Canadian rapper Drake's hit album "Views" has become the first album on Apple Music to be streamed more than 1 billion times, according to an award Drake shared on Instagram this morning.
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Drake received the news from Apple CEO Tim Cook, iTunes chief Eddy Cue, and Larry Jackson, who heads up original content, all of whom Drake posed with for a second photo that was also uploaded to his Instagram account.
Released on April 29, "Views" was an Apple Music exclusive for one week before it became available on other streaming music services like Spotify and it sold more than 1 million copies during its five-day exclusivity window. Apple and Drake have been working together since Apple Music launched in June of 2015, with Drake offering a Beats 1 radio show and Apple sponsoring his "Summer Sixteen" tour.
Just this morning, Drake debuted a 23-minute short called "Please Forgive Me," which is designed to be a visual companion to the "Views" album. The video, which is also an Apple Music exclusive, follows Drake and his girlfriend as they attempt to make off with a wealthy man's fortune. The songs "One Dance," "Controlla," "9," Views," and more are used in the short.
Top Rated Comments
I don't know who to believe!
They pretty much helped him with the production of the music / videos, etc. and he was a spokesperson when Apple Music was announced. His music and album was plastered in every playlist, chart, recommendation, radio and cramped into any possible corner of Apple Music...
Unfair & meaningless statistic IMO.
You think showing up awkwardly on stage at an Apple Keynote for 10 minutes gave him an unfair advantage to get one billion streams?
His music and album are in every playlist because the album sold 1.2M first week, has a #1 and #2 single, and is what the people want to hear.
Give credit where credit is due.