Bestselling Female Artists of All Time (Top 25)

[suburbannature]

29 minutes ago, Jjang said:

Isn’t BB’s formula merely arbitrary as well though

Madonna is always gonna be #1 either way - it's not that. It's just that Billboard has verified Soundscan and streaming data reported directly to them where Fraudmasters is a literal stan doing estimates with his own formula. SPS was researched for quite a while and is continually adjusted as the industry evolves.  

[Bonicap]

1 hour ago, suburbannature said:

When will atrl stop referencing this fan fiction formula and website

When a better one appears. I don't think there is anybody else tracking pure sales and streams all around the globe.

Edited February 11, 2023 by Bonicap

[unclefloprry]

Nobody will ever peak as high as Britney because we know that 80-90% of those sales are from her first 5 years of career. 

[Trash]

5 minutes ago, unclefloprry said:

Nobody will ever peak as high as Britney because we know that 80-90% of those sales are from her first 5 years of career. 

Celine did like 100m in two years I think 

 

But Britney was also a monster 

[ToMmY]

2 hours ago, byzantium said:

According to Chartmasters

 

 

[Rev8]

10 minutes ago, Bonicap said:

To be fair their formula is 1,500 streams=1 sale and Billboard's formula is 1,250 streams=1 sale (except free streams which are 3,750=1 sale), so there should be no big difference in their estimations.

 

I agree with the part that older acts here are underestimated because their pure sales have not been updated, but I don't think most of them have moved crazy numbers in the last years, unless some reissues have been released. It can't be more than 5M more I'd say.

Tbh that's the thing too, 1.5k dont actually earn 1 sale when it comes from an artist's perspective (not looking at label cuts and w/e)

it's much more complicated than that

Like, u can find sites explaining when how and why u earn a certain amount thanks to certain amount of streams..but even that isn't fully correct or correct at all

It's different for everyone and tbh every month from what I've heard (and earned myself) so it makes it even more tied up than the label/writer/performer cuts

(like, u cant tell me Bad Bunny's 5 year old career - surpassed the whole career of Norah Jones,Alicia Keys,Justin Timberlake,Xtina -without even having 1M album units, which are Bought (album sales,phys/digital singles,LP) but just with streams)

that aside,

Chartmasters doesn't even have their real numbers. His stuff are just estimates

He also chooses what he deems as true sources, which is funny cuz he dismisses a literal artists' team/label-given numbers

Don't get me wrong

I used to love Chartmasters, even if they are estimates- they still somewhat painted the picture

but as streaming is growing, his estimations are too risky for the end result.

 

It's much more logical to separate artists from different music climates imo

[HEAVYONIT]

What is this based off of? Album sales? Because Nicki should be on this list…

[Nip Tuck]

10 minutes ago, Black Jesus said:

What is this based off of? Album sales? Because Nicki should be on this list…

I dont think chartmasters has done the numbers for Nicki yet

[spree]

2 hours ago, Black Jesus said:

What is this based off of? Album sales? 

free streams, jockstrap bundles, and signed digital singles.

[btoafy]

taylor will

surpass Whitney by the end of 2023

surpass Mariah   by the end of 2024

surpass Celine    by the end of 2025

[Bonicap]

3 hours ago, Rev8 said:

It's much more logical to separate artists from different music climates imo

Yeah, clearly, this happens in every field. Movies, sports... whatever. Times change and comparisons are only valid to some extent. If you only count sales as 'physical albums' you are severely underestimating most of the big artists of this century. Drake or The Weeknd would be absolutely irrelevant, for example. And if you put streaming in the formula, 20 years from now the biggest artists of the 80s and 90s would dissappear from the top spots (except Beatles, MJ and some other exceptions), so there is no fair way to do this. 

[Bonicap]

3 hours ago, Rev8 said:

He also chooses what he deems as true sources, which is funny cuz he dismisses a literal artists' team/label-given numbers

I have done a lot of press releases at my job and the label-given numbers are the least source I would trust. I'm sure most of them are counting albums and singles together as if they were the same.

[banterfly]

should add *from chartmasters in the headline. People might think this is legit.

[family.guy123]

Where do they get streaming numbers for platforms that don’t disclose them publicly? 

[Holiest Dreams]

5 hours ago, Yuanyu said:

Good luck 

She doesn’t really need it since she’s actually on track to move more units in 2023 than she did last year and will not slow down for several years to come (if y’all are lucky), but thank you anyway 

 

 

ATRL might implode when Taylor becomes the best selling female artist of all time before the end of the decade. She’s already almost moved more album units this decade than last, the sky is truly the limit 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Holiest Dreams

[spree]

1 hour ago, Holiest Dreams said:

She doesn’t really need it since she’s actually on track to move more units in 2023 than she did last year and will not slow down for several years to come (if y’all are lucky), but thank you anyway 

 

 

ATRL might implode when Taylor becomes the best selling female artist of all time before the end of the decade. She’s already almost moved more album units this decade than last, the sky is truly the limit 

streams aren't sales tho.

[ddddynamite]

2 hours ago, family.guy123 said:

Where do they get streaming numbers for platforms that don’t disclose them publicly? 

Oops, I think of all other issues, this is a major one when it comes to chartmasters

 

[wastedpotential]

2 hours ago, spree said:

streams aren't sales tho.

Such an astute observation. When you manage to find your way back to 2023 with present day opinions on this topic,  please do let us know. 

[Axelios]

3 hours ago, spree said:

streams aren't sales tho.

Then Taylor Swift can easily be considered one of the most dominant artist of all time compared to her peers given that her pure sales are way above any of them. Madonna never had this even at her peak.

Edited February 12, 2023 by Axelios

[Mystic Boy]

Beyoncé coming for the 100M mark

Gaga at #12 in a few months

 

Enya, what a legend

[Solaria]

Chartmasters is fanfiction. Rihanna is the second best selling woman after Madonna as reported by OFFICIAL institutions like Billboard.

 

Chartmasters only favors Swifties, therefore ATRL needs to stop pretending it matters and that it’s accurate. 

[Aramis]

Diana Ross + The Supremes?

[Axelios]

16 minutes ago, Love Again said:

Chartmasters is fanfiction. Rihanna is the second best selling woman after Madonna as reported by OFFICIAL institutions like Billboard.

 

Chartmasters only favors Swifties, therefore ATRL needs to stop pretending it matters and that it’s accurate. 

Rihanna is not the second best selling woman after Madonna and Chartmasters is biased against Taylor if anything.

[Solaria]

10 minutes ago, Axelios said:

Rihanna is not the second best selling woman after Madonna and Chartmasters is biased against Taylor if anything.

Rihanna sits at 250M globally. Mariah sits at 220M globally. Whitney at 200M. You might argue Celine since she’s also sitting at 250M but that still makes Rihanna third

[Blackout2006]

13 hours ago, suburbannature said:

When will atrl stop referencing this fan fiction formula and website