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Rihanna‘s faithful fans, affectionately christened #TheNavy, were more than ecstatic at news the Grammy winning songstress’s 8th opus, ‘Anti,’ had floated back to the top of the Billboard 200.
Muddled by mixed reviews and so-so sales, its saving grace came in the form of its official lead single, ‘Work,’ which appeared to help rework interest in the album as a whole and give the singer her first album to stay at #1 for longer than 1 week.
Beyond the headlines rejoicing about her return to #1, however, details surrounding it sing a less than celebratory tune.
This, from where we stand, is not just against Rih, but the entire music industry…
As reported here, ‘Anti’ bested the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Adele, and Justin Bieber‘s top-sellers to regain the coveted #1 spot. Yet, while some voiced concern over the 54,000 equivalent album sales moved to get there, their concern grew to worry when it was revealed only 17,000 of those units were actual album sales (roughly 69%).
That’s right, 17,000.
And, while there’s no way to ignore that glaring number, it’s simply a telling sign of how much streaming has become the industry’s true indicator of a project’s popularity. For, if 1,500 streams = 1 album unit shifted, then Rih’s album was streamed over 55 million times this week alone (almost two months after its release). This, from where I’m standing, speaks volumes to the project’s staying power and overall interest from the public…just not the buying public.
Is this a slump or a true indicator of things to come? Only time will tell. Until then, Rih can at least lay claim to bragging rights at seeing her name enter Billboard history books yet again…