivalent songs from
downloads and song streaming volume. For the sake of clarity, the definition of album equivalent
consumption does not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts.
Unless otherwise noted, all numbers are volume.
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
5Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
TOTAL ALBUM EQUIVALENT CONSUMPTION*(ALBUM + TE A + ON-DEMAND AUDIO/ VIDEO SE A)
2018 2017 % CHG.
31.3M 26.1M +19.8%
(ALBUM + TE A + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SE A)
2018 2017 % CHG.
27.0M 22.9M +18.1%
2018 2017 % CHG.
26.8B 17.5B
ON-DEMAND SONG STREAMING - AUDIO
+53.3%
% CHG.
2018 2017 % CHG.
6.4B 4.8B +32.0%
ON-DEMAND SONG STREAMING - VIDEO*(AUDIO + VIDEO)
2018 2017 % CHG.
33.1B 22.3B +48.7%
ON-DEMAND SONG STREAMING*
TOTAL ALBUM SALES + TEA2018 2017 % CHG.
9.2M 11.2M -18.4%
MID-YEAR 2018
*A video streaming provider does not report full depth data.
* Track Equivalent Albums (TEA) ratio of 10 tracks to 1 album and Streaming Equivalent Albums (SEA) ratio of 1,500 streams to 1 album.
Data figures represent 12/29/2017-6/28/2018.
6 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
TOTAL ALBUM SALES (PHYICAL + DIGITAL)
2018 2017 % CHG.
6.7M 8.1M -17.1%
DIGITAL ALBUM SALES2018 2017 % CHG.
2.5M 3.2M -22.0%
2018 2017 % CHG.
22.9M 18.1M +26.6%
PHYSICAL ALBUM SALES (INCLUDES VINYL LP)
2018 2017 % CHG.
4.2M 4.8M -13.7%
VINYL LP SALES
2018 2017 % CHG.
0.4M 0.3M +66.6%
DIGITAL TRACK SALES2018 2017 % CHG.
24.9M 31.8M -21.8% Data figures represent 12/29/2017-6/28/2018
ALBUM EQUIVALENT CONSUMPTION DIGITAL (DIGITAL ALBUMS + TE A + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SE A)
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
7Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
Data figures represent 12/29/2017-6/28/2018
CATALOGUE VS. CURRENT SALES(CATALOGUE IS DEFINED AS OVER 18 MONTHS)
OVER ALL ALBUMS CURRENT 45.2% 45.9% -18.4%CATALOGUE 54.8% 54.1% -15.9%
DIGITAL ALBUMS
PHYSICAL ALBUMS
DIGITAL TR ACKS
CURRENT 44.7% 47.8% -27.0%CATALOGUE 55.3% 52.2% -17.5%
OVER ALL ON-DEMAND AUDIO STRE AMS
CURRENT 45.4% 44.7% -12.2%CATALOGUE 54.6% 55.3% -14.9%
CURRENT 39.7% 42.1% -26.3%CATALOGUE 60.3% 57.9% -18.5%
CURRENT 42.5% 43.0% 51.3%CATALOGUE 57.5% 57.0% 54.7%
CURRENT 42.9% 43.6% 17.9%CATALOGUE 57.1% 56.4% 21.3%
Data figures represent 12/29/2017-6/28/2018.
ALBUM EQUIVALENT CONSUMPTION DIGITAL (DIGITAL ALBUMS + TE A + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SE A)
TOTAL ALBUM EQUIVALENT CONSUMP TION
8 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
ALESSIA CARABest New Artist - 421% album sales gain, 153% digital track gain, 25% On-Demand streaming gain
LEONARD COHEN Best Rock Performance - 9% Audio consumption increase
THE WEEKNDThe Weeknd - Best Urban Contemporary Album
BRUNO MARS205% sales gain for 24K Magic, 10% On-Demand streaming increase for “That’s What I Like”. 3.5 million On-Demand streams for “Finesse (Remix)” with Cardi B
TOP MID-YEAR MOMENTS
GRAMMY GAINSThe 60th Annual Grammy Awards proved to be a big night in sales bumps for Canadian artists, led by Alessia Cara, who took home the coveted Best New Artist trophy, and Bruno Mars, who swept all six of his nominated categories.
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
9Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
Total album audio consumption continues to surge in 2018, surpassing 2017’s record figures. Overall album audio consumption increased 18.1% to 27 million units, up from 23 million during the same period in 2017. Leading the charge was substantial growth for on-demand audio and video streaming, which grew a combined 48.7%. The increased activity helped offset continued declines in album sales, which declined 17.1% to 6.7 million units and digital song sales, which slipped 21.8% to 24.9 million units.
ALBUM AUDIO, ON-DEMAND DRIVES RECORD FIRST HALF FOR MUSIC CONSUMPTION
R&B/HIP-HOP CONTINUES TO LE AD AT STRE AMING SERVICES, R ADIO
R&B/Hip-hop continues to grow, with 21.3% of total album audio equivalent volume (album + TEA + audio SEA.) Along with big consumption numbers from international stars of the genre and the continued success of Canadians Drake and The Weeknd, a number of breakout Canadian urban acts have contributed to the genre’s explosion.
Juno Award-winning singer-songwriters Daniel Caesar and Jessie Reyez have accumulated over 28 million and 11 million audio on-demand streams, respectively, during the first half of 2018, while rappers Nav and Tory Lanez have totaled 58 million and 62 million audio on-demand streams, respectively, after releasing new albums during the first six months of 2018.
STREAMING SURGE
HIP-HOP’S ASCENT
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RADIO SPOTLIGHT
DRAKE
HOW CANADIAN ARTISTS RULED THE AIRWAVES
At CHR, The Weeknd’s team-up with Kendrick Lamar, “Pray For Me,” spent two weeks at No. 1, marking the singer’s third chart-topping hit at the format. With “Body,” dance duo Loud Luxury became the first Canadian act to top the format chart with their first charted single since Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” in 2002. In the Country format, Dallas Smith scored his fifth No. 1 (and fourth straight) Country hit with “Sleepin’ Around.” Dean Brody (pictured right) picked up his third No. 1 and first since 2013 with “8th Day.” And newcomer Lindsay Ell scored her first No. 1 song with “Criminal.”
The Sheepdogs picked up their third No. 1 song on the Mainstream Rock chart with “I’ve Got A Hole Where My Heart Should Be.” In Modern Rock, Arcade Fire’s “Creature Comfort” gave the band it’s third chart-topper at the format, while breakouts Black Pistol Fire scored a No. 1 hit with their first charted song, “Lost Cause.”
THE R AP SUPERSTAR’S REIGN CONTINUES WITH 14 WEEKS AT NO. 1 ON THE HOT 100 AND BLOCKBUSTER NE W ALBUM
Drake made a triumphant return to the chart with singles “God’s Plan” and “Nice For What,” which have spent a combined 14 of the first 26 weeks of the year at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, with 98 million and 49 million on-demand streams, respectively.
The singles previewed Drake’s blockbuster album Scorpion, which kicked off its first weekend of release on June 29 with a combined 33 million streams for its tracks.
He also scored a top 5 peak with “Yes Indeed,” a duet with Lil Baby and a No. 2 peak as a featured artist on BlocBoy JB’s first charted song, “Look Alive.”
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
11Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
DANIEL CAESAR, JESSIE RE YEZ, SHAWN MENDES POST BIGGEST GAINS FROM AWARDS BROADCAST
The 2018 Juno Awards, which aired March 25 on CBC Television, marked Canada’s biggest celebration of its homegrown artists. The ceremony prompted double-digit gains for many of the night’s biggest winners, including: Daniel Caesar (R&B/Soul Recording Of The Year), whose album sales received a 160% increase; Shawn Mendes (Fan Choice, Single Of The Year), who saw a 134% increase in On-Demand Streams; Jessie Reyez (Breakthrough Artist Of The Year), who posted a 129% lift in On-Demand Streams, and the late Gord Downie (Artist Of The Year, Adult Alternative Album Of The Year, Songwriter Of The Year) whose catalogue saw a 111% boost in On-Demand Streams.
JUNOS BY THE NUMBERS
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THE WEEKND, SHAWN MENDES LE AD A SUCCESSFUL FIRST SIX MONTHS FOR CANADIAN ACTS
Canadian superstars The Weeknd’s My Dear Melancholy and Shawn Mendes’ self-titled album each debuted at the top of the album equivalent consumption chart in the first half of 2018, with 19,000 in album equivalent consumption in its first week and 32,000 in album equivalent consumption, respectively. Each artist tallied their third consecutive No. 1 album.
Tory Lanez scored his first No. 1 album with Memories Don’t Die (8,400 album equivalent units). Three other Canadian artists, Jim Cuddy, Éric Lapointe and Coeur de pirate, each picked up the top-selling album sales total during each of their albums’ first week of release.
CANADIAN ARTISTS SCORE NO. 1 ALBUMS
WORLD CUP 2018
As World Cup fever continues in Moscow through July 15 (and comes to Canada in 2026), FIFA’s two official anthems have begun to find an audience in Canada. Nicky Jam’s “Live It Up,” featuring Will Smith and Era Istrefi, posted big gains in the week prior to the June 14 kickoff: a 320% lift in Digital Track Sales, an 8% increase in Audio Streams, a 444% surge in On-Demand Video Streams and a 93% increase in Airplay Audience.
Jason Derulo’s anthem for Coca-Cola, “Colors,” posted a 10% lift in song consumption during the same time period, while Pitbull’s 2014 anthem “We Are One” saw a 60% combined bump in song sales and streaming as fans revisited past favorites. Canadian superstar Shawn Mendes recorded a Portuguese-language version of his current hit single “In My Blood” which was adopted as the theme song for the Portugal team.
OFFICIAL ANTHEMS OF PRESENT AND PAST SCORE BIG AUDIENCE GAINS
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13Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
RECORD STORE DAY RECAP ANNUAL CELEBR ATION POSTS YE AR-OVER-YE AR VINYL SALES LIF T
Now in its 11th year, Record Store Day exclusive releases helped vinyl sales total over 27,000 units for the week of the celebration (April 20-26). The total accounted for a 96% increase in vinyl sales over Record Store Day in 2017.
Neil Young’s Roxy: Tonight’s the Night Live, Prince’s 1999, The Doors’ Live At The Matrix Part 2, David Bowie’s Bowie Now and Arcade Fire’s EP were among the top album sellers, while titles from Led Zeppelin, The Sheepdogs and Bowie were popular among single releases.
Record Store Day continues the growth of vinyl sales, which YTD are up 66.6% compared to the first six months of 2017.
14 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
Camila Cabello tops the Billboard
Canadian Hot 100 and Billboard Canadian
Albums charts with her single “Havana”
(127 million streams to date) and
debut solo album, Camila (12,000
first-week album equivalent
consumption units), respectively.
Justin Timberlake headlines the Pepsi
Super Bowl LII Halftime Show two days
after releasing his latest album, Man Of
The Woods. The widely seen performance
helps Timberlake accumulate 18,000
total album equivent units
for Woods’ first week.
Philly native Meek Mill sees a 1,200%
digital download sales lift for his song
“Dreams and Nightmares” after his
hometown team the Philadelphia
Eagles uses the track for their
walkout to support his #freemeekmill
campaign to get released from prison.
Kendrick Lamar’s all-star
soundtrack to Black Panther is
released, eventually becoming
the year’s third most-consumed
album to date.
Barenaked Ladies reunite with
Steven Page for a performance at the
Juno Awards in Vancouver and are
inducted into the Canadian Music Hall
of Fame. Their catalogue scored a
220% album equivalent consumption
increase for the week of the Awards.
XXXTentacion’s album ? debuts
at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian
Albums chart, powered by 15 million
audio on-demand streams in its first
week. Following the rapper’s death
on June 18, sales of the album surged
to 10,400 in album equivalent units.
MORE MID-YEAR HIGHLIGHTSJA
NUAR
Y
Music executive Scott Borchetta
premieres new Canadian music show
“The Launch” with superstar mentors
including Shania Twain, Alessia Cara,
Fergie, Boy George, Ryan Tedder of
OneRepublic and Nikki Sixx of Motley
Crue. The song “Ain’t Easy” by Elijah
Woods x Jamie Fine reached the top 10
at the three pop radio formats.
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
15Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
The SOCAN Awards take place
in Toronto, with Songwriter
of the Year honours going to
Shawn Mendes and Adam
“Frank Dukes” Feeney, and
performances from Sarah
McLachlan, Rose Cousins and
Dear Rouge.
Beyoncé headlines
Coachella and live-
streams her extensively
choreographed 90-minute
set on YouTube. The set
breaks YouTube’s live-
stream record for the
festival and leads to a 119%
increase in album sales of
Beyoncé’s solo catalogue.
Childish Gambino releases
the politically charged, instantly
viral video for new single “This Is
America.” The song debuts at No. 1
on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100
the following week with 6.9 million
on-demand streams.
Post Malone’s second album
beerbongs & bentleys breaks the
record for the highest audio
on-demand streams from an
album in a single week, with
43.3 million. The album has the
highest consumption total for
the first half of 2018.
Cardi B debuts at No. 1 on the
Billboard Canadian Albums chart
with debut album Invasion of
Privacy, fueled by 12 million audio
on-demand streams and over
12,000 in total album
equivalent consumption.
JULY
Tom Cochrane releases a new
version of his 1988 single “Big
League” to benefit victims,
survivors and families affected by
the April 6th bus crash involving the
Humboldt Broncos ice hockey team.
Cochrane’s 2018 mix posts 15,000
streams in its first week, while
the original version sees a 658%
increase in on-demand streaming
the week after the tragedy.
Daniel Caesar wins the
inaugural Nielsen Talent
Development Story of the Year at
Canadian Music Week. His debut
album, Freudian, has totaled
over 40,000 album equivalent
consumption units since its
2017 release.
16 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
2018 I N M E M O R I A M
AVICIIThe Swedish DJ-producer’s death on April 20 sent his best-known single, “Wake Me Up,” into the No. 8 position on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 on May 1, fueled by 2.7 million Canadian streams (a 953% increase from the week before). His 2013 album True re-entered the Billboard Canadian Albums chart at No. 12.
DOLORES O’RIORDAN The Cranberries frontwoman’s passing on January 15 sparked a 2,158% growth in the band’s total catalogue consumption for the reporting week. The group’s best-of album, 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection, landed at No. 9 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, while three singles, “Zombie,” “Dreams” and “Linger” each entered the top 10 on the Digital Songs chart.
XXXTENTACION The Florida rapper already had 2018’s 15th most-consumed album with ? at the time of his death on June 18. For the reporting week following his passing, the album jumped to No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart while his single, “Sad!,” jumped to No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. His catalogue posted a total album equivalnet consumption increase of 477% over the previous week.
1998-2018
1971-2018
RONNIE PROPHETThe Quebec-born country star hosted and performed on numerous Canadian TV shows in the 1970s, including “Grand Old Country” and “The Ronnie Prophet Show.” Between the ‘70s and ‘80s, he won two Juno Awards and he was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. Prophet had 11 Canadian Top 20 hits and three Top 50 hits in the US.
1989-2018
1937-2018
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17Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
1 Drake God's Plan 759,000
2 Drake Nice For What 373,000
3 Loud Luxury Feat. Brando Body 297,000
4 The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar Pray For Me 252,000
5 The Weeknd Call Out My Name 199,000
1 Drake 290,000
2 The Weeknd 125,000
3 Shawn Mendes 112,000
4 The Tragically Hip 71,000
5 Tory Lanez 47,000
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
1 Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes 71,000
2 The Weeknd My Dear Melancholy 53,000
3 Drake More Life 42,000
4 The Weeknd Starboy 38,000
5 Éric Lapointe Délivrance 38,000
TOP 5 ALBUMS
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
THE YEAR SO FAR FOR CANADIAN ARTISTS (DECEMBER 29, 2017 - JUNE 28, 2018)
1 Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine Ain't Easy 43,000
2 The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar Pray For Me 40,000
3 Felix Cartal Get What You Give 40,000
4 Loud Luxury Feat. Brando Body 37,000
5 Scott Helman PDA 32,000
18 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
1 Ed Sheeran Perfect 644,000
2 Camila Cabello Feat. Young Thug Havana 589,000
3 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 392,000
4 Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey The Middle 329,000
5 Marshmello & Anne-Marie Friends 319,000
1 Ed Sheeran 202,000
2 Shawn Mendes 112,000
3 P!nk 103,000
4 Taylor Swift 97,000
5 Camila Cabello 94,000
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
1 Ed Sheeran Divide 148,000
2 Camila Cabello Camila 94,000
3 Various Artists The Greatest Showman 73,000
4 P!nk Beautiful Trauma 73,000
5 Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes 71,000
TOP 5 ALBUMS
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
THE YEAR SO FAR IN POP (DECEMBER 29, 2017 - JUNE 28, 2018)
1 Ed Sheeran Perfect 65,000
2 Camila Cabello Feat. Young Thug Havana 58,000
3 Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey The Middle 49,000
4 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 47,000
5 Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine Ain't Easy 43,000
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
19Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
THE YEAR SO FAR IN ROCK (DECEMBER 29, 2017 - JUNE 28, 2018)
1 Imagine Dragons Thunder 314,000
2 Imagine Dragons Believer 228,000
3 Portugal. The Man Feel It Still 167,000
4 Halsey Bad At Love 164,000
5 Bad Wolves Zombie 158,000
1 Imagine Dragons 107,000
2 The Beatles 90,000
3 Metallica 80,000
4 The Tragically Hip 71,000
5 Elvis Presley 59,000
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
1 Imagine Dragons Evolve 75,000
2 Éric Lapointe Délivrance 38,000
3 The Tragically Hip Yer Favourites 33,000
4 Vance Joy Nation Of Two 29,000
5 Queen Platinum Collection 27,000
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
1 Portugal. The Man Feel It Still 46,000
2 Imagine Dragons Thunder 45,000
3 Imagine Dragons Whatever It Takes 35,000
4 Halsey Bad At Love 32,000
5 Alice Merton No Roots 20,000
20 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
THE YEAR SO FAR IN R&B/HIP-HOP (DECEMBER 29, 2017 - JUNE 28, 2018)
1 Drake God's Plan 759,000
2 Post Malone Feat. Ty Dolla $ign Psycho 458,000
3 Post Malone Feat. 21 Savage Rockstar 437,000
4 Drake Nice For What 373,000
5 BlocBoy JB Feat. Drake Look Alive 359,000
1 Post Malone 290,000
2 Drake 249,000
3 Eminem 196,000
4 XXXTentacion 134,000
5 Migos 126,000
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
1 Post Malone beerbongs & bentleys 206,,000
2 Various Artists Black Panther: The Album 107,000
3 Migos Culture Ii 990,000
4 Cardi B Invasion Of Privacy 86,000
5 Post Malone Stoney 84,000
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
1 Bruno Mars & Cardi B Finesse 48,000
2 The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar Pray For Me 40,000
3 Drake God's Plan 26,000
4 The Weeknd Die For You 26,000
5 NF Let You Down 22,000
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
21Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
1 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 392,000
2 Kane Brown Heaven 135,000
3 Thomas Rhett Marry Me 134,000
4 Dan + Shay Tequila 127,000
5 Sam Hunt Body Like A Back Road 120,000
1 Keith Urban 96,000
2 Luke Bryan 58,000
3 Chris Stapleton 56,000
4 Jason Aldean 48,000
5 Alan Jackson 48,000
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
1 Keith Urban Graffiti U 71,000
2 Jason Aldean Rearview Town 31,000
3 Luke Combs This One's For You 30,000
4 Thomas Rhett Life Changes 29,000
5 Kane Brown Kane Brown 26,000
ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA
THE YEAR SO FAR IN COUNTRY (DECEMBER 29, 2017 - JUNE 28, 2018)
1 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 47,000
2 Dierks Bentley Woman, Amen 22,000
3 Thomas Rhett Marry Me 21,000
4 Luke Bryan Most People Are Good 21,000
5 Jordan Davis Singles You Up 20,000
22 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
2018 BILLBOARD MID-YEAR CHARTS POWERED BY NIELSEN MUSIC
On-Demand Audio Streams
1 Post Malone 333,000 38,000 223,000 344,765,000
2 Drake 283,000 8,000 226,000 328,136,000
3 Ed Sheeran 276,000 59,000 312,000 167,702,000
4 Eminem 240,000 64,000 193,000 169,300,000
5 XXXTentaction 161,000 8,000 84,000 177,338,000
6 Migos 151,000 9,000 72,000 164,153,000
7 The Weeknd 144,000 21,000 67,000 146,303,000
8 Imagine Dragons 143,000 28,000 255,000 80,006,000
9 Kendrick Lamar 132,000 18,000 73,000 136,854,000
10 Shawn Mendes 130,000 40,000 123,000 90,753,000
ArtistRank Total Album Equivalent Consumption Album Sales Digital Songs
On-Demand Audio
Streaming
TOP 10 ARTISTS
TOP CANADIAN ARTISTS BY CONSUMPTION
Digital Song SalesOn-Demand Audio Streams
1 Drake 283,000 8,000 226,000 328,136,000
2 The Weeknd 144,000 21,000 67,000 146,303,000
3 Shawn Mendes 130,000 40,000 123,000 90,753,000
4 The Tragically Hip 74,000 39,000 43,000 40,903,000
5 Tory Lanez 51,000 4,000 12,000 62,665,000
6 Éric Lapointe 48,000 41,000 19,000 6,408,000
7 Shania Twain 44,000 26,000 26,000 16,987,000
8 Celine Dion 43,000 11,000 41,000 17,449,000
9 NAV 43,000 1,000 9,000 57,913,000
10 Justin Bieber 41,000 3,000 22,000 35,947,000
ArtistRank Total Album Equivalent Consumption Album Sales Digital Songs On-Demand Audio
Streaming
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
23Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
1 Post Malone 344,765,000
2 Drake 328,136,000
3 XXXTentacion 177,338,000
4 Eminem 169,300,000
5 Ed Sheeran 167,702,000
6 Migos 164,153,000
7 The Weeknd 146,303,000
8 Kendrick Lamar 136,854,000
9 Kanye West 123,476,000
10 J. Cole 107,934,000
ArtistRank STREAMING ON-DEMAND AUDIO
TOP 10 ARTIST RANKED BY ON-DEMAND AUDIO STREAMS
1 Post Malone Beerbongs & Bentleys 206,000 29,000 162,000 241,600,000
2 Ed Sheeran Divide 148,000 50,000 266,000 107,589,000
3 Various Artists Black Panther: The Album 107,000 16,000 100,000 121,726,000
4 Camila Cabello Camila 94,000 16,000 196,000 87,473,000
5 Migos Culture Ii 90,000 3,000 55,000 122,587,000
6 Cardi B Invasion Of Privacy 86,000 8,000 92,000 103,234,000
7 Post Malone Stoney 84,000 9,000 61,000 103,132,000
8 XXXTentacion ? 77,000 3,000 51,000 102,150,000
9 Imagine Dragons Evolve 75,000 21,000 209,000 49,987,000
10 Eminem Revival 74,000 25,000 89,000 59,013,000
ArtistRank TitleTotal Album Equivalent
Consumption
Album Sales
Song Sales
TOP 10 ALBUMS (ALBUM SALES + TE A + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SE A)
On-Demand Audio Streams
24 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
1 Keith Urban Graffiti U 58,000
2 P!nk Beautiful Trauma 51,000
3 Ed Sheeran Divide 49,000
4 Various Artists The Greatest Showman 39,000
5 Éric Lapointe Délivrance 37,000
6 Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes 33,000
7 Post Malone beerbongs & bentleys 29,000
8 Justin Timberlake Man Of The Woods 26,000
9 Eminem Revival 25,000
10 Elvis Presley 40 Years On 23,000
ArtistRank Title Sales
TOP 10 ALBUMS
1 Various Artists The Greatest Showman 27,000
2 Ed Sheeran Divide 16,000
3 Justin Timberlake Man Of The Woods 14,000
4 Post Malone beerbongs & bentleys 13,000
5 Imagine Dragons Evolve 11,000
6 Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes 11,000
7 The Weeknd My Dear Melancholy 11,000
8 Eminem Revival 10,000
9 Jim Cuddy Constellation 9,000
10 Various Artists Black Panther: The Album 9,000
ArtistRank Title Sales
TOP 10 DIGITAL ALBUMS
(TOTAL SALES)
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
25Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
1 Keith Urban Graffiti U 55,000
2 P!nk Beautiful Trauma 42,000
3 Ed Sheeran Divide 32,000
4 Éric Lapointe Délivrance 31,000
5 Elvis Presley 40 Years On 23,000
6 Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes 22,000
7 BTS Love Yourself: Tear 18,000
8 Various Artists 2018 Grammy Nominees 17,000
9 Jack White Boarding House Reach 17,000
10 Marc Hervieux Nos Chansons 16,000
ArtistRank Title Sales
TOP 10 PHYSICAL CD ALBUMS
1 Various Artists Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix 7,000
2 Jack White Boarding House Reach 4,000
3 Kendrick Lamar Damn. 2,000
4 Bob Marley & The Wailers Legend 2,000
5 Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino 2,000
6 Amy Winehouse Back To Black 2,000
7 Leon Bridges Good Thing 2,000
8 Pink Floyd The Dark Side Of The Moon 2,000
9 Childish Gambino Awaken My Love 1,000
10 Metallica Garage Days 1,000
ArtistRank Title Sales
TOP 10 LP VINYL ALBUMS
26 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
1 Drake God's Plan 591,000 107,000 72,614,000
2 Ed Sheeran Perfect 410,000 165,000 36,841,000
3 Post Malone Feat. Ty Dolla $ign Psycho 351,000 50,000 45,126,000
4 Camila Cabello Feat. Young Thug Havana 335,000 122,000 31,882,000
5 Post Malone Feat. 21 Savage Rockstar 326,000 57,000 40,389,000
6 Drake Nice For What 306,000 45,000 39,053,000
7 BlocBoy JB Feat. Drake Look Alive 291,000 23,000 40,187,000
8 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 283,000 91,000 28,837,000
9 Loud Luxury Feat. Brando Body 276,000 66,000 31,485,000
10 Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey The Middle 252,000 63,000 28,419,000
ArtistRank Song Song Sales w/ SES On-Demand Audio
Song Sales Streaming On-Demand Audio
TOP 10 DIGITAL SONG CONSUMPTION
1 Drake God's Plan 97,772,000
2 Ed Sheeran Perfect 71,907,000
3 Camila Cabello Feat. Young Thug Havana 69,969,000
4 Post Malone Feat. Ty Dolla $ign Psycho 61,244,000
5 Post Malone Feat. 21 Savage Rockstar 57,006,000
6 BlocBoy JB Feat. Drake Look Alive 50,465,000
7 Drake Nice For What 49,088,000
8 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 45,166,000
9 Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Despacito 42,245,000
10 Marshmello & Anne-Marie Friends 40,382,000
ArtistRank Song On-Demand Streams
TOP 10 SONGS ON-DEMAND STREAMS(AUDIO + VIDEO)
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
27Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
1 Drake God's Plan 72,614,000
2 Post Malone Feat. Ty Dolla $ign Psycho 45,126,000
3 Post Malone Feat. 21 Savage Rockstar 40,388,000
4 BlocBoy JB feat. Drake Look Alive 40,187,000
5 Drake Nice For What 39,053,000
6 Ed Sheeran Perfect 36,840,000
7 Camila Cabello Feat. Young Thug Havana 31,881,000
8 Loud Luxury Feat. Brando Body 31,485,000
9 Kendrick Lamar & Sza All The Stars 30,164,000
10 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 28,836,000
ArtistRank Song On-Demand Audio Streams
TOP 10 SONGS ON-DEMAND AUDIO STREAMS
1 Camila Cabello Feat. Young Thug Havana 38,088,000
2 Ed Sheeran Perfect 35,067,000
3 Drake God's Plan 25,158,000
4 Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Despacito 23,995,000
5 Ed Sheeran Shape Of You 18,300,000
6 Childish Gambino This Is America 17,852,000
7 Bruno Mars & Cardi B Finesse 17,469,000
8 Imagine Dragons Thunder 17,427,000
9 Post Malone Feat. 21 Savage Rockstar 16,618,000
10 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 16,329,000
ArtistRank Song On-Demand Video Streams
TOP 10 SONGS ON-DEMAND VIDEO STREAMS
28 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
1 Ed Sheeran Perfect 65,000
2 Camila Cabello Feat. Young Thug Havana 58,000
3 Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey The Middle 49,000
4 Bruno Mars & Cardi B Finesse 48,000
5 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 47,000
6 Portugal. The Man Feel It Still 46,000
7 Imagine Dragons Thunder 45,000
8 Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine Ain't Easy 43,000
9 Selena Gomez x Marshmello Wolves 41,000
10 The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar Pray For Me 40,000
ArtistRank Song Plays
TOP 10 RADIO SONGS BASED ON PLAYS
1 Ed Sheeran Perfect 165,000
2 Camila Cabello Feat. Young Thug Havana 122,000
3 Drake God's Plan 107,000
4 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Meant To Be 91,000
5 Imagine Dragons Thunder 83,000
6 Bad Wolves Zombie 77,000
7 Imagine Dragons Whatever It Takes 73,000
8 Loud Luxury Feat. Brando Body 66,000
9 Justin Timberlake Feat. Chris Stapleton Say Something 66,000
10 Eminem Feat. Ed Sheeran River 65,000
ArtistRank Song Sales
TOP 10 DIGITAL SONG SALES
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29Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
TOP 10 CANADIAN ARTISTS BY AIRPLAY
1 Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine Ain't Easy 43,000
2 The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar Pray For Me 40,000
3 Felix Cartal Get What You Give 40,000
4 Loud Luxury Feat. Brando Body 37,000
5 Scott Helman PDA 32,000
6 Ria Mae Bend 31,000
7 Shawn Mendes In My Blood 27,000
8 Tyler Shaw Cautious 26,000
9 Drake God's Plan 26,000
10 Bulow Not A Love Song 26,000
ArtistRank Song Play
30 Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
SHARE OF TOTAL AUDIO ALBUM EQUIVALENT CONSUMPTION BY FORMAT
R&B / Hip-Hop 21.3% 10.8% 14.7% 13.9% 16.2% 25.9%
Alt. Rock 12.1% 17.5% 16.1% 19.8% 11.2% 10.2%
Hard Rock 6.1% 13.5% 14.7% 11.5% 5.2% 3.5%
Country 7.4% 10.3% 12.0% 7.4% 10.2% 6.0%
Latin 1.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 1.7% 1.6%
Electronic / Dance 5.4% 1.9% 1.2% 3.0% 6.7% 6.6%
Christian / Gospel 1.1% 1.6% 1.2% 2.4% 1.4% 0.9%
Children 0.6% 0.5% 0.6% 0.4% 0.8% 0.6%
Jazz 0.8% 1.6% 1.7% 1.4% 0.5% 0.6%
Classical 1.0% 2.2% 2.2% 2.1% 0.6% 0.6%
Total Volume*
Total Album Sales
Physical Album Sales
Digital Album Sales
Digital Song Sales
On-Demand Audio Streams
Genre
Read as 21.3% of Total Album Sales comes from R&B/Hip-Hop genre
* Total Volume = Albums + TEA + On-Demand Audio SEA
SHARE OF TOTAL VOLUME BY FORMAT & GENRE
36%
33%
16%
16%
2%
25%
37%
20%
6%
15%
19%
17%
6%
19%
5%
2%
13%
15%
6%
9%
6%
5%
12%
11%
11%
12%
9%
8%
9%
7%
9%
38%
46%
66%
53%
80%
84%
53%
37%
56%
80%
66%
Classical
Jazz
Children
Christian/Gospel
Electronic/Dance
Latin
Country
Hard Rock
Alt. Rock
R&B/Hip Hop
Industry Total
Physical Albums Digital Albums Digital Track Sales (TEA) On-Demand Audio Streams (SEA)
3%
18%
Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company
31Copyright © 2018 The Nielsen Company
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