Streaming Masters – Neil Young
50 years ago, Neil Young was recording the iconic album Harvest. Back then, his label refused his request to use a LP sleeve that biodegrades.
This little side story reveals how ahead of his time the artist has always been.
While it’s easily to claim the Canadian legend has a lot of things to say, how many still listen to him nowadays?
Updated on May 10, 2021
Neil Young streaming review – the method
Streaming is made up of audio and video streams. Our CSPC methodology now includes both to better reflect the real popularity of each track. The main source of data for each avenue is respectively Spotify and YouTube.
To factor in the growing impact of multiple Asian countries where these platforms aren’t always the go-to site for music streaming, more sources have been added.
In order to account for their real popularity in each relevant country, the below sources have been used along with the mentioned ratios that reflect the market share of each area.
Audio Streams
– South Korea : Genie streams * 3.05 (consistent with Gaon streaming numbers)
– Japan : AWA streams * 100/5.5 (AWA has 5.5% of the Japanese streaming market)
– Elsewhere : Spotify streams * (370 – 8.5 – 9.5 – 33 – 9) / 207 (370 million global subscribers minus 8.5 million from South Korea minus 9.5 million from Japan minus 33 million from China divided by the number of Spotify only users minus 9 million more Asian users) + Genie streams * 3.05 (uses Genie rather than Spotify to extrapolate markets like Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam)
Video Streams
– China* : QQ video streams * 50 if the song is available for audio stream, QQ video streams * 5 elseway (scale built based on known figures for several major artists)
– Elsewhere : Youtube views
*since 96.4% of Chinese streaming platforms are free users, that paid-for users pay less than $2 a month and that they are also used as video streaming platforms, their streams are weighted on par with YouTube streams.
Audio Stream value – 1500 plays equal 1 album unit
Video Stream value – 11,750 views equal 1 album unit
Equivalent Albums Sales (EAS) = ( Spotify * 310/207 + Genie * 3.05*2 + AWA * 100/5.5 ) / 1500 + ( QQ views* 50(or 5) + YouTube ) / 11750
Neil Young streaming review – the results
Total: 1,474,918 EAS
Neil Young most streamed tracks (EAS)
1. Heart of Gold [Harvest] – 214,000
2. Harvest Moon [Harvest Moon] – 145,000
3. Old Man [Harvest] – 127,000
4. My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) [Rust Never Sleeps] – 92,000
5. Rockin’ in the Free World [Freedom] – 69,000
6. Down by the River [Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere] – 42,000
7. The Needle and the Damage Done [Harvest] – 37,000
8. Out on the Weekend [Harvest] – 34,000
9. After the Gold Rush [After the Gold Rush] – 21,000
10. Cinnamon Girl [Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere] – 21,000
11. Only Love Can Break Your Heart [After the Gold Rush] – 20,000
12. Like a Hurricane [American Stars ‘n Bars] – 20,000
13. Cortez the Killer [Zuma] – 19,000
14. Southern Man [After the Gold Rush] – 19,000
15. On the Beach [On the Beach] – 19,000
16. Cowgirl in the Sand [Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere] – 16,000
17. Don’t Let It Bring You Down [After the Gold Rush] – 15,000
18. Tell Me Why [After the Gold Rush] – 13,000
19. Razor Love [Silver & Gold] – 13,000
20. Harvest [Harvest] – 13,000
Sources: Spotify, YouTube, AWA, Genie (app), QQ.