Independent music lovers, it’s our time to shine. Sure, I may have never met anyone in real life who’s heard of Red Shahan, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, or even Adia Victoria, but they write their own songs, I can see a live show for like $25, and they want to meet their fans after their sets. Ideally, I’d love for more artists to pull an Ella Langley, blow up almost overnight, and find all the fame and fortune they deserve, but would all that success really be worth it? According to the New York Times, when major artists release new albums, people crash their cars and die.
Okay, so I’m being a little hyperbolic there, and just in case I need to make it clearer, I do not believe listening to Lady Gaga’s next album will kill you. Listening to Carly Rae Jepsen might, but only if there’s a Swiftie in the car with you and only because it’s been so long since they heard interesting music, their head might explode. Hyperbole aside, the impact major album releases reportedly have on road deaths is measurable and far more serious than you would think. At least, assuming no one notices any major flaws that I missed in the underlying Harvard Medical School study.
The research found that the biggest album releases coincide with almost a 15% increase in traffic fatalities. That’s not a massive doubling or tripling in the normal number of road deaths, but it’s worth noting. Tell me you didn’t assume the increase in traffic fatalities on major album release days would be more like 2% or 3%. No, seriously, please tell me that, because that’s what I assumed, and I don’t want to feel like I’m the odd one out here. That’s how bullying starts, and I enjoy it much more when everyone is nice to me.
So it’s the phones, really
I’ll be the first to admit that if a major album release causes eight road deaths instead of the normal seven, the part where seven people die on the road every day is much more concerning. But those number eights were still people whose lives were cut short. Often, before they even finished the new album. And if you can buy that the 15% increase is legit, it’s worth wondering exactly what’s behind it?
Researchers used Spotify streaming data from 2017 through 2022, the latest available dataset at the time, and found that compared to the baseline, on the days the 10 most popular albums of the year were released, music streaming increased 40%. Lots of people listening to a new album means lots of people playing on their phones, phones mean crashes, and crashes cause fatalities.
After adjusting for factors such as federal holidays, they found that instead of the average of 121 road deaths recorded in the 10-day period on either side of album release day, on the day itself, that figure jumped to 139. As the Times put it, “This meant there was an increase of 18.2 fatalities per release day, totaling approximately 182 fatal crashes in the United States connected to the release days of the 10 albums, according to the study.”
More scrolling while sober
The study’s authors also attempted to control for various other factors outside of the album releases, but no matter how they parsed the data, major album release days kept showing elevated numbers of road deaths. And according to the team, the main issue is phone use, not listening to music. “I’d bet the physical interaction is the bigger danger, unlocking the phone, opening Spotify, scrolling through a new track list, tapping a specific song,” Dr. Vishal Patel, one of the study’s authors, told the NYT. “That’s eyes off the road and hands off the wheel.”
That said, listening to music doesn’t escape completely blameless. From the sound of it, we don’t have enough research on the subject, but Dr. Patel still believes the novelty of a new album could negatively impact driving performance. As he told the Times, “On release day, people aren’t passively listening. They’re actively engaged with something brand-new.” The researchers also found that crash rates were higher in single-passenger vehicles, presumably because drivers with a passenger in the front seat are more likely to let them change songs.
Perhaps the most fascinating little tidbit in this study, however, might be the team finding that the danger of crashing on album release days “was more pronounced among sober drivers.” So, drinking wasn’t a factor in these accidents. Additionally, they found clear weather was worse for release-day crashes, suggesting drivers really do take fewer risks when they have to focus on driving during bad weather.
So, what should you do with this information? Well, if you like to play on your phone while driving, stop doing that right now. It’s illegal in almost every state, and it’s dangerous. Always wear your seatbelt, too, and that goes double if you’re too old to keep up with all the major album releases. Also, remember to be responsible whenever you’re listening to music in the car. But mainly, spend a few bucks on tickets to a live show this weekend where you can watch people play their own instruments and sing songs they wrote. It’ll be good for your soul.
