MRC Billboard Year End 2020 Us-Final

MRC DATA
YEAR-END
REPORT
U.S. 2020
PRESENTED IN COLLABORATION WITH BILLBOARD
1
Introduction
E
VERYTHING CHANGED IN 2020. AND THAT INCLUDES OUR TEAM
here at MRC Data, which rolled out several exciting new products
and announced a new strategic alliance that will shape our future. In
September, we introduced the first global charts with our partners
at Billboard. In their three months, the charts were led by artists like
Ariana Grande, Cardi B and Maluma (turn to page 5 for lots more insights from
our first year of global metrics). Just one month later, we announced an exciting
new partnership with Penske Media that will allow us to bring even more value
to the industry and our clients.
We are proud to be the steward of the definitive music industry and
our global charts are a first-of-its-kind resource for the industry, offering
comprehensive insight into songs and artists with international impact, as
well as burgeoning music trends that have yet to reach the United States.
Through our joint venture with PMC we added their
industry revered Alpha Data and Variety Business
Intelligence to our suite of products making us
the leading provider of entertainment data and More Time with Music
analytics tools. As we reflect on a challenging AS OF NOV. 16, PEOPLE SPENT MORE TIME WITH THESE ACTIVITIES
but rewarding year in 2020, we are excited and
THAN THEY DID JUST TWO WEEKS PREVIOUSLY.
enthusiastic about the one ahead.
Of course, there were plenty of other changes
MUSIC 46%
this year. Before the coronavirus pandemic led
SHORT-FORM
VIDEOS
46%
to nationwide lockdowns, the music industry SOCIAL MEDIA 46%
was doing great. Audio streaming increased 20% VIDEO GAMES 45%
year-over-year through March 12, while total audio
consumption was up 15% through the first 10
COOKING/
BAKING
40%
weeks of the year. But by March 20, the widespread MOVIES 40%
shutdown of all live concerts, events, offices TELEVISION 38%
and schools disrupted the daily activities and
commutes that drove that growth, and caused us
NEWS
36%
all to reassess our media habits. MRC Data tracked
ONLINE
SHOPPING 34%
these ever-changing habits over a series of eight CRAFTING/DIY 33%
COVID-19 studies, which found that time spent
with music actually led all other media types and COVID-19: TRACKING THE IMPACT ON THE ENTERTAINMENT LANDSCAPE - RELEASE 8
increased over time.
2
Though 2020 interrupted our lives,
the powerful role of music remained a
constant. On-demand audio streaming
finished the year with a 17% increase in
activity, while total audio consumption
was up 11.6% (see charts, page 8),
anchored by a banner streaming year
for the Country and Latin genres in
particular. Even vinyl continued its 15-
year growth streak, finishing the year
with a 46.2% increase of total units sold,
led by new releases and resissues from
Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Queen.
This is the the biggest year for vinyl
album sales since MRC Data began
tracking in 1991.
Amid all the pandemic pivots,
a renewed push for social justice
resurfaced in the wake of the murders
of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and
others, whose deaths at the hands
of police officers rocked the nation.
Though 2020
Widespread protests for police reform
and racial equity were immediately felt
(Adobe Stock)
interrupted
in the music industry, as new singles
from Lil Baby and Beyoncé and classic our lives,
the powerful
anthems from Childish Gambino and J.
Cole quickly became the soundtrack that spoke to the modern civil rights
movement.
A disruptive 2020 also led to shortened musical attention spans: The
role of music
Billboard Hot 100 had an unusually high amount of songs that reached remained a
the No. 1 spot (20 total, up from 15 in 2019) as tastes shifted nearly week
to week. Still, songs like Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” The Weeknd’s “Blinding constant.
Lights,” and Cardi B’s “WAP,” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, all proved they
had the cultural staying power to spend multiple weeks at No. 1 and many
months in the top 10 as listeners cycled through the latest TikTok hit.
We have a lot to recap in this report, which covers music consumption
for the 12-month period from Jan. 3, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020 (as
compared to Jan. 4, 2019, through Jan. 2, 2020). Over the next 55 pages,
we’ve outlined the powerful role music continues to play in consumers’
lives. We hope these insights power a creative and optimistic 2021 for you
and your colleagues as we head into another period of uncertainty. Want to
learn more? Let’s connect. We’d love to hear from you and provide custom
insights to help you navigate the constantly fluctuating music marketplace.
Email us at [email protected].
3
(Adobe Stock)
Contents
THE YEAR IN GLOBAL�� 5
THE YEAR IN METRICS�� 8
2020: THE YEAR COVID CHANGED EVERYTHING�� 9
THE YEAR IN MUSIC: BIG WINNERS & MOMENTS��11
IN MEMORIAM��32
THE YEAR IN CHARTS��34
In this report, MRC Data is using a 52-week period for 2020, running from Jan. 3, 2020, through Dec.
31, 2020, as compared with the 2019 period covering Jan. 4, 2019, through Jan. 2, 2020.
4
Ariana Grande at the 62nd
Annual Grammy Awards.
(Monty Brinton /CBS/Getty Images)
“WAP” by Cardi B featuring Megan
THE YEAR IN GLOBAL

Thee Stallion led the inaugural
Billboard Global 200 chart, while
the first Billboard Global Excl. U.S.
O
list was ruled by Maluma’s “Hawái.”
N SEPT. 14, BILLBOARD AND MRC UNVEILED THE FIRST In November, ARIANA GRANDE’s
two authoritative rankings of the top songs globally, with “Positions” became the first song
the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excluding U.S. to debut simultaneously atop both
charts. The weekly tallies are based on worldwide audio and charts, with Bad Bunny & Jhay
video streams and download sales, collated from over 200 territories. Cortez’s “Dakiti” becoming the first
Rankings are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only non-English track to top both charts
streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers from leading just two weeks later.
digital platforms and downloads from key online music retailers.
GLOBAL STREAMING TRENDS

AUDIO ON-DEMAND STREAMING territories like Japan, Australia, total audio streams in 2020. pandemic (in order of biggest
finished the year with a 17% Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Smaller territories also saw increases): Paraguay, Greece,
increase in the United States, but Spain, Brazil and Germany, accelerated growth in streaming Cyprus, Thailand, Czech
adoption worldwide tells a slightly which saw the biggest gains in adoption, with the following Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia
different story, with a 22.6% weekly audio streaming growth countries experiencing the most and Guatemala. These countries
increase in total audio streaming. since the start of the pandemic and impressive weekly audio streaming were responsible for 1.4% of total
This year’s growth was led by accounted for a combined 22.8% of growth since the start of the global audio streams in 2020.
5
POPULAR GLOBAL
SONGS THAT HAVE YET
TO CHART ON THE
U.S.-BASED HOT 100
CONSUMER TRENDS “Homura,”

LiSA (Japan)
FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE

139.4 million
on-demand audio
streams, 505,000
downloads
M
The Japanese
LiSA
RC DATA’S MUSIC 360 REPORTS FROM FIVE WORLDWIDE singer’s (Visual China Group via
“Homura,” the Getty Images)
territories, conducted from late 2019 to mid-2020, showcase just
theme to anime
how diverse musical tastes (and consumption methods) can be series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
from country to country. the Movie: Mugen Train, broke the weekly
streaming record on Billboard Japan’s
streaming chart this year.
JAPAN
“Jerusalema,” Master KG featuring
Local genres share listening time with Western trends, as J-pop, kayokyoku
Burna Boy & Nomcebo Zikode (South
and J-rock all rank among the top genres for total listenership and fanship. Africa, Nigeria) 264.7 million on-demand
audio streams, 326,000 downloads
The international hit first went viral via
TOP GENRE LISTENERSHIP & FANSHIP AMONG MUSIC LISTENERS IN JAPAN a TikTok meme in June, sending average
Listen to genre Genre fans (listen “often”) weekly audio streams soaring by 3,117%
globally (up from 285,000 the previous
week) to 9.19 million the week ending
SOUND- KAYOK- WESTERN
J-POP CLASSICAL JAZZ J-ROCK ANIME June 25.
TRACK YOKU POP
“I Can’t Stop Me,” TWICE (South

Korea, Japan) 114.2 million on-demand
76% 61% 58% 53% 49% 48% 47% 46%
audio streams, 37,000 downloads
The South Korean-Japanese girl group’s
lead single from October album Eyes
36% 13% 18% 16% 12% 11% 15% 16% Wide Open became a big hit in multiple
territories (for more on TWICE and the
explosion of Korean pop music, turn to
NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA JAPAN MUSIC 360 NOVEMBER 2019 page 31).
“Paradise,” Meduza & Dermot

Kennedy (Italy/Ireland) 89.8 million
GERMANY audio streams, 23,000 downloads
Radio leads streaming as the top source of music discovery for Germans, with The collaboration between Italian
producer Meduza and Irish singer
the most time spent listening to AM/FM radio while driving.
Kennedy was one of several international
dance hits that resonated strongly with
European audiences despite global
HOW GERMANS CONSUME MUSIC (% BY FORMAT USED PER WEEK) closures of nightclubs.
3% “Mamichula,” Trueno & Nicki Nicole

Other
45% 31% featuring Taiu & Tatool (Argentina)
2%
Concert
livestream 40%
Listen to
5%
Streaming OVERALL TIME OVERALL TIME
167.4 million on-demand audio streams,
1,000 downloads
4% the radio radio online LISTENING TO RADIO STREAMING
Argentine rapper Trueno scored his first
Music TV
15% No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100
9%
Digital library
Streaming
service
73% 56% with this Spanish-language single, which
11% 11% also topped the charts in Spain. The song’s
Physical forms Streaming
of music videos OVERALL TIME OVERALL TIME video was equally popular, with over 211.1
TEENS STREAM MILLENIALS STREAM
NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA GERMANY MUSIC 360 DECEMBER 2019
million views on YouTube to date.
6
45%
FRANCE
French music listeners are loyal to local artists, perhaps driven by French language
quotas on radio, with French musicians comprising nearly half of weekly music
listening. But among all age groups, teens are most likely to listen to more music in
another language versus their native tongue.
BY THE NUMBERS: GLOBAL MUSIC LISTENERSHIP IN FRANCE
20% 68%
“ WHAT EMERGING
TRENDS FROM
2020 WILL DEFINE
MUSIC IN 2021?
Local hip-hop scenes are
going from strength to
strength. Our artists are
increasingly asking us to
help them reach across
borders and cultures to
their peers in other markets
to support cross-cultural
collaborations. Look at the
Weekly listening Weekly listening time Fans of North American
time devoted to devoted to North music that listen
amazing success of the Aya
French artists American artists to U.S. Pop x Maluma remix of ‘Djadja.’
I think we’ll see this trend
63%
Fans of North American
85% Listen to
80% Listen
grow in 2021.
Stu Bergen,
music that listen Variété to French President, Warner Music
to U.S. Rock Française Pop International
NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA FRANCE MUSIC 360 FEBRUARY 2020
ITALY
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE U.K. PODCAST FAN Teens are more loyal to local artists than
NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA U.K.
MUSIC 360 DECEMBER 2019
millennials, with Italian trap and Italian rap/hip-
65%
hop among teens’ top five genres compared
with house and punk for millennials.
Male
43%
Married
84%
Ages 18-49
GENRES MORE LIKELY TO REACH
ITALIAN TEENS AND MILLENNIALS
71%
Live in Greater London
U.S. RAP/
HIP-HOP
TEENAGERS
78%
53%
ITALIAN RAP/
HIP-HOP
71%
U.S. POP 71%
Children >18 in the house
67%
42%
ITALIAN TRAP
NEAPOLITAN
RAP/HIP-HOP 40%
Monthly household
income < £2500
MILLENNIALS
ALTERNATIVE/
INDIE 55%
HOUSE 55%
URBAN 50%
49%
UNITED KINGDOM
PUNK
SYNTHWAVE 31%
Podcasts, which show great interest and growth potential
from U.K. teens and millennials, are most likely to be NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA ITALY MUSIC 360 JANUARY 2020
enjoyed by married males aged 18 to 49 in Greater London.
7
U.S. Catalog vs. Current Consumption
(CATALOG IS DEFINED AS TITLES OLDER THAN 18 MONTHS)
Catalog Share
+17.9
THE YEAR
2019 62.8%
2020 63.3% VOLUME
% CHG.
Catalog Total Audio Consumption
468.2B
IN METRICS
2019
2020 552.0B
Current Share
2019 37.2%
36.7%
E W Global On-Demand 2020
+15.5
N Audio Song Streams Current Total Audio Consumption VOLUME
2019 277.7B % CHG.
2019 1.8T +22.6 2020 320.6M
2020 2.2T % CHG.
Global Digital U.S. Digital Album Sales

NEW Song Sales -12.5
2019 39.3M
2019 518.8M -19.2 2020 34.4M % CHG.
2020 419.4M % CHG.

U.S. Physical Album Sales
(INCLUDES VINYL LPs)
U.S. Total Audio Consumption 2019 73.5M

-7.4
(ALBUM + TEA + ON-DEMAND AUDIO SEA)* % CHG.
2020 68.0M
2019 678.1M +11.6
2020 756.8M % CHG. U.S. Vinyl LP Sales
2019 18.8M
+46.2
U.S. On-Demand 2020 27.5M % CHG.
Audio Song Streams U.S. Digital Song Sales

2019 745.9B +17.0 -22.3
% CHG.
2019 301.1M
2020 872.6B 2020 233.8M % CHG.
U.S. Total Album Sales Please Note: Any year-over-year total volume figures cited in this report do not
include video streams. Due to reporting methodology changes from a major
video provider in 2020, any year-over-year video streaming comparisons are not
(PHYSICAL + DIGITAL) reflective of industry trends and therefore not included in this report.
2019 112.7M
-9.2 The term “total album equivalent consumption” 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
% CHG. of total album equivalent consumption does not include listening to music on
2020 102.4M broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts.
* SEA (stream-equivalent albums): 1,250 premium streams = one album // 3,750 ad-supported streams = one album; TEA (track-equivalent albums): 10 digital tracks = one album.
8
STREAMING
GROWTH TRENDS
2020: THE YEAR COVID

“2020 was unlike any
other year but through it
all we saw a strength of
consumption of both new
CHANGED EVERYTHING
music and catalogue. Latin
music definitely had an
incredible year and hip-hop
and pop continued to be the
dominant genres. Local music
B
continued to flourish all over
EFORE THE WORLD SHUT DOWN, on-demand audio streaming was growing the world and through it all,
people listened to as much
steadily through early March, up 20% over the same period in 2019. Total
music as ever before. Finally,
audio consumption was up 15% in the first 10 weeks of the year. As behaviors at-home activities (cooking,
evolved and the majority of Americans spent 2020 working from home, audio cleaning, working out)
streaming finished the year with a 17% increase in year-over-year activity. inspired new playlists. This
was a year where music was
the great connector for all of
CHILDREN’S MUSIC and Country were the moments in our lives.”
the first two big genre winners during Jeremy Erlich

Co-Head of Music, Spotify
lockdown, showing notable growth amid
a 5.7% decline in audio streaming for
“With people spending time
the industry. Families turned to music at home, there’s been an
to keep their away-from-school kids increased interest in getting
entertained, prompting a 5% increase more out of music — whether
it’s better sound or in-depth
in audio streams of Children’s music details about a track, music
during the first week of lockdown that lovers came to TIDAL for an
sustained growth through the week enriched experience. With
HiFi membership, we’ve
ending May 7. Country, previously one
seen significant growth —
of the slowest genres to convert fans streaming of Master Tracks
to streaming services, saw accelerated increased by 40%.”
growth of 21.4% from initial lockdown Lior Tibon
through the week of May 7, and ended COO, Tidal
(Adobe Stock)
the year with a surge in share of on-
“This year was hugely difficult
demand audio streams, from 6.9% pre-
“
for so many including the
COVID to 7.5% post-lockdown. music industry which was
deeply impacted. Live
concerts are the heart
and soul of the music
RADIO remained a key industry and the pandemic
vehicle for audiences to fundamentally changed
While COVID-19 disrupted almost everything things. With in-person
consume music, even
about our daily lives, radio’s companionship concerts canceled and
remained constant. As consumers sought
as commutes and other venues closed, artists and
trustworthy information, comfort, and daily routines shifted. In fans turned to YouTube. Live
personal connection from their favorite became live-stream, and
a typical month, 61% of
personalities, talent and brands, they my hope is that our scale
consumers said they still and tools helped artists and
discovered new ways to connect with them
on the RADIO.COM app, via smart speakers or listen to music on over- fans connect in new and
through our various distribution partnerships. the-air radio, with 51% meaningful ways.”
Jeff Sottolano of music listeners citing Lyor Cohen

Executive Vice President of Programming, Entercom Global Head of Music, YouTube
over-the-air radio as a top
music discovery source.
9
“ It’s been an incredibly difficult year for everyone,
and we knew that people were longing for
something positive. Christmas music brings people
back to a place where they feel good and have
great memories. The feedback we have received
at the station and on social media has been
overwhelmingly positive.
Steve Salhany
Brand Manager - Big 103 (WBGB-FM), Magic 106.7 (WMJX-
FM/HD2) and Mix 104.1 (WWBX-FM), Entercom Boston
Christmas came even earlier in

2020, as COVID-19 anxiety and
pre-Election jitters prompted
many stations in major markets
to start adding holiday songs to
their playlists or converting to
all-holiday stations as early as
(Adobe Stock)
November 1.
Vice President-Elect
Kamala Harris and
President-Elect Joe Biden
( Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) The Nov. 7 confirmation that JOE BIDEN
would become President-elect sparked
impromptu celebrations nationwide and
led to several big gains in consumption for
the unofficial anthems of those gatherings.
IMarkkeyz x DJ Suede the Remix God’s
“Lose Yo Job” saw the biggest single-day
percentage jump in on-demand audio
streams, surging 585.95% on Nov. 7 versus
the day prior, while YG & NIPSEY HUSSLE’s
“FDT” captured the highest volume of
election-related streams for the day, with
2.06 million on-demand audio streams.
YG Nipsey Hussle
(Rich Fury/ ( Jimmy
Getty Images) Fontaine)
10
THE TOP GENRE TRENDS, ARTIST AND SONGS THAT DEFIED THE ODDS OF 2020
Music’s Big Winners

The April 3 release
COUNTRY’S
of SAM HUNT’s first
album in six years,
SOUTHSIDE, helped
STREAMING
usher in a record
streaming week for the
genre, with 1.244 billion
SURGE
on-demand audio
streams in the week
ending April 9. That
T
single-week streaming
HOUGH IT HAS PREVIOUSLY record was later
lagged behind other surpassed the week
genres in consumption on ending July 9, when
streaming services, Country Country songs achieved
music saw a big spike this year as 1.399 billion on-demand
fans went digital in droves without audio streams.
Hunt
being able to catch their favorite (Steven
Worster)
acts live on tour.
Nearly one year after its Nov. 23, 2019, release date,
Combs won Male Vocalist and
Album of the Year at the CMA
LUKE COMBS’ album What You See Is What You Get
Awards in November.
(Country Music Association)
jumped back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart
following its deluxe reissue on Oct. 23. The additional six
songs helped the album achieve a new weekly streaming
record for a country album at the time, earning 109,000
equivalent album units in the week ending Oct. 29 —
equaling 102.26 million on-demand streams for its
songs. Plus, it marked the first time a country album
had the most audio streams across any genre on the
Billboard 200 in a single week, with 95.6 million streams.
11
COUNTRY STREAMING
GROWTH TRENDS
“This year, and certainly during

the pandemic, we have seen
Barrett
(Kevin Mazur/ tremendous growth in our
Getty Images)
streaming business. At Amazon
Newcomer GABBY BARRETT’s
Music we have experienced an
“I Hope” became the first almost 40% growth year-on-year.
debut single by a woman to top Our fan base certainly trusts
Amazon and voice has made a
Billboard’s Country Streaming
huge difference. Apple has also
Songs chart, rising from No. 4 made huge marketing strides
to No. 1 with a 7% increase to jumping into Apple Music Radio
9 million streams on the chart and utilizing our artists as hosts
to bring in their fan bases. It’s a
dated April 11. A Charlie Puth
really smart strategy to mimic a
remix of “I Hope” later helped radio experience that feels like
the song become any act’s first low-hanging fruit. The impact
debut single to top both the of SiriusXM joining the power of
Pandora has also magnified over
Country Airplay and all-genre
the year, and Spotify has kept
Radio Songs charts. a stronghold on our youngest
audience. The pandemic has
pushed our audience into
the YouTube funnel for artist
discovery. YouTube remains the
most important video provider
and their livestreaming strategy
has been second to none.”
Mike Dungan
Chairman/CEO,
MORGAN WALLEN became the Universal Music Group Nashville
first artist to debut two titles in
the top 10 simultaneously on “Being quarantined at home
for more than eight months is
Billboard’s airplay-, sales- and
my obvious choice for biggest
streaming-based Hot Country consumer behavior that led
Songs chart (which began as an to streaming growth. We saw
all-encompassing genre ranking heightened activation and
adoption on the hardware (Echo,
in 1958). “Somebody’s Problem” Nest, HomePod, etc.) and the
debuted at No. 3 and “Still Goin software/service sides.”
Down” entered at No. 8 on Ben Kline
the Dec. 5-dated chart. Both EVP-General Manager,
Warner Music Nashville
tracks, released Nov. 20, are
from Wallen’s upcoming double “The growth in country streaming
album Dangerous, due Jan. 8, was partially a natural migration,
2021. They marked his seventh but I believe the pandemic
expedited the timeline. Consumers
and eighth total Hot Country were suddenly at home more than
Songs top 10s. Wallen’s August ever and had more time on their
single “7 Summers” also briefly hands, meanwhile the touring
industry came to a halt but the
held the record for most first-
desire for country music didn’t
week streams by a solo Country change. It put the migration to
Wallen
male when it scored 23.5 million ( John Shearer)
streaming on the fast track.”
streams the week ending Aug. Randy Goodman
20, only to be eclipsed by Combs’ Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville
“Forever After All” in November.
12
LATIN ACHIEVES NEW Still riding high from a
Nicki Minaj remix of her
STREAMING SIZZLE
breakthrough hit
“Tusa” (which was
streamed 236.9
S
million times in
PANISH-LANGUAGE URBAN and pop music continued its 2020), KAROL G
convergence with the mainstream, as new albums from Bad achieved the most
Karol G
Bunny and J Balvin spearheaded another year of growth for the hits of any female (Courtesy photo)
Latin genre. Total audio consumption was up 26.9% year to date, Latin act in 2020.
including a 13.3% increase in on-demand audio streams since March 13. Other popular
tracks included “Caramelo”
(78.5 million total streams),
The Puerto Rican singer-rapper’s Feb. 29 album, “Bichota” (34.9 million total
YHLQMDLG, was 2020’s No. 12 most-consumed streams) and “Ay, Dios Mio!”
album, with 1.444 million equivalent albums earned (56.3 million total streams).
and 1.7 billion total on-demand audio streams
tallied by its songs. Lead single “Yo Perreo Sola”
was also the year’s most-streamed Latin song, with
181.9 million on-demand audio streams.
The project was followed up later in the year with
November’s El Ultimo Tour del Mundo, which became A remix of the
the first all-Spanish-language album to reach (as well Colombian singer’s
as debut at) No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the chart’s fall single, “Hawái,”
64-year history, with 116,000 equivalent album units Maluma
(Emma McIntyre/
with The Weeknd,
earned in the week ending Dec. 3.
AMA2020/
Getty Images) helped MALUMA
Beyond the United States, BAD BUNNY’s October achieve his highest
Bad Bunny
collaboration with Jhay Cortez, “Dákiti,” became chart position on the Hot 100,
(Amy Sussman/
BBMA2020/ the first Latin hit to top both of the global charts in leaping from No. 60 to No. 12 (on
Getty Images)
November, with 110.2 million streams and 4,000 the chart dated Nov. 21), rising
downloads sold globally in the week ending Nov. 12. 123% to 17.6 million streams.
LATIN STREAMING GROWTH TRENDS

“During these times for music creators and fans alike, music is “The beginning of the pandemic raised a level
playing an extremely important role in everyone’s lives. We’ve of uncertainty for upcoming releases and production
seen Latin Audio streams out-pace the growth of the overall of new music. However, as always, the Latino artistic
industry by nearly 10%, fueled by artists like Karol G who has community persevered and established innovative
the number two streamed Latin song overall for 2020 (‘Tusa’) ways to create new content and connect with their
and is having a great moment with ‘Bichota.’ It is no secret that audience. Even during adverse circumstances, the Latin
Latinos over index the general market on video and music industry has grown and developed a greater space in the
consumption. This year that behavior was more present, and global environment.”
the numbers in the USA as well as globally show that.” Alex Gallardo
Victor González, President, Universal Music Latin Entertainment President, Sony Music Latin U.S.
13
“
HOW INDEPENDENT ARTISTS
EMBRACED NEW PLATFORMS IN 2020
Merlin’s members have always embraced new opportunities,
even in challenging times. 2020 witnessed a heightened growth
in user-generated content and social media. Merlin forged early
adopter relationships in this space to support our members — we
were the first partner to sign a sound recording deal with Snap,
leaned into Instagram Reels, partnered with Triller, and deepened
our YouTube relationship.
VINYL
R
Jeremy Sirota
CEO, Merlin ECORD STORE DAY 2020 EVOLVED from
two key events in April and November
to a four-part series that continued
“
to generate big album sales for
BANDCAMP
independent stores and the music industry alike.
The first three
drops (staged
O
Aug. 29, Sept.
NLINE RETAILER BANDCAMP started a popular series 26 and Oct. 24)
Record Store Day by and
on the first Friday of every month since the start of the combined to help large brought vinyl back
COVID-19 pandemic, during which it waives its royalty generate 1.95 from the dead in 2008,
so we are widely known
fees to help independent artists earn crucial income million in CD and
by music fans as the best
from music and merch sales. The efforts resulted in $40 million in vinyl album sales source for getting vinyl
music and merch revenue back into the pockets of independent at indie stores in today. Because of this, the
artists across nine days of the promotion, according to a December the United States stores had the confidence
to innovate and figure out
announcement from the company. — with 1.41
safe ways for music fans
million of that to shop with them in their
in vinyl album store or curbside. If they
sales. Those couldn’t, because of things
like lockdowns, they sold to
sums represent a
their customers online. All
sizable 34% and together, they made for a
38%, respectively, really strong year.
of overall indie Michael Kurtz
Record Store Day co-founder
store CD and
vinyl album sales,
and vinyl album
Bridgers Rogers
(Tim Mosenfelder/ (Courtesy sales only, from July 31 through Oct. 29.
Getty Images) photo)
The Black Friday 2020 event helped set a
new record for the largest sales week for vinyl
Singer-songwriters PHOEBE BRIDGERS and MAGGIE ROGERS’ cover (1.253 million albums) since MRC Data began
of the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” released as a one-day charity exclusive on electronically tracking the format in 1991.
the platform on Nov. 13, debuted at No. 57 on the Nov. 28-dated Hot The milestone was surpassed again just three
100 from 38,000 downloads in the week ending Nov. 19, earning both weeks later, when holiday shopping led to a total
artists their first entry on the chart. All proceeds from the song went of 1.841 million vinyl albums sold in the week
toward the national voting rights organization Fair Fight. ending Dec. 24 (up 28% from the previous week).
14
THE ARTISTS WHO OUTPERFORMED A CROWDED MARKETPLACE
Music’s Big Winners

The Weeknd
‘Blinding Lights’ spoke to the world
(AMA2020/ in a time when it was most needed.
Getty Images)
That uplifting quality is undeniable
and why nurses, families and kids
with their dogs were all posting
dances showing their moments
of relief during these tough times.
Great music and vision cuts through
almost anything.
Wassim “SAL” Slaiby
CEO - SALXCO | XO RECORDS
Hot 100, eventually running up over 40 song by a lead soloist.
THE WEEKND weeks in the region (through the Jan. 9,

2021-dated chart).
On the airplay, sales and streaming-
based Hot R&B Songs chart, “Blinding
T
At radio, “Blinding Lights” led Lights” broke the record for the most
HE CANADIAN POP/R&B STAR Billboard’s all-format Radio Songs chart weeks at No. 1, previously held by a
broke several chart milestones for an unprecedented 26 weeks (from trio of songs with 20 weeks each atop
with his blockbuster single April 18 through Oct. 24), surpassing the list, including one by The Weeknd
“Blinding Lights.” the Goo Goo Dolls’ previous record of himself, “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk.
In September, the song surpassed 18 weeks at No. 1, with “Iris” in 1998. Also with 20 weeks in the lead: Drake’s
Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” for the “Blinding Lights” also crowned Adult “One Dance,” featuring WizKid and Kyla,
most weeks spent in the top 10 of the Top 40 for 20 weeks, the most ever for a and Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like.”
15
Swift
(ACMA2020/
Getty Images)
“Lil Baby has a self-awareness

and a brave vulnerability
he expresses as a lyricist
and in his music. People
recognize authenticity and
felt connected to Lil Baby
— he met the moment in a
challenging, uncertain and
often turbulent time.
Ethiopia Habtemariam
President - Motown Records /
EVP - Capitol Music Group
LIL BABY
T
folklore and evermore both arrived at a time when HE RAPPER’S LATE-
the world needed them most. With an artist of Taylor February album, My Turn,
Swift’s stature there is always tremendous excitement was one of the last major
around new music, particularly unexpected releases.
albums released just
The success of these two albums speaks more to
Taylor’s talent as a songwriter and storyteller. before the COVID-19 pandemic and
Jim Roppo finished 2020 as the year’s most-
EVP and General Manager, Republic Records consumed album with 2.63 million
equivalent album units earned
— including
TAYLOR SWIFT
3.9 billion
become the first artist to debut atop on-demand
both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 streams for its
R
charts in the same week. tracks.
ELEASED WITH JUST 24 After folklore achieved its seventh In the week Lil Baby
hours notice on July 24, Taylor nonconsecutive No. 1 on the Billboard ending March 5,
(Christopher Parsons)
Swift’s folklore scored the 200, Swift surpassed Whitney Houston’s My Turn earned
biggest week of 2020 with record for most weeks at No. 1 among 261.6 million on-demand streams for
846,000 equivalent album units earned female artists in the album chart’s history, its songs, earning the most-streamed
in the week ending July 30. As her with 47, compared with Houston’s 46. single-week tally for any album since
seventh album to enter at the Billboard Evermore, the surprise follow-up to Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding in
200’s summit, folklore helped Swift set folklore released with 24 hours notice on September 2019.
a new record among women for most Dec. 11, helped Swift extend her BIllboard June single “The Bigger Picture”
debuts at No. 1 200 record with an additional two weeks became the most-streamed
The set also became the first album to spent at No. 1 in 2020, bringing her career original song to be released in
sell 1 million copies in 2020 by October. total to 50 weeks at the summit by year’s the wake of the protests for racial
It finished as the year’s biggest-selling end. Evermore also achieved the fifth- justice following the murders of
album with 1.28 million copies sold, and highest week of 2020, when it debuted George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and
the only album to sell a million in 2020. with 329,000 equivalent album units others, with 211.2 million on-
Lead single “Cardigan” helped Swift earned in the week ending Dec. 17. demand audio streams.
16
HARRY STYLES
AND LEWIS CAPALDI
T
HE U.K. SINGER-SONGWRITERS
built off the success of their respective
debuts with even bigger hits in 2020. Styles
Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” became (Helene Marie
Pambrun)
the pop star’s first No. 1 on the Hot 100 dated Aug.
Capaldi
15, with a 614% increase in downloads sold (63,000) (Alexandra
Gavillet)
and an 8% increase in radio reach (71.7 million in
audience impressions).
Capaldi’s “Before You Go” broke the record for
longest journey to No. 1 on the Pop Songs chart
dated Sept. 26, finally reaching the summit after 37
weeks. The song accumulated 2.1 billion audience
impressions at radio in 2020.
24KGOLDN
24kGoldn
(Courtesy
photo)
O
NE OF THE YEAR’S
most-consumed songs by
a new artist was “Mood”
from San Francisco rapper-
singer 24kGoldn, featuring iann dior.
The song debuted on the Hot 100 on the
chart dated Aug. 22, following a viral video
trend on TikTok based on the song’s hook
that sparked 6.7 million on-demand audio
streams in the week ending Aug. 13.
“Mood” spent six weeks at No. 1 on the
Hot 100 in 2020 and finished the year with
349.6 million on-demand audio streams,
1.2 billion audience impressions at radio
and 144,000 downloads.
17
Megan Thee
Stallion
(Kevin Winter/
Getty Images)
A HISTORIC YEAR FOR

FEMALE RAPPERS “Everything about this year has been
unprecedented and Megan’s music is empowering,
uplifting, and fun. The title of her album Good News
is so aptly named because we needed her and we
needed to find new ways to have a good time. In
the midst of a global pandemic, racial injustice, and
a relentless news cycle, Megan is a beacon of light
and that’s Good News for us all!
Kevin Liles
B
Co-Founder & CEO 300 Entertainment
EFORE 2020, FEW FEMALE RAPPERS
achieved No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 across the
chart’s history. But in 2020 alone, five women
known for their MC talents were performers on No. song’s total 435 million on-demand audio streams for the year,
1 singles as the lead or featured act, including career-first No. 1s while “Trollz” accumulated 141.2 million total streams, fueled by
for MEGAN THEE STALLION, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., the song’s popular music video.
and a return to the top spot for Cardi B, who previously logged Megan Thee Stallion had a breakthrough year with two Hot
two No. 1s in 2017-18. 100 No. 1s, as well: first with her “Savage” (featuring Beyoncé) on
After more than 100 chart entries dating back to 2010, the chart dated May 30 and later as a featured artist on Cardi B’s
Nicki Minaj scored her first two No. 1 singles in 2020: first as a “WAP” for four weeks beginning Aug. 22. “Savage” logged 492.1
featured artist on the remix of Doja Cat’s “Say So” on the chart million on-demand audio streams in 2020, while “WAP” garnered
dated May 16 and later as a co-lead artist on 6ix9ine’s “Trollz” 732.7 million total streams, which were driven by an even split
the week ending June 27. Minaj’s “Say So” remix helped fuel the from audio plays and its meme-worthy music video.
18
POP SMOKE
JULY 20, 1999-FEB. 19, 2020
T
HE BROOKLYN-BRED RAPPER
(born Bashar Barakah Jackson)
spent two nonconsecutive
weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard
200 with his debut album, Shoot for the
Stars Aim for the Moon, which debuted
in July just four months after his death.
The set entered the chart at No. 1 with
251,000 equivalent album units, led
by 190,000 stream-equivalent album
(SEA) units (from 268.44 million on-
demand streams of its songs), 59,000
in album sales and 3,000 in track-
equivalent album (TEA) units.
“For the Night,” featuring Lil Baby
and Da Baby, was the set’s most Pop Smoke
(Arik McArthur/
popular song, with 422.4 million Getty Images)

Pop Smoke’s musical legacy will live forever.
on-demand audio streams and 266.6 Undoubtedly, he was 2020’s best new artist.
million in audience impressions at His signature sound has helped evolve music
by blending New York hip-hop, drill, R&B and
radio.
Afrobeats. Pop’s global influence has resulted in
Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon close to 10 billion streams worldwide.
rounded out 2020 as the year’s Kevin Lipson
No. 3 most-consumed album, with Executive vp commerce, streaming and digital strategy,
Republic/Island
2.2 million equivalent album units
earned.
19
JUICE WRLD
DEC. 2, 1998-DEC. 8, 2019
T
HE CHICAGO RAPPER-SINGER
(born Jarad Anthony Higgins)
died in late 2019, which carried
consumption of his catalog as
well as posthumous release Legends
Never Die well into 2020.
Legends Never Die surpassed Lil
Baby’s My Turn to score the biggest
streaming week of 2020 the week
ending July 16 when it debuted at No.
1 on the Billboard 200 with 497,000
equivalent album units. Of that tally,
283,000 were SEA units, equating to
422.63 million on-demand streams
of the album’s tracks. That helped
the album register the fourth-largest
streaming week ever for an album at
the time of its release.
Six of Legends Never Die’s singles
reached the top 10 of the Hot
100, led by “Come & Go” featuring
Marshmello (No. 2 peak, 284.4
million total on-demand streams),
followed by “Wishing Well” (No. 5
peak, 253.6 million total on-demand
audio streams), “Conversations” (No.
7 peak, 145.1 million total on-demand Juice Wrld
audio streams), “Smile” featuring The (Courtesy photo)
Just like Tupac, Kurt Cobain and others who left
Weeknd (No. 8 peak, 143.1 million total the world far too soon, Juice’s impact and legacy
are still being written and will unfold over future
on-demand audio streams) and “Life’s
generations. He was a prolific music creative that
a Mess” featuring Halsey (No. 9 peak, had the uncanny ability to speak with fans through
133.7 million total on-demand audio his lyrical genius. A legend if there ever was one.
streams). A sixth top 10, “Smile,” with Gary Kelly
The Weeknd (No. 6, 143.1 million total CRO/Global Head of Streaming & Strategy, Interscope
Geffen A&M
on-demand audio streams), was added
to the album after its initial release.
20
THE YEAR IN LIVESTREAMING
AND OVER-THE-TOP
T
HE CONCERT INDUSTRY went virtual in 2020 amid the COVID-19
pandemic, which helped spark new consumer behaviors across the globe. THE VERZUZ EFFECT
According to MRC Data’s most recent Music 360 report, interest in Highlights from the five battles that saw
virtual concerts grew as each wave of quarantine passed. the biggest bumps in consumption from
According to MRC Data’s most recent COVID-19: Tracking the Impact on the the popular Instagram and Apple Music
livestream series celebrating legends of
Entertainment Landscape report, interest in virtual concerts grew as each wave
hip-hop and R&B in the week following
of quarantine passed. During the week of April 6, just several weeks into the their episodes.
United States’ nationwide lockdown, 19% of the general population had seen
a performance streamed live, while 35% said they were likely to do so. Even
BABYFACE VS. TEDDY RILEY
though livestream concerts are new to most music fans, 28% of people said they on April 20
would pay to watch online. In November, 24% of Music Consumers had seen a
performance streamed live in the past 2 weeks, while 40% of those who had not +90%
combined consumption gains for
live streamed said they were likely to do so in the next 2 weeks.
Babyface and Riley’s catalogs in the two
days following the battle compared with
the two days prior
Jeezy at
the Verzuz
afterparty
(Prince ERYKAH BADU VS. JILL SCOTT
Williams/
Wireimage)
on May 9
+217%
combined consumption gains for Badu
and Scott’s catalogs in the two days
following the battle compared with the
two days prior
BEENIE MAN VS. BOUNTY KILLER

on May 24
+216%
combined consumption gains for
Beenie Man and Bounty Killer’s catalogs
GUCCI MANE VS. JEEZY in the two days following the battle
on Nov. 19 compared with the two days prior
+107% +72% +492% +316% BRANDY VS. MONICA

increase in audio increase in video increase in audio increase in video on Aug. 31
streams for Gucci streams for Gucci streams for Jeezy’s streams for Jeezy’s
Mane’s catalog in Mane’s catalog catalog in the four catalog in the four +248%
the four days after in the four days days after the days following the combined consumption gains for Brandy
the battle following the battle battle battle and Monica’s catalogs the night of the
battle and the two days following the battle
* Aided by Jeezy’s new album, The Recession 2, which was released the day after the battle on Nov. 20 compared with the three days prior
21
LIVESTREAMED CONCERTS BAD BUNNY
The Puerto Rican singer-
AND OVER-THE-TOP TV EVENTS

songwriter’s Sept. 20 virtual
concert, streamed on
Univision’s Uforia platform, led
to a 21% spike in the singer’s
HELPING BREAK HITS AND DRIVE CATALOG ENGAGEMENT
catalog on Sept. 21, led by 2019
single “Caillaita” (with Tainy),
JONAS BROTHERS which saw audio on-demand
The trio’s Dec. 3 virtual concert with streams rise 3.2% versus the
Lenovo Yoga and Intel Evo gave previous day to 343,000.
fans the opportunity to help curate
the setlist — and sparked an 11%
lift in on-demand streams of its
catalog in the three days following
HAMILTON
The July 3 release of the musical
the event compared to the three
on Disney+ helped the show’s
days prior.
Scott in the soundtrack reach a new peak
Fortnite
experience on the Billboard 200, vaulting
J BALVIN
(Neilson Barnard/
Getty Images)
from No. 14 to No. 2 with
The Latin pop star’s Oct. 31 Fortnite 102,000 equivalent album units
takeover led to a 14% increase in earned (up 294%) the week
TRAVIS SCOTT streams (for his song “Un Dia (One ending July 9, including 32,000
Shortly after his hugely successful takeover Day)” (with Bad units in pure album sales.
of Epic Games’ Fortnite wrapped April 23, Bunny, Dua Lipa The show’s continued
Travis Scott released his collaborative single and Tainy) in the popularity helped Hamilton
with Kid Cudi, “The Scotts,” which debuted two days following finish 2020 as the year’s No.
at No. 1 on the Hot 100 with 42.2 million U.S. the broadcast 11 most-consumed album, an
streams the week ending April 30, and 67,000 J Balvin (compared with the impressive five years after its
(Courtesy image)
in downloads. two days prior). initial release.
Virtual Concert Attendance & Interest Likely to watch a virtual Watched a virtual concert
MUSIC 360 RESPONDENTS WHO SAID THEY HAD WATCHED OR PLANNED TO WATCH concert in the next 2 weeks in the past 2 weeks
A LIVE-STREAMED CONCERT GREW/SHIFTED ACROSS THE DIFFERENT PHASES
44%
40%
37% 37% 38%
34% 35%
33%
25% 25% 24%

21% 20% 20% 22%
19%
WAVE 1 WAVE 2 WAVE 3 WAVE 4 WAVE 5 WAVE 6 WAVE 7 WAVE 8

Week of 3/23 Week of 4/6 Week of 4/20 Week of 5/4 Week of 6/8 Week of 7/6 Week of 9/14 Week of 11/16
NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA COVID 19: TRACKING THE IMPACT ON THE ENTERTAINMENT LANDSCAPE 2020
22
FIRST CHART Carey on The Tonight Show
Starring Jimmy Fallon
The No. 2 Billboard 200 debut
of BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’s Letter
MILESTONES
(NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images)
to You on the chart dated Nov.

7 made the musician the first
MARIAH CAREY’s holiday chestnut, “All
OF THE 2020s
to earn a new top five charting
I Want for Christmas Is You,” became
album in each of the last six
the first Hot 100 No. 1 song of 2020 and
decades (1970s through 2020s).
the new decade when it stayed in the
B
In March, JAMES TAYLOR
top spot for a third week, on the chart
ILLBOARD’S CHART DATA became the first act with new
dated Jan. 4.
goes back to the 1940s, top 10 albums in each of the past
The No. 1 also helped Carey become
and throughout the six decades with the No. 4 arrival
the first artist to score a Hot 100 No. 1 in
decades many acts have of American Standard on the
the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s, and
developed into superstars, Billboard 200 dated March 14.
the first artist ever to top the chart in
setting chart records along
four consecutive decades.
the way. With the start of a
The song returned to No. 1 on the
new decade, new milestones
Dec. 19, 2020-dated Hot 100 chart,
were set from both new and
with 31.4 million streams (up 19%),
legendary artists. Here is a
27.1 million radio airplay audience
sampling of the most notable
impressions (up 11%) and 7,000
chart achievements of the first Springsteen Taylor
downloads sold (up 8%). (Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU (Nicholas Hunt/
year of the new decade. Photo Bank/Getty Images) Getty Images)
ARTISTS WITH HOT 100 TOP 10 HITS IN THE ’00s, ’10s AND ’20s
ARTIST FIRST TOP 10 IN 2020 PEAK

1 BEYONCÉ Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” feat. Beyoncé No. 1
2 MARIAH CAREY “All I Want for Christmas Is You” No. 1
3 JASON DERULO “Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)” w/Jawsh 865 No. 1
4 DRAKE “Toosie Slide” No. 1
5 LADY GAGA “Rain on Me” w/Ariana Grande No. 1
6 M.I.A. Travis Scott’s “Franchise” feat. Young Thug & M.I.A. No. 1
7 TAYLOR SWIFT “Cardigan” No. 1
8 LIL WAYNE Jack Harlow’s “Whats Poppin” feat. DaBaby, Tory

Lanez & Lil Wayne No. 2
9 MAROON 5 “Memories” No. 2
10 EMINEM “Godzilla” feat. Juice WRLD No. 3
11 CHRIS BROWN “Go Crazy” w/Young Thug No. 6
23
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON
BREAKING (AND RE-BREAKING) HITS
RODDY RICCH Ricch
(Courtesy)
The rapper’s viral hit “The Box” became the
second nonholiday song to top the Hot 100
in 2020, rising from No. 3 to No. 1 on the
chart dated Jan. 18, remaining in the top
spot for 11 consecutive weeks.
Buoying the song’s popularity was a viral
TikTok meme in which fans wiped their
mirror in a rhythm set to the song’s “err err”
beat from producer Mustard.
The track finished 2020 as the year’s No.
1 most-consumed song, with 1.3 billion on-
demand streams and 1.7 billion in audience
impressions at radio.
BENEE
The New Zealand singer-songwriter’s song “Supalonely” (featuring Gus
Dapperton) became one of the first unofficial anthems of the quarantine era
after TikTok memes helped the song debut on the March 28 Hot 100 at No.
88, with 9.3 million U.S. streams (up 13%) and 2,000 downloads (up 20%), the
week ending March 19. The song finished 2020 as the year’s No. 134 most-
consumed song, with 218.7 million on-demand streams and 659.5 million in
audience impressions at radio.
Benee
(Harry Were)
JAWSH 685 AND JASON DERULO

New Zealand producer Jawsh 685’s the second for Derulo when it rose from
“Savage Love (Laxed — Siren Beat)” wth No. 8 to No. 1 on the chart dated Oct. 17,
pop-R&B singer Derulo was the No. 1 thanks to a remix with BTS.
most popular song on TikTok thanks to its The single finished 2020 as the year’s
viral dance challenge. No. 29 most-consumed song, with 268.9
“Savage Love” became the first Hot 100 billion on-demand streams and 1.3 billion Jawsh 685 Derulo
(Courtesy photo) (Courtesy photo)
No. 1 for the 18-year-old producer and audience impressions at radio.
24
PRISCILLA BLOCK
The country singer-songwriter
debuted at No. 4 on Country Digital
Song Sales with her song “Just About
Over You” on the strength of 7,000
downloads in just two days of release
the week ending Aug. 6. The song’s
popularity on TikTok, where Block
has over 400,000 followers, helped
listeners discover it on different music
platforms.
The song also scored 689,000 U.S.
streams the same week, helping it
enter Hot Country Songs at No. 50
for its blend of airplay, sales and
streaming data. Block represents
one of the first independent country
artists to see a direct chart impact as a
direct result of a TikTok campaign.
Block
(Eric Ryan Anderson)
PHIL COLLINS FLEETWOOD MAC

A viral video featuring twin brothers Forty-three years after “Dreams” became the
reacting to hearing Phil Collins’ 1981 group’s sole Hot 100 No. 1, the song returned
top 20 Hot 100 hit “In the Air Tonight” to the chart after it accumulated 2.9 million
helped streams for the song surge on-demand U.S. streams (up 88.7%) during
122.1% Aug. 7-9 (compared with Aug. the three-day period of Sept. 25-27, when a
4-6) to 2 million, while downloads of popular TikTok video featuring skateboarder
the song leapt NATHAN APODACA drinking Ocean Spray
1,516% to 6,000. cranberry juice started to reach mainstream
Collins’ catalog audiences.
of solo songs The song eventually rose to a 2020 high
Apodaca
also saw a 602% (Mega/Getty Images) of No. 12 on the Hot 100 and accumulated
boost in digital 249 million on-demand streams, 62.6 million
Collins
downloads, to ( John Parra/ audience impressions at radio and 147,000
Getty Images)
11,000. downloads this year.
25
BLACK Gambino
(IBRA AKE)
CHILDISH
GAMBINO
“This Is America”
LIVES 646,000
+268.5%
MATTER J. COLE
“Middle
Child”
606,000
G
EORGE FLOYD’S +8.9%
death by the
hands of a police KENDRICK
officer on May LAMAR
25 led to a widespread “Alright”
protest movement for 407,000
racial justice and police +237.5%
reform, which led to a
resurgence in playlisting 21 SAVAGE
and streams of protest FT. J. COLE
songs both recent and “a lot”
classic. To the right 382,000
are the five songs that +10.4%
saw the biggest lift in
average daily audio N.W.A
streams from May 28 to “Fuck
June 6 (compared with Tha Police”
the average daily audio
325,000
streams from May 22 to +302.7%
May 27).
H.E.R.
The Black Lives Matter movement resonated with Grammy

voters, too. Two of the nominees for song of the year at
the upcoming 2021 awards ceremony (airing in March),
Beyoncé’s “Black Parade” and H.E.R.’s “I Can’t Breathe,” were
released in solidarity with the movement on Juneteenth
(June 19). “Black Parade” peaked at No. 37 on the Hot 100
and achieved 7.6 million on-demand streams its first week
of release, while “I Can’t Breathe” peaked at No. 20 on Hot
R&B Songs and logged 1.8 million first-week streams.
26
SUPPORT FOR SOCIAL CHANGE Artist Advocates
The increased push for systemic change resonated strongly with consumers in the weeks I WOULD VIEW AN ARTIST
and months following the protests. Highlights from a July MRC Data custom analysis on the MORE FAVORABLY IF THEY ....
impact of Black Lives Matter and other social causes are excerpted below.
General Public Joins Cause

PEOPLE ARE TAKING ACTION TO SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT AND FURTHER EDUCATE THEMSELVES
60%
Stand up for social causes
42% 34% 22% 17%
READING
ARTICLES
POSTING ON
SOCIAL MEDIA
73%
of Gen Pop have taken
SUPPORTING
BLACK-OWNED
BUSINESSES
DONATING
TO A CAUSE
59%
Donated to a social cause
some action to support
32% 24% the Black Lives Matter
Movement
16% 13%
WATCHING SIGNING WRITING ATTENDING

DOCUMENTARIES PETITIONS GOVERNMENT PROTESTS
OR PODCASTS OFFICIALS
NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA COVID 19: TRACKING THE IMPACT ON THE ENTERTAINMENT LANDSCAPE RELEASE 6
55%
Used their social media
platform to promote a
social cause
Backing a Brand
54%
I WOULD VIEW A BRAND FAVORABLY IF THEY ...
Educated consumers
on a social cause
64% 63% 60% 60%

51%
Donated to Stand up for Used their social media Educated consumers
a social cause social causes platform to promote a on a social cause
social cause
Created a song that spoke

BY COMPARISON, ONLY 54% OF RESPONDENTS WOULD VIEW A BRAND MORE FAVORABLY IF THEY SPONSORED to social change
VIRTUAL CONCERTS, SO CONSUMERS WOULD PREFER BRANDS TO PUT THEIR MONEY TOWARD SOCIAL CAUSES.
NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA COVID

19: TRACKING THE IMPACT ON THE
NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA COVID 19: TRACKING THE IMPACT ON THE ENTERTAINMENT LANDSCAPE RELEASE 6 ENTERTAINMENT LANDSCAPE RELEASE 6
27
AWARD SHOWS AND LIVE EVENTS
HELPING DRIVE DISCOVERY (AND REDISCOVERY) OF NEW AND CLASSIC HITS
T
HREE OF THE YEAR’S MOST-WATCHED live events to occur as scheduled before the COVID-19
telecasts — the 2020 Grammy Awards, the pandemic put an extended pause on production. Here
Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show and the are the big winners from each of those three proven
2020 Academy Awards — were among the last reach vehicles for music consumption.
Eilish
(Frederic J. Brown/
AFP/Getty Images)
THE GRAMMYS, JAN. 26
Artists who performed at the ceremony saw a collective 76%
spike in audio streams, led by Camila Cabello, whose album
track “First Man” catapulted 750% the day after the telecast.
Other artists who saw big next-day lifts included BILLIE
EILISH (who swept each of the awards’ Big Four categories),
with a 53% lift in total catalog streams; Lil Nas X’s “Rodeo”
(up 154%); and Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You” (up 51%).
PEPSI SUPER BOWL

LIVE HALFTIME SHOW,
FEB. 2.
Co-headliners JENNIFER LOPEZ
AND SHAKIRA saw a cumulative
193% rise in streams of their
combined catalogs the day after
their performance, which was ACADEMY
watched by an average audience AWARDS,
of 102 million viewers (up 4% FEB. 9
from 2019’s halftime show, A previously
according to Nielsen). All songs unannounced
performed during the halftime performance
show (including those from guest from EMINEM
Shakira and Lopez
at the Super Bowl. performers Bad Bunny and J led to a 385%
( Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Balvin) allotted a collective 24.85 increase in next-
million on-demand streams day streams for
on Feb. 2 and 3, up 157% from his 2004 Oscar- Eminem
the two-day period prior to the winning song,
(Mark Ralston/AFP/
Getty Images)
game. “Lose Yourself.”
28
BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS, OCT. 14
The songs performed on the three-hour broadcast earned
28.8 million on-demand streams in the United States
Oct. 14-16 — up 15% compared with the three days prior.
Notable gainers included BTS’ “Dynamite” (5.1 million
streams, up 13.6%); Doja Cat’s three-song medley of “Juicy,”
“Like That” and “Say So” (4.63 million combined streams, up
Swae Lee, Brown and Khalid 11.6%); and KANE BROWN, KHALID AND SWAE LEE’s “Be
(Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU
Photo Bank/Getty Images) Like That” (4.36 million streams; up 15.8%).
MILEY CYRUS, “HEART OF

GLASS” AT IHEARTRADIO
FESTIVAL (SEPT. 18)
Cyrus’ cover of Blondie’s 1978 hit was
released commercially on Sept. 29
and later added as a deluxe track to
her November album, Plastic Hearts.
The song has logged 35 million audio
streams and an additional 5.5 million
streams of its popular video recording of
Cyrus’ performance.
Cyrus
(Vijat Mohindra)
Swift
(TasRightsManagement2020/
Getty Images)
TAYLOR SWIFT, “BETTY” AT THE

ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC
AWARDS (SEPT. 16)
Swift’s surprise performance of folklore fan favorite
“Betty” sparked a 123% lift in streams of the song
the day following the telecast, while a live recording
of Swift’s performance has accumulated 2.5 million
streams.
29
BTS on “The
Tonight Show with
Jimmy Fallon”
(NBC/Getty Images)
KOREAN POP ACTS REACH a remix of Jawsh 865 and Jason Derulo’s
“Savage Love,” which surged 32% in
streams (to 16 million) the week ending
NEW MAINSTREAM HEIGHTS

Oct. 11.
BTS’ third No. 1, “Life Goes On,” drew
14.9 million U.S. streams and sold
150,000 copies (from downloads and
BTS BTS became the first all-South Korean act physical singles) in the week ending Nov.
BTS saw its passionate fan base expand to top the Hot 100. The song also scored 26. It also earned 410,000 radio airplay
even further, with the group scoring the biggest digital sales week in nearly audience impressions in the week
its first three Hot 100 No. 1 singles in three years, with 265,000 downloads ending Nov. 29.
2020 in a span of just three months — sold. “Dynamite” later became BTS’ November album BE became the
marking the fastest accumulation of any biggest hit at radio, peaking at No. 10 band’s fifth No. 1 on the BIllboard 200,
act’s first three Hot 100 No. 1s since The on Radio Songs and accumulating 624 with 242,000 equivalent album units
Beatles in 1964. million airplay impressions in 2020. earned in the U.S. in the week ending
Beginning with “Dynamite” in August, The group’s second No. 1 came from Nov. 26.
30
“
NCT AND
SuperM
Korean boy band NCT and
TWICE its offshoot NCT-127 had a
The half-Korean, half-Japanese girl group very productive 2020 for new
GLOBAL scored its first Billboard 200 entry when EP releases. The former’s NCT
PREDICTIONS More & More entered the chart dated June 2020 Resonance Pt. 1 debuted
FOR K-POP IN 2021 13 at No. 200 with 6,100 equivalent album at No. 6 on the Billboard 200
The global success of K-Pop with 43,000 units in first-week
units earned in the week ending June 4 —
has highlighted the quality
including 3.9 million streams for its tracks. consumption the week ending
of Asian music, and in 2021
we can expect to see many “I Can’t Stop Me” became TWICE’s Oct. 22, while NCT-127’s latest
more exciting and talented first hit on Billboard’s Global 200 chart, project, NCT #127: Neo Zone, The
artists emerging from around
peaking at No. 31 and logging 271.2 2nd Album, earned 87,000 units
the region onto the world
stage. That’s why Warner is million total global streams in 2020. in first-week total consumption
stepping up its investment in the week ending March 12.
A&R across Asia. South Korean supergroup
Simon Robson SuperM followed up its No.
President of Warner Music Asia
1-peaking The 1st Mini Album
with full-length Super One - The
1st Album, which entered the
Billboard 200 at No. 2 with
103,000 equivalent units in
Blackpink Twice
(YG Entertainment) (The Chosunilbo JNS/ first-week total consumption the
“
Imazins via Getty Images)
week ending Oct. 2.
Our team at SME and the KPOP

industry had extraordinary
performance and unprecedented
success in 2020. Success was
driven by a strong global appetite
for high-quality livestreaming
concerts which we at SME
leveraged by launching “Beyond
Live” the world’s first online
exclusive ticketed concert
platform. We also built on the
BLACKPINK Billboard 200 (with 110,000 equivalent explosion of online mega-fan
The all-female group made a splash album units). Blackpink became just communities, the opening up of
global markets to content and
on the charts in 2020, showing the third South Korean act to top the merchandise, digital and AR
that Korean pop’s breakthrough in chart, following BTS and SuperM. technology advancements which
American wasn’t limited to all-male Blackpink’s highest-charting single meant no geographic barriers
for SM acts and high impact
acts like BTS and SuperM. on the Hot 100 became its Selena
creative partnerships during the
The quartet rocketed from No. 65 Gomez team-up “Ice Cream,” which pandemic to leverage the global
to No. 1 on the Oct. 17-dated Billboard peaked at No. 13 and accumulated 126.5 reach of K-Pop.
Artist 100 chart, becoming the top U.S. million streams in 2020. Another buzzy Dom Rodriguez
musical act for the first time, following collaboration, “Bet You Wanna,” with SM USA, Managing Director
The Album’s No. 2 debut on the Cardi B, earned 19.6 million streams.
31
IN MEMORIAM
NEIL PEART
1952-2020
Streaming (audio plus video) gain of
783% for Rush tracks from the four days
preceding the death of the legendary
drummer on Jan. 7 to the next four
days.
KENNY ROGERS
1938-2020
Streaming (audio plus video) gain in Little Richard in 1957 in
“Mister Rock And Roll.”
daily streams of 3,011% following his (Michael Ochs Archives/
Getty Images)
March 20 death. He had the two top-
selling tracks for the week ending March
26: “The Gambler” and “Islands in the
Stream,” a duet with Dolly Parton. JOHN PRINE week ending July 9. “The Devil Went
1946-2020 Down to Georgia,” his best-known song,
JOE DIFFIE His catalog’s streams (audio and video) reentered the July 18-dated Hot Country
1958-2020 grew 1,298% in the two days before Songs chart at No. 24, with a 112%
Three of the singer’s tracks entered to the two days after his April 7 death increase in streams to 2.6 million.
Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales after developing COVID-19.
chart in the wake of his death on March CHADWICK BOSEMAN
29: “John Deere Green” at No. 2, “Pickup LITTLE RICHARD 1977-2020
Man” at No. 5 and “Prop Me Up Beside 1932-2020 The actor’s death on Aug. 28 led fans
the Jukebox (If I Die)” at No. 7. The rock’n’roll legend died May 9. As to stream the soundtrack to his best-
his streams rose 897% in the week known film, Black Panther. Streams for
BILL WITHERS ending May 14, “Tutti Frutti” hit No. 23 the 2018 soundtrack album’s songs
1938-2020 on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and went up 174% on Aug. 29 versus the
Audio and video streams of his catalog sales-based Hot Rock Songs chart. four days prior.
grew 1,015% in the three days preceding The Very Best Of... “Little Richard”
and following his death on March 30. appeared at No. 39 on Top Rock FREDERICK
Albums. “TOOTS” HIBBERT
ADAM SCHLESINGER 1942-2020
1967-2020 CHARLIE DANIELS The reggae/ska icon saw a 336%
Streaming (audio plus video) of his catalog 1936-2020 gain in audio streams and a 1,097%
jumped 420% in the four days before and The Country Music Hall of Fame surge in video streams for his catalog
the four days after his April 1 death from inductee’s death on July 6 prompted a in the seven days following his death
complications due to COVID-19. 197% increase in catalog streams the on Sept. 11.
32
HELEN REDDY JOHNNY NASH JERRY JEFF WALKER
1942-2020 1940-2020 1942-2020
The Australian singer-songwriter The “I Can See Clearly Now” singer The outlaw Country pioneer, best known
best-known for her feminist anthem saw a 323% rise in on-demand for writing the hit “Mr. Bojangles,” saw
“I Am Woman,” a No. 1 Hot 100 hit audio streams of his catalog a 770% gain in audio streams of his
in 1972, died Sept. 29. Streams of Reddy’s reaching 606,000 streams in the 2 catalog during the seven days following
catalog spiked 1,404% the following day. days following his death on Oct. 6, his Oct. 23 death, compared with the
compared with 143,000 streams the 2 weeklong period before.
EDDIE VAN HALEN days prior.
1955-2020 KING VON
The death of the co-founder (and SPENCER DAVIS 1994-2020
namesake) of the iconic rock band on 1939-2020 The Chicago rapper’s death on Nov. 6
Oct. 6 prompted a 6,198% increase in The namesake of hit ’60s band Spencer prompted a 162% surge in on-demand
Van Halen’s album and song sales that Davis Group experienced a 44% gain in audio streams for his catalog, led by
same day, to 40,000 copies — compared streams of his catalog in the seven days 2020 single “Took Her to the O,” and
with just under 1,000 on Oct. 5. following his death on Oct. 19. a 308% increase in on-demand video
streams. “Took Her to the O” later
debuted on the Nov. 21-dated Hot 100
King Von at No. 47, his highest chart entry, on the
(Esdras Thelusma)
strength of 11.9 million U.S. streams (up
258%) and 1,000 downloads (up 502%)
in the week ending Nov. 12.
CHARLEY PRIDE
1934-2020
The pioneering Country star saw a 874%
increase in audio streams and 4,352%
lift in video streams of his catalog in the
two days following his death on Dec. 12
(compared to the two days prior).
K.T. OSLIN
1942–2020
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
inductee’s passing on Dec. 21 saw a
1,186% increase in streams of her catalog
(to 814,000) in the three days following her
death compared to the three days prior.
LESLIE WEST
1945–2020
The hard-rock guitarist’s death on Dec.
22 led to a 145% increase of streams in
his band Mountain’s catalog (to 522,000)
in in the three days following his death
compared to the three days prior.
33
Lil Baby
(Kevin Mazur/
Getty Images
RAP
T
HE YEAR’S BIGGEST RAP EFFORTS WERE LED
by a number of new as well as posthumously
released titles from some of the industry’s biggest
names.
The year-end top rap album is LIL BABY’s My Turn,
which was also the most-consumed album across all
genres in 2020 with 2.6 million equivalent album units
earned. The Nos. 2 and 3 year-end rap titles were from late
rappers Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD (see pages 19-20 for
more info).
Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” is the year’s top rap song overall,
and the top rap tune at radio. It also finished 2020 as the
No. 1 most-consumed song across all genres. Cardi B’s
pop culture phenomenon “WAP,” featuring Megan Thee
Stallion, is the No. 5 biggest rap song of 2020.
34
RAP
TOP ALBUMS
Top Albums: Ranked by equivalent album units, comprising album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit = one album sale, or
10 tracks sold from an album, or 1,250 premium on-demand streams // 3,750 ad-supported on-demand streams by songs from an album.
ALBUM + TEA +
ARTIST TITLE ON-DEMAND SEA
1 LIL BABY My Turn 2,632,000
2 POP SMOKE Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon 2,198,000
3 JUICE WRLD Legends Never Die 1,990,000
4 POST MALONE Hollywood’s Bleeding 1,895,000
5 LIL UZI VERT Eternal Atake 1,860,000
TOP SONGS Top Songs: Ranked by traditional digital song sales + SES units, where 125 premium streams = one song // 375 ad-supported streams = one song.
SONG SALES +
ARTIST TITLE SES ON-DEMAND STREAMS
1 RODDY RICCH “The Box” 7,569,000
2 FUTURE FEAT. DRAKE “Life Is Good” 5,995,000
3 DABABY FEAT. RODDY RICCH “Rockstar” 5,598,000
4 JACK HARLOW “Whats Poppin” 5,053,000
5 CARDI B FEAT. MEGAN THEE STALLION “WAP” 4,347,000
TOP RADIO SONGS Top Radio Songs: Ranked by audience impressions across all monitored formats of radio, arrived at by cross-referencing MRC Data song radio plays with
listener information compiled by the Nielsen Audio ratings system to determine the approximate number of audience* impressions made for each play.
ARTIST SONG AUDIENCE SPINS

1 RODDY RICCH “The Box” 1,679,705,800 483,000
2 DABABY “Rockstar” 1,601,450,000 570,000
3 BLACKBEAR “Hot Girl Bummer” 1,580,254,200 532,000
4 ARIZONA ZERVAS “Roxanne” 1,237,229,200 432,000
5 24KGOLDN FEAT. IANN DIOR “Mood” 1,233,075,400 445,000
*
Audience totals are derived, in part, using certain Nielsen Audio-copyrighted Persons 12+ audience estimates (under license [c] 2020, Nielsen Audio).
35
Luke Combs
(David Bergman)
COUNTRY
L
UKE COMBS AND MORGAN WALLEN SPENT
much of 2020 breaking each other’s records for single-
week streams and other major milestones in a banner
year for Country music consumption. Combs finished
the year with the genre’s two most-consumed albums,
including What You See Is What You Get (No. 1, with 1.5 million
equivalent units), while Wallen’s album If I Know Me wrapped
the year at No. 3 two years after its initial release.
Female artists, who had been underrepresented in the top
ranks of the Country charts for years, finished 2020 strong
with three of the year’s five most-consumed Country songs
and the top two most popular songs at Country radio, led by
Maren Morris’ “The Bones” and Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope” in
the top two of both year-end songs charts.
36
COUNTRY
TOP ALBUMS
ALBUM + TEA +
1 LUKE COMBS What You See Is What You Get 1,475,000
2 LUKE COMBS This One’s for You 993,000
3 MORGAN WALLEN If I Know Me 944,000
4 SAM HUNT SOUTHSIDE 607,000
5 CHRIS STAPLETON Traveller 595,000
SONG SALES +
1 GABBY BARRETT “I Hope” 3,547,000
2 MAREN MORRIS “The Bones” 2,846,000
DIPLO PRESENTS THOMAS WESLEY

3 FEATURING MORGAN WALLEN “Heartless” 2,782,000
4 MORGAN WALLEN “Chasin’ You” 2,541,000
5 OLD DOMINION “One Man Band” 2,307,000

1 MAREN MORRIS “The Bones” 2,459,781,100 780,000
2 GABBY BARRETT “I Hope” 2,400,857,100 831,000
3 DAN + SHAY & JUSTIN BIEBER “10,000 Hours” 1,391,875,100 428,000
4 MORGAN WALLEN “Chasin’ You” 1,265,724,900 428,000
5 BLAKE SHELTON DUET

“Nobody but You” 1,146,834,600 331,000
WITH GWEN STEFANI
*
37
Bad Bunny
(Kevin Mazur/
Getty Images)
LATIN
P
ERHAPS NO ARTIST SINGLE-HANDEDLY CONTRIBUTED
to a year of significant growth for Latin music more
than BAD BUNNY, whose three 2020 album releases
(February’s YHLQMDLG, May’s LAS QUE NO IBAN A SALIR
and November’s El Ultimo Tour del Mundo) were the genre’s Nos.
1, 5 and 4 most-consumed albums of the year, respectively, and
contributed a combined 3.6 billion on-demand streams, while
2019’s X 100PRE, at No. 3, gives him four of the 2020 year-end
top five.
J Balvin also had a big 2020, as he released his latest album,
Colores, and drew a prominent feature on the Black Eyed Peas’
“El Ritmo.” The collab wraps as the genre’s top radio hit of the
year with 1.3 billion audience impressions and ranks at No. 5
among all Latin songs by total consumption (sales and streams).
38
LATIN
TOP ALBUMS
ALBUM + TEA +
1 BAD BUNNY YHLQMDLG 1,444,000
2 ANUEL AA Emmanuel 411,000
3 BAD BUNNY X 100PRE 410,000
4 BAD BUNNY EL ÚLTIMO TOUR DEL MUNDO 348,000
5 BAD BUNNY LAS QUE NO IBAN A SALIR 315,000
SONG SALES +
1 BAD BUNNY “Yo Perreo Sola” 1,538,000
2 KAROL G & NICKI MINAJ “Tusa” 1,455,000
BAD BUNNY, JOWELL

3 & RANDY & NENGO FLOW “Safaera” 1,390,000
4 BAD BUNNY “Vete” 1,389,000
5 BLACK EYED PEAS X J BALVIN “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life)” 1,300,000

1 BLACK EYED PEAS X J BALVIN “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life)” 1,273,232,800 392,000
2 KAROL G & NICKI MINAJ “Tusa” 490,483,000 141,000
3 DJ SNAKE, J BALVIN & TYGA “Loco Contigo” 393,193,900 94,000
4 BLACK EYED PEAS, OZUNA

“Mamacita” 339,894,400 128,000
+ J.REY SOUL
5 PRINCE ROYCE “Carita de Inocente” 304,186,000 73,000
*
39
The Weeknd
(Kevin Mazur/MTV VMAs
2020/Getty Images)
R&B
T
HE WEEKND RULED CONSUMPTION ACROSS
the board in R&B this year, as his album After
Hours and single “Blinding Lights” were the most
popular across all categories for the genre by a
considerable margin.
But just below THE WEEKND on the year-end R&B
albums recap are three releases from female artists in
the top five (Jhene Aiko’s Chilombo, Summer Walker’s
Over It and Doja Cat’s Hot Pink), a sign that the women in
R&B are a big part of the genre’s commercial fortunes.
Breakthrough artist Doja Cat also ranks in the top five of
the year’s song consumption and radio recaps with her hit
“Say So,” featuring Nicki Minaj.
40
R&B
TOP ALBUMS
ALBUM + TEA +
1 THE WEEKEND After Hours 2,032,000
2 JUSTIN BIEBER Changes 1,088,000
3 JHENÉ AIKO Chilombo 1,057,000
4 SUMMER WALKER Over It 930,000
5 DOJA CAT Hot Pink 845,000
SONG SALES +
1 THE WEEKND “Blinding Lights” 6,051,000
2 DOJA CAT FEAT. NICKI MINAJ “Say So” 3,760,000
3 JUSTIN BIEBER FEAT. QUAVO “Intentions” 3,319,000
4 CHRIS BROWN & YOUNG THUG “Go Crazy” 2,371,000
5 CHRIS BROWN FEAT. DRAKE “No Guidance” 2,335,000

1 THE WEEKND “Blinding Lights” 3,813,704,000 1,281,000
2 DOJA CAT FEAT. NICKI MINAJ “Say So” 2,015,416,400 730,000
3 JUSTIN BIEBER FEAT. QUAVO “Intentions” 1,839,075,500 676,000
4 THE WEEKND “Heartless” 1,641,579,900 481,000
5 CHRIS BROWN & YOUNG THUG “Go Crazy” 1,427,780,800 442,000
*
41
Lady Gaga
(Kevin Winter/MTV VMAs
2020/Getty Images)
DANCE/ELECTRONIC
L
ADY GAGA’S FIRST FULLY DANCE/ELECTRONIC album
since 2013’s Artpop dominated the genre this year,
helping set an optimistic tone for an eventual return to
enjoying dance music in public. Gaga’s album Chromatica
capped off a year that also saw highly anticipated new albums
from DJ-producers Kygo and Disclosure rank among the genre’s
top five most-consumed releases.
SAINt JHN’s “Roses” is the year’s top dance/electronic track in
overall consumption, while Gaga’s Chromatica hit with Ariana
Grande “Rain on Me” is No. 2. Both songs also rank among
the genre’s five biggest radio hits of the year, at Nos. 2 and 4,
respectively, while the Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin’s “Ritmo
(Bad Boys for Life)” is 2020’s No. 1 dance/electronic radio hit,
with 1.3 billion audience impressions during the year.
42
DANCE/ELECTRONIC
TOP ALBUMS
ALBUM + TEA +
1 LADY GAGA Chromatica 842,000
2 KYGO Golden Hour 315,000
3 LADY GAGA The Fame 290,000
4 DISCLOSURE Energy 270,000
5 MARSHMELLO Marshmello Fortnite Extended Set 238,000
SONG SALES +
1 SAINT JHN “Roses” 3,822,000
2 LADY GAGA & ARIANA GRANDE “Rain on Me” 1,937,000
3 MARSHMELLO & BASTILLE “Happier” 1,324,000
4 SURF MESA FEAT. EMILEE “ily” 1,314,000
5 BLACK EYED PEAS X J BALVIN “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life)” 1,300,000

1 BLACK EYED PEAS X J BALVIN “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life)” 1,273,232,800 392,000
2 SAINT JHN “Roses” 1,240,247,800 486,000
3 SURF MESA FEAT. EMILEE “ily” 877,638,500 323,000
4 LADY GAGA & ARIANA GRANDE “Rain on Me” 700,000,300 280,000
5 MARSHMELLO & BASTILLE “Happier” 592,282,200 213,000
*
43
Queen
circa 1973
(RB/Redferns)
ROCK
2
020 WAS A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD FOR ROCK,
as a global pause on touring caused many of the
genre’s biggest acts to sit out the year for new releases.
Concurrently, the growth of catalog rock continued to
accelerate as heritage acts like QUEEN and Journey helped the
genre increase its piece of the streaming pie, finishing 2020 as
the No. 2 most-streamed genre (behind R&B/hip-hop).
On the new-release front, rock trio AJR scored its biggest
hit to date with “Bang!,” which finishes as the No. 2 biggest
rock song of the year, and the runner-up biggest rock song
at radio (see chart, next page). Just outside the top five year-
end rock albums this year were new albums from Miley Cyrus
and Machine Gun Kelly, who both released their first rock-
categorized projects in the fourth quarter.
44
ROCK
TOP ALBUMS
ALBUM + TEA +
1 QUEEN Greatest Hits 929,000
2 ELTON JOHN Diamonds 743,000
3 FLEETWOOD MAC Rumours 721,000
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL

4 FEAT. JOHN FOGERTY Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits 630,000
5 JOURNEY Journey’s Greatest Hits 561,000
SONG SALES +
1 FLEETWOOD MAC “Dreams” 1,882,000
2 AJR “Bang!” 1,627,000
3 IMAGINE DRAGONS “Believer” 1,571,000
4 JOURNEY “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” 1,497,000
5 EAGLES “Hotel California” 1,393,000

1 PANIC! AT THE DISCO “High Hopes” 1,167,481,100 370,000
2 AJR “Bang!” 803,692,100 353,000
3 JOURNEY “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” 742,579,200 139,000
4 BON JOVI “Livin’ on a Prayer” 678,855,900 140,000
5 JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS “I Love Rock ’N’ Roll” 620,132,600 130,000
*
45
2020 MRC DATA YEAR-END CHARTS
TOP ALBUMS (Album sales + TEA + on-demand SEA)*
TOTAL ALBUM- ON-DEMAND ON-DEMAND

EQUIVALENT ALBUM SONG AUDIO VIDEO
ARTIST TITLE CONSUMPTION SALES SALES STREAMS STREAMS
1 LIL BABY My Turn 2.632 million 40,000 366,000 3.2 billion 717.5 million
TAYLOR
2 SWIFT
folklore 2.205 million 1,276,000 281,000 1.1 billion 52.4 million
Shoot for the Stars

3 POP SMOKE
Aim For The Moon
2.198 million 106,000 270,000 2.7 billion 372.0 million
THE
4 WEEKND
After Hours 2.032 million 480,000 785,000 1.9 billion 177.5 million
5 JUICE WRLD Legends Never Die 1.990 million 301,000 200,000 2.4 billion 248.7 million
POST Hollywood’s
6 MALONE Bleeding
7 LIL UZI VERT Eternal Atake 1.860 million 28,000 95,000 2.6 billion 176.3 million
RODDY Please Excuse Me

8 RICCH for Being Antisocial
HARRY
9 STYLES
Fine Line 1.522 million 420,000 517,000 1.4 billion 99.5 million
LUKE What You See Is

10 COMBS What You Get
* Top 10 Albums (Album Sales + TEA + on-demand SEA): Ranked by equivalent album units, comprising album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit = one album sale, or 10 tracks sold
from an album, or 1,250 premium on-demand streams // 3,750 ad-supported on-demand streams by songs from an album.
46
TOP ALBUMS (Total sales)
ARTIST TITLE SALES

1 TAYLOR SWIFT folklore 1.276 million
2 BTS Map of the Soul: 7 674,000
3 THE WEEKND After Hours 480,000
4 HARRY STYLES Fine Line 420,000
5 BILLIE EILISH When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? 348,000
7 JUICE WRLD Legends Never Die 301,000
8 HALSEY Manic 301,000
9 EMINEM Music To Be Murdered By 287,000
10 TAYLOR SWIFT evermore 283,000
TOP DIGITAL ALBUM SALES
ARTIST TITLE SALES

1 TAYLOR SWIFT folklore 796,000
2 THE WEEKND After Hours 293,000
3 JUICE WRLD Legends Never Die 282,000
4 EMINEM Music To Be Murdered By 207,000
5 LOGIC No Pressure 175,000
6 TAYLOR SWIFT evermore 169,000
ORIGINAL BROADWAY
8 CAST RECORDING Hamilton: An American Musical 123,000
9 HALSEY Manic 100,000
10 POP SMOKE Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon 95,000
47
TOP PHYSICAL ALBUMS
ARTIST TITLE SALES
1 BTS Map of the Soul: 7 646,000
2 TAYLOR SWIFT folklore 482,000
5 BTS BE 252,000
6 NCT 127 NCT #127: Neo Zone: The 2nd Album 249,000
7 KENNY CHESNEY Here and Now 244,000
9 CARRIE UNDERWOOD My Gift 221,000
10 THE BEATLES Abbey Road 202,000
TOP VINYL ALBUMS
ARTIST TITLE SALES
4 THE BEATLES Abbey Road 161,000
5 SOUNDTRACK Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 152,000
6 BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS Legend: The Best Of ... 148,000
7 FLEETWOOD MAC Rumours 138,000
8 BILLIE EILISH Dont Smile at Me 126,000
9 MICHAEL JACKSON Thriller 125,000
10 KENDRICK LAMAR good kid, m.A.A.d city 117,000
48
TOP DIGITAL SONG CONSUMPTION (Song sales + on-demand SES)*
SONG SALES
+ SES ON- ON-DEMAND ON-DEMAND
DEMAND AUDIO VIDEO
ARTIST SONG STREAMS SONG SALES STREAMS STREAMS
1 RODDY RICCH “The Box” 7.571 million 201,000 920.4 million 399.2 million
“Blinding
2 THE WEEKND
Lights”
6.051 million 580,000 691.5 million 129.6 million
FUTURE FEAT.
3 DRAKE
“Life Is Good” 5.995 million 164,000 651.3 million 383.6 million
DABABY FEAT.
4 RODDY RICCH
“Rockstar” 5.600 million 256,000 674.0 million 190.0 million
5 JACK HARLOW “Whats Poppin” 5.053 million 119,000 643.7 million 145.1 million
CARDI B FEAT.
6 MEGAN THEE “WAP” 4.642 million 300,000 492.2 million 240.5 million
STALLION
MEGAN THEE
7 STALLION
“Savage” 4.298 million 336,000 492.1 million 120.0 million
“Dance
8 TONES AND I
Monkey”
3.932 million 339,000 427.0 million 143.5 million
9 SAINT JHN “Roses” 3.822 million 242,000 454.8 million 71.2 million
10 POST MALONE “Circles” 3.790 million 281,000 456.8 million 71.0 million
* Top 10 Digital Song Consumption: Ranked by traditional digital song sales + SES units, where 125 premium streams = one song // 375 ad-supported streams = one song.
49
TOP SONGS: ON-DEMAND STREAMING (Audio + Video)
ARTIST SONG ON-DEMAND STREAMS

1 RODDY RICCH “The Box” 1.3 billion
2 FUTURE FEAT. DRAKE “Life Is Good” 1.0 billion
3 DABABY FEAT. RODDY RICCH “Rockstar” 864.0 million
4 THE WEEKND “Blinding Lights” 821.1 million
5 JACK HARLOW “Whats Poppin” 788.7 million
6 CARDI B FEAT. MEGAN THEE STALLION “WAP” 732.7 million
7 MEGAN THEE STALLION “Savage” 612.0 million
8 LIL MOSEY “Blueberry Faygo” 593.0 million
9 TONES AND I “Dance Monkey” 570.5 million
10 DOJA CAT FEAT. NICKI MINAJ “Say So” 562.4 million
TOP SONGS: AUDIO ON-DEMAND STREAMS
ON-DEMAND
ARTIST SONG AUDIO STREAMS
1 RODDY RICCH “The Box” 920.4 million
4 FUTURE FEAT. DRAKE “Life Is Good” 651.3 million
5 JACK HARLOW “WHATS POPPIN” 643.7 million
7 MEGAN THEE STALLION FEAT. BEYONCÉ “Savage (Remix)” 492.1 million
8 LIL MOSEY “Blueberry Faygo” 490.7 million
9 POST MALONE “Circles” 456.8 million
10 SAINT JHN “Roses” 454.8 million
50
TOP SONGS: ON-DEMAND VIDEO STREAMS
ON-DEMAND
ARTIST SONG VIDEO STREAMS
2 FUTURE FEAT. DRAKE “Life Is Good” 383.6 million
4 PINKFONG “Baby Shark” 207.9 million
6 LIL NAS X FEAT. BILLY RAY CYRUS “Old Town Road” 168.4 million
7 EMINEM FEAT. JUICE WRLD “Godzilla” 161.3 million
8 JACK HARLOW “Whats Poppin” 145.1 million
9 TONES AND I “Dance Monkey” 143.5 million
10 6IX9INE “Gooba” 132.8 million
TOP SONGS: PROGRAMMED AUDIO STREAMS*
PROGRAMMED
ARTIST SONG AUDIO STREAMS
1 CHRIS STAPLETON “Tennessee Whiskey” 132.1 million
2 EAGLES “Hotel California” 110.6 million
3 LYNYRD SKYNYRD “Sweet Home Alabama” 107.5 million
4 ED SHEERAN “Perfect” 105.4 million
6 POST MALONE “Circles” 102.3 million
8 CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” 97.2 million
9 JOURNEY “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” 95.4 million
10 MAROON 5 “Memories” 94.2 million
* Programmed streams are those from DMCA-compliant services.
51
TOP DIGITAL SONG SALES
ARTIST SONG SALES

1 BTS “Dynamite” 1.3 million
2 THE WEEKND “Blinding Lights” 580,000
3 GABBY BARRETT “I Hope” 351,000
4 TONES AND I “Dance Monkey” 339,000
5 MEGAN THEE STALLION “Savage” 336,000
6 CARDI B FEAT. MEGAN THEE STALLION “WAP” 300,000
7 JAWSH 685 x JASON DERULO “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” 299,000
8 BLAKE SHELTON DUET WITH GWEN STEFANI “Nobody but You” 288,000
9 POST MALONE “Circles” 281,000
10 MAROON 5 “Memories” 264,000
TOP RADIO SONGS (Based on Audience Impressions)*
ARTIST SONG AUDIENCE

1 THE WEEKND “Blinding Lights” 3.8 billion
2 POST MALONE “Circles” 3.5 billion
3 DUA LIPA “Don’t Start Now” 3.1 billion
4 HARRY STYLES “Adore You” 3.1 billion
5 MAREN MORRIS “The Bones” 2.5 billion
6 MAROON 5 “Memories” 2.5 billion
7 GABBY BARRETT “I Hope” 2.4 billion
8 LEWIS CAPALDI “Someone You Loved” 2.3 billion
9 LEWIS CAPALDI “Before You Go” 2.1 billion
10 DOJA CAT “Say So” 2.0 billion
* Ranked by audience impressions across all monitored formats of radio, arrived at by cross-referencing MRC Data song radio plays with listener information compiled by the Nielsen Audio ratings system to determine the
approximate number of audience impressions made for each play. Audience totals are derived, in part, using certain Nielsen Audio-copyrighted Persons 12+ audience estimates (under license [c] 2020, Nielsen Audio).
52
SHARE OF TOTAL VOLUME BY FORMAT AND GENRE (Selected top genres)
ON- ON-
TOTAL PHYSICAL DIGITAL DIGITAL TOTAL ON- DEMAND DEMAND
TOTAL ALBUM ALBUM ALBUM SONG DEMAND AUDIO VIDEO
GENRE VOLUME* SALES SALES SALES SALES STREAMS STREAMS STREAMS
R&B/
1 HIP-HOP 28.2% 13.6% 12.3% 16.2% 20.0% 31.1% 30.7% 33.9%
2 ROCK 19.5% 39.5% 44.0% 30.8% 21.4% 15.6% 16.3% 11.4%
3 POP 12.9% 10.3% 10.0% 10.9% 17.8% 13.1% 13.1% 13.5%
4 COUNTRY 7.9% 8.8% 9.3% 7.8% 11.9% 7.1% 7.5% 4.6%
5 LATIN 4.7% 0.8% 0.6% 1.3% 2.7% 6.0% 5.3% 10.5%
DANCE/
6 ELECTRONIC 3.2% 1.6% 1.3% 2.1% 3.9% 3.3% 3.4% 2.9%
CHRISTIAN/
7 GOSPEL 1.9% 2.4% 2.2% 2.9% 3.5% 1.8% 1.7% 1.8%
WORLD
8 MUSIC 1.8% 3.5% 4.3% 1.9% 2.1% 1.6% 1.5% 2.5%
9 CHILDREN 1.3% 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 0.8% 1.2% 1.2% 1.3%
10 JAZZ 1.1% 2.9% 3.2% 2.3% 1.1% 0.7% 0.8% 0.3%
11 CLASSICAL 1.0% 2.1% 1.9% 2.5% 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.4%
*Total volume = Albums + TEA + on-demand audio/video SEA
53
SHARE OF TOTAL ALBUM-EQUIVALENT CONSUMPTION BY FORMAT
ON-DEMAND ON-DEMAND DIGITAL TRACK DIGITAL PHYSICAL
VIDEO STREAMS AUDIO STREAMS SALES (TEA) ALBUMS ALBUMS
(SEA) (SEA)
3.1% 3.1% 4.7% 5.0% 1.2% 2.0%

5.2% 6.3% 5.5% 5.4%
7.4%
11.8%
79.0% 85.4% 67.7% 80.3% 78.2% 84.3% 85.4% 73.4% 63.3% 76.8% 61.2% 69.6%
2.9%
9.2%
3.2% 3.5% 2.1%
6.8% 4.7%
10.5%
5.4%
4.4% 1.9%
2.9% 5.4% 25.5%
4.0% 4.3% 6.6%
4.3% 19.2% 21.0%
2.1% 3.6% 3.6% 15.8%
2.5% 10.0% 1.7% 2.9% 10.5%
8.5% 6.6% 1.2% 9.6%
3.7% 1.1% 3.4%
CHRISTIAN/
GOSPEL
INDUSTRY
TOTAL
R&B/
HIP-HOP
ROCK
POP
COUNTRY
LATIN
DANCE/
ELECTRONIC
WORLD
MUSIC
CHILDREN
JAZZ
CLASSICAL
54
ABOUT MRC DATA
MRC Data is the most comprehensive global provider of
data and analytics to the entertainment and music industry
and consumers. Established in 2019, MRC Data services
all digital service providers (DSPs), labels, airplay, and
music retailers. MRC Data includes the industry’s definitive
Billboard charts, encompassing the most complete and
well-respected database of charts across all music genres.
MRC Data products include Music Connect, Broadcast Data
Systems and Music360, which collectively capture and
represent the most robust dataset related to music sales,
performance, artist activity, and consumer engagement.
MRC Data is part of PMRC Holdings, a joint venture between
MRC and Penske Media Company (PMC).

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MRC DATA

increased over time.

THE YEAR IN METRICS�������������������������������������������������������������������� 8

2020: THE YEAR COVID CHANGED EVERYTHING���������������� 9

THE YEAR IN MUSIC: BIG WINNERS & MOMENTS�����������11

THE YEAR IN CHARTS�������������������������������������������������������������������34

“WAP” by Cardi B featuring Megan

THE YEAR IN GLOBAL

GLOBAL STREAMING TRENDS

CONSUMER TRENDS “Homura,”

FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE

“I Can’t Stop Me,” TWICE (South

“Paradise,” Meduza & Dermot

3% “Mamichula,” Trueno & Nicki Nicole

BY THE NUMBERS: GLOBAL MUSIC LISTENERSHIP IN FRANCE

NIELSEN MUSIC/MRC DATA FRANCE MUSIC 360 FEBRUARY 2020

enjoyed by married males aged 18 to 49 in Greater London.

Global Digital U.S. Digital Album Sales

2020 419.4M % CHG.

U.S. Total Audio Consumption 2019  73.5M

Audio Song Streams U.S. Digital Song Sales

2020: THE YEAR COVID

the first two big genre winners during Jeremy Erlich

Jeff Sottolano of music listeners citing Lyor Cohen

Christmas came even earlier in

Music’s Big Winners

acts live on tour.

“This year, and certainly during

“Forever After All” in November.

LATIN STREAMING GROWTH TRENDS

Music’s Big Winners

Hot 100, eventually running up over 40 song by a lead soloist.

THE WEEKND weeks in the region (through the Jan. 9,

“Lil Baby has a self-awareness

A HISTORIC YEAR FOR

popular song, with 422.4 million Getty Images)

BEENIE MAN VS. BOUNTY KILLER

+107% +72% +492% +316% BRANDY VS. MONICA

AND OVER-THE-TOP TV EVENTS

25% 25% 24%

WAVE 1 WAVE 2 WAVE 3 WAVE 4 WAVE 5 WAVE 6 WAVE 7 WAVE 8

to You on the chart dated Nov.

ARTIST FIRST TOP 10 IN 2020 PEAK

2 MARIAH CAREY “All I Want for Christmas Is You” No. 1

4 DRAKE “Toosie Slide” No. 1

5 LADY GAGA “Rain on Me” w/Ariana Grande No. 1

7 TAYLOR SWIFT “Cardigan” No. 1

8 LIL WAYNE Jack Harlow’s “Whats Poppin” feat. DaBaby, Tory

9 MAROON 5 “Memories” No. 2

10 EMINEM “Godzilla” feat. Juice WRLD No. 3

11 CHRIS BROWN “Go Crazy” w/Young Thug No. 6

JAWSH 685 AND JASON DERULO

PHIL COLLINS FLEETWOOD MAC

The Black Lives Matter movement resonated with Grammy

General Public Joins Cause

42% 34% 22% 17%

WATCHING SIGNING WRITING ATTENDING

64% 63% 60% 60%

Created a song that spoke

THE YEAR IN METRICS�� 8

2020: THE YEAR COVID CHANGED EVERYTHING�� 9

THE YEAR IN MUSIC: BIG WINNERS & MOMENTS��11

THE YEAR IN CHARTS��34

2020 419.4M % CHG.

U.S. Total Audio Consumption 2019 73.5M