The film “A Complete Unknown” has bolstered Bob Dylan’s popularity as a new generation has been introduced to his music. The film focuses on the formative years of Dylan’s music career and his non-conformist style paired with a soundtrack of covers consisting of Dylan’s most popular and lesser-known work, all performed by Timotheé Chalamet. The biopic’s release has increased streams of Dylan’s hits on music platforms throughout the U.S.
Streaming increases on music platforms: After A Complete Unknown’s successful opening weekend, which grossed $11 million across the U.S., Dylan’s Apple Music and Spotify streams surged. Two days after the film’s release, Dylan had eight albums in the top 200 iTunes U.S.-based albums chart and two in the top 10. As of Dec. 27, he was the only artist to have two albums in the iTunes 10 best-selling chart, The Essential Bob Dylan (Revised Edition) (No. 5) and Highway 61 Revisited (No. 9). Meanwhile, on Spotify, which measures streams in week-long increments, Dylan’s streams increased from 11.6 million to 20.2 million in the week ending Jan. 2. When compared with a month-long period, from Dec. 5 to Jan. 2, Dylan’s Spotify streams grew by about 150%.
However, this isn’t the first time Dylan has seen a popularity boost in the past decade. In 2016, after Dylan became the first musician to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, his global Spotify streams jumped 512%. His 1965 hit “Like a Rolling Stone” had the biggest increase after his Nobel Prize, with streams up 258%.
Senior Maddie Munster, a newfound Bob Dylan fan, has seen the movie six times in theaters and has been listening to his music ever since. When asked what her favorite Dylan album was, Munster took a moment to think before stating “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” released in 1963.
“[It] has had the greatest impact on me. Though it isn’t my favorite album of his, it’s the one I take the most inspiration from when I play and make music. It also has the best songwriting, I’d argue, ever,” Munster says, “It’s really hard to find songs with messages like this and it’s hard to find songs that affect me emotionally in the way that these songs do.”
Matt Linderman, a Brooklyn native who grew up on Dylan’s discography, enjoys his newfound popularity among teens. He believes that films such as A Complete Unknown are a good way for people to dip their toes into a new artist to see if they like them, and can sometimes introduce listeners to new genres that they may not have otherwise explored.
“It’s kind of like a gateway drug in that way,” he said.
Especially in an era of streaming and downloads, Linderman noted how easy it is to access Dylan’s whole catalog without having to go to a store and spend money on records like people did during his peak popularity. Compared to modern music, which he finds over-synthesized and less personal, Linderman appreciates the genuine feel of music made in a room with people playing instruments and singing together. Although he noted that Bob Dylan might not be everyone’s cup of tea, he emphasized that older music has something for everyone and encouraged people of all ages to listen to hits from the 1960s and 70s.
Even during the period of Dylan’s skyrocket to fame, his music still wasn’t for everyone. His transition from folk to rock and roll shocked many fans, and one of the most pivotal moments portrayed in the film was when Dylan plugged in at the Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965. Playing a fully amplified set with guitarist Mike Bloomfield, drummer Sam Lay, pianist Barry Goldberg, and bassists Jerome Arnold and Al Kooper, Dylan fully removed himself from the folk sound attributed to his success thus far. Much to the dismay of the die-hard Dylan fans in attendance, many of whom booed and threw items onto the stage, Dylan played until the end of his set despite the overwhelmingly negative response.
“He knew it was a risk, he knew he was making people angry, but he prioritized the art and music itself rather than the money and listens,” said Munster. “That really stuck with me because I think it’s so important to follow the path that you want to take.”
