Bob Marley’s Music Downloaded 27 More Times Than Normal Since Coronavirus Lockdown

Bob Marley‘s music is what many people are turning to for relief and alleviation in the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown.

Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, the music of the most famous Reggae artist ever has been downloaded 27 times more than usual, according to The Guardian.

This is a remarkable leap confirming that Bob Marley and the Wailers provide healing sustenance in times of trouble.

It’s no surprise to many that Tuff Gong’s music is what people want to hear in these unprecedented times as his message is universal and will endure the test of time.

Songs such as “Exodus,” “Jamming,” “Three Little Birds,” and “One Love” among others are dear to millions, partly because of their inclusion on the 1984 “Legend” compilation, which is still the top-selling reggae record ever.

Covid-19 is disrupting the world of music streaming. Mostly for the worse.

In the US, the number of total on-demand streams were recently down 18.3 billion to 16.6 billion, a drop of about 10%, according to data from BuzzAngle. The data include streams of all major streaming providers, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora.

However, not every artist’s streams are suffering equally.

There are several key factors for the coronavirus-caused decline in streams. As a large share of music streaming occurs during commutes, many people are no longer heading into work. Also, there is a decline in music streaming from the hospitality industry. Furthermore, many of the restaurants, coffee shops, and stores that would normally stream music all day are shut down.

The decline won’t necessarily be too costly for the music business. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), streaming revenue accounted for nearly half of all music industry revenues in 2019. Approximately 80% of global revenue comes from paid subscribers, and only about 20% comes from advertisements to non-paying users. Subscribers pay the same amount no matter how much they use, so declining streams will only impact the smaller, volume-dependent, advertising revenue side of the business.

With millions of music lovers stuck at home due to coronavirus shelter-in-place orders and searching for entertainment, data suggest that new releases by major pop artists are drawing fewer listeners than normal. Instead, streaming metrics show, online listeners are shunning contemporary pop for “old favorites” and “comfort music” from classic artists such as Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, the Dixie Chicks, and Bill Withers, the singer of “Lean On Me,” who died last month, according to the Wall Street Journal.