Chart success is not everything, especially when we talk longevity and impact. This is why Sales to Popularity Concept helps make sense of multiple numbers when applied to streaming numbers and different types of sales.
Chartmasters.org employs this method to study the performance of main artists and comes up with the lists that reflect both popularity and success of music acts.
Their recent instalment features lists of the most successful artists by decade from the 1950s (with only Elvis Presley on the chart) to the 2010s. Two last decades shows that Eminem is a crucial figure in the music industry, the only artist who made it to Top 10 in both decades. And the one who was an indisputable leader in the 2000s. With almost twice as much streams as Linkin Park that occupies No.2, Eminem holds the very top of the list.
2000s
1. Eminem – 123,624,000
2. Linkin Park – 67,608,000
3. Coldplay – 66,326,000
4. Britney Spears – 62,135,000
5. Beyoncé – 50,503,000
6. Pink – 48,326,000
7. Norah Jones – 48,153,000
8. Robbie Williams – 47,775,000
9. Nickelback – 46,375,000
10. Black Eyed Peas – 45,631,000
The next decade is the streaming era time with the constellation of new stars. Eminem stepped down a little bit but he did not leave the Top 10. Beyoncé, for instance, traded her No.5 in the 2000s to No.19 in the 2010s.
2010s
1. Adele – 73,356,000
2. Ed Sheeran – 61,066,000
3. Justin Bieber – 60,072,000
4. Taylor Swift – 55,950,000
5. Rihanna – 55,886,000
6. Bruno Mars – 52,339,000
7. Drake – 52,256,000
8. One Direction – 44,466,000
9. BTS – 40,695,000
10. Eminem – 38,691,000
Units used in this chart are based on Commensurate Sales to Popularity Concept, the method that sets different weightings for digital and physical singles sales, factors in sales of music videos and generalises artists catalogues.
You can see full lists on Chartmasters.org
