Best-selling music artist

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This article is about best-selling music artists. For other uses, please see the disambiguation page at Best sellers.

This article discusses who is the world's best-selling artist of all-time.

Contents

[edit] Disclaimers

  • The artists below are listed in alphabetical order. Bands are listed by the first letter in their name (not including the article: "a", "an", or "the"), and individuals are listed by last name.
  • All sources of information that are mentioned below obtain information about worldwide record sales from record companies. There is no other official tracking system for worldwide sales.
  • The World Music Awards is the only music awards organisation who based their awards on worldwide record sales. According to their official website, "The world's best-selling recording artists are determined by a thorough enquiry conducted by the organization, which include sales figures and record certifications." However, their databases don't hold a lot of information from the 1950s or 1960s, or sales of uncertified releases.
  • Some record companies claim that their artists are the "best-selling of all time", but this could be just a promotional statement. The same principle applies in the marketing of films and television shows; those statements serve only to attract the public.
  • Figures given for artists should include both albums and singles sales, inclusive of paid digital downloads.

The holder of the title may change in the future, depending upon the fate of each artist's new releases, changes in the sales rates of their back catalogues, and various other factors.

[edit] Artists claimed as the best-selling of all-time

[edit] The Beatles

The Beatles were a British group active from 1962 to 1970, who recorded various musical styles, most commonly known for their pop and rock numbers. Many of their records were best sellers at the time and many still remain on the all-time lists. At times they had multiple albums and singles on charts around the globe. For example, on April 4 of 1964 they held all the top 5 places in the Hot 100 and had 9 of the top 10 singles in the pop charts in Canada. The Beatles have sold 24 multi-platinum albums.

Guinness World Records have claimed The Beatles have the biggest all-times sales for a band. This is based on an accumulative sales figure provided by their record company EMI who claim they have sold over a billion records by 1985[citation needed]. Neither EMI or the Guinness World Records have specified if the 1 billion sales figure is accumulative of each Beatles' solo careers on top of their group sales, or just their group sales. Although The Beatles disbanded in 1970, since that time singles and albums have continued to chart well, especially for a band that has disbanded. Between 1990 and 2005 alone they charted five different Number 1 albums on the UK and US charts.

[edit] Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson is an American R&B, pop and rock artist whose recording career has spanned from 1969 to the present. In 1982, Jackson recorded what has been named the best-selling album of all-time, Thriller, with reported worldwide sales of over 104 million [1] from Guinness World Records.

Michael Jackson's record company Sony BMG has never given an accumulative sales figure for Jackson, but estimates vary for Jackson's top 3 albums as selling between 120 and 160 million alone.[2] It has been estimated by various fan sites that Jackson's accumulative worldwide sales is about 300 million, while in November 2006, Jackson's publicist, Raymone K. Bain, announced that Jackson had sold over 750 million albums and singles worldwide.[3] [4]

Michael Jackson has been awarded numerous honors, including the World Music Awards' Best-selling pop male artist of the Millennium,[5]and on November 14, 2006, The Guinness Book of Records presented Jackson with eight certificates for musical achievements. Among them was an award for being "The most successful Entertainer of all time" for various achievements. He also received an award for being the "Highest paid Entertainer of all time" (he received $125 million in album/singles sales in 1989). Among six of the other certificates for musical achievements, Jackson also received an award for being the "First Entertainer to sell more than 100 million albums outside the US." [6] Jackson is often referred to as the 'King of Pop' by fans and media alike.

From 1964 to 1984, Jackson was also a member of The Jackson 5 (later called "The Jacksons"). Their accumulative worldwide sales have been estimated to be approximately 133 million [11]. Sometimes their sales total is added to Jackson's solo sales total because he was their lead singer from 1968 to 1984 and chief songwriter from 1978 to 1984.

[edit] Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was an American rock, pop, gospel and country singer whose professional career spanned from 1954 until his death in 1977. Posthumously, he has continued to sell records in large numbers, reaching number 1 on both singles and album charts around the world. Presley is reported to have sold over one billion singles and albums, which would make him the biggest-selling solo artist of all time.[7] As of 2006, over a quarter century after his death, Presley still holds the top spot for best selling solo artist in U.S. history, according to the RIAA.[8] Presley has had 149 top 100 singles in the US,[12] and he has also had 150 RIAA-certified gold awards for his albums, EPs and singles, many of which have been certified platinum and multi-platinum, [9] more than any artist in history.

According to the RIAA, 97 of Presley's albums account for his 118.5 million album tally in the US alone. In addition, Presley is due certification for 120 additional albums. He is also credited by the RIAA with sales of 51.5 million singles in the US alone (deriving from 53 of his certified singles), and is due certification for an additional 40 of his singles.[citation needed]

While it is roughly estimated that 60% of Presley's worldwide sales, for singles and albums alike, have been in the United States, this is sometimes disputed as Presley has been reported to sell well over 19 million singles in the United Kingdom, a figure that is more than a third of the US tally. [10]

In 2005 alone, Presley sold in excess of 800,000 singles and 200,000 albums in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] During the same time frame, Presley's albums sold in much greater quantities than his singles (approximately 95% albums) in most of the rest of the world.

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1] Photograph of Guinness World Record for 104 million sales for Thriller
  2. ^ [2] Sony Michael Jackson biography
  3. ^ [3] Statement from Raymone Bain to all fans and fanclubs (31/10/2006 20:27:57)
  4. ^ [4] Message from Raymone Bain RE: World Music Awards
  5. ^ [5] Winners of the World Music Awards - May 2000
  6. ^ [6] Michael Jackson sets world record (video)
  7. ^ [7] Elvis record sales
  8. ^ [8] Elvis Presley Now Best Selling Solo Artist In U.S. History (8 January 2004)
  9. ^ [9] All About Elvis - Gold and Platinum Records
  10. ^ [10]Ultimate UK pop stars (23 February 2004)

[edit] See also

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