poll Bigger career: Taylor Swift or Britney Spears?

[Mystic Boy]

The landslide

[Miss Show Business]

Comparisons like these drive me insane because there is FAR more nuance and complexity than ATRL cares to discuss when you compare completely different artists and people who are performing in different time periods.

 

Excuse me for going on a RANT here... Read if you please. Or don't.
 

Spoiler

At the end of the day, Ms. Swift doesn't have the iconic looks, performances, and videos, that Britney does. BOMT, Oops, and Toxic alone are more iconic on their own than ANY Taylor song.

 

Taylor's success is different for a lot of reasons. For one, she started her career as a country artist pre-streaming. Her sales, pre streaming, always demonstrated she had a healthy and active fanbase. Her sales, however, didn't usually rack up to anything that was out of the ordinary. Having good sales, it was a very smart move to switch to pop, but this also introduced new audiences to her and gave her yet another opportunity to grow as an artist. Taylor really didn't start racking up numbers till streaming was in full force, and this makes more sense because with streaming, every time you listen gets counted... A fanbase endlessly streaming their favorite artists catalogue is going to rack up sales much in the same way fans used to buy multiple copies of CDs, but with streaming? We've seen many examples how easy it is to manipulate, but even without manipulation, counting nearly every stream from DEDICATED fanbases gives fans more power than they ever had before.

 

If Spotify existed in 1998? Britney's numbers would be insanity. Unless you were Britney, NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, or otherwise, a legend/vet like Madonna and Mariah Carey, most artists were not, ESPECIALLY teenaged artists with their debut albums, selling the amount of albums BOMT and Oops sold. BOMT would be, what, 15 or 16× platinum eligible potentially with updated certs? The amount of albums she sold then was unprecedented by a solo teenage artist, and it still hasn't been matched, even with streaming and it's benefits I described above.

 

This isn't even factoring in just how ICONIC the schoolgirl and catsuit videos were and are. This isn't even factoring in the ICONIC performances, most famously the snake performance at the VMAs. That's something Swift lacks when it comes to being a popstar: she does not have any memorable looks, videos, or performances.

 

Additionally, Taylor has had the privilege of, at least to my knowledge, living most of her life without any mental illnesses. Taylor was not involuntarily placed into an extreme and abusive conservatorship that arguably tampered her creative integrity. Taylor did not have to battle the abusive tabloid press and paparazzi like Britney had to... Much of Taylor's career happened alongside the advent of social media. Taylor Swift has had the luxury of having the time, opportunities, support of her family financially, mentally, and professionally, etc, of being able to grow professionally as an artist and peak artistically over a decade into her career due to the absence of interpersonal conflicts caused either by mental illness or family dysfunction.

 

Thus, it is outrageously unfair and futile to compare these two artists. They are far too different for a fair comparison to be made. Both have and lack different strengths... But most arguably, Britney's interpersonal struggles make ANY career comparison to someone like Swift, enormously unfair.

[Diocles]

Spears is a 90’s fad so Taylor wins by default. 

[VioletsandRoses]

Taylor made it past 5 years and serves quality albums 

Edited April 19, 2023 by VioletsandRoses

[Rihannito]

On 4/18/2023 at 5:11 AM, Trent W said:

Oh Z-lists, Halsey is the only one that has a relevant career who has also stanned/supported Britney.

 

The only relevant person Taylor has influenced is Olivia and as I already said she made her hate her after coming after her.

 

God I don’t wanna come as a Taylor hater since Im a fan but some of her fans are soooo soo delusional

They are giving me monsters circa 2009/2010.

[shyboi]

3 hours ago, Miss Show Business said:

Comparisons like these drive me insane because there is FAR more nuance and complexity than ATRL cares to discuss when you compare completely different artists and people who are performing in different time periods.

 

Excuse me for going on a RANT here... Read if you please. Or don't.
 

  Reveal hidden contents

At the end of the day, Ms. Swift doesn't have the iconic looks, performances, and videos, that Britney does. BOMT, Oops, and Toxic alone are more iconic on their own than ANY Taylor song.

 

Taylor's success is different for a lot of reasons. For one, she started her career as a country artist pre-streaming. Her sales, pre streaming, always demonstrated she had a healthy and active fanbase. Her sales, however, didn't usually rack up to anything that was out of the ordinary. Having good sales, it was a very smart move to switch to pop, but this also introduced new audiences to her and gave her yet another opportunity to grow as an artist. Taylor really didn't start racking up numbers till streaming was in full force, and this makes more sense because with streaming, every time you listen gets counted... A fanbase endlessly streaming their favorite artists catalogue is going to rack up sales much in the same way fans used to buy multiple copies of CDs, but with streaming? We've seen many examples how easy it is to manipulate, but even without manipulation, counting nearly every stream from DEDICATED fanbases gives fans more power than they ever had before.

 

If Spotify existed in 1998? Britney's numbers would be insanity. Unless you were Britney, NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, or otherwise, a legend/vet like Madonna and Mariah Carey, most artists were not, ESPECIALLY teenaged artists with their debut albums, selling the amount of albums BOMT and Oops sold. BOMT would be, what, 15 or 16× platinum eligible potentially with updated certs? The amount of albums she sold then was unprecedented by a solo teenage artist, and it still hasn't been matched, even with streaming and it's benefits I described above.

 

This isn't even factoring in just how ICONIC the schoolgirl and catsuit videos were and are. This isn't even factoring in the ICONIC performances, most famously the snake performance at the VMAs. That's something Swift lacks when it comes to being a popstar: she does not have any memorable looks, videos, or performances.

 

Additionally, Taylor has had the privilege of, at least to my knowledge, living most of her life without any mental illnesses. Taylor was not involuntarily placed into an extreme and abusive conservatorship that arguably tampered her creative integrity. Taylor did not have to battle the abusive tabloid press and paparazzi like Britney had to... Much of Taylor's career happened alongside the advent of social media. Taylor Swift has had the luxury of having the time, opportunities, support of her family financially, mentally, and professionally, etc, of being able to grow professionally as an artist and peak artistically over a decade into her career due to the absence of interpersonal conflicts caused either by mental illness or family dysfunction.

 

Thus, it is outrageously unfair and futile to compare these two artists. They are far too different for a fair comparison to be made. Both have and lack different strengths... But most arguably, Britney's interpersonal struggles make ANY career comparison to someone like Swift, enormously unfair.

 

Thank you! There are smart users in this forum after all.

[Solaria]

12 hours ago, Miss Show Business said:

Comparisons like these drive me insane because there is FAR more nuance and complexity than ATRL cares to discuss when you compare completely different artists and people who are performing in different time periods.

 

Excuse me for going on a RANT here... Read if you please. Or don't.
 

  Hide contents

At the end of the day, Ms. Swift doesn't have the iconic looks, performances, and videos, that Britney does. BOMT, Oops, and Toxic alone are more iconic on their own than ANY Taylor song.

 

Taylor's success is different for a lot of reasons. For one, she started her career as a country artist pre-streaming. Her sales, pre streaming, always demonstrated she had a healthy and active fanbase. Her sales, however, didn't usually rack up to anything that was out of the ordinary. Having good sales, it was a very smart move to switch to pop, but this also introduced new audiences to her and gave her yet another opportunity to grow as an artist. Taylor really didn't start racking up numbers till streaming was in full force, and this makes more sense because with streaming, every time you listen gets counted... A fanbase endlessly streaming their favorite artists catalogue is going to rack up sales much in the same way fans used to buy multiple copies of CDs, but with streaming? We've seen many examples how easy it is to manipulate, but even without manipulation, counting nearly every stream from DEDICATED fanbases gives fans more power than they ever had before.

 

If Spotify existed in 1998? Britney's numbers would be insanity. Unless you were Britney, NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, or otherwise, a legend/vet like Madonna and Mariah Carey, most artists were not, ESPECIALLY teenaged artists with their debut albums, selling the amount of albums BOMT and Oops sold. BOMT would be, what, 15 or 16× platinum eligible potentially with updated certs? The amount of albums she sold then was unprecedented by a solo teenage artist, and it still hasn't been matched, even with streaming and it's benefits I described above.

 

This isn't even factoring in just how ICONIC the schoolgirl and catsuit videos were and are. This isn't even factoring in the ICONIC performances, most famously the snake performance at the VMAs. That's something Swift lacks when it comes to being a popstar: she does not have any memorable looks, videos, or performances.

 

Additionally, Taylor has had the privilege of, at least to my knowledge, living most of her life without any mental illnesses. Taylor was not involuntarily placed into an extreme and abusive conservatorship that arguably tampered her creative integrity. Taylor did not have to battle the abusive tabloid press and paparazzi like Britney had to... Much of Taylor's career happened alongside the advent of social media. Taylor Swift has had the luxury of having the time, opportunities, support of her family financially, mentally, and professionally, etc, of being able to grow professionally as an artist and peak artistically over a decade into her career due to the absence of interpersonal conflicts caused either by mental illness or family dysfunction.

 

Thus, it is outrageously unfair and futile to compare these two artists. They are far too different for a fair comparison to be made. Both have and lack different strengths... But most arguably, Britney's interpersonal struggles make ANY career comparison to someone like Swift, enormously unfair.

The most nuanced and mature answer I've seen in this thread. Thank youf or exactly putting my thoughts into words

[ethansdelicate]

On 4/16/2023 at 6:57 AM, Cleanromantic said:

Taylor in every way possible. I understand the Britney stans already melting down though, she should be compared to artists who had a similar typical pop star shelf life like Katy and Gaga and not with someone on Taylor's level.

If you compare the albums released 8 years into their careers we have 1989... and then we have blackout and Joanne which add for a miserable 9m sales and are lucky to pull 1m daily streams combined

 

now watch a legion of gay men older than Taylor herself come out of the woodwork talking about "impact" 

Edited April 19, 2023 by ethansdelicate
adding concise information

[ReH2o]

[Vixen Eyes]

truthfully, idk. britney's career was big on arrival and slowly declined over time (sadly)

and taylor's career only gains momentum every year

[Wewee]

On 4/18/2023 at 4:59 PM, Monkey_Juice said:

 

 

Like I said Toxic > Taylor Swift

 

What king of delusion is this ? 

[toxicgenie]

On 4/17/2023 at 5:04 PM, Badgalbriel said:

Melanie went top 3 because of pure sales

But Taylor's fanbase is big enough to do that and more, which is my point. Even if the GeePee moves on to the new "it" girl. Her fanbase can still keep Taylor relevant, because they have the ability to, unlike pop girls from before.

[TheHiveMind]

On 4/18/2023 at 10:59 AM, Monkey_Juice said:

Sorry but I don't believe in scientology or whatever you, Taylor and the swifties are into.

 

Like I said Toxic > Taylor Swift

 

Comments like this is why Britney has been losing against everyone except Katy. 
 

 

20 hours ago, Mystic Boy said:

The landslide

I screamed! lol

[Breathe On Moi]

Just now, TheHiveMind said:

Comments like this is why Britney has been losing against everyone except Katy. 
 

you act like this means anything or as if this validates you somehow  this is ATRL, no one cares and moves on 

[PerfectSacrifice]

I really don't understand the comparison like...They're just two completely different types of artists

[Phaunzie]

Here are some of treats for everyone. Hope

you enjoy them.

[Unknown User]

Taylor

[TouchinFree]

Britney's first era alone is bigger than any Tay swift era. ATRL is just high on Tay's current success. 

[Wewee]

2 hours ago, TouchinFree said:

Britney's first era alone is bigger than any Tay swift era. ATRL is just high on Tay's current success. 

 the delusion 

[TouchinFree]

1 hour ago, Wewee said:

 the delusion 

Self awareness is key. It's a start for you. 

[WildHeart]

4 hours ago, TouchinFree said:

Britney's first era alone is bigger than any Tay swift era. ATRL is just high on Tay's current success. 

Just like 21 is bigger than any Madonna era, TFM is bigger than any Mariah era etc 

[Unknown User]

Taylor obv. Anyone saying anything else is smoking extremely cheap crack

[C-Amber]

Taylor is bigger in career in general. But Britney had bigger pop culture impact, the entire end 90s and early 2000s pop culture was unrivalled and can't be compared to any time else, it was something special, peak of tabloids, peak of scandals, peak of pop drama, peak of fashion iconic moments. 

[shyboi]

On 4/19/2023 at 3:39 PM, Love Again said:

The most nuanced and mature answer I've seen in this thread. Thank youf or exactly putting my thoughts into words

[shyboi]

On 4/20/2023 at 1:51 AM, PerfectSacrifice said:

I really don't understand the comparison like...They're just two completely different types of artists

 

both american sweethearts only Taylor slightly less iconic (slightly) both beautiful queens tbh