Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ becomes most-streamed song of 20th century

“Greatest Rock Song of All Time” Breaks Records as it passes 1.6 Billion Streams

Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced that Queen’s iconic single, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” has officially became the world’s most-streamed song from the 20th century, as well as the most-streamed classic rock song of all time. UMG’s teams around the world have actively promoted discovery across streaming platforms, physical reissues, merchandise, and experiential programs to introduce “Bohemian Rhapsody” to new fans more than 40 years after it was first recorded. Today (Tues, Dec 11th), the original song and official video for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” taken from Queen’s seminal 1975 album A Night At The Opera, surpassed 1.6 billion streams globally across all major streaming services.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is regularly cited as one of the greatest songs ever recorded. In 2004, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and Freddie Mercury’s vocal performance was named by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine as the best in rock history.

The instantly recognizable anthem also has been buoyed by the success of the biographical film Bohemian Rhapsody, which tells the incredible story of the band’s storied career. In just five weeks on release, the film has become the highest grossing music biopic in history. The film has picked up two Golden Globe Award nominations.

“So the River of Rock Music has metamorphosed into streams! Very happy that our music is still flowing to the max!” Queen guitarist Brian May says.

“’Bohemian Rhapsody’ is one the greatest songs by one of the greatest bands in history,” states Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group. “We are so proud to represent Queen and are thrilled to see the song still inspiring new fans around the world more than four decades after its release. My congratulations to Queen and Jim Beach on an incredible achievement that is a testament to the enduring brilliance of Queen.”

UMG represents Queen’s iconic catalog globally outside of North America, as well as providing support to the band across global merchandise, retail licensing and brand management through Bravado, UMG’s brand-management and merchandise company. UMG also produces and distributes audio-visual releases from Queen via the company’s Eagle Rock division, the leading producer and distributor of music programming for broadcast, DVD, Blu-ray, TV, and digital media. These releases include Queen documentaries, concert films and their award-winning immersive virtual reality film VR The Champions. In North America, Queen’s recorded music catalog is represented by Hollywood Records.

The soundtrack to Bohemian Rhapsody is available now on Walt Disney Co.’s Hollywood Records and UMG’s Virgin EMI. The film will be released on 4K Bluray, Blu-ray, DVD and digital on February 12th via 20th Century Fox. A special Steelbook edition will be released via Best Buy featuring star Rami Malick as Freddie Mercury singing at the iconic Live Aid in yellow and purple with a full color photo of the four actors as the band on both inside sleeves. Bonus content has yet to be unveiled, but is expected to include the entire Live Aid concert from 1985.

The real life Queen + Adam Lambert will hit the road in support of the film next year. Original band members Brian May and Roger Taylor are teaming up once more with longtime frontman Adam Lambert on lead vocals for a 23 date North American run next year produced by Live Nation. The arena and stadium Rhapsody Tour is set to run from mid-July through late August with an all-new concert experience.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com