As a Madonna stan I can't help but be a bit jealous of Taylor her longevity.

20 years into her career she's still guaranteed a #1 debut, whereas Madonna 21 years into her career could barely reach top 40 with her lead single What is Taylor doing correctly that Madonna didn't?

I will say I think Music was probably bigger than TLOAS (at least WW), but Madonna had to release a universally acclaimed album for that + never replicated it, whereas Taylor's trajectory doesn't seem to be slowing at all despite poor critical reception

Madonna

23 Years into Her Career

Madonna was never that big. She doesn't even have a General Field Grammy lol.

?

her debut was in 1983 and hung up in 2005

madonna was artistic, thought provoking and broke barriers

mrs k coasts on white mediocracy passing dramatic thesaurus readings as albums

I mean, Madonna was getting top ten hits thirty years into her career, her biggest tour was just a few before that, and the entire Confessions era came later in her career than Taylor currently is so… I think she kept doing fine!

Well for one, Madonna took great creative risks all throughout her career and back than hating on pop music was the popular thing to do unlike now, with Taylor being the biggest beneficiary of poptimism.

Just now, D.M.F said:

Madonna was never that big. She doesn't even have a General Field Grammy lol.

girl get over it already! it's been 23 years since mtv cut you out of the kiss, it wasn't madonna

Because Madonna is a trailblazer. Ageism was a much bigger thing back then and so was backlash for criticizing America (Madonna only got two more hits in the states after American Life, she never quite recovered from it). She took the hate so that artists today can still thrive in their 40s and beyond, and be political with far less pushback.

Taylor's longevity comes from playing it safe and never straying too far from what works. Madonna's came from taking risks. I won't deny Taylor outlasted Madonna commercially, but they are not the same.

Just now, magicfever said:

Well for one, Madonna took great creative risks all throughout her career and back than hating on pop music was the popular thing to do unlike now, with Taylor being the biggest beneficiary of poptimism.

I think this is the best explanation so far. I wish Madonna had released Deeper and Deeper and Hollywood/Nothing Fails as lead singles over the more controversial leads. She would have had better trajectory imo

Edited September 26Sep 26 by iC0NIC

Madonna never played it safe.

6 minutes ago, iC0NIC said:

What is Taylor doing correctly that Madonna didn't?

Nothing. I'd much rather be a Madonna stan in 2003 than a s*iftie in 2026, OOF.

Taylor has more widespread appeal and her fanbase is huge. She's also huge in Asian countries, a space that Madonna's peer Mariah occupied back in the day.

Edited September 26Sep 26 by DaphneGuinness

I loathe numbers stans like you, the actual content is much more important 💀

Edited September 26Sep 26 by Démodé

Madonna 43 years into her career:

Edited September 26Sep 26 by B-Luke

Taylor's success is due to white women.

The reason Madonna gets treated like an 80s fad by straight people is because she became "too gay" for white women after that.

7 minutes ago, Link16 said:

Madonna

23 Years into Her Career

Confessions was big outside the US, but on Billboard it did less well than every Taylor album ever.

Like I feel T13 is sadly guaranteed to be bigger than Confessions was

Edited September 26Sep 26 by iC0NIC

many reasons but a not insignificant one is that 20 years their careers madonna was 45 while taylor is a decade younger.

Edited September 26Sep 26 by teresaguidice

Many restaurants dream of being as big as McDonald's

Isn't Madonna literally pushing 80? She just managed to get another #1 album and is being nominated for awards and even being asked to perform at these ceremonies. I don't know how much more longevity you can ask for.

I don't get the question. Taylor has not suprassed Madonna's longevity. Let's check again when Taylor is 68 years old.

Edited September 26Sep 26 by Margaret

Madonna's MPG run lasted from 1983 to 2009 which is 26 years of consistent global success, which is already incredibly impressive, especially in an era when ageism in the music industry was far more prominent.

Artists like Taylor, Shakira, Beyoncé, etc. may very well have better success in their 50s compared to Madonna because they're benefiting from a different era - one that Madonna helped pave the way for, alongside artists like Cher and Tina Turner, who also achieved major success into their late 40s and 50s.

When Madonna was Taylor's current age, for example, the media was already calling her "old.", and she had to fight against ageism constantly. The standards were simply very different back then.

Edited September 26Sep 26 by Pluto6

Well Madonna also started her career like a decade later into her life than Taylor too, the industry 20 years ago relied much more on label politics and everything to be successful than it does now too. Plus Taylor has played it safe her whole career in comparison. Taylor won't even speak up on the genocide Israel is committing while Madonna was speaking up against the war in the middle east during the Bush administration.

Taylor's fanbase are women who are more loyal stans than gays.

you wanna talk about medoner and taylor

Edited September 26Sep 26 by RideOrDie

She had Confessions and Hung Up, 4 Minutes, etc 20+ years in her career lol what