By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Jackson once sang “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” For fans of the King of Pop’s music, it’s words to live by: Streams of his catalog jumped 95% in the U.S. over the weekend when compared with the same dates the previous weekend.
That’s according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company that provides insight into changing behaviors across music listenership.
A blockbuster was the cause: “Michael,” the big-budget Michael Jackson biopic released Friday, earned $97 million in U.S. and Canada theaters its opening weekend, according to studio estimates. A few weeks prior, estimates for “Michael” were closer to $50 million. Last week, the studio estimated closer to $70 million.
As a result of the movie’s incredible popularity, Jackson received 31.7 million streams on Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 in the U.S. and 16.3 million streams the previous weekend, Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18. That’s a 95% increase.
But before Michael Jackson was Michael Jackson, he was the youngest member of The Jackson 5. The classic boy group also received a huge jump in streams. The group earned 2.4 million streams on Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 compared to 1.3 million streams the previous weekend, Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18. That’s an 85% increase.
Jackson also saw a boost in plays on Apple Music. According to the streaming giant, on Monday, Jackson had eight songs on Apple Music’s Daily Top 100 Global Chart. “Billie Jean” led the pack at number 11.
And Shazam found that Jackson streams were 140% higher last weekend, April 24 through April 26, than the previous weekend, April 17 through April 19. As a result, there are currently seven Jackson songs on Shazam’s global top 200.
“Michael” is a box office smash despite negative reviews from critics. In his review, The Associated Press’ Jake Coyle awarded the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, describing it as “a kind of fantasy film, one that relives the extraordinary highs of Michael Jackson while turning a blind eye to the lows.”