Meat Loaf’s Streams Up 2,583% Following Rock Legend’s Death

January 26, 2022 E Jazz Reporter

Streams in the United States of Meat Loaf‘s catalog leaped 2,583% in the days since his Jan. 20 death, while sales of his songs and albums similarly made sizable jumps.

From Jan. 21, the day the rocker’s death was announced, through Jan. 23, on-demand audio and video streams of Meat Loaf’s music soared to 15.9 million, according to initial reports to MRC Data. That’s up from 593,000 streams over Jan. 18-20.

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Leading the way, “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” from 1993’s Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, accrued 3.2 million streams Jan. 21-23, a 1,645% vault from 186,000 Jan. 18-20.

It’s followed by “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” from Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf’s 1977 debut LP. It drew 3.1 million streams Jan. 21-23, up 1,976% from 147,000 Jan. 18-20.

Bat Out of Hell‘s “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” (1.9 million, up 1,856%) and the album’s title track (1.6 million, up 4,399%) follow among Meat Loaf’s most streamed songs Jan. 21-23.

Meanwhile, digital sales of Meat Loaf’s catalog ballooned 21,298% to 54,000 Jan. 21-23 from a negligible amount Jan. 18-20. Once again, it’s “I’d Do Anything for Love” that paces the group, at 17,000 sold Jan. 21-23, followed by “Paradise” (11,000) and “Two Out of Three” (11,000).

Album sales-wise, Meat Loaf’s discography moved 19,000 copies Jan. 21-23, a 11,856% surge from a negligible amount Jan. 18-20. Bat Out of Hell accounted for 13,000 of those sales (up 14,941%), followed by Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell (3,000, up 14,195%) and the Essential Meat Loaf compilation (1,000, up 44,700%).

Although Meat Loaf’s music is largely expected to impact the Billboard charts dated Feb. 5 (reflecting the Jan. 21-27 tracking week), some of his catalog makes the latest LyricFind U.S. and Global charts, which cover Jan. 17-23. (The LyricFind Global and LyricFind U.S. charts rank the fastest momentum-gaining tracks in lyric-search queries and usages globally and in the U.S., respectively, provided by LyricFind. The Global chart includes queries from all countries, including the U.S. The company is the world’s leader in licensed lyrics, with data provided by more than 5,000 publishers and utilized by more than 100 services, including Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Microsoft, SoundHound and iHeartRadio.)

On LyricFind U.S., 10 entries on the 25-position chart are from Meat Loaf, led by “Bat Out of Hell,” which bounds in at No. 1. According to LyricFind, the song logged a 26,483% blast in lyric views and usages following Meat Loaf’s death.

The rest of the top five includes “I’d Do Anything for Love” at No. 2 (up 13,660%), “Heaven Can Wait” (No. 4, up 24,678%) and “Paradise” (No. 5, 20,316%).

The LyricFind Global list, meanwhile, features eight Meat Loaf songs, all in the top 10, again led by “Bat Out of Hell” at No. 1.

Throughout a career that spanned 12 full-length albums, Meat Loaf scored one Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, 1993’s five-week leader “I’d Do Anything for Love,” among seven top 40 hits (in 1978-95). On the Billboard 200, the song’s parent album Bat Out of Hell II became his sole No. 1 among six top 40 entries in his lifetime.