Major album releases linked to spike in U.S. traffic deaths, study finds

The arrival of a major new album often gives fans a reason to turn up the volume in the car. New research suggests that excitement can also be deadly.

A study from Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham found that U.S. traffic fatalities were 15.1% higher on the release days of 10 of the most-streamed albums from 2017 through 2022 than on the 10 days before and after those releases. The research, published Aug. 17 in JAMA, estimated 139.1 traffic deaths on major album release days, compared with 120.9 on surrounding days.

The idea came to Dr. Vishal Patel, a Mass General Brigham physician and Harvard Medical School researcher, in an unsettling moment: while scrolling Spotify for songs from a new Taylor Swift album, he realized his car had drifted out of its lane. That experience prompted him and his colleagues to ask whether the release of highly anticipated music was tied to more fatal crashes.

Using fatal crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the researchers examined 233,809 traffic deaths recorded between 2017 and 2022. They compared fatalities on the release dates of 10 heavily streamed albums with the 10 days before and after each release, controlling for factors such as day of the week, federal holidays, week of the year and calendar year. Albums included releases by Taylor Swift, Drake, Bad Bunny, Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West.

Streaming data from Spotify showed daily volume jumped about 43% on those release days, from an average of 86.1 million streams to 123.3 million. The analysis estimated 18 extra traffic deaths on each major album release day, for roughly 182 additional deaths across the 10 release dates studied.

The increase was sharper among younger drivers and male drivers, the researchers found. Fatal crashes were also more likely to involve a single occupant, a sober driver, clear weather and a vehicle equipped with an infotainment system.

The study does not prove that listening to new music directly caused those deaths. Patel and his colleague Dr. Anupam Jena, a Harvard Medical School professor, said the data cannot show whether a driver was actively using a phone at the time of a crash. They suggested several possible explanations, including drivers searching for songs on their phones, using dashboard touchscreens, or simply being distracted by the music itself.

Researchers also weighed other explanations, like travel to album release events or alcohol use. But since the increase in fatal crashes was larger among sober drivers and was not concentrated during late-night hours, they concluded those factors were unlikely to be the main drivers.

Additional analyses supported the findings. The increase held when researchers looked only at Friday releases, and randomly selected comparison dates did not produce the same pattern. Nine of the 10 albums examined had more traffic deaths on release days than on comparable non-release days.

The study adds to a growing body of evidence on distracted driving and offers a new example of how the way people consume media can spill over into public safety. The CDC says the best way to reduce distraction is to put devices and other potential hazards away before getting behind the wheel.

Drivers should avoid adjusting mirrors, choosing music, eating, making phone calls, or reading texts and emails while driving, the agency recommends. Passengers can help by speaking up when a driver loses focus and by taking over navigation or other tasks. Parents of teen drivers should talk about the dangers of distracted driving, understand their state's graduated licensing rules, set clear consequences for unsafe behavior and model good habits.

For now, the safest place to stream a new album may be a parked car.