Tones and I becomes first female artist in the world to achieve three billion song streams
Aussie popstar Tones and I joins the elite three billion streams club, posting the news on social media with the caption: ‘The first female in the WORLD’
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Australian chart slayer* Tones and I has beaten Taylor Swift to a mega streaming* milestone*.
The colourful pop star has become the first female artist in the world to crash through the three billion streams ceiling on Spotify*, with her global smash Dance Monkey joining an elite clutch* of male singers to achieve that feat.
Tones was ecstatic to join the three billion streams club, posting the news on social media with the caption: “The first female in the WORLD”.
“I wrote this song while I lived in my van on the street, playing music on the street with a broken keyboard for my friends that lived at a hostel* with me,” she said.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams it would amount to this. I am eternally* grateful for everyone that has streamed my music in support of my journey this far. This is only the beginning!”
The streaming feat* comes as the Australian artist plays to massive hometown crowds as the opening act* for P!nk’s Summer Carnival.
Dance Monkey, which was released in 2019 and reached two billion streams by the end of 2020.
It has been reported that Spotify pays artists between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream on average, which means Tones has made up to $15 million for Dance Monkey plays on just that one platform*.
Swift’s biggest hit on Spotify is Cruel Summer, which was released in June last year, and already is her most streamed song with 1.7 billion plays.
The most streamed song on Spotify is Blinding Lights by The Weeknd* which has an astonishing 4.092 billion streams, followed by Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You with 3.796 billion plays.
The much-loved Scottish singer songwriter Lewis Capaldi is at No. 3 with his anthem* Someone You Loved at 3.239 billion streams.
Sunflower by recent Aussie tourist Post Malone*, featuring Swae Lee, is at No. 4 with 3.181 billion streams, Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk* follows with 3.068 streams and then at No. 6 is As It Was by Harry Styles with 3.049 streams.
One Dance by Drake is just in front of Dance Monkey with 3.016 billion streams and just behind Tones and I is another Aussie pop champion.
The Kid Laroi should hit the three billion mark soon with his song Stay, alongside Justin Bieber, the ninth most streamed track on Spotify with 2.968 billion plays.
GLOSSARY
- chart slayer: someone who achieves great success on music charts, such as topping the charts with their songs
- milestone: a significant event or achievement
- streaming: the act of listening to music or watching videos over the internet without downloading the content
- Spotify: a popular digital music streaming service
- elite clutch: a select group of male singers who have achieved the milestone
- hostel: a budget accommodation where travellers can stay, often sharing rooms with other guests
- eternally: forever, lasting for all time
- feat: an impressive or remarkable achievement
- opening act: the first performer or group to appear in a concert or show
- platform: a digital service or software that allows users to access content
- The Weeknd: Canadian singer and record producer Abel Tesfaye
- anthem: a song that is widely loved and associated with a particular group or cause
- Post Malone: an American rapper, singer, and songwriter
- Daft Punk: French electronic music duo
EXTRA READING
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Taylor Swift’s total chart takeover
AI resurrects The Beatles with release of new song
QUICK QUIZ
- Who is the first female artist in the world to achieve three billion streams on Spotify?
- What song helped Tones and I reach this streaming milestone?
- How much money has Tones and I potentially earned from the streams of Dance Monkey on Spotify?
- Who is the most streamed artist on Spotify, and what is the title of their song with the highest number of streams?
- Which Australian artist is mentioned in the article as being close to reaching the three billion streams mark with their song Stay?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Lucrative music
Less than one cent per stream still ends up being a lot of money when you have billions of streams! How much? That’s your job to work out.
Based on Spotify’s reported payment rate, work out the possible $ range that each artist with a Top Five streamed song has been paid for that song. Do your working in three steps - first round and estimate; then calculate with pen and paper; and finally check your answer on a calculator.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Mathematics
2. Extension
Solve these worded problems:
How many more streams does Someone You Loved have than Stay?
What is the combined number of streams of The Weeknd’s songs listed in the Top 9?
What is the average number of monthly streams of Cruel Summer?
Write a worded problem of your own.
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Mathematics
VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB).
Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.
What can you come up with?
Remember to use your VCOP editing skills to read aloud, edit and up-level.