Beatles’ Biggest Fans Revealed By 1.7 Billion Streams As ‘Abbey Road’ Climbs Charts

As the Beatles’ Abbey Road 50^th anniversary edition starts to climb the charts, new streaming statistics reveal for the first time how the band is appealing to a younger audience. The 1960s group has had 1.7 billion Spotify streams this year so far. The age-group streaming the music is not the baby boomers that fueled Beatlemania, but rather, two generations removed, including many teenagers.

The figures prove the enduring appeal of the still-fresh songs and ensure that the money-machine of the most successful musical act in history will continue.

Pre-orders mean that the Abbey Road reissue, which came out on September 26, will surely follow the chart-topping success of the 50^th-anniversary reissues of The Beatles (White Album) last year and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 2017.

Spotify research shows that of the 1.7 billion streams, 18- to 24-year-olds account for more than 30% of Beatles listening this year, the largest share among all demographics. After that, 25- to 29-year-olds come in next, with more than 17% of the Beatles listening. Both of those generations behind the main audience were born after the British quartet was at the height of its international success. The best-selling band in history has shifted more than 800 million albums worldwide.

Streaming obviously connects younger listeners to the artists who are also their peers. Spotify says that the statistics are also proof that streaming also enables these listeners to easily discover and explore the legacy musicians who have shaped music. The two surviving Beatles went to a party at the Abbey Road studios this week. Paul McCartney is now 77, and Ringo Starr is 79.

Industry analysts have long said that sales of physical albums are supported especially by those fans who have grown up with the music and are now wealthy enough to be able to afford expensive box sets. These older consumers probably have already bought the same material on vinyl, possibly cassette and CD, probably each time it has been remastered.

“Here Comes The Sun,” one of George Harrison’s compositions on Abbey Road, is the most-streamed Beatles song on Spotify globally, with more than 350 million streams.

The go-to song for 18 to 24 year-olds on Spotify is actually even older: “Yesterday.” The mournful and moving 1965 track from the album Help! was written and sung by McCartney, backed by acoustic guitar and string quartet.

Spotify says 25 to 29-year-olds choose John Lennon’s “Come Together,” also off Abbey Road. The top choice of 30 to 34-year-olds is “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” while 35 to 44-year-olds like McCartney's “Blackbird.” “Here Comes The Sun,” as well as the most popular, is most likely to be streamed by 45 to 54-year-olds. The tracks are all simple and unwordy with beautiful music. Baby boomers aged 55 or more, the demo responsible for fueling Beatlemania, prefer a wordier album track, Lennon’s Dylanesque “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).”

The new Abbey Road anniversary album is being promoted with the first official video for “Here Comes The Sun” that premiered on September 26.

While Abbey Road was not the Beatles’ final album, because Let It Be followed in 1970, it was the last one recorded together as a band.

The new versions, released by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/Ume, have all 17 tracks sourced directly from the original eight-track session tapes, They are remixed by producer Giles Martin (and mix engineer Sam Okell), guided by the original stereo mix supervised by Giles’s father, George. There are also 23 session recordings and demos, most of which are previously unreleased, including “The Long One” Trial Edit & Mix for the album’s epic Side 2 medley. The package is available in various vinyl and CD configurations with deluxe packaging, photographs and book.

The album is already confirmed as likely to hit the top in the band's home country. Abbey Road has a lead of 12,000 chart sales over last week's No. 1 Why Me? Why Not from Liam Gallagher, the Official Chart Company said.