Thanks for posting this, it explains a lot. I could not for the life of me
see any reason for the Stones to produce such a bizarre product
(now averaging under 50 live viewers). And it turns out that the
Stones have nothing to do with it. It is imposed on the Stones and
other big music acts by Youtube as a way of measuring the actual
and potential importance of passive listening to various
demographics. Artists may not opt out.

I can save youtube some research dollars. Stones listeners, even
casual ones, are disproportionately active listeners that play what
they want when they want. As opposed to... (and brace yourself,
this next fact is horrifying) 

Algorithm-based passive music listeners refer to the 95% of
streaming users who surrender their curatorial power to automated
curation, leaning on systems like Spotify's Discover Weekly for
predictable background noise rather than actively seeking out new
or challenging music.

The bottom line is that my (and your?) instincts are correct. The
charts are rigged by the algorithms very much against artists like
the Stones and very much in favor of stuff like Swift and Drake.

Its one of the big reasons I enjoy so much the Stones fighting
back with their own commercial manipulations. War is hell.


AI-assisted image  revvy@rocksoff  2026