Call it what you want – we call it the top artists of November! The biggest winner of November – and unsurprisingly so, since she jumped to No. 1 on the Billboard hot 100 charts – is surely Taylor Swift.* As reported, Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” leaked one day ahead of the official release schedule, and P2P users accordingly went crazy for her new music. With more than 635,000 file sharers downloading and sharing her music in November, Taylor, living up to her pop princess reputation, pushed Ed Sheeran from the throne, who now holds a strong second place.
But there is even more news worth reporting from November: Sam Smith and Maroon 5 both dropped new material on November 3, 2017, ensuring themselves spots as top artists in the charts this month. With 392,000 and 377,800 file sharers each, they snagged the 8 and 11 spots, respectively. Though we can’t forget about Chris Brown, who dropped “Heartbreak on Full Moon” on October 31, 2017, landing him on spot 5 of the top artists, with 421,600 file sharers downloading and sharing his music in November.
In the music file sharing charts for October and even the previous months, the peak positions were held consistently by the same top artists. Now, the cards seem to have been reshuffled as new faces are taking over the top 10. For instance, the former top rank holders like Linkin Park, Major Lazer and Coldplay have been booted from their positions. But aside from the most coveted spots, how did the lower-ranking artists perform in November? And are there any contenders chomping at the bit to pull past some of the top artists in December?
TOP ARTISTS HOLDING GROUND IN THE TOP 50!
EVANESCENCE – ‘SYNTHESIS’
After remaining silent for six years, the American rock band Evanescence finally dropped their fourth studio album, “Synthesis”, on November 10, 2017. Following the release, torrent files for the latest songs permeated throughout P2P networks. On the day the album dropped, more than 29,000 P2P users downloaded and shared the music of Evanescence. And, in all of November, 234,300 file sharers from around the world ensured this classic band the No. 31 spot in the top artist charts. Their most enthusiastic fans came from Russia, followed by the United States and Spain.
SIA – ‘EVERYDAY IS CHRISTMAS’
Australian singer-songwriter Sia dropped some new music as well, bringing the holiday cheer a little early with her November 17 release of “Everyday is Christmas”. The moment she released the album, P2P users’ demand for her music increased dramatically. With 315,900 file sharers downloading and sharing her music in November, Sia managed to land the No. 20 spot among the world’s top artists. Her music was most popular among P2P users in Russia, followed by those in the United States, India, Spain and the United Kingdom.
U2 – 'SONGS OF EXPERIENCE'
Just four days have passed since the massively famous Irish top rock band U2 released their fourteenth studio album, “Songs of Experience”, on December 1, 2017. But while the number of U2 fans downloading and sharing their music after the album dropped is growing, that support is not included in the 223,300 fans from November. Although the album did not drop officially last month, its promotional single, “Get Out of Your Own Way,” has teased file sharers since November 1 when it was officially released. On top of that, the album was leaked four days ahead of the official schedule. On November 27, we’d detected two torrent files containing songs of the new album floating on P2P networks, followed by another nine files by November 30. Altogether, U2 landed the No. 36 spot on the top artist chart for November.
SAM SMITH AND MAROON 5 CROON THEIR WAY INTO THE NOVEMBER TOP ARTIST CHART
As reported above, some major changes occurred in the upper ranks of the top artist chart for November. Singer-songwriter Sam Smith released his second studio album, “The Thrill of It All”, on November 3, 2017, and the American pop rock band Maroon 5 followed closely with its sixth studio album, “Red Pill Blues”, on the same day. Immediately afterward, torrent files for both albums permeated P2P networks and file sharers went crazy downloading these two top artists. But where exactly do most of these fans came from? And which ISPs are they subscribed to? In November, Sam Smith and Maroon 5’s powerful songs were most popular in:
Sam Smith
#1 United States
#2 Philippines
#3 United Kingdom
#4 South Korea
#5 South Africa
#6 Italy
Maroon 5
#1 United States
#2 Russia
#3 Philippines
#4 India
#5 South Korea
#6 Brazil
At the city level, these two top artists won over the most hearts in:
Sam Smith
#1 Seoul (South Korea)
#2 Quezon City (Philippines)
#3 Johannesburg (South Africa)
#4 Cape Town (South Africa)
#5 Jakarta (Indonesia)
#6 Singapore (Singapore)
Maroon 5
#1 Seoul (South Korea)
#2 Moscow (Russia)
#3 Jakarta (Indonesia)
#4 Quezon City (Philippines)
#5 Taipei (Taiwan)
#6 Ashburn (United States)
And lastly, the ISPs used most by P2P users to download and share the files of these two top artists were:
Sam Smith
#1 Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PH)
#2 Globe Telecom (PH)
#3 Comcast Cable (US)
#4 Virgin Media (UK)
#5 Sky Broadband (UK)
#6 BT (UK)
Maroon 5
#1 Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PH)
#2 Comcast Cable (US)
#3 Globe Telecom (PH)
#4 Rostelecom (RU)
#5 Korea Telecom (KR)
#6 T-Mobile USA (US)
Source: TECXIPIO PIC Definition: Number of file sharers: How many peers shared at least one file of the respective top artists within a certain period?
Further Sources:
* https://www.billboard.com/charts/artist-100