Last Friday saw one of the year's most anticipated music events in the U.S. and arguably across the globe. Fashion icon, trendsetter, and rapper Playboi Carti released his long-awaited album Music, igniting massive excitement among fans, media, and the livestreaming community. In celebration, numerous streamers hosted special listening parties, drawing a combined viewership that rivalled major gaming events like Call of Duty, Fortnite, and League of Legends tournaments.
The anticipation for the album had been building for years. Nearly five years had passed since Carti's last release, Whole Lotta Red, leaving fans (tens of millions on Spotify alone) craving new music. Constant leaks of unreleased tracks only added to the excitement, as fans were desperate to hear fully mastered versions of hits like Evil Jordan.
Carti's elusive presence on social media, where he rarely posts or shares updates, further fuelled the hype. Any hints or rumors about potential release dates sparked a frenzy on social platforms. So when Carti finally confirmed the album's drop just a day before its release, the excitement reached a fever pitch.
As midnight approached on March 13th, thousands of streamers went live to share the excitement of the album's release. Even Twitch's leading content creator, Kai Cenat, joined in, counting down the final minutes to midnight alongside thousands of his viewers.
However, the wait ended up being much longer than expected. Many fans anticipated an immediate release, but it only dropped several hours later. Carti likely found it amusing to see desperate streamers frantically refreshing his pages on Apple Music and Spotify. At one point, Kai Cenat even called the rapper directly to ask about the exact release time, only for Carti to laugh and tell the streamer to wait a few more hours.
On March 14 (including the brief window before midnight on March 13), more than 6,500 streamers hosted listening parties across various platforms, from major players like Twitch and YouTube Live to regional platforms like Korea's CHZZK. The streams collectively amassed over 4.6 million hours of watch time, largely fuelled by the extended wait for the album's release. The peak concurrent viewership of these listening parties exceeded 813,000 people, with the lion's share tuning in to Kai Cenat's channel.
To put these numbers into perspective, the total watch time of the listening parties outperformed top American tournaments for Call of Duty, League of Legends, and Fortnite. Furthermore, the peak concurrent viewership of these streams surpassed that of some of the biggest championships for Counter-Strike and Valorant.
Kai Cenat captured the lion's share of the viewership, peaking at nearly 400,000 concurrent viewers during his call with Carti. Other notable streamers included popular music creator Maxwell "plaqueboymax" Dent and podcast host and internet influencer Livingston "DJ Akademiks" Allen.
On March 14, Playboi Carti broke Spotify's record for the most-streamed album in a single day for 2025 so far: and it's a big question who might surpass it this year
It's unlikely that the album's release date was a coincidence. Just days after the drop, Playboi Carti took the stage as the main headliner of Rolling Loud California's second day. The event was streamed live on Twitch by the festival's organizers, and the stats are staggering: the second day of Rolling Loud California 2025 drew more than five times the viewership of the first day, headlined by ASAP Rocky. Additionally, the peak concurrent viewership was a jaw-dropping nine times higher than the first day's peak.
The album has received quite mixed reviews from both critics and fans alike. Yet, while the music may spark debate, there's one thing that's undeniable: Carti has an unparalleled ability to generate hype around himself and his music.
