Bad Bunny, David Bisbal and Pablo Alborán lead the Spanish 2020 market
26-01-2021
Promusicae publishes annual charts
Download annual charts clicking PROMUSICAE’s website.
Porto Rican reggaeton and trap act Bad Bunny has made history in the Spanish recording market in leading the Top Album Chart 2020 ahead of national artists as popular as David Bisbal, Pablo Alborán, Dani Martín, Manuel Carrasco, Vanesa Martín or Aitana. Album YHLQMDLG, most popular of the year in sales and streams, becomes the first work of a Latin artists to top the Spanish albums chart since the beginning of XXI century, confirming the unstoppable rise of these new urban rhythms. All this happens in a specially difficult year, but it gets to replicate the already usual picture of this sector since 2014: steady growth, significant push of streaming consumption (on payment and, even more evident, on the free tier) and physical format which, although experiencing important drops, stays thanks to the very good vinyl performance, which increases 23 percentage points.
Market evolution
Data compiled by GfK, global leader in data analytics, in their annual report for Promusicae –association representing 95% of the Spanish recording market– and AGEDI, music producers’ collecting society, accordingly endorse that the pandemic and the partial or total lockdown have further increased the interest for music streaming in platforms, a situation that lasted along the year and only reinforces the glaring gap between digital streams and the purchase of physical products. Nevertheless, the expectations of the market during the first weeks of home lockdown pointed in a different direction: drop of number of streams, slump in subscriptions and decrease of advertising investment. The reason for this sudden drop was the greater competition with other entertainment contents in households, the limited mobility and the impossibility to practice sports, which are important day to day moments for streamed music consumption. All that led to a pessimistic estimate regarding annual prospects, accordingly to what happened in the rest of main European countries. It was, however, a temporary circumstance which led to foresee important losses in the streaming market for the whole year that, fortunately, could be reverted by adapting consumption habits to the new reality and with the end of the lockdown, and were not confirmed in the absence of year-end economic details.
Streaming, neatly moving up since 2014, finally recorded a new increase in streams of 27% along 2020 in Spain. The most significant fact this year is that free tier of streaming consumption (add-supported) rebounds even stronger (33%) than premium or on payment tiers, which also see 23% increase. «Recording companies had to duplicate their efforts and investment to weather the worst year prospects and keep the usual new releases launch all Fridays. We have not relaxed in our effort to achieve hits and keep generating business. It’s been a tough year for everyone, but especially for the culture industry and the music sector, which has suffered a tremendous impact and impaired its ability in certain areas, such as live acts. Somehow, while keeping good results of music consumption we contribute to soothe the effects of a year to definitely forget; and we are sure that these recordings we are celebrating today shall soon be chorused and cheered up by fans when life gets back to normal and concerts and tours return to our lives. Recorded music is the foundation stone on which this long way of the value chain supports; therefore it creates many opportunities and jobs to be protected and incentivized», says Antonio Guisasola, President of Promusicae, on the occasion of the release of results.
Streaming confirms leadership in preferences regarding music streams. A sign of this overwhelming success is to have overcome for the first time the figure of 50 billion streams in our country along the year, a much higher number regarding the previous year. At the top of these streams are 15 artists that exceeded 100 million plays during 2020, followed by other 13 acts that reached 75 million and a third group of 34 who overcame 50 million, in a sort of reign of top streaming.
In any case, it is to be highlighted that these figures regarding streams in digital platforms had later on a conversion in terms of the counterpart albums sales, for which the value they generate for the mix between on payment and add-supported streaming is considered. This way, on average, these 50 billion streams equal the sales of 13,500 albums, as so is considered when compiling Top 100 Albums chart.
Vinyl sales increase and official chart will be launched
In parallel, physical sales, which the year before had experienced a slight recovery, have been impacted by the lockdown and further restrictions to shops due to the pandemic (27% drop). However, in this section, buyers have found a shelter on vinyl discs, which sales have increased year after year for the last decade, this time with 23% rise (in spite of 2 and a half months of almost complete closure of shops), outnumbering seven hundred thousand units sold. Vinyl LP, which a decade ago was a carrier almost called to extinction, emphasizes its vigour now and represents already more than one out of five physical sales. For all this, Antonio Guisasola announces «the launch of new Top 100 Vinyl Chart, to start being published just today together with the rest of sales charts weekly offered», and available on www.promusicae.es.
Surprise in Top 100 Albums
The annual count notes a very significant turning point in public’s taste. Following a decade in which music preferences of Spaniards had clearly taken sides with pop, carrying to the Top 1 Pablo Alborán (six years), Alejandro Sanz (2) and Manuel Carrasco, the surprise is now starred by a Porto Rican youngster that, at the end of February and at the edge of being 26, launched his second LP, YHLQMDLG, acronym in Spanish of a provocative stand: “I do whatever I want”. This has been the most played work in digital platforms during 2020, making him to the top of the albums chart, ahead of David Bisbal (En tus planes) and the so far unbeaten Alborán, who had to settle this time with a third place for Vértigo. It is true that the Malaga artists only had time to stay 3 weeks in the chart, as his fifth studio album saw the light already in December, while Bad Bunny had 43 weeks to circulate his work, and Bisbal, who launched his in the first week of the year, remained in the chart for all 52 weeks of this troubled 2020.
The unleashed furore around YHLQMDLG is not, in any case, a circumstantial event. Bad Bunny managed to put three more works (Las que no iban a salir, El último tour del mundo and X 100Pre) among the top 50 positions of the Spanish market. But the boom of new dancing trends with an origin in Latin America is not exclusive to the author of Dákiti o Amorfoda. Anuel AA, another Porto Rican singer, leaps up to the forth position of national preferences with Emmanuel, and only one step down peeps Colores (J Balvin) from Medellín, the Colombian mecca of reggaeton. Ozuna (top 18), and Camilo (for the first time, in top 34) confirmed the evident upsurge of these new sound trends.
The outbreak of these artists with such a success let us talk about a new pop that combines and inserts with several other artists among those most traditionally preferred by music fans. All in all, Dani Martín reaches a more than deserving sixth place with Lo que me dé la gana, which besides only had 11 weeks to add up. Manuel Carrasco also confirms the historic phenomenon of La cruz del mapa, a work from 2018 that still today, two years later, remains at an excellent seventh place of the chart. Already 108 weeks in charts, a phenomenal longevity that only a few have achieved.
The privileged positions among Spanish public preferences are completed with Sevillian Beret (Prisma, top 8), the collective tribute to Sabina Ni tan joven ni tan Viejo (top 9, still alive since 2019), the second LP by ex One Direction Harry Styles (Fine line), the return of Antonio Orozco (Aviónica, top 11) or the incombustible El Barrio, extending for 61 weeks the good performance of El danzar de las mariposas (top 12). Also good has been Letter to you, the praised Bruce Springsteen new album (top 13), or the recent works of Vanesa Martín (Siete veces sí, top 15), Aitana (doubling with Spoiler in top 16 and newer 11 razones in top 20), Dua Lipa (Future nostalgia, 17) or Aussie old rockers AC/DC, still capable of climbing to top 19 with Power up.
Songs and radio
Regarding Top 100 Songs, a chart that is much more sensitive and accustomed to urban and dance sound, it is topped by Karol G & Nicky Minaj success Tusa. The song already collects 8 platinum, 7 of them obtained in 2020. Soon after, in top 2, Se iluminaba by Fred de Palma feat. Ana Mena, emulating the Italian great hit. Podium closes with The Weeknd’s Blinding lights’ third place, a new global triumph of Canadian artist, launched at the end of 2019 but scaling up the charts last year partly thanks to the millions of videos created by his followers with a choreography of the song. With a strong international accent and song that stayed during weeks along the year, C. Tangana stands out featuring Niño de Elche & La Húngara, which only needed eight weeks to get a triple platinum with his Tú me dejaste de querer.
Spanish broadcasting radios validated The Weeknd’ hit in our country. Blinding lights gets the top 1 in the Top 50 chart (music radio), also revealed today by Promusicae, with most times broadcasted songs of year 2020. In this charts top positions we find along national lines Una foto en blanco y negro, the collaboration between David Otero and Taburete (top 5) and duet of Pablo Alborán and US Ava Max, Tabú, in top 10 of the chart.
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