What a time. Bitcoin broke the $100,000 threshold and peaked at nearly $104,000 on Thursday for the first time in the cryptocurrency’s 15-year history. The token has more than doubled in value this year after trading at around $45,000 when 2024 started.
A peek into today’s edition:
- 2024’s music streaming habits
- Tech Byte: Fortnite‘s Juice WRLD tribute concert draws 14 million
- Nike is shutting down RTFKT
Music Streaming in 2024: Viral Hits and Record-Breaking Moments
As 2024 winds down, music fans are looking back at the standout moments of the year, with Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music leading the way in celebrating the best tracks, albums, and creators. Taylor Swift‘s dominance on global charts, MrBeast’s YouTube success, and Billie Eilish’s groundbreaking year exemplify a transformative time for the industry, with fresh collaborations and viral hits defining the cultural landscape.
Let’s dig into the data.
Spotify Wrapped
Spotify‘s latest highlights showcase a dynamic year in music. Rising stars like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, alongside genre-blending artists like Beyoncé and Post Malone, achieved significant chart success. Historic collabs like Billie Eilish with Charli XCX and Lady Gaga with Bruno Mars also dominated the charts, with the latter’s hit “Die With A Smile” being the most shared song from Spotify to social platforms.
Spotify Wrapped’s top artists lists for 2024 reveal notable contrasts between global and US listeners. Globally, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, and Bad Bunny lead, with Peso Pluma and Feid reflecting strong Latin representation. In the US, country stars Zach Bryan and Morgan Wallen join Swift and rap notables like Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and Future to top domestic listeners.
Swift was named Spotify’s top global artist for the second year in a row, and for good reason, seeing as three of her albums appeared among the top 10 most-streamed albums globally. Swift received 26.6 billion total streams on Spotify in 2024, and her latest accolade will be celebrated with the first-ever special badge on her Spotify artist profile.
The Top 10 Most-Streamed Albums Globally
- THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY by Taylor Swift
- HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish
- Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
- MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO by Karol G
- eternal sunshine by Ariana Grande
- 1989 (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift
- SOS by SZA
- Lover by Taylor Swift
- Fireworks & Rollerblades by Benson Boone
- Starboy by The Weeknd
Only five of the top 10 most-streamed albums globally were released this year; overall, eight of those albums come from women artists. The top 10 most-streamed albums in the US vary a bit, with diverse pop stars and country singers breaking onto the list.
The Top 10 Most-Streamed Albums in the US
- THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY by Taylor Swift
- One Thing At A Time by Morgan Wallen
- Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
- Stick Season by Noah Kahan
- The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan
- HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish
- SOS by SZA
- Dangerous: The Double Album by Morgan Wallen
- Zach Bryan by Zach Bryan
- 1989 (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift
Although Taylor Swift dominated album streams, only one of her songs ranked on the most-streamed global list, and none made the US list. Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” viral sensation topped the list globally and in the US.
Most-Streamed Songs Globally
- “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
- “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone
- “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish
- “Gata Only” by FloyyMenor, Cris Mj
- “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims
- “End of Beginning” by Djo
- “Too Sweet” by Hozier
- “One Of The Girls (with JENNIE, Lily Rose Depp)” by The Weeknd
- “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift
- “Die With A Smile” by Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga
Most-Streamed Songs in the US
- “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
- “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey
- “I Had Some Help (feat. Morgan Wallen)” by Post Malone
- “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” by Tommy Richman
- “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan
- “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone
- “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish
- “I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves)” by Zach Bryan
- “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan
Spotify teamed up with Google’s NotebookLM platform to create Spotify Wrapped AI podcasts for listeners, a personalized audio recap of each user’s listening habits. The podcast features an AI host and explores favorite tracks, artists, and musical trends.
YouTube Music
YouTube also unveiled its annual end-of-year report, highlighting trending topics, creators, and music. YouTube’s US trending topics for 2024 highlight a mix of cultural, political, and entertainment themes, including the US presidential election, Kendrick Lamar, and Sean Combs’ scandal. Users also wanted to know about Sabrina Carpenter, Jujutsu Kaisen, Hazbin Hotel, Deadpool & Wolverine, and gaming titles like Helldivers 2.
Lamar’s “Not Like Us” single took over the No. 1 spot on the US Top Songs Chart across 20 separate weeks on YouTube. Tommy Richman’s “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” took social media by storm this year and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 11, some big wins for the new artist on the scene.
Top Songs on YouTube
- “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
- “Lose Control (Live)” by Teddy Swims
- “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey
- “Wanna Be” by GloRilla, Megan Thee Stallion
- “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” by Tommy Richman
- “Si No Quieres No” by Luis R Conriquez, Netón Vega
- “La Diabla” by Xavi
- “Like That” by Future, Metro Boomin, Kendrick Lamar – Like That
- “I Had Some Help (feat. Morgan Wallen)” by Post Malone
Top Songs on YouTube Shorts
- “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” by Tommy Richman
- “Tell Ur Girlfriend” by Lay Bankz
- “Pop like this Pt. 2 (Slowed)” by prodbycpkshawn
- “KEEP UP” by Odetari
- “What You Won’t Do for Love” by Bobby Caldwell
- “Bounce (I Just Wanna Dance)” by фрози, Joyful
- “SLAY!” by Eternxlkz
- “Mamushi (feat. Yuki Chiba)” by Megan Thee Stallion
- ” Disco” by Surf Curse
- “Static” by Steve Lacy
MrBeast remains YouTube’s top creator, outpacing his nearest competitor by a staggering 232 million subscribers. Cristiano Ronaldo’s rapid rise to third place is equally remarkable, achieving this milestone just months after launching his channel in August.
Top Creators on YouTube
- MrBeast (329M subs)
- Stokes Twins (97M subs)
- UR · Cristiano (66.6M subs)
- CaseOH (6.03M subs)
- Zack D. Films (16.6M subs)
- Nick DiGiovanni (21.3M subs)
- Jordan Matter (26.2M subs)
- Mark Rober (59.3M subs)
- The Trench Family (9.71M subs)
- Camilla Araujo (7.68M subs)
I’m not going to dive into podcast stats today, but in 2024, the Club Shay Shay podcast attracted more than 528 million views on YouTube, more than 83 million of which came from one episode featuring Katt Williams.
Apple Music Replay
Apple Music named Billie Eilish as its 2024 Artist of the Year after the success of her third album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. Following the star’s sold-out tour, the album topped Apple Music’s global chart.
“From the moment we first heard ‘Ocean Eyes’ nearly a decade ago, we’ve been fans and champions of Billie’s work,” Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s senior director of Content and Editorial, said in a statement. “It’s always special when a young artist can connect with so many people so quickly. But what’s been truly remarkable about watching her evolve over the course of this last year isn’t just that her voice and artistry have continued to resonate so widely. It’s that she’s blossomed as bravely and honestly as she has — on her own terms, in her own way.”
While Apple Music hasn’t released global or domestic listener data like other platforms, users could tap into the platform’s iconic Replay experience this week, offering personalized playlists showcasing their 2024 listening habits. Kendrick Lamar, Dua Lipa, and Benson Boone were some of the artists users listened to the most on Apple Music this year, with Lamar’s “Not Like Us” stamped as the most-streamed song on Apple Music globally.
The platform did add a “The Best of 2024” download, highlighting top-charting artists, including Eilish, Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, Beyoncé, and many more. Apple Music highlighted 20 of its favorite albums of 20214, which include Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER, Charli xcx’s BRAT, Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, Tyler, the Creator‘s CHROMAKOPIA, The Cure‘s Songs Of A Lost World, and Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion.
Apple Music released some new features for Replay this year, including listening streaks, date of first play, and monthly replay stats. Users also get to see if they are in the top 100, 500, or 1,000 listeners across artists and genres.
Tech Byte
Fortnite‘s “Remix: The Finale” concert drew over 14 million concurrent players, the game’s biggest event yet, featuring music from Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ice Spice, and the late Juice WRLD. Juice WRLD’s posthumous track, “Empty Out Your Pockets,” premiered during the event.
This Week in Tech
- Nike is shuttering its virtual sneaker brand RTFKT in January 2025, a few months after the global brand said it would wind down its NFT and digital collectible productions. RTFKT was valued at $33 million in 2021 when Nike acquired it during the NFT boom.
- MeetKai and the Detroit Pistons launched “Detroit Pistons World,” an immersive virtual fan experience featuring a digital replica of Little Caesars Arena. This marks the NBA’s first AI-enabled virtual arena, where fans can engage with players, shop for merch, customize avatars, tour a virtual locker room, and more.
- TikTok released its top charts for 2024, with the VHS version of Tommy Richman‘s “Million Dollar Baby” stamped as the most popular song across America and popular communities like #BookTok excelling with millions of posts in 2024. At least 3 million of those posts were dedicated to Callie Hart’s romance novel Quicksilver, which is headed to Netflix in a seven-figure deal. Elsewhere, the social media platform announced an integration with Nielson so agencies can track cross-media campaign performance. However, despite yet another banner year for the platform, a federal court upheld an earlier decision that may ban the app in the US following the turn of the year.
- CEO Sam Altman announced at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit that OpenAI has reached 300 million weekly active users as the company targets 1 billion active users over the next year. The new milestone came as the AI leader kicked off 12 days of product updates, demos, and new features on Dec. 5, including the launch of ChatGPT Pro, a $200 monthly subscription for its flagship chatbot.
- Amazon is under fire on multiple fronts this week. Washington, DC’s attorney general is suing Amazon, alleging the company secretly excluded residents in underserved communities from receiving Prime benefits despite charging them for memberships. Amazon defends its actions, stating it prioritizes driver safety by adjusting delivery routes and times following theft incidents in those areas. Still, Amazon didn’t notify residents of these operation changes. Elsewhere, Amazon is demanding refunds from music publishers and artists for alleged overpayments of streaming royalties following updated rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board.
- Meta launched a Threads for Creators hub that gives users the download on everything needed to get started on the platform, including tips and tricks for growing your following. Here is another feed update: Threads is releasing a new design across the platform, which includes multiple feed tabs on the home screen. Also, Meta is building a $10 billion fiber-optic subsea cable spanning worldwide.
Michelai’s Bet of the Week
Influencer Sydney Nicole Gifford is suing fellow influencer Alyssa Sheil for allegedly copying her signature “Sad Beige” aesthetic. The lawsuit has been a hot topic online this week, raising questions about the copyrightability of social media styles and vibes. While I don’t think the court will rule in Gifford’s favor, I’m going to bet that this lawsuit will encourage more influencers to assert ownership over their brand elements.
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