--- title: Kendrick Lamar 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Sets Spotify First-Day Record description: Michael Bublé’s 'Christmas' was the previous record holder canonical: https://time.com/3748443/kendrick-lamar-spotify/ author: Jack Linshi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-18T01:40:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:14:11.068Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Sets First-Day Streaming Record on Spotify og:description: Michael Bublé’s 'Christmas' was the previous record holder og:url: https://time.com/3748443/kendrick-lamar-spotify/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9b85489cd3e4c03/698784130b72e39bf26de371/kendrick-lamar1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Budweiser Made In America Music Festival - Los Angeles - Day 1 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Sets First-Day Streaming Record on Spotify twitter:description: Michael Bublé’s 'Christmas' was the previous record holder twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9b85489cd3e4c03/698784130b72e39bf26de371/kendrick-lamar1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kendrick Lamar's _To Pimp a Butterfly_ Sets First-Day Streaming Record on Spotify  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Mar 18, 2015 1:40 AM CUT  Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs during Day 1 of the Budweiser Made in America festival at Los Angeles Grand Park on Aug. 30, 2014 in Los Angeles. Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs during Day 1 of the Budweiser Made in America festival at Los Angeles Grand Park on Aug. 30, 2014 in Los Angeles.Chelsea Lauren—WireImage/Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Mar 18, 2015 1:40 AM CUT Kendrick Lamar’s _To Pimp a Butterfly_ [set a Spotify record](https://twitter.com/Spotify/status/577965415768436736 "undefined") after the album’s surprise release even had anti-streaming icon Taylor Swift [ready](https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/577353751671017472 "undefined") to tune in. Tracks from the rapper’s third record—[praised by critics](http://time.com/3747392/kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly-review/ "undefined")—were streamed more than 9.6 million times on Monday, setting a new global record. > [](https://twitter.com/Spotify/status/577965415768436736) The previous first-day record-holder was Michael Bublé’s _Christmas_ (2011), _Billboard_ [reports](http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/6502416/kendrick-lamars-to-pimp-a-butterfly-sets-first-day "undefined"), adding that _To Pimp a Butterfly_ wasn’t immediately available for download in the iTunes Store. The CEO of Lamar’s label appeared to [blame](https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6502263/explained-kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly-surprise-planned-release "undefined") label partner Interscope for the album’s release, which was originally scheduled for next week. In recent years, artists including [D’Angelo](http://time.com/3633069/dangelo-black-messiah/ "undefined") and [Beyoncé](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/13/why-beyonce-kept-her-new-album-secret/ "undefined") have used surprise releases to generate buzz. _Read more:_[Kendrick Lamar’s ](http://time.com/3747392/kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly-review/ "undefined")[To Pimp a Butterfly](http://time.com/3747392/kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly-review/ "undefined")[ _Is An Angst-filled Anthem for Blackness_](http://time.com/3747392/kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly-review/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3748443/kendrick-lamar-spotify/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3748443/kendrick-lamar-spotify/"},"headline":"Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly Sets First-Day Streaming Record on Spotify","datePublished":"2015-03-18T01:40:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:14:11.068Z","description":"Michael Bublé’s 'Christmas' was the previous record holder","url":"https://time.com/3748443/kendrick-lamar-spotify/","keywords":["Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9b85489cd3e4c03/698784130b72e39bf26de371/kendrick-lamar1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9b85489cd3e4c03/698784130b72e39bf26de371/kendrick-lamar1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Budweiser Made In America Music Festival - Los Angeles - Day 1","caption":"Budweiser Made In America Music Festival - Los Angeles - Day 1","creditText":"Chelsea Lauren—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3748443/kendrick-lamar-spotify/","name":"Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly Sets First-Day Streaming Record on Spotify"}}]}] ```