Michael Jackson dominating iTunes, YouTube
(Credit:
Amazon.com)
Michael Jackson, who along with four of his brothers recorded his first hit songs as a child, continues to be a chart topper a day after his death.
On Friday, Jackson's music was attracting huge audiences at Apple's iTunes and Amazon.com. On iTunes, the Web's largest music service, 8 out of the top-10-selling albums for download were from Jackson, with a compilation album, "The Essential Michael Jackson" in the No. 1 spot.
Jackson held the same number of top-10 positions among iTunes music videos. Jackson's "Thriller" music video, one of the hallmarks of his career as well as the genre, was the top seller. Of the top-selling songs at iTunes, Jackson held 5 of the top 10 positions. At Amazon, 10 of the top 25 albums for download belonged to Jackson.
When it came to CDs, Jackson held 17 of the top 20 spots, including all of the top 10.
These are just a few of he ways that the size of the singer's celebrity is illuminated. Download sales skyrocket, scores of fans watch his YouTube music videos, news sites are nearly overwhelmed. Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:25 p.m. PT on Thursday after collapsing at a rental home in Los Angeles. According to numerous published reports, an autopsy was due to be performed Friday.
When news started to spread that the performer had collapsed, it drove a massive wave of people to the Web for details about his condition. The ensuing traffic crush nearly crippled several large media sites, according to Keynote Systems, which tracks site performance.
At Google's YouTube, fans flocked to view his music videos, such as "Thriller" and "Beat It," and the ensuing traffic appeared to bog down the streaming quality. It took me a half hour to watch the 13-minute "Thriller" video. Fans also began uploading their own videos to YouTube in honor of Jackson. The site is already hosting thousands of fan-produced YouTube clips reacting to the news of his death, according to Google, including vlogs and tribute dances.
At about 5:30 p.m. PT on Thursday, the "Thriller" video had been viewed just more than 37 million times and had about 105,000 comments. It's unclear how many times it had been watched or how many comments the video had before Jackson's death. But by late Friday morning, "Thriller" had accumulated 38,619,665 views, or more than 1.6 million since yesterday and 144,676 comments.
"I took a screenshot of the MJ YouTube Channel shortly after news broke about his death," YouTube spokesman Spencer Crooks said in an e-mail. "The channel views are up about 3 million. The channel subscribers are up nearly 50,000 and climbing. Most of the popular videos are up at least a million views. These are not exact numbers, as I took the screenshot after the news broke, and they are all still rising fast."
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 
It is still surreal, and I am hoping to wake up from this wicked nightmare. I was waiting for the comeback tour so I could see him live
BUT!!
Please remember... The largest tax increase in U.S. history is being voted on today!! Call your congressional representative NOW and ask him/her to vote NO on HR 2454. The number is 1-800-833-6354. While you're at it, be sure to call a Democratic rep in a district near you as well. Tell them to vote NO!
"You and I both know what I'm talking about.That article of Michael Jackson, http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10273229-1.html?tag=rtcol;relnews (hours after his passing) had about as much substance as a Sarah Palin speech at a Cocktail Party. So lets just skip the diagnoses of your ill-informed, unintelligent, demonizing article that you unsympathetically SMACKED together and get to the part where you clean off your desk of Rogaine, hair plugs and family photos of those who are to be embarrassed of any connection to you what-so-ever, (be it blood, sperm or sheer friend-of-the-moron) and turn in your resignation... Watch out for the MJ Fan barrage awaiting you near the exit sign of your building sir."
Idiot - A person of subnormal intelligence... Better put "Dan Ackerman"
- by mykingisdead July 4, 2009 4:27 AM PDT
- I just lit a candle to join with fans from all around the world to paying their respects to Michael. He's gone, but not forgotten.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(8 Comments)You can go to http://www.mykingisdead.com/ and leave an everllasting tribute there to the King of Pop!