CSPC: Bob Marley Popularity Analysis

Bob Marley Career CSPC Results

So, after checking all the figures, how many overall equivalent album sales has each album by Bob Marley achieved? Well, at this point we hardly need to add up all of the figures defined in this article!

In the following results table, all categories display figures in equivalent album sales. If different, pure sales are listed between parentheses.

artist_spotify_id	#	Cover	Album	Studio albums (EAS)	sales_update_date	Other LPs (EAS)	Physical singles (units sold)	Digital singles (units sold)	Streams	Streams increase	Total EAS	valid_as_of	streams_updated_value	album_id
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	1		Catch a Fire	3,175,000	21.11.17	4,144,000	78,000 (260,000)	302,000 (2,010,000)	655,000 (09/25/23)	Av.: 240 LD: 260	8,354,000	20,230,925	655,000	1,059
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	2		Burnin'	3,200,000	21.11.17	7,353,000	84,000 (280,000)	273,000 (1,820,000)	771,000 (09/25/23)	Av.: 280 LD: 340	11,690,000	20,230,925	771,000	1,060
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	3		Natty Dread	3,650,000	21.11.17	9,006,000	189,000 (630,000)	548,000 (3,650,000)	1,222,000 (09/25/23)	Av.: 460 LD: 560	14,624,000	20,230,925	1,222,000	1,061
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	4		Rastaman Vibration	4,525,000	21.11.17	1,217,000	84,000 (280,000)	98,000 (650,000)	564,000 (09/25/23)	Av.: 220 LD: 300	6,497,000	20,230,925	564,000	1,062
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	5		Exodus	8,025,000	21.11.17	20,388,000	732,000 (2,440,000)	1,649,000 (10,990,000)	3,433,000 (09/25/23)	Av.: 1,280 LD: 1,520	34,236,000	20,230,925	3,433,000	1,063
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	6		Kaya	5,925,000	21.11.17	17,244,000	381,000 (1,270,000)	729,000 (4,860,000)	1,883,000 (09/25/23)	Av.: 640 LD: 730	26,162,000	20,230,925	1,883,000	1,064
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	7		Survival	4,600,000	21.11.17	825,000	69,000 (230,000)	116,000 (770,000)	514,000 (09/25/23)	Av.: 200 LD: 240	6,145,000	20,230,925	514,000	1,065
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	8		Uprising	7,025,000	21.11.17	7,618,000	336,000 (1,120,000)	675,000 (4,500,000)	1,809,000 (09/25/23)	Av.: 670 LD: 900	17,466,000	20,230,925	1,809,000	1,066
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	9		Confrontation	2,950,000	21.11.17	4,319,000	162,000 (540,000)	395,000 (2,630,000)	727,000 (09/25/23)	Av.: 260 LD: 290	8,559,000	20,230,925	727,000	1,067
2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD	10		Orphan	0	21.11.17	9,479,000	274,000 (912,000)	269,000 (1,790,000)	265,000 (11/21/17)	N/A	10,826,000	20,230,925	265,000	1,633

As a reminder:

• Studio Album: sales of the original album
• Other Releases: sales of compilations generated thanks to the album
• Physical Singles: sales of physical singles from the album (ratio 3/10)
• Download Singles: sales of digital singles from the album (ratio 1,5/10)
• Streaming: equivalent album sales of all the album tracks (ratio 1/1500 for Audio stream and 1/6750 for Video stream)

See where the artist ranks among remaining singers

The icon of a generation, the king of reggae, the face of Jamaica, the legendary singer, the symbol of peace, the flagship of rastas, the defender of the oppressed people, the genius writer, the God of lost minds, the voice of Africa. Marley has been described by more roles than Daenerys Targaryen and his hair is just as known as hers. Although his strength as a super records seller is rarely mentioned, figures don’t lie, so you can add massively successful star to his résumé.

Ultimately, there aren’t that many Rastafarians, even among people who proudly wear dreadlocks. The message of Marley wasn’t his religion though. He wrote his music to support the people who need it the most, to share positive feelings. To denounce abuses and call for respect of every human being. The general public understood it.

Decades after his death it is thus no surprise to see his catalog going stronger than ever. His popularity goes much further than the reggae spectrum, he belongs to the all-time greats. His audio streams are almost on par with acts like Queen and Michael Jackson who are among the leaders in that format. This shows how insanely popular he is also among the youngest public.

Exodus is the best example of this flamboyant appeal. The album is up to a stunning 31,5 million equivalent album sales overall to put it among the very most successful albums of all-time. Kaya is close to 25 million. Uprising comes third among his albums at 16 million. His entire discography is impressive with Burnin’ and Natty Dread topping 10 million with ease too.

Rastaman Vibration and Survival are the lowest albums in spite of a truly solid 6 million sales a piece. The posthumous Confrontation has a surprising total of 8 million, but this still falls short of the near incredible 11 million sales of Orphan products. There is nothing to throw away.

Born in Nine Mile, a tiny Jamaican village of 300 inhabitants and having grown up in Trenchtown slums, Marley climbed the ladder to become a global icon, his total of 135,5 million equivalent album sales certainly confirms that. Undoubtedly, his impact among the World cultural heritage goes beyond the numbers.

The following pages list his most successful songs as well as his records and achievements. Do not forget to check our amazing cross-artists lists posted inside the CSPC: Data Collector which includes the full listing of all CSPC results compiled so far to better gauge his position in the history of the music industry.

As usual, feel free to comment and / or ask a question!

Sources: IFPI, Spotify, YouTube, Chartmasters.org.