Since country legend John Prine passed away due to complications from COVID-19 earlier this week, streams of his music have increased dramatically, as initial Nielsen Music/ MRC Data reports point out.
John Prine died April 7, and the news of his passing was announced later in the day, so the initial reports reflect the surge starting the following day, April 8.
In the United States alone, Prine's music gathered 20.8 million streams, from both audio and video-on-demand platforms, from April 7 to 8. These streaming activities translate to a 1,297% increase from 1.5 million streams from April 5 to 6.
Not surprisingly, leading the surge of streaming John Prine was his 1971 country hit "Angel From Montgomery," which tallied a 1,302% increase or 1.1 million streams on April 7-8 from 79,000 on April 5-6.
Even more, Prine's April 8 streams alone surpassed his performance from all the previous weeks. The day after he died, Nielsen recorded 17.8 million streams from his songs. As soon as the data for the tracking week, which ended on April 9, arrives, it will be the singer-songwriter's strongest week in terms of streams.
The previous record for his top streaming week follows his hospitalization due to "a sudden onset" of COVID-19 symptoms two weeks ago Thursday, March 26. In that week, when tracking ended on April 2, Prine's tunes earned a total of 8.2 million clicks.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, which ultimately claimed the Illinois native, his best week was back on April 19, 2018. It was the week when his last studio album, titled "The Tree of Forgiveness," was released and earned him 2.9 million clicks.
The numbers show the public's renewed interest in the country legend's music since the announcement of his condition last March 29. Before his battle with the highly contagious disease was made public, his music averaged some 300,000 streams per day. After the March 29 announcement, the new average was never less than a million every day.
These sudden spikes in the Prine streams also equate to an increase in sales. Overall, his singles and albums sold an equivalent of 57,000 copies from April 7 to 9 or up by 1,423% from his 4,000 records sold on April 4 to 6.
Billboard also expects this trend on John Prine's music to have a visible impact on the upcoming charts, slated on April 18, which reflects the sales performances of the week ending April 9.
John Prine, known for hits "Angel From Montgomery," "Hello In There," and "Sam Stone," was first hospitalized on March 26. His family then made the public announcement, visible on his official Twitter account, on March 29. The Prine family said that while John receives care, his situation remains critical.
John's wife, Fiona, tweeted on March 30 that her husband was already stable but remained in respirator. She also asked fans to "continue to send your amazing love and prayers." The sad news on the singer-songwriter arrived on the evening of April 7, as the family confirmed with multiple news outlets.
As one of the most prolific writers, Prine has placed fifteen of his studio albums on the Billboard Top 200 chart and has influenced artists from the succeeding generations. Most of them have expressed condolences at the music industry's loss on their respective social media platforms. Bruce Springsteen called Prine "not only one of our country's greatest songwriters, a real national treasure, but a sweet and lovely man." Mandy Moore, star of "A Walk to Remember," also paid tribute to Prine during her Instagram in-home concert.
