Apple executives have revealed that Dr. Dre’s new album Compton, which is currently exclusive to Apple Music and the iTunes Store, was streamed 25 million times globally in its first week of release. The album was also bought nearly half a million times through iTunes.
Compton has had a very positive critical reception, and is Dre’s first studio album in sixteen years. After first announcing the album on The Pharmacy, his show on the Apple-run radio station Beats 1, he explained that he was inspired to record it during principal photography of the music biopic Straight Outta Compton. He is both a producer and lead actor for the film.
As reflected by its title, the album was mainly inspired by the film, which has just topped the North American box office in its first weekend with an impressive haul of $56.1m. It’s a double success for Dr. Dre, then – and you can read more about the album, which counts Eminem and Snoop Dogg among its guest artists, in the latest issue of AppleMagazine.