With Apple Music, Tidal, Pandora, and Spotify, streaming has taken over how we track the success of music. "XO Tour Llif3" has quickly become Lil Uzi Vert's most popular song to date, racking up an incredible 1.3 billion streams across those various platforms. A trusted industry source lifted the lid on what Uzi will be taking home in profits from his smash hit. A feature on Vulture revealed that the song has made roughly $4.5 million, of which Uzi will pocket around $900,000.
The single which was voted "Song of the Summer" at the 2017 VMAs, was actually released on SoundCloud when Lil Uzi decided to leak his own music. The Philly rapper revealed he uploaded the track and others to the streaming service one night while on tour with The Weeknd, naming them on a whim just moments before uploading.
What's even more interesting, is his reasoning behind the uploads. After stage-diving during his opening set, Uzi realized that he lost his cell phones which contained the tracks for his first official album. That night back in his hotel room, he reached for his laptop and uploaded the songs to his SoundCloud, with no album art and hastily-named songs like "Boring S***" and "YSL," fearing a leak like he had experienced when he lost his phone in 2016.
The gothic tune on his relationship saga about his then-girlfriend Brittany Byrd (and drugs) quickly became a hit on SoundCloud and had the same instantaneous response when released on Spotify and Apple Music a month later. The 23-year-old rapper says streaming has been great for his career.
“Streaming has definitely made me money,” says Uzi. “It’s a whole other way to put your music out there.”
Luv is Rage 2 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, selling 135,000 units in its first week.
Source: vulture.com