Which artist has sold over 100 million albums around the world?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, British rock band The Beatles are top of the list for best-selling artists worldwide, with 183 million units certified sales. Second is Garth Brooks with over 157 million units sales, followed by Elvis Presley with 139 million units.
- The Beatles – over 257 million certified units. ...
- Elvis Presley – over 206 million certified units. ...
- Michael Jackson – over 169 million certified units. ...
- Madonna – over 164 million certified units. ...
- Elton John – over 159 million certified units.
The Carpenters have sold more than 90 million records worldwide.
Michael Jackson's Thriller, estimated to have sold 70 million copies worldwide, is the best-selling album ever. Jackson also currently has the highest number of albums on the list with five, Celine Dion has four, while the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Madonna and Whitney Houston each have three.
Ed Sheeran is the most-followed male artist, and Ariana Grande is the most-followed female artist. Drake is the most-streamed male artist of all time, and Taylor Swift is the most-streamed female artist of all time.
Elvis Presley (USA) is the best-selling solo artist, with 1 billion sales worldwide (129.5 million in the USA).
Rockers Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks sold the rights to their individual music and their work together in the band Genesis to Concord Music Group Inc. for more than $300 million, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, becoming the latest music legends to cash in on their catalogs for a hefty sum.
Bruce Springsteen sold the rights to his music in a $500 million deal.
Elvis Presley has a whopping 149 songs that have appeared on Billboard Hot 100 Pop Chart. 114 reached the top 40, and 18 songs went to number-one, totaling 80 weeks at the top of the charts. The King of Rock and Roll boasts 54 singles certified by the RIAA with 50 million in sales.
The top selling album of all time in the United States based on certified unit sales is currently the Eagles' Greatest Hits, with 38 million copies sold.
Who sold more than 50 million records?
According to Guinness World Records, Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" (1942) as performed by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies.
During his extraordinary career, Michael Jackson sold more than a billion records worldwide, released 13 No. 1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Over the course of Elvis' life, he achieved some of the highest accolades in music and film. It is estimated that more than one billion Elvis records have been sold worldwide, more than anyone in record industry history.
4 Billion Records owner Thabo Mantshiu said his label welcomed the news. "Spotify will make a difference - our music will be heard, our music will be out there," he said. "With ITunes you need an iPhone, with Spotify you can use any phone, which creates a bigger space.”
- As a musician, Paul McCartney has the most No. 1 albums, with 27. This includes 19 albums from his work with The Beatles, three solo albums and five albums as a part of his 1970s group Wings. ...
- Barbra Streisand is the only artist to have No. 1 albums in six different decades.
Certified Sales: 30.4 Million
Shania Twain is a huge Country crossover artist, merging into the Pop genre. She was so huge at the time that her 1997 album Come On Over is now way up this list.
The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is the best-selling album of all time in the U.S.
It was never a hit single and got almost no play on Top 40 radio. There's even a dispute over the exact title. Yet “It's a Small World,” also known as “It's a Small, Small World” and “It's a Small World (After All),” is very likely the most played song in music history — nearly 50 million times.
- 1 Taylor Swift97%
- 2 Lady Gaga97%
- 3 Justin Bieber97%
- 4 Beyoncé97%
- 5 Adele96%
- 6 Kanye West96%
- 7 Miley Cyrus96%
- 8 Katy Perry96%
1. Paul McCartney (net worth: $1.2 billion) With $1.2 billion to his name, according to Money Inc., Paul McCartney is still the richest of the richest rock stars ever. How did he do it?
Which artist has the biggest record deal?
1. Michael Jackson — $250 million (2010) The deal was signed after Jackson's death, but his estate's contract with Sony Music gives the label rights to his indisputable catalogue, including reissues, as well as any posthumous new releases, like 2014's "Xscape," which managed to land at No. 2 on US charts.
He is the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music and is recognized as the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" by Guinness World Records selling an estimated 1 billion records around the world.
| Position | Artist | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beatles | 600 Million |
| 2 | Elvis Presley | 500 Million |
| 3 | Drake | 413.1 Million |
| 4 | Michael Jackson | 400 Million |
"Midnights" by Taylor Swift
It's already the biggest debut sales week of her career, surpassing "1989." Swift is the only artist in history to have five different albums with million-selling weeks. Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Eminem trail with two apiece.
In terms of numbers, The Beatles have sold 36.5 million more albums in the U.S. than Elvis, yet Elvis sold 25.5 million more singles than The Beatles. Since albums usually contain 10-12 more songs than singles, The Beatles would clearly be the winner in terms of U.S. record sales.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Elvis Presley sold 146.5 million albums, which is 62.5 more than Michael Jackson, who sold 84 million albums. If you ask an Elvis Presley fan, it clearly is Elvis.
Jay-Z's $150 million Live Nation deal in 2008 also made the cut, as did Lil Wayne's $150 million Cash Money deal in 2012. And prior to Drake's historic deal, Michael Jackson held the top spot as having the largest deal in music history, with $250 million going to his estate in 2010 from Sony Music.
Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021.
Michael Jackson is the first musician to earn over $100 million in a year (1989), and has become the top-earning male soloist a record seven times. Dr. Dre currently holds the record for the highest annual earnings for a musician ever, collecting $620 million in 2014.
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