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Originally Posted by louder
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I read the whole thing because I'm a stats nerd AND a journalist AND a Drake-hater (that's right, straight up hater now) who is constantly seeking to confirm my bias against him.
The author got a few percentages wrong, but maybe they've been corrected by now. Anyway, doesn't matter. Fact is, this article was maybe the highlight of my week.
I've been wondering about the figures since the first night VIEWS became available, when I saw repeated 5-star ratings from the same users. Like, a lot of them. It had raked up more iTunes reviews in the first few hours of release than Late Registration had in ELEVEN YEARS. It didn't seem possible. Shouldn't be possible, considering reviews on iTunes are not immediately published, but rather sent off for approval (not sure of what), and then entered into the system 24--48 hours later... If they're approved. I've written countless reviews over the years, and I've never seen one come back in less than 24 hours.
There is one "x factor" that wasn't addressed, and wasn't explained, and I don't feel fully confident that it was considered. That being that VIEWS was not, in actuality, an "Apple Music exclusive" at any point. It was available in the iTunes Store the moment it was released. That adds another hefty chunk of numbers to the conversation, since iTunes and Apple Music are absolutely not the same thing in any way shape or form.
iTunes also had a significantly larger user rate than Apple Music, since it's non subscription, and it's used to purchase albums, which people will do... a lot... contrary to popular belief. Also, iTunes had had 15 years to build a consumer base, and is without a doubt the biggest music store on the planet. It can be used by anyone rocking any technology or OS. Yet, it wasn't mentioned once in that entire article. I'd like to see the story adjusted. Maybe I'll contact the author.
Put another way, Coloring Boom was a TRUE Apple Music exclusive, in that it was only available on Apple Music, the subscription streaming service, for a week or so before heading over to Spotify.
VIEWS was never an exclusive of anything other than Apple (not Apple Music, just Apple). The iTunes figures should count for something, even though they don't impact streaming numbers. They might make the numbers add up and make a bit more sense.
Hate to even give he impression of supporting or defending drake, but numbers matter dammit.
Also, VIEWS will be utterly forgotten in a year's time. Drake is not Prince or MJ.