Billie Eilish becomes third artist to reach 100 million monthly Spotify listeners
Billie Eilish has become the third artist to reach 100 million monthly Spotify listeners - and she did it with just 82 songs.
The two-time Oscar winning singer, 22, follows The Weeknd, who tops the list with 107 million monthly listeners on the music streaming platform, and Taylor Swift, who has 102 million monthly Spotify listeners.
Both have over double the number of songs on Spotify than Eilish, with the latter only having 82 tracks on the platform. She also makes history as being the youngest to reach the 100 million monthly listeners.
Speaking about the achievement, Jeremy Erlich, Spotify’s global head of music told Billboard: “Spotify has been a part of Billie’s story from the start. Ever since ‘Ocean Eyes,’ she has continuously grown her fan base around the world. What she and [brother-collaborator] Finneas have achieved since 2016 is quite remarkable … and all this by the age of 22.”
Eilish currently has eight songs in the streamer’s Billions Club: 'Lovely' with Khalid (2.8 billion plays to date), 'Bad Guy' (2.5 billion), 'When the Party’s Over' (1.8 billion), 'Everything I Wanted' (1.6 billion), 'Ocean Eyes' (1.4 billion), 'Happier Than Ever' (1.3 billion), 'Idontwannabeyouanymore' (1.09 billion) and 'Bury a Friend' (1.01 billion).
Her third album, 'Hit Me Hard and Soft', dropped in April and follows 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' and sophomore album 'Happier Than Ever'.
Earlier this year, Eilish joined the likes of Stevie Wonder, Robert Smith, Nicki Minaj and more than 200 artists to sign an open letter calling for the “predatory” use of AI in the music industry to be stopped. The letter, while acknowledging the creative possibilities of new AI technology, stated: “Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere.”
“Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders. When used irresponsibly, AI poses enormous threats to our ability to protect our privacy, our identities, our music and our livelihoods.”
This led to some of the world's biggest record labels suing two AI start-ups, Suno and Udio, over alleged copyright infringement. The landmark case alleges that the startups are exploiting on an "almost unimaginable scale" the recorded works of artists.
The Recording Industry Association of America announced the lawsuits earlier this week brought by labels including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Records. They claim Suno and Udio’s software steals music to "spit out" similar work and ask for compensation of $150,000 (approx. €140,000) per work.
