charts discussion Why Does Taylor Overtaking Mariah Feel Like a Non-Event?

[Brikenbur]

Taylor Swift surpassed Mariah Carey as Billboard‘s All-Time Top Female Artist, but, why does this accomplishment feel like a non-event?

 

Honestly, I don’t find Billboard achievements even remotely special anymore. Streaming has taken away what made these achievements so special. Nowadays, one song from an album can go viral and based off of the streams of one song can actually make the entire album “sell” 500,000 or 1,000,000 copies. For example, artists can now add songs to their albums via DSP’s to make add sales counts, artists can release several versions of a single and it counts towards sales of one single, etc.

 

However, the main thing is that, streaming is so accessible nowadays and with playlisting etc. that it doesn’t feel like an accomplishment when an artist goes platinum. For instance, all of Mariah’s hit eras [at the time] and knowing of them from either personal experience, YouTube videos, articles, seem a lot more like a movement in time when the entire world was obsessed and out BUYING her music, showing up to sold out arenas, because music was less accessible in those times, whereas Taylor Swift’s eras, excluding Fearless, Red and 1989—don’t.

I think the thing with Taylor is that she does have a great listenable discography full of family-friendly music, music with lyrics that are relatable and palatable for the GP, so her streaming numbers will probably withstand the test of time, but, do her achievements in the streaming era outweigh those of the pre-streaming physical era? 

[Brando]

Because Taylor has been stomping for so long, her achievements are getting boring at this point 

[JawBreaker]

Maybe just maybe because it was an unofficial update? I can assure you the official update will make some noise and she'll have twitter pressed and mad

[spree]

because Mariah is a legend and Taylor is not.  And "units" don't mean anything.  They were invented by Billboard to cover the collapsing sales market.  Otherwise their company would be useless.

[PoisonedIvy]

Thankfully it isn’t a huge story yet because Billboard hasn’t made the official update. When it does, she’s going to be dragged left and right on Twitter  

[KeshaSwift]

People are bothered by her slayage. for exmple: ^

[Brikenbur]

7 minutes ago, Brando said:

Because Taylor has been stomping for so long, her achievements are getting boring at this point 

Nope. This actually is no where near the truth. I feel like Taylor just has a huge/loyal base, but, people outside of that could care less or don’t even know who she [Taylor] is. 

[Toxicity.]

it's an unofficial update lmao

 

either way we know you'll still be fuming when it's made official

 

[Trent W]

Like others have said it hasn’t been official 

 

And we all know she will get dragged but that’s only because Mariah is a legendary singer

 

And the real problem here is that people still put singers over songwriters, and it’s not okay.

 

Taylor is a songwriter, and she’s as good as a songwriter as Mariah was with vocals, so I hope she gets the respect longterm

 

Storytellers can be even more important than singers

 

 

[KMO]

Mariah has also benefitted from streaming in the same ‘artificial’ way you say Taylor has

[Solaria]

I think it's because people hold Mariah, Madonna etc to a different standard (which in a lot of ways I think is justified) as these untouchable legends whose records can never be broken, forgetting that records are meant to be broken. With how streaming has made music consumption much easier, it was bound to happen at one point

Edited July 6, 2022 by Love Again

[Brikenbur]

1 minute ago, Toxicity. said:

it's an unofficial update lmao

 

either way we know you'll still be fuming when it's made official

 

Yes. Me. Someone who prefers and have bought more Taylor albums/singles than Mariah. 
 

[frenchyisback]

Because Taylor feels more like a huge niche artist with a loyal public than GP darling.  

She doesn't really have a lot of general public smash outside of Red & 1989 eras.

 

 

Taylor can be proud of her achievements tho and I gotta respect her discipline.

Edited July 6, 2022 by frenchyisback

[Bang Up]

Because it is a non-event. Everyone knows that TS doesn't touch Mariah in terms of talent, creativity, or artistry. Mariah's rise to fame was organic, TS's was artificial. Mariah had to fight through sexism and racism all throughout her career while TS got to slide on by, by focusing on country music and then switching to pop.

 

It's a non-factor. No one cares.

[kyliefever2002]

cause it is a non event.. 

[Daydream]

I’m sorry but Taylor Swift will never be known as the Queen of Billboard.  That title has been Mariah’s for decades and it will continue to be Mariah’s “till the end of time”.

[Pheromosa]

I mean, the swifties care.

it is a non event for literally everyone else 

[brazil]

Not to take away from Taylor, she's stomping no doubt. But streaming changed the music industry too much. For instance in the past for you to have an album charting for several months it meant mostly different people were buying your album. Nowadays albums charts for so long mainly due to streaming, and streaming can be repetitive. For instance a fan streaming an album every day will count for the long term sales of that album more than once, meanwhile in the cd age, people could listen to an album non-stop they would only count towards the sale of a single album they bought. So the accomplishments feel distinct.

Edited July 6, 2022 by brazil

[Selegend]

People care more about streaming platforms numbers than Billboard. 

So it looks like a non-event cuz it truly is nowadays. Billboard took FOREVER to create a global chart and when they did it they've had already lost it's impact. 

 

For example, Anitta's Envolver went #1 on Billboard Global 200 Excl. US and on Spotify WW

People on social media only cared about it's Spotify #1. 

USA was never the center of the world when it came to discussion about music pop, other countries always took a huge part on talking about it but they used to talk about USA's numbers. Streaming platforms changed that, they've started to talk about WW numbers and Billboard took forever to realise that. 

It's truly just not as relevant as it was before, and thats why it IS a non-event. 

[brazil]

9 minutes ago, Trent W said:

Like others have said it hasn’t been official 

 

And we all know she will get dragged but that’s only because Mariah is a legendary singer

 

And the real problem here is that people still put singers over songwriters, and it’s not okay.

 

Taylor is a songwriter, and she’s as good as a songwriter as Mariah was with vocals, so I hope she gets the respect longterm

 

Storytellers can be even more important than singers

 

 

Mariah is def a better songwriter than Taylor, what you on about. Taylor could nevah debut with self written Vision of Love

[youreyesgocold]

It’s a non event because the only people who care about these kinds of metrics are the stans who want to chuck them out on Twitter and in thread wars in order to prove relevancy and impact. Literally no one in the general public cares (not to mention Billboard’s inability to evolve properly with the times - they are basically irrelevant these days imo). 
 

When Billboard does announce it officially, Taylor will definitely be dragged by the gp, but not because of Mariah’s talent or anything. It will be because the gp sees Taylor as an artist of songs like Shake It Off, ME!, WANEGBT, etc. With a singles catalogue like that, she doesn’t come across as a “serious” artist in comparison to other “legends”, so they will drag her because she will not seem like she’s worthy of records like this.

Edited July 6, 2022 by youreyesgocold

[Headlock]

16 minutes ago, Brikenbur said:

 I feel like Taylor just has a huge/loyal base, but, people outside of that could care less or don’t even know who she [Taylor] is. 

The way y'all keep saying this, at some point, when your hypothesis gets proven wrong over and over, you're supposed to give it up

 

[taylorrrr]

19 minutes ago, Bang Up said:

Because it is a non-event. Everyone knows that TS doesn't touch Mariah in terms of talent, creativity, or artistry. Mariah's rise to fame was organic, TS's was artificial. Mariah had to fight through sexism and racism all throughout her career while TS got to slide on by, by focusing on country music and then switching to pop.

 

It's a non-factor. No one cares.

Your fave pander to country music and don't even see an inch of Taylor's country success. Why? 

[Body Talk]

24 minutes ago, Trent W said:

Like others have said it hasn’t been official 

 

And we all know she will get dragged but that’s only because Mariah is a legendary singer

 

And the real problem here is that people still put singers over songwriters, and it’s not okay.

 

Taylor is a songwriter, and she’s as good as a songwriter as Mariah was with vocals, so I hope she gets the respect longterm

 

Storytellers can be even more important than singers

 

 

Mariah is a songwriter and producer and has been since day one. Educate yourself. 

[sugarysunflower]

Because the eras are just incomparable. It's not to deny either one's huge success.

 

But Billboard should have just started a new chart from 2015-2016 to reflect different consumption habits.