KatrinaXP
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In debates online and in person we often hear statements like ‘so and so is bigger/more global/timeless/forgotten’ without any evidence presented and I’ve seen such things said both in favour of and against Michael. So I wanted to collect some objective facts on this subject using Youtube music insights. Obviously Youtube is not the only music outlet and there’s iTunes, Spotify, etc but I think there’s a good argument that Youtube is the best measuring stick. It’s the most popular and widely used, and the most global. Usage rates vary between regions and it seems to be particularly popular in Latin countries (so there’s quite a few Latin artists among the most highly viewed) but that in itself demonstrates that Youtube is truly global and takes into account the large populations in these developing countries. The fact that there are often Japanese/Korean/Indian artists in the Youtube music chart top 100 shows that Youtube is a true reflection of the international landscape as opposed to the solely Anglo-American viewpoint that we usually get through billboard charts, sales, etc.
Youtube music insights gives the total number of views of all videos (official and fan uploaded videos) of an artist since Sept 2014 (so 2 years 3 months worth of data). Of course Michael has not released any new music since then while a lot of current artists have. Based on this data, I’ve created an artist ranking. The following had more than 4 billion views (numbers are in billions):
Other notable current artists with lower views are:
The Chainsmokers - 3.78
Ellie Goulding - 3.73
Drake - 3.68
Twenty One Pilots - 3.58
Nicki Minaj - 3.58
Britney Spears - 3.42
Mark Ronson - 3.11
Selena Gomez - 3.07
Ricky Martin - 2.70
Jennifer Lopez - 2.49
Shawn Mendes - 2.47
Lady Gaga - 2.42
Jessie J - 2.35
Miley Cyrus - 2.14
Justin Timberlake - 1.99
Usher - 1.94
Kanye West - 1.87
And here are the figures for ‘classic’ artists. All those with no Vevo or other official Youtube channel are marked, and ‘still active’ refers to those who have released new music since Sept 2014. There are notables not on Youtube (like Prince) but the vast majority are.
Metallica - 3.54 (still active)
Celine Dion - 3.38 (still active)
Bob Marley - 3.17 (no official channel)
Guns N’Roses - 2.66
Bee Gees - 2.56
AC/DC - 2.44
Pink Floyd - 2.43
Red Hot Chili Peppers - 2.29 (still active)
Mariah Carey - 2.21
Bon Jovi - 2.04 (still active)
Elvis Presley - 1.98
Nirvana - 1.92
Queen - 1.91
Green Day - 1.86
Whitney Houston - 1.85
Beatles - 1.68
The Rolling Stones - 1.52 (still active)
Phil Collins - 1.47
Madonna - 1.42 (still active)
David Bowie - 1.29
U2 - 1.19
ABBA - 1.16
Rod Stewart - 1.03
Frank Sinatra - 0.77 (no official channel)
Elton John - 0.75
Led Zeppelin - 0.74
Cyndi Lauper - 0.72
Eric Clapton - 0.70 (no official channel)
KISS - 0.63
Stevie Wonder - 0.55 (no official channel)
Johnny Cash - 0.53
Bruce Springsteen - 0.53
Sting - 0.50 (still active)
Eagles - 0.49 (no official channel)
Leonard Cohen - 0.48
Earth, Wind & Fire - 0.44
The Who - 0.28
Rush - 0.28
Miles Davis - 0.24 (no official channel)
Janet Jackson - 0.19
Jimi Hendrix - 0.16
Bob Dylan - 0.14
There are so many interesting observations here that could be discussed but I think the major ones, which I would love people’s opinions on are:
1. Michael does phenomenally well even amongst current artists and is the most popular classic artist by a huge margin. The large majority of other classic artists also have official channels and in many cases as many/more videos than Michael on those channels. Why do we think Michael uniquely has stood the test of time so well?
2. Among classic artists, Bob Marley does really well (even with no official channel which suggests that isn’t a huge factor), and generally the highest seem to be rock bands. It’s surprising how low legends like Madonna (even though she’s still active), Bruce Springsteen, Elton John are, and Madonna is outstripped by Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. What potential explanations are there?
3. Among current artists, some big names such as Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Kanye West are pretty low - why might that be?
Youtube music insights gives the total number of views of all videos (official and fan uploaded videos) of an artist since Sept 2014 (so 2 years 3 months worth of data). Of course Michael has not released any new music since then while a lot of current artists have. Based on this data, I’ve created an artist ranking. The following had more than 4 billion views (numbers are in billions):
- Romeo Santos - 10.95
- Justin Bieber - 10.78
- Taylor Swift - 9.04
- Rihanna - 8.72
- Maroon 5 - 7.88
- Beyoncé - 7.22
- Eminem - 7.20
- One Direction - 7.14
- Enrique Iglesias - 7.00
- Aventura - 6.87
- Katy Perry - 6.86
- Ariana Grande - 6.59
- Coldplay - 6.43
- Vicente Fernandez - 6.30
- Adele - 6.27
- Wiz Khalifa - 6.24
- Calvin Harris - 6.23
- Joan Sebastian- 6.03
- Linkin Park - 5.98
- Ed Sheeran - 5.81
- Sia - 5.79
- Shakira - 5.73
- Pitbull - 5.40
- Bruno Mars - 5.23
- Major Lazer - 5.22
[*]Michael Jackson - 5.18 - David Guetta - 5.12
- Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizarraga - 4.99
- Fifth Harmony - 4.65
- Meghan Trainor - 4.64
- Juan Gabriel - 4.56
- Marco Antonio Solis - 4.40
- J Balvin - 4.39
- PSY - 4.37
- Maluma - 4.34
- Arijit Singh - 4.29
- The Weeknd - 4.11
- Skrillex - 4.08
- Chris Brown - 4.06
- Avicii - 4.06
- Mana - 4.03
Other notable current artists with lower views are:
The Chainsmokers - 3.78
Ellie Goulding - 3.73
Drake - 3.68
Twenty One Pilots - 3.58
Nicki Minaj - 3.58
Britney Spears - 3.42
Mark Ronson - 3.11
Selena Gomez - 3.07
Ricky Martin - 2.70
Jennifer Lopez - 2.49
Shawn Mendes - 2.47
Lady Gaga - 2.42
Jessie J - 2.35
Miley Cyrus - 2.14
Justin Timberlake - 1.99
Usher - 1.94
Kanye West - 1.87
And here are the figures for ‘classic’ artists. All those with no Vevo or other official Youtube channel are marked, and ‘still active’ refers to those who have released new music since Sept 2014. There are notables not on Youtube (like Prince) but the vast majority are.
Metallica - 3.54 (still active)
Celine Dion - 3.38 (still active)
Bob Marley - 3.17 (no official channel)
Guns N’Roses - 2.66
Bee Gees - 2.56
AC/DC - 2.44
Pink Floyd - 2.43
Red Hot Chili Peppers - 2.29 (still active)
Mariah Carey - 2.21
Bon Jovi - 2.04 (still active)
Elvis Presley - 1.98
Nirvana - 1.92
Queen - 1.91
Green Day - 1.86
Whitney Houston - 1.85
Beatles - 1.68
The Rolling Stones - 1.52 (still active)
Phil Collins - 1.47
Madonna - 1.42 (still active)
David Bowie - 1.29
U2 - 1.19
ABBA - 1.16
Rod Stewart - 1.03
Frank Sinatra - 0.77 (no official channel)
Elton John - 0.75
Led Zeppelin - 0.74
Cyndi Lauper - 0.72
Eric Clapton - 0.70 (no official channel)
KISS - 0.63
Stevie Wonder - 0.55 (no official channel)
Johnny Cash - 0.53
Bruce Springsteen - 0.53
Sting - 0.50 (still active)
Eagles - 0.49 (no official channel)
Leonard Cohen - 0.48
Earth, Wind & Fire - 0.44
The Who - 0.28
Rush - 0.28
Miles Davis - 0.24 (no official channel)
Janet Jackson - 0.19
Jimi Hendrix - 0.16
Bob Dylan - 0.14
There are so many interesting observations here that could be discussed but I think the major ones, which I would love people’s opinions on are:
1. Michael does phenomenally well even amongst current artists and is the most popular classic artist by a huge margin. The large majority of other classic artists also have official channels and in many cases as many/more videos than Michael on those channels. Why do we think Michael uniquely has stood the test of time so well?
2. Among classic artists, Bob Marley does really well (even with no official channel which suggests that isn’t a huge factor), and generally the highest seem to be rock bands. It’s surprising how low legends like Madonna (even though she’s still active), Bruce Springsteen, Elton John are, and Madonna is outstripped by Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. What potential explanations are there?
3. Among current artists, some big names such as Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Kanye West are pretty low - why might that be?