Yet the #1 best selling solo artist is a pop artist: Michael Jackson. The biggest selling album in history is a pop album.... Thriller. MJ's music is still very well regarded and listened to all over the world. For a pop artist, Michael has always been given the rock treatment, at least statistically.

Hi Manuel !

There is like 500 songs that were used on Glee, only DSB got a serious boost. It isn't about the exposure a song gets but how strong it is to exploit it. The track was also frequently top 200 in the UK before Glee.

The Dangerous album recently surpassed 300 million streams. Unlike Thriller & Bad, Dangerous is a slow gainer but has the potential to collect more songs above 100 million streams than any other album in the discography. However, that will more or likely take years.

The Dangerous album recently surpassed 300 million streams (ONLY counting the album tracks// 400+ million streams if all versions are included). Unlike Thriller & Bad, Dangerous is a slow gainer but has the potential to collect more songs above 100 million streams than any other album in the discography.
However, that will more or likely take years.

Dan, maybe you should go and stream all Madonna albums 24hours a day. Then do your own math based on the real numbers that already show on Spotify that no one can manipulate it except Spotify it self LOL

Had hoped Heart by Heart (1985) album was included. Over 5 million US sales, 92 weeks on chart peaking at #1, 4 top 10 singles, including a #1 hit. Over 600k sales in Canada, 300k sales UK.

Travis, yup, Michael Jackson is a huge outlier among pop stars. He is still revered in India, long after Thriller was a hit.

This is just Spotify right?

I guess Madonna numbers are lower in part because most Spotify listeners are from the US, a country that, according to your article, is just Madonna #91 or #92 country. Also most countries where Madonna is most successful have less streaming. Is this analysis right?

I believe there is a co-relation between countries where artists are more popular and streaming numbers from countries. As we know, despite the numbers being rising, streaming is still much more popular in some countries compared to others.

Well that's not really true, Spotify isn't even the most popular streaming service in the US. in fact the service is more popular in both Europe (where it got quite a lot more listeners) and in Latin America.

Hi Nuno!

At this point the US represents less than 25% of Spotify's users. Also, it's not like Madonna is taken the remaining streaming platforms by storm. The current popularity of her catalog is simply not that good!

I wouldn't say that. It seems like her catalog gets more popular each year on streaming platforms

I think that has to do with Streaming penetrating new markets. The streaming audience are getting bigger and naturally her numbers will go up just like everybody else. But I dont think her streaming growth is outgrowing other big 80s acts even with the newly available streaming market. I think she is really good at seizing opportunity while it last. But as the trend move over to other genre her music got somewhat forgotten.

That's because Madonna has a discography full of hits spanning decades while most other big 80s acts only have a few hits or hits in that decade meaning their streams will be massive on one or a few songs. But look at Madonna's YouTube views. She has a 100 million viewed song in 4 different decades. What other 80s act can say that? La isla bonita is continuing to gain popularity on YouTube and it's one of the most viewed 80s music on YouTube daily.

That just sounds like a fan using biased arguments, selective reasoning and excuses, to defend their favourite artist and make out she is doing better than she really is.

While not strictly an 80s act, AC/DC has 4 tracks way over 100m from 4 different decades;

70s: Highway To Hell 498m
80s: Back In Black 778m
90s: Thunderstruck 976m
00s: Rock N Roll Train 140m

and these are just the most streamed versions, Thunderstruck for instance has a 2nd version on 236m, as well as many others and Highway To Hell has a 2nd version on 202m, also with many others.

These second most popular versions are actually more watched than some of Madonnas main versions of her 80s hits, like Papa Don't Preach, Like A Prayer and Like A Virgin.

The honest truth is, that she quite simply has not managed to retain the level of popularity that she once had and her back catalogue, while certainly not poorly streamed on Spotify or Youtube, is beaten by many artists that were around in 80s, such as Guns N Roses, AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Queen, Jackson and Bon Jovi.

I also think that due to the lack of rock acts in the modern soundscape a lot of young people who enjoy rock music will listen to the older acts, whilst the likes of pop and rap are very well accommodated in recent history so young people who enjoy pop and rap won’t see the need to go back and listen to older artists, obviously iconic hits will alway be listened to.

There may be some truth in that but what;s always been true is that legacy rock acts have always been more popular than legacy female or pop acts.

I've always felt that pop is very centred around youth and seems far more short lived, of the time and disposable, than rock music or at least legacy rock music.

It seems as people age they are far more likely to grow out of their love and adulation for say a boy band or female soloist, whereas rock acts seem to stay with people throughout their lives.

Legacy rock acts also seem to gain new followers and fans, decades after their demise or death. The same doesn't really seem to be the same with female or pop acts, certainly to the same extent as legacy rock acts.

I think the other thing with Madonna is, that shes not really done herself and in turn the popularity of her music, any favours with a lot of stuff shes said and done. I think people of my generation, who grew up with her from 83/84, just went of her and became disinterested in her music, what she had to say and couldn't be bothered with her or her attitude anymore.

I think we should remember that Madonna did not have a proper Youtube Channel until 2018. When her team fixed it her views increased quite well.
In 2019 and 2020 her YouTube Channel had more views than Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Bon Jovi, Nirvana, Rolling Stones, Whitney Houston for example.

Looking solely at the last 12 months, all those acts I mentioned out streamed her on Youtube and most of them completely destroy her on Spotify.

The thing is, if I knew nothing about streaming figures I'd assume all those acts you mentioned would have less streams on Youtube than Madonna, given how popular she once was and how her music videos and visuality in general, were such a big part of her career.

This article could definitely use a redux at your next opportunity. Purple Rain in particular I think is now Top 10 material, but here it is #43.

I get you, but with the most streamed albums tool https://chartmasters.org/spotify-most-streamed-albums/ pretty much providing anyone with an almost instant answer, as to what are the Top 10, Top 50 etc albums in any given year decade, century etc I don't really think it's that necessary an update.

Purple Rain is not now Top 10 though, he's only moved up to #39.

1 (2) Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction 3.5b
2 (1) Michael Jackson - Thriller 3.4b
3 (3) AC/DC - Back In Black 2.8b
4 (5) Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet 2.4b
5 (9) Queen - The Game 2.2b
6 (4) Michael Jackson - Bad 2.1b
7 (7) U2 - The Joshua Tree 1.8b
8 (6) Journey - Escape 1.8b
9 (8) Toto - IV 1.7b
10 (20) Footloose (soundtrack) 1.5b

Notable changes after that :

15 (26) Queen - The Works 1.4b
17 (30) Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair 1.4b
29 (---) Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love 1b
30 (44) Luis Miguel - Busca Una Mujer 1b
32 (---) ABBA - Super Trouper 0.9b
34 (14) N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton 0.9b

@Martin : Purple Rain is actually below #39 since the Spotify numbers tool doesn't include Careless Whisper in Wham's Make It Big album.

Quite a lot of the positions might change, if the albums were to include all versions of the tracks on an album, like they are in the CSPC analysis and not just the tracks from the version used.

I think some corrections need to be made regarding Metallica streaming, right now they have 11,695,000 streams but yesterday it reported about 13,136,000 streams which in fact coincides by adding all the streams streams of their albums, so I think the right figure is that of 13,136,000 streams.
I hope you correct the error

What I meant is that the "most streamed albums" tool does not include Careless Whisper (700m streams!) in Wham's album while this article does... I wonder how many more cases are like this, another one is Depeche Mode's Violator which for example doesn't include the 400m version of Enjoy The Silence but only the 40m album version.

There are a few. Three Pink Floyd albums seem to suffer from this DSOTM, WYWH and The Wall or at least have in the past. Pretty sure MJs Off The Wall had some issues as well or again at least did.

WYWH the track is split between the following two albums;
Wish You Were Here - Wish You Were Here - 172,353,033
A Collection Of Great Dance Songs - Wish You Were Here - 549,215,152