Beyoncé or Taylor Swift – Bigger after 17 years into their careers?

[HeavyMetalAura]

One of them literally sold a million more first week than the other and broke Ticketmaster... like come on now  I much prefer Beyonce but I don't think anyone is bigger than Taylor right now. 

[Relampago.]

Bey culturally but Tay stats wise easily

[Safe&Sound]

Taylor definitely

 

She is like the second/most succesful female artist ever, and probably her challenge is only Madonna

 

But Beyonce's career is phenomenal too

They both are queens

[Aramis]

Beyoncé. I mean, she's Beyoncé.

[Sparkle]

Taylor duh! The poll results and streaming numbers speak for themselves, no further imput needed 

[The Music Industry]

29 minutes ago, Aramis said:

Beyoncé. I mean, she's Beyoncé.

...And?

[Intuition]

Taylor and it's not even close. 

[HappierJealousy]

The one just win her third IFPI global artist awards 

It’s not even close, I simply don’t understand why somebody come in and say something else like can’t they read? Who is bigger is objective and this thread is not about importance, impact or race

[TaylorFantasy]

Both have no Oscars so I know someone else who is bigger 

[Bloo]

Beyoncé feels more culturally successful. But I think Taylor’s stats are generally more impressive. The fact Taylor’s 10th album sold so well 17 years into her career (let alone how insanely well Red TV did) while ST was Beyoncé’s 5th album. Like, if we’re comparing raw stats I think Taylor easily has the edge since it’s insane how she’s been so consistent after so many albums. But, yeah, Beyoncé is just so culturally prominent and influential. That’s a less objective measure, though. 

[TROJAN]

The way people always deflect to Gaga  I’m sure you guys’ careers are bigger than Gaga’s 

 

OT: About equal

[littlebodybigheart]

taylor.

 

but the hive will sit here and tell you about who “feels” bigger, and the “impact!!!”

[unino]

8 hours ago, Kh-Loud said:

The OP is a Liddo! 

/endthread

[elincomprendid]

4 hours ago, *-ChriZ-* said:

Beyonce is a risk taker, Taylor is not.

Beyonce is black, Taylor is not.

Taylor sells more, Bey is more important.

 

Nothing Beyonce has ever done will be as risky as releasing re-recordings of old albums bffr

Also abandoning her hardcore country base was a huge risk so don't lie to yourself

[elincomprendid]

The fact that all replies justifying beyonce is about how big she "feels" and never factual data says enough about what's the real answer

[FailSafe]

Taylor Alison Swift is the biggest musician of the 21st Century.

[besaid]

Beyonce cannot compare with Taylor and is leagues below her in commercial power and has been since the bush administration. 

[AxelFox]

9 hours ago, SlowGinFizzzz said:

Hard to tell because they're such different artists. I will say that as someone who doesn't stan Taylor and also didn't stan Beyoncé yet back then, it has been much easier to "avoid" Taylor/the Midnights era. Meanwhile Self-Titled was all over the internet and media, even non-fans talked about it a lot simply because of the novel way she dropped it and all the visuals etc. Plus, it's this album with which she managed to catapult herself from "icon" tier right into her own kind of category. Like, she's not just a singer or performer, she's not even "just" a legend, she's Beyoncé. She's a (pop-)cultural phenomenon that rivals MJ and Madonna.

 

On the other hand, when looking just at stats and numbers (both streaming and touring), Taylor definitely wins this battle.

 

So yeah, I guess it really depends on the perspective from which you look at it. Ultimately my vote still goes to Beyoncé, though. 

Very well articulated, I agree. 

[unclefloprry]

Sales: Taylor
Streams: Taylor
Views: Taylor
Awards: Taylor
Tours: Taylor
But Beyoncé acc to her marketing machine and the US media. 

[foreverwinter13]

Taylor recently had her biggest album since 1989. So Taylor

[Jjang]

According to CM Bey’s first 17 year’s career total is around 127m. That’s not too far from Taylor’s and becomes less significant once you consider Bey’s greater cultural impact 

[Axelios]

2 minutes ago, Jjang said:

According to CM Bey’s first 17 year’s career total is around 127m. That’s not too far from Taylor’s and becomes less significant once you consider Bey’s greater cultural impact 

But Taylor first 17 year's albums are still gaining a significant amount of units each year though. So they're not really that close.

[Jynx]

Taylor aka the biggest female artist of all time. 

[*-ChriZ-*]

4 hours ago, elincomprendid said:

Nothing Beyonce has ever done will be as risky as releasing re-recordings of old albums bffr

Also abandoning her hardcore country base was a huge risk so don't lie to yourself

Oh cmon, that cash grab being risky when beforehand she made sure everyone felt sorry for her? 

 

I stand by what I said: It's like comparing Aretha to Celine. One sells more, the other is clearly bigger and more impactful. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by *-ChriZ-*

[Jude]

Obviously Taylor.