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Top 500 most-streamed artists of 2020


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6 hours ago, steady75 said:

 Honestly fuck that guy who leaked it because he's an absolute arsehole who is probably partly responsible for her commercial decline. He took the wind right out of her sails at a time that was so critical to the next portion of her career. Imagine working on what equates to a triple album all songs considered and having the lot leak. Arsehole. Madame X saw her retreating into herself and so much seems to have changed in the last five years. It seemed to just deflate her

 

True ref the leak of the original version of Rebel Heart produced by Avicci - must have totally threw her and the decisions that followed to change the mixes took the album and era off course

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steady75

For the biggest selling female artist in the world 428 is utterly appalling. There's no beating around the bush here. Rebel Hearts leak definitely made a big dent in her streaming numbers and sales numbers when streaming was just coming into it's own. I think Rebel Herat was the number 2 most illegal downloaded album of the year from what I remember. Second to this the singles and remixes have been absent for the best part of 15 years from the platform and there have been no re-editions and

Prayer

Well, Bowie and Prince are dead. Sadly, that always helps. And Prince has had countless legacy releases since he passed away. Madonna's streaming numbers are not excellent but they're not tragic either. It's a combination of her fans being more old school and not consuming her music on streaming, and her legacy not being taken care of until recently. We've talked about it many times but her back catalogue on Spotify and Apple Music is a mess with wrong versions and different volumen betweee

Karma

Not to dimiss Elton's amazing achievements but let's keep in mind he had less Spotify listeners than Madonna before "Rocketman". His streaming numbers increased exponentially after that movie and the Diamonds compilation is his first platinum-certified album in the U.S since the 2000's. This is why the upcoming Madonna biopic is such a big deal, it has the potential to redefine her legacy for decades to come - let's hope for the best outcome. On-topic, this is an U.S based list, so I'm

25 minutes ago, MDNA22 said:

True ref the leak of the original version of Rebel Heart produced by Avicci - must have totally threw her and the decisions that followed to change the mixes took the album and era off course

It absolutely threw her off. She had to pull everything up to try to jump on all the leaks before it destroyed the whole album. Living for Love probably would've impacted better chart-wise had it come out the same time as the Grammy and BRIT performances and not a month before, same with Ghosttown. Bitch I'm Madonna probably wouldn't have been a single if the other two didn't underperform. 

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15 hours ago, steady75 said:

Rebel Heart is genuinely brilliant. Bloated yes but after the leak of the Avicci Heart demo and then the first six tracks of the album released on iTunes I genuinely thought fuck me she's back. Hearing those first six songs on the album gave me the feels of listening to her best albums for the first time. The quality was just there the ambition. the production, the messages the attitude, the front cover artwork. I was floored. Some of those tracks haven't stayed with me as long as I'd have liked but she really knocked it out of the park and I think had they gone with Avicci Heart as lead she'd have had a genuine hit and the album would have sold shit loads. Honestly fuck that guy who leaked it because he's an absolute arsehole who is probably partly responsible for her commercial decline. He took the wind right out of her sails at a time that was so critical to the next portion of her career. Imagine working on what equates to a triple album all songs considered and having the lot leak. Arsehole. Madame X saw her retreating into herself and so much seems to have changed in the last five years. It seemed to just deflate her. ...but I digress, Rebel Heart is a brilliant brilliant album up there with her best.

Yes! :clapp: Rebel Heart is a great album. Easily her best since Confessions.

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Isn’t the actual driving force behind this simply that people don’t like Madonna? Does that matter if you like her? In the US, Madonna is seen as embarrassingly elitist and narcissistic. Again, the irony is that it didn’t stop half the country voting for a man for exactly the same qualities. 
 

Madonna will have her resurgence at some point in the future, but for now she is still in deconstructionist mode. 

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Oh God do people still listen to Drake? His music is so ridiculously mundane even by rap standards. And how does NBA Youngboy have so many streams when he only has 1 Top 10 hit in the US? 

Anyway on to talented artists: I'm not surprised that Mariah's streaming numbers are so big, although most of them probably come from her Xmas song lol. Objectively speaking, Madonna's numbers are actually really bad. I mean I know she didn't release new music in 2020, but still.

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2 hours ago, Nahual said:

Oh God do people still listen to Drake? His music is so ridiculously mundane even by rap standards. And how does NBA Youngboy have so many streams when he only has 1 Top 10 hit in the US? 

Anyway on to talented artists: I'm not surprised that Mariah's streaming numbers are so big, although most of them probably come from her Xmas song lol. Objectively speaking, Madonna's numbers are actually really bad. I mean I know she didn't release new music in 2020, but still.

Toosie Slide was one of the biggest hits of 2020. I’m not posting in defense of Drake, but we can’t all just declare that because someone isn’t to our personal taste that their popularity should be dismissed. He’s the biggest pop star in the world!

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Again and again, Madonna isn't only happening on streaming platforms. Her music is alive, unlike Prince's and David Bowie's. I f***ing heard Crave ? at the supermarket this afternoon. Her hits are still all over the place. Here in France, they're played in every other fashion and reality tv show.  People still have her CDs in the car, listen to the vinyl they bought: her legacy is much more present in each one's everyday life than the social media would manifest. It might ask the question of the her relevancy in 500 years, but surely not in the next decades.

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I don't stream. I don't even have a streaming app. I'm part of the problem, I just love having my vinyl and CDs and MP3 playlists. It sucks, because I'm not helping the situation.

That said, if she re-released her albums with deluxe features (even a few) and re-released them again in a few more years to remind people they still exist, I'd participate in that.

Fleetwood Mac re-releases Rumours with EVEN more new features every year or two, it's insane, but their fans must love it (not all) .. 

I was looking up The Pretenders on iTunes yesterday and noted that all of their albums (that I saw at least) had original releases and deluxe re-releases with bonus material. 

Yet, sad Panda Madonna does not .. and it super sucks that they're only releasing her old singles now to iTunes or other digital platforms. Because of that ignorance to get them loaded, there has been 20-25 years of bad quality file sharing .. 

And now even I don't need to download these (because I own all the original releases on CD/vinyl), but maybe what she should do is get them all loaded, and then in a year or two, expand each them with a live cut, unreleased bonus mixes, instrumentals, etc. 

She's lazy or she doesn't understand how it works. You have to nurture and care for the catalog. Just because it's Madonna and it was incredibly successful once doesn't mean people remember it. You have to continuously put it back in their face. 

And her defiance to play hits during tours or be a legacy touring artist turns the casual fans off. They don't care about Madame X - they want to forget about work for a few hours with their girlfriends, with an expensive plastic glass of chardonnay and hear Borderline and Vogue and Into The Groove. They don't want to learn anything or feel like they are at a political convention. They really fucking DO not. 

Every single tour put out on VHS/DVD/laserdisc can have an audio release at this point. 

And I know Mariah rules Christmas, but why isn't Madonna's management pushing Santa Baby? It's fucking retro and adorable and we all know and love it. I swear they should re-release it next year for Black Friday Record Store Day on a picture disc, and then digitally with the album version, an instrumental and maybe a cute updated remastered quality remix. FUCK .. go for it. 

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I'm genuinely curious - where does the idea Madonna fans don't like to stream comes from?

Also, re: the deluxe editions thing - Madonna's proven time and time again that she does not care about preserving her legacy; and neither did Warner once she left them, I'm still (pleasantly) shocked and confused about all these maxi-singles and HD video remasters we got last year, I have to assume some homosexual at Warner stole some master tapes and took it upon himself with no warning to Guy and M.

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20 hours ago, vncsmoraes said:

I'm genuinely curious - where does the idea Madonna fans don't like to stream comes from?

Also, re: the deluxe editions thing - Madonna's proven time and time again that she does not care about preserving her legacy; and neither did Warner once she left them, I'm still (pleasantly) shocked and confused about all these maxi-singles and HD video remasters we got last year, I have to assume some homosexual at Warner stole some master tapes and took it upon himself with no warning to Guy and M.

I believe the idea that M fans do not stream is because her streaming numbers are so low compared to similarly successful acts from around the same time (give or take). 

She's also not reaching new fans.

The reason this is distressing, and prompted the conversation, is because she could easily fix this situation through a string of re-releases, some additional bonus materials, new/modern remixes, and of course the upcoming film. It could do the same thing it has done to Elton or Queen's streaming and the renewed interest in their back catalog. 

A person (and not just a homosexual) at WB cannot simply load M's back catalog of remix/single/EPs .. it's much more complicated than that. The fact that it is happening is very good news. We need to see it continue at the most basic level and then expand on that with her full catalog and then a series of reissues with deluxe versions and remasters, which will prompt her fanbase to re-purchase ... and push her songs back up to the top of streaming charts at the tier she should always be, not near the sad level she is at right now (basically forgotten).

A hits tour or a new greatest hits collection will also remind casual (and new) fans of Madonna's wide catalog and put that material back in front of them. There's so much material in the world that if you're not putting it in front of people on a regular or semi-regular basis, you will never be top-of-mind and they'll just spend the money one someone else. 

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I was happy with my Iphone and my Itunes, then I was really tired of Apple and decide to explore Android, and bought a new phone. I realised that I really liked my previous Itunes and the way that I organised it. 

Having all the mp3 on different folders on Android is a little tacky, but is still doing it on your way. 

Spotify / Streaming was the logical next step for me, and I had a discussion with one friend about it. He told me: 'We are 36, we were buying original music and downloading everything all our life - what's the point to pay again for renting the same things that we already have? - I can understand if a young boy starts from 0, will prefer Spotify, but not us'.

And I think that's the main subject with Madonna's fans: we have everything, we organised it as we wanted, and we don't want to pay every month for renting her catalog, wich sometimes is incomplete, bad labeled etc etc. Also, how many times did we change the format? Vinyl, tape, VHS, DVD, BluRay, CD, downloads, now streaming, tomorrow who knows! 

Another thing is the general public: they don't feel apealed to listen to her material for free for some reason, and this is her fault / management. 

 

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4 hours ago, nito84bcn said:

I was happy with my Iphone and my Itunes, then I was really tired of Apple and decide to explore Android, and bought a new phone. I realised that I really liked my previous Itunes and the way that I organised it. 

Having all the mp3 on different folders on Android is a little tacky, but is still doing it on your way. 

Spotify / Streaming was the logical next step for me, and I had a discussion with one friend about it. He told me: 'We are 36, we were buying original music and downloading everything all our life - what's the point to pay again for renting the same things that we already have? - I can understand if a young boy starts from 0, will prefer Spotify, but not us'.

And I think that's the main subject with Madonna's fans: we have everything, we organised it as we wanted, and we don't want to pay every month for renting her catalog, wich sometimes is incomplete, bad labeled etc etc. Also, how many times did we change the format? Vinyl, tape, VHS, DVD, BluRay, CD, downloads, now streaming, tomorrow who knows! 

Another thing is the general public: they don't feel apealed to listen to her material for free for some reason, and this is her fault / management. 

 

Spotify is also very general public/general music consumer orientated. I know some hyper fans (not only Madonna's) who listen to everything 100% on streaming, but it's not the general rule for older artists.

Personally, I like a little bit of everything. I use Spotify but I still buy music on iTunes (and physical when I can) to support the artist and tag it the way I like, etc. etc. I know Madonna doesn't need money but I still feel is the right thing to do. :laughing: Of course streaming is here to stay and maybe some day we'll just be forced to use it cause it's the only or best option available.

The thing is: she needs to connect with the general audiences again. That middle age lady who used to love Madonna's music but doesn't care for her since "Confessions"; the general music fan who respects giants like her; the young music fan discovering old music. She needs to remember people how brilliant her back catalogue is. Remastering her videos and getting classic maxis/EPs available on digital is a step in the right direction. And of course the biopic can do wonders for her.

I'm sorry to bring out Kylie again but she went from 1/2 million monthly listeners on Spotify last year to 17 million at the moment (and of course not all those are hardcore Kylie fans). Of course her remix with Dua Lipa has helped and also her Christmas hits, but her team has been great in getting the general public in with the campaign of her last album.

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4 minutes ago, Prayer said:

Spotify is also very general public/general music consumer orientated. I know some hyper fans (not only Madonna's) who listen to everything 100% on streaming, but it's not the general rule for older artists.

Personally, I like a little bit of everything. I use Spotify but I still buy music on iTunes (and physical when I can) to support the artist and tag it the way I like, etc. etc. I know Madonna doesn't need money but I still feel is the right thing to do. :laughing: Of course streaming is here to stay and maybe some day we'll just be forced to use it cause it's the only or best option available.

The thing is: she needs to connect with the general audiences again. That middle age lady who used to love Madonna's music but doesn't care for her since "Confessions"; the general music fan who respects giants like her; the young music fan discovering old music. She needs to remember people how brilliant her back catalogue is. Remastering her videos and getting classic maxis/EPs available on digital is a step in the right direction. And of course the biopic can do wonders for her.

I'm sorry to bring out Kylie again but she went from 1/2 million monthly listeners on Spotify last year to 17 million at the moment (and of course not all those are hardcore Kylie fans). Of course her remix with Dua Lipa has helped and also her Christmas hits, but her team has been great in getting the general public in with the campaign of her last album.

Madonna did a duet with Dua Lipa too, but it didn't make her any favours. Oh, I forgot: Kylie appeared on Dua Lipa's online concert, but Madonna didn't appear anywhere. 

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On 1/19/2021 at 2:28 PM, Prayer said:


I'm sorry to bring out Kylie again but she went from 1/2 million monthly listeners on Spotify last year to 17 million at the moment (and of course not all those are hardcore Kylie fans). Of course her remix with Dua Lipa has helped and also her Christmas hits, but her team has been great in getting the general public in with the campaign of her last album.

Kylie shouldn't be an example to M tbh, just yesterday alone K lost some 2.8 Million monthly listeners on Spotify, and the number is still going down, now she's at 9.8M overall (#444 WW) , her promo was intense but basically in the UK only -and some in Australia- effectively pigeonholing herself to these 2 markets , it has done next to nothing elsewhere. So when you mention the GP I assume you must be thinking about the GP mostly in the UK.

Much like Mariah (#10 WW on Spotty back in Dec and she's at #129 WW) , the vast majority of K's streams came and went with the season.

Madonna went from #300 back in Dec to # 242 WW now and her streams have been rather constant even if her Santa Baby didn't do anything this past xmas season and with no new album out for a while now and of course minimal promo.

M's streams do need a lot of improvement yeah and we've yet to see what her "team" will do about that

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