If, back in 2013, you’d told German rock band Milky Chance that their debut single would be headline news 13 years later, they’d probably have laughed in your face – or at least given you a quizzical look.
But here we are. They have just become the first German band to reach 2bn Spotify streams for a single track, according to their recordings partner Believe.
‘Stolen Dance’ is the track, and having hit 1bn streams nine years after its release, the second billion has come in less than half that time, sending the song to its highest position in Spotify’s Germany charts last weekend. Its video has also hit 1bn views on YouTube.
Believe, understandably, has announced the latest milestone while taking a lap of honour for its work with the band: a “long-term international strategy focused on continuously expanding the band’s catalogue into new markets while sustainably building new releases” since 2021.
However, the company is also holding it up as proof that German artists and music can prosper in the modern streaming environment.
“This continued trajectory demonstrates the enormous power of long-term catalog work and shows that repertoire from Germany can continue to grow globally many years after its initial release – provided it is nurtured sustainably over time,” said Believe’s MD Germany Thorsten Freese.
Key to this case study is the springboard that ‘Stolen Dance’ has provided for Milky Chance themselves. They currently have 18.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify, while their latest album ‘Living In A Haze’ has more than 700m streams across all services (not just Spotify).
What’s more – and heaven knows what reaction this would have sparked if you’d told them about it in 2013 – Milky Chance’s music has generated more than 40bn views on TikTok, with 8bn of those coming in the last six months.
It’s a good-news story for the band. “The fact that a song we recorded as teenagers in our home studio is still connecting with people all over the world today makes us incredibly happy,” they said in a statement.
But it’s also a snapshot of why catalogue management and marketing is ever-more central to the industry in this phase of the streaming/social era.
