The inclusion of "Hotline Bling" at the end of Drake's VIEWS may have ensured that the album will go platinum.
As Forbes points out, under the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) new rules, “1,500 on-demand song streams in the United States [hold] the same value as 10 individual track sales or 1 full album sale.” This rule applies to songs released ahead of the full album on which they end up. Released last July, "Hotline Bling" has been streamed 400 million times on Spotify and 700 million times on YouTube. It's unclear how many of these streams came from the United States. But to give you an idea, 400 million streams in the United States equates to 267,000 album sales under the RIAA's rules.
But wait, there's more: "One Dance" has been streamed 67 million times on Spotify. "Pop Style" has been streamed 17 million times. Not that there was much doubt that VIEWS would go platinum... now there is almost zero doubt. Listen to the whole album here via Apple Music.
