One of the biggest problems with today’s music industry, or at the least one of the most oft-repeated gripes, is the fact that listeners and labels alike are no longer concerned with longevity.
Artists and bands come and go, as disposable as styrofoam food containers, and labels aren’t interested or simply don’t have the means to invest in an artist’s long-term development.
Still, there’s no lack of big-time artists. Just look at the pop charts and you’ll see names like Adele, Drake, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and The Weeknd. But are they set to stick around?
To use a rather apt cliche: only time will tell. But they certainly have a great number of hits between them and in the case of Adele, she recently took out Top Artist at the Billboard Awards.
The Billboard Music Awards are awarded strictly on a basis of chart performance and they inspired Vox to go ahead and take a look at who the most enduringly popular artists of all time are.
The outlet analysed the weeks between the top 50 Billboard artists’ first and last “peak” in the Hot 100. Some, like Elvis, managed to stick around for decades, but staying power varied greatly.
For example, rock and R&B artists tend to stick around much longer than hip-hop artists, who actually have the shortest lifespans an artist could possible have, thanks to the genre’s constantly shifting style and conventions.
What’s also interesting to note is the impact streaming has on the Billboard chart, since non-single tracks by popular artists often chart when a new album is released.
It’s also important to remember that this is just one measure of ‘popularity’ and that bands who haven’t had a hit in years are still able to bring in a lot of money working the road.
Check out the whole thing via Vox and take a look at the infographic below.
