Billie Eilish (5/381)
105/381 = 27%
Right now, Billie Eilish is stuck on five billion stream tracks but she is poised to move to seven with Happier Than Ever reaching 950 million streams and bury a friend at 930 million. Eilish also has two tracks over two billion streams- Bad Guy and lovely (with Khalid). Eilish hails from the next neighborhood over where I live in LA right now- she is from Highland Park, though despite frequent visits I've never been able to detect her presence- no murals or shops run by friends or loved ones.
Like many others of these artists, her rise to the Billions Club is strictly a function of the major label A&R machine. Eilish maintains some diy/indie roots- like her manager, for example, who is "day one" type of guy, but the come up has been courtesy of Interscope and a firm example illustrating that major labels are in no way, shape, or form flummoxed by the streaming universe. I saw her first show at Coachella and I was stuck by the legions of dedicated fans- many of whom looked like they had never actually listened to any other artists before finding their devotion to Eilish. I was stuck, from the beginning, that Eilish played against the sexual fetishization (and self fetishization) that plagues young, female pop stars- take Ariana Grande for example and impressed by her message of self empowerment- which her audience plainly needs and craves.
One thing about this kind of rise is- it costs money. No matter how viral an artist may appear you can trust that money has been spent to enable and capitalize on that rise. For example, why she may have experienced some early viral success on streaming service, her transition to being big on the radio almost certainly cost substantial coin. There is also the question of the value of her individual fans. Beyond being rabid to see the live show, what are they buying. Now, I'd be hard pressed to argue that young fans don't spend money, but whether they spend money on music outside of the concert ticket seems like an open question. Do Billie Eilish fans buy vinyl records and cds? I'm thinking the answer is no.
Still with five on the board and two in the making I'm guessing she has several more billion streamers inside her AND the a trajectory that will allow her to get there organically. She's only two LP's into her career. I wouldn't be shocked if she makes it to double digits with her next record.
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