Motley Crue’s Netflix Bump: Streams, Sales and Socials Surge (EXCLUSIVE)
One month after the release of Mötley Crüe biopic “The Dirt,” the band is experiencing a Netflix bump on multiple platforms, including downloads, streams and book sales. In addition, the group gained new subscribers on YouTube and saw its socials pick up droves of followers on Facebook and Twitter.
Here’s how the numbers break down: In the streaming arena over the last 27 days, Motley Crue songs were consumed 73.8 million times on Spotify and nearly 30 million plays were registered at Apple Music. That’s a spike of 599% on Spotify and 1,081% on Apple Music, according to the band’s management, which notes similar streaming gains at Deezer and Amazon. Song sales also surged, with iTunes reporting 176,008 purchases, or a 1,330% rise when compared to the average 27-day period in the previous 12 months.
Related stories
Netflix Acquires Tribeca Doc 'Circus of Books,' Exec Produced by Ryan Murphy (EXCLUSIVE)
Santa Fe Studios Competes With Other New Mexico Stages for Streaming Business
The audience flocked to the group’s socials, too. Following the film’s March 22 premiere, Facebook followers grew by 900 percent and Twitter by 600 percent. Searches on Wikipedia grew by 3,000 percent.
“The movie is bringing Mötley’s music into the homes, universities dorms and handheld devices of the Netflix generation, some of which only knew Mötley Crüe as a cool T-shirt,” says Allen Kovac, CEO of Eleven Seven Music and Manager of Motley Crue. (Netflix does not disclose viewing figures.)
Indeed, as the data shows, a demographic shift is afoot: 64% of Spotify streamers listening to the Crue were between 18 and 34 years-old, and renewed interest has sent a younger generation clamoring for more straight to YouTube, adding 120,000 more subscribers to Crue’s tally and exploding video views to over 20 million so far this year.
Starring Pete Davidson, Machine Gun Kelly and Iwan Rheon, “The Dirt” was inspired by the 2001 book, “The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band,” which catapulted back onto the New York Times Best-Seller List in the Nonfiction Print Paperback and E-Book categories. Though the movie was largely panned by critics, Netflix viewers sang a different tune: the film currently boasts a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Adds drummer Tommy Lee: “We knew the Motley Crue fans, who had made ‘The Dirt’ book a New York Times Best-Seller, would be keen to see the movie after hearing it was coming for the past 15 years, but we weren’t expecting the new younger audience reaction to the movie and the music.”
“The Dirt” soundtrack, which includes new songs and a cover of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin,” enjoyed a run on the charts as well. In Europe, the vinyl version has sold out and additional copies are being pressed, Eleven Seven reports.
While the renewed interest and impressive metrics are thrilling for the band members, Crue bassist Nikki Sixx hopes his story will serve as a cautionary tale about addiction. Says Sixx: “In the movie we retell the time Mötley Crüe ignored the advice that Ozzy Osbourne gave us about too much excess driving you crazy. We motored on at 100 miles an hour, to self-destruction which ultimately lead to me being declared medically dead and the band splitting up. I find it hard to watch myself being resuscitated in the ambulance with a double shot of adrenaline to the heart. It’s like an out-of-body experience all over again. If we can persuade one person not to take hard drugs, this film will be worth it just for that.”
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
