Kendrick Lamar album breaks Spotify record
Spotify and its rivals enjoyed an advantage on Lamar's new album.
NEW YORK (AFP) - Rapper Kendrick Lamar s latest album has broken the first-day record on Spotify after its surprise early release, the streaming service said Tuesday.
"To Pimp a Butterfly" was streamed on Spotify more than 9.6 million times around the world Monday, according to the streaming site, which says it has some 60 million users.
The previous record was Michael Buble s Christmas album in 2011. Spotify did not provide figures, but the subscriber base was significantly smaller four years ago.
Spotify and its rivals -- such as Rhapsody, Google Play and Deezer -- enjoyed an advantage on Lamar s new album because the record label allegedly put it out by mistake late Sunday.
The album, which had been due out next week, was taken down for hours by digital store iTunes and, with no physical copies out yet, streaming services were momentarily one of the main places to hear it.
"To Pimp a Butterfly," with personal explorations on racism and the struggles to achieve personal strength, is Lamar s first album in three years and was among the year s most anticipated releases.
