avatarLon Shapiro

Summary

538.com evaluates musical artists' dominance by analyzing their number of U.S. No. 1 singles and weeks at the top, while adjusting for the quality of their music and the strength of their competition during their peak years.

Abstract

The article from 538.com presents a metric for assessing the success of musical artists that focuses on the quality of their music and their dominance in the industry, as measured by the number of U.S. No. 1 singles and the duration they held the top spot. This approach disregards external factors like the impact of Napster on sales and instead highlights the artists' achievements in relation to their contemporaries. The analysis includes a comparison of peak years for several iconic artists: Elvis Presley's dominance in 1956, The Beatles' unprecedented success in 1964, Michael Jackson's reign in 1983, and Taylor Swift's achievements in 2015. It emphasizes the importance of considering the competitive landscape of each artist's era, noting the number of Hall of Famers and the weeks they spent at No. 1. The article concludes by ranking The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Elvis at the top, while suggesting that Taylor Swift's all-time standing may be better assessed with more temporal distance.

Opinions

  • The metric used by 538.com prioritizes the intrinsic quality of an artist's music and their ability to dominate the charts over other factors like sales influenced by platforms like Napster.
  • Elvis Presley's 1956 achievements are acknowledged, but the article points out that his competition was less formidable.
  • The Beatles are recognized for their exceptional performance in 1964, facing stiff competition from multiple Hall of Famers.
  • Michael Jackson's 1983 success is noted, with the article highlighting his competition from other Hall of Famers.
  • Taylor Swift's 2015 success is considered impressive but is contextualized within a competitive field that includes artists like Weekend and Wiz Khalifa.
  • The article's author gives greater weight to songwriters, which influences the ranking of artists.
  • The author expresses that metrics such as social media presence, brand management, and the artist's circle of friends should not be considered when evaluating musical achievement.
  • The author suggests that time may offer a clearer perspective on Taylor Swift's legacy and her standing among the all-time greats.

538.com uses tools that measure how much a performer dominates his peers and adjusts for rule changes that affect numbers (like this article about Messi).

Here’s a simple metric that disregards the effects of Napster (total sales), by focusing solely on the quality of each artist’s music and how much they dominated their competition— U.S. No. 1 singles.

The difference in these numbers is staggering. I include each artist’s competition at the time to give context to both the level of skill and the amount of domination.

1956 Elvis: Four #1 singles, 25 weeks at #1

Elvis was the King, but look at his competition: Gogi Grant (1 song, 6 weeks), Dean Martin (1 song, 5 weeks) Nelson Riddle, Les Baxter (1 song, 4 weeks)

1964 Beatles: Six (6!) #1 singles, 20 weeks at #1, (#1 for 3 1/2 consecutive months with three different songs!!)

The Beatles’ competition includes 5 Hall of Famers: Supremes (3 songs, 10 weeks), Roy Orbison, Animals, Dixie Cups (1 song, 3 weeks), Beach Boys, Four Seasons, Manfred Mann, Mary Wells (1 song, 2 weeks)

1983 Michael Jackson: Three #1 singles (one was a duo with Paul McCartney, just saying’), 16 weeks at #1;

Michael Jackson’s competition includes 2 Hall of Famers: The Police (1 song, 8 weeks), Men at Work (1 song, 8 weeks), Irene Cara (1 song, 6 weeks), Hall & Oaks, Bonnie Taylor and Lionel Richie (1 song, 4 weeks)

2015 Taylor Swift: Two #1 singles, 8 weeks at #1

Swift is only #5 in total weeks at #1, compared to her competition: Weekend (2 songs, 12 weeks), Wiz Khalifa (1 song, 24 weeks), Mark Ronson (1 song, 14 weeks), OMI (1 song, 12 weeks)

I give songwriters more weight than just singers, so my list adjusts accordingly:

  1. Beatles
  2. Michael Jackson
  3. Elvis…

And that’s it.

I’m sorry. Using a performer’s circle of friends, social media networking skills and brand management are not metrics to determine musical achievement. Star power, maybe, but not achievement as a musical artist.

Maybe 15 years from now, we’ll have a little more perspective on Ms. Swift’s all-time standing.

Music
All Time Greats
The Beatles
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