Harvard Study Links Major Album Releases to 15% Spike in US Traffic Deaths

A Harvard Medical School study found US traffic deaths rise 15 percent on days major albums are released on streaming platforms. Researchers compared government crash records with Spotify's daily most-played lists, covering 233,809 fatal collisions from 2017 to 2022. The ten biggest releases lined up with about 182 extra deaths — 18.2 per release day. The study shows a link, not proof that the music caused the crashes.