Following the death of The Cars’ frontman Ric Ocasek’s death on September 15, on-demand streams of his band’s songs were leaped up to 643% in the US, according to initial reports on Nielsen Music. The Cars’ songs were streamed 11.2 million times on September 15 and 16, a rise up from 1.5 million on September 13 and 14, garnering a gain of 643%.
On Sept. 13, the group’s collected tunes were streamed 787,000 times. Then on Sept. 14, the sum was 720,000. That number vaulted to 2.5 million Sept. 15, the day of Ocasek’s passing, then to 8.7 million on Sept. 16, as news spread widely about his death. Fans continued to streams the act’s music in high volume in the continuing days: on Sept. 17 they net 4.5 million clicks, and on Sept. 18 the sum totaled 2.9 million.
In total, for Sept. 15-18, The Cars’ songs tallied more than 18.6 million on-demand streams. The band’s top five most streamed songs in that time period: “Drive” (1.9 million), “Just What I Needed” (1.7 million), “Magic” (1.1 million), “Good Times Roll” (1.1 million) and “My Best Friend’s Girl” (1 million).
It’s expected the band’s catalog of songs and albums will impact various Billboard charts dated Sept. 28, reflecting the sales and streaming tracking week of Sept. 13-19.