Michael Stanley Streams Soar Following Rocker’s Death

Streams and sales of the catalog of heartland rocker Michael Stanley skyrocketed after his March 5 death, seeing four-digit-percentage gains, according to MRC Data.

U.S. on-demand streams of his output — both solo and with the eponymous Michael Stanley Band — soared 1,018% in the days following his death. From March 6, the day Stanley’s passing was announced, through March 8, streams totaled 429,000 listens, up from 38,000 streams in the previous three-day period (March 3-5).

Additionally, digital sales of Stanley’s songs jumped to 4,000 March 6-8, up 2,109% from a negligible amount March 3-5. And in terms of album sales, Stanley’s catalog saw 1,000 sold March 6-8, a boost of 2,623% from March 3-5.

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On a song level,  “He Can’t Love You” leads all Stanley compositions with 43,000 streams in the March 6-8 tracking frame, followed by “My Town” with 33,000 streams.

Further gains for Stanley’s music could be reflected on the Billboard charts dated March 20.

Stanley, the frontman and guitarist for the Michael Stanley Band, died March 5 after being diagnosed with lung cancer last year. The Cleveland, Ohio, native and his band were especially popular in the Midwest, though his music also found its way to the Billboard charts, with seven Billboard Hot 100 appearances between 1981 and 1984, led by the No. 33-peaking “He Can’t Love You” in January 1981. “In the Heartland” was also a top 10 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay tally, peaking at No. 6 in August 1981, and seven Stanley albums hit the Billboard 200, including four in the top 100.