Streaming Masters – Stevie Wonder
By his 25th birthday, Stevie Wonder was recording his 18th studio album. This was going to be his 3rd consecutive Grammy’s Album Of The Year award, a feat which remains an all-time record.
Some 45 years later, the artist is naturally way less prolific than he used to be – his last studio album came out in 2005. Are streamers still enjoying his amazing catalog yet?
Updated on March 17, 2021
Stevie Wonder 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
Stevie Wonder streaming review – the results
Total: 3,541,966 EAS
Stevie Wonder most streamed tracks (EAS)
1. Superstition [Talking Book] – 489,000
2. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours [Signed Sealed & Delivered] – 337,000
3. I Just Called to Say I Love You [The Woman in Red] – 254,000
4. Sir Duke [Songs in the Key of Life] – 188,000
5. For Once in My Life [For Once in My Life] – 185,000
6. Isn’t She Lovely [Songs in the Key of Life] – 142,000
7. What Christmas Means to Me [Someday at Christmas] – 110,000
8. You Are the Sunshine of My Life [Talking Book] – 107,000
9. Uptight (Everything’s Alright) [Up-Tight] – 99,000
10. Part-Time Lover [In Square Circle] – 95,000
11. That’s What Friends Are For [Orphan] – 90,000
12. Faith [Orphan] – 86,000
13. I Wish [Songs in the Key of Life] – 78,000
14. Higher Ground [Innervisions] – 73,000
15. Master Blaster (Jammin’) [Hotter than July] – 69,000
16. My Cherie Amour [My Cherie Amour] – 60,000
17. Happy Birthday [Hotter than July] – 47,000
18. Overjoyed [In Square Circle] – 41,000
19. As [Songs in the Key of Life] – 40,000
20. Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing [Innervisions] – 40,000
Sources: Spotify, YouTube, AWA, Genie (app), QQ.
You may be interested in…
… Stevie Wonder‘s full CSPC analysis
