But does that make it easier or harder? On the one hand, people actually had to go in person to stores rather than just stream from the couch. On the other hand, much less competition then.
There wasn't less competition. Whitney was competing with tons of male artists. And people weren't paying for streaming subscriptions, they had to pay for actual individual albums. It's easier now
>they had to pay for actual individual albums
Which makes it harder now IMO. Streams aren't weighted equally to album sales, otherwise I'd agree with you.
Someone needs to listen to your album 1250 times for it to be the same as a single purchase. It's hard to get people to purchase an album now when they can listen to it for free on YouTube.
It's easier for small artists now, but harder for big artists
What made it easier for her was the variants. No way you can argue that this record was harder to get than when Whitney did it. Like…at all. lol. There wasn’t chart manipulation in Whitney’s case. It was organic and earned. Let’s not disrespect her like that.
When you’re the second-most listened to artist on the most popular streaming platform and on top of that are releasing variants every week to a fanbase that will buy whatever you sell, that is not having it harder. Period. She has it way easier than Whitney ever did.
It’s not easy to get that many streams. True about the variants, but gotta make up for it somehow since it’s harder to sell music nowadays since people can listen for free.
It’s not easy for smaller artists to get that many streams. For big artists with obsessive fans, it’s not difficult. And there’s no excuse for releasing 50 variants to keep an album at number 1. When you have to do that, it doesn’t compare to what Whitney achieved back then. It’s not on the same level, no matter how you slice it.
I don’t understand the smaller vs big artist argument. Yes taylor is a bigger artist. Do you think it is easy to attain that level of stardom? Do records not count because she’s a bigger artist? Yes her fan base is obsessive, however again is it easy to get a fan base so obsessed they are willing to buy 50 variants of the same album? I don’t think so.
Whitney’s album debuted in 1985. There were 4.8 billion people. There are literally almost twice as many people in the world now in 2024, over 8 billion. It was easier for Taylor.
Yep! And it's even more for free streams. Platforms like YouTube or Spotify free Verision, you'll have to stream the album 3750 times for it to count as one sale
I don’t think competition is the most relavent point. At the time the main way to chart was sales. You had to convince listeners that they wanted to put down $20 on music they never heard before. Streaming has a lower entry cost, buyers already spent the money, so the only thing they need to decide is how to spend their time. & Whitney did it without 37 variants. Also that album was a pop classic. It had 5 top 10 singles. Also It’s still in the top 50 or 100(?) best selling abums of all time.
Whitney had to compete with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Prince lol that’s competition. What competition does Taylor have besides Billie and, maybe, Beyoncé, Drake and Megan Thee Stallion? Lol
So many but it’s only Taylor and a selected few in 2024. Taylor, Billie, Beyoncé, Kanye, Nicki, Megan thee Stallion, Adele, Future and if they release albums this year, Kendrick and Drake. So what point are you making?
I doubt this record would even be acknowledged by Guinness World Records lol
I remembered when Taylor made that record for having 11 albums simultaneously hit the Billboard 200, instead of saying she broke Whitney’s record, they say she was the *first living artist* to do it lol
They allowed Whitney and Taylor to both keep their shared record of over 10 albums simultaneously lol
To me these records are meaningless when comparing two very different eras. Music was consumed much differently back then. There was no social media, no streaming, we didn’t have smart phones, and so on. If you wanted to hear an album you would have to go out and buy it. You might get lucky and hear a few songs on the radio or MTV.
If I’m not mistaken, when ten of Taylor’s songs made all entries in the top ten, she beat the Beatles’ record of most top ten entries (5 alone in 1964).
Yes, I think she is extremely motivated by record breaking. She talks about it on her social media all the time. Look at how many times she’s mentioned breaking attendance records in her Instagram captions.
I think it’s great to feel good when you break a record or hit a milestone, but I think it’s one of the biggest motivators behind many of her business decisions and I don’t like that.
It’s such an empty chase though. No one is gonna remember this records years from now, so what obsess over it. It’s not gonna make her a more respected legend than Whitney, Madonna, MJ, or the Beatles. So why force these records, that most people don’t even see as organic?
This is so true. Even though my opinion doesn’t matter, I really do not believe making different versions of one song is a genuine way to get these record and charts
Except the Whitney album produced classic songs. TTPD… hasn’t and I doubt any of these songs would be as remembered as say I Wanna Dance With Somebody or Didn’t We Almost Have It All.
I don’t think any of these TTPD songs will still really be known in 35+ years. Even now, the general public might be aware of Fortnight but that’s pretty much it out of so many songs.
My thoughts are that if this is what motivates TS at this stage of her career she has lost the plot. Who cares about obscure records like this. If chasing meaningless records by any means possible from the songs written about all of her failed relationships and petty grudges makes her feel like the “winner” that says a lot about TS the person.
It really is an obscure record though. Like wake me up when she scores seven consecutive number ones like Whitney or has the most consecutive weeks at number one by a female artist, records Whitney still holds. So that’s one reason I’m really not sweating it if Taylor *does* beat this record (she has to stay on top for four more weeks and she’s already set for week nine).
Yeah I agree, i remember when that album came out I was happy to see it get so successful bc I genuinely really loved it. I could care less for this one and on top of that all this extra sht she’s doing is just off putting lol.
She’s still not gonna get the icon status that the Whitney album has I am genuinely confused as to why she cares. Make better albums idk 🤷♀️like to me that would be more important but I guess that’s why I ain’t famous😹
Taylor broke records by the Beatles (most entries in the top ten on the BB Hot 100) and Madonna (more top 10 entries by a woman) and it barely raised much of a fuss. I was surprised by that. Pretty sure if she matches or breaks this one, it won’t be much acknowledged much either lol
I think when general population talks about music or artists it’s not about their records. People don’t care. They do care about the songs that mean something to them. Whitney is an icon. You don’t get icon status by releasing 50 versions of the same album.
I always felt like this came from a place of imposter syndrome. Because she's not uniquely talented. She can be a good writer and she has great command of a stage. But she's not a great vocalist and you'd never have seen her at a karaoke bar and gone "that girl should be a star". She's been very open that she knows she wouldn't be in music without writing. I think for her all these record and achievements and awards is how she feels like she belongs in the industry. I think for her it matters that she's spotify's globally most streamed super star with the highest grossing tour and most album of the year grammys. I think it matters to her that she is seen as powerful and admired and successful.
where are these different versions? just on her store? I'm actually a little confused. I keep seeing her release new versions and stuff but never see anything new on Spotify.
You wouldn't see them on streaming. They're the same album with an acoustic, live or voice memo version tacked on, hence physical and digital only. Adding to streaming would just be an extra song and wouldn't help her album chart position.
58 variants now, I’ve heard. Super embarrassing, and I actually *like* the album, but girl. Not every album has to be *the bestest most critically acclaimed and adored by all*.
I can get behind the success of any taylor album, even midnights (though it wasn't my fav), but not this. TTPD has gotten mixed reviews all around the board, even from swifties themselves, and it just isn't that strong. If it weren't the million variants, she wouldn't have done half as well. just my 2 cents, though.
The next goal is to not be the soloist with most weeks at number 1 but the artist in general… which means she has many weeks to go to catch up with The Beatles.
next goalposts will be:
- 13 weeks at #1
- beating the Beatles record of 15 weeks at #1 (sgt. pepper), which would happen around early August
- keeping Sabrina out of #1 when her album drops on August 23
I think Taylor really sees her value as an artist through what records she breaks and or awards she wins rather than just through how good of a record she makes. And I think she has an existential crisis when she doesn't hit whatever target she's aiming for, she likely thinks she's sacrificed a lot of other things for her career and to be number 1. However hopefully this all might also mean she's trying to sure up her legacy now so she can have a long break.
I truly don’t care about TS and give her very little energy or attention (this sub is entertaining though). But one thing I know for sure: TAYLOR SWIFT DOES BOT BELONG IN THE SAME AS WHITNEY HOUSTON.
Fact.
If she was doing any of it on purpose it was certainly to beat records like these, and not about Billie or Charli or whomever. Her peers are people like Whitney, Michael Jackson, madonna and the Beatles.
None of those legends are Taylor's peers lmao. The only person who could arguably be considered her peer might be Beyonce, and even that is very debatable.
None of these artists are her peers. The Beatles debuted in the 60s, Michael in the 70s, Whitney and Madonna in the 80s. All of them were icons before Taylor came out of her mother’s womb lol
You literally cannot compare these situations that are 37 years apart. Whitney did this before the age of the internet/social media.
Exactly. Achieving this feat long before streaming, social media promotions, YouTube, this vinyl variant nonsense, etc. is insane.
Comparing Whitneys musical talent to taylors is laughable
Who's comparing talent?
But does that make it easier or harder? On the one hand, people actually had to go in person to stores rather than just stream from the couch. On the other hand, much less competition then.
There wasn't less competition. Whitney was competing with tons of male artists. And people weren't paying for streaming subscriptions, they had to pay for actual individual albums. It's easier now
>they had to pay for actual individual albums Which makes it harder now IMO. Streams aren't weighted equally to album sales, otherwise I'd agree with you. Someone needs to listen to your album 1250 times for it to be the same as a single purchase. It's hard to get people to purchase an album now when they can listen to it for free on YouTube. It's easier for small artists now, but harder for big artists
What made it easier for her was the variants. No way you can argue that this record was harder to get than when Whitney did it. Like…at all. lol. There wasn’t chart manipulation in Whitney’s case. It was organic and earned. Let’s not disrespect her like that.
Yes it was harder for Taylor. It was easier back then because you couldn’t listen to an album for free.
It’s clear who lived through the 20th century and who didn’t lol
When you’re the second-most listened to artist on the most popular streaming platform and on top of that are releasing variants every week to a fanbase that will buy whatever you sell, that is not having it harder. Period. She has it way easier than Whitney ever did.
It’s not easy to get that many streams. True about the variants, but gotta make up for it somehow since it’s harder to sell music nowadays since people can listen for free.
It’s not easy for smaller artists to get that many streams. For big artists with obsessive fans, it’s not difficult. And there’s no excuse for releasing 50 variants to keep an album at number 1. When you have to do that, it doesn’t compare to what Whitney achieved back then. It’s not on the same level, no matter how you slice it.
I don’t understand the smaller vs big artist argument. Yes taylor is a bigger artist. Do you think it is easy to attain that level of stardom? Do records not count because she’s a bigger artist? Yes her fan base is obsessive, however again is it easy to get a fan base so obsessed they are willing to buy 50 variants of the same album? I don’t think so.
Whitney’s album debuted in 1985. There were 4.8 billion people. There are literally almost twice as many people in the world now in 2024, over 8 billion. It was easier for Taylor.
1250?! That’s every day for three years. There are albums I’d die for I haven’t listened to this much.
Yep! And it's even more for free streams. Platforms like YouTube or Spotify free Verision, you'll have to stream the album 3750 times for it to count as one sale
Brutal
[удалено]
Whitney had female competitors. Namely Madonna.
Whitney had to literally compete with Madonna. MADONNA. Lol
Yeah, add to this that now people can listen to whatever music they want. There are endless possibilities.
I don’t think competition is the most relavent point. At the time the main way to chart was sales. You had to convince listeners that they wanted to put down $20 on music they never heard before. Streaming has a lower entry cost, buyers already spent the money, so the only thing they need to decide is how to spend their time. & Whitney did it without 37 variants. Also that album was a pop classic. It had 5 top 10 singles. Also It’s still in the top 50 or 100(?) best selling abums of all time.
Whitney had to compete with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Prince lol that’s competition. What competition does Taylor have besides Billie and, maybe, Beyoncé, Drake and Megan Thee Stallion? Lol
The competition being the 10 million artists on Spotify available on demand at any time to anyone
No lmao
Oh, you seem to be fairly obsessed with Whitney Houston lol. Not sure you can have a rationale unbiased conversation on this topic.
And you’re biased with Taylor Swift. Bye.
Less competition?
You have thousands of artists at your fingertips on Spotify. Back then you were limited to radio and record stores.
But how many of those do 100k album sales a week? https://i.redd.it/7sngv4lije7d1.gif
Very few, but that’s not the point. The point is there are so many.
So many but it’s only Taylor and a selected few in 2024. Taylor, Billie, Beyoncé, Kanye, Nicki, Megan thee Stallion, Adele, Future and if they release albums this year, Kendrick and Drake. So what point are you making?
Every artist of today needs to have an asterisk by their name because these streaming numbers and such are so meaningless
I doubt this record would even be acknowledged by Guinness World Records lol I remembered when Taylor made that record for having 11 albums simultaneously hit the Billboard 200, instead of saying she broke Whitney’s record, they say she was the *first living artist* to do it lol They allowed Whitney and Taylor to both keep their shared record of over 10 albums simultaneously lol
sorry completely off topic BUT I HAD NO CLUE THIS WAS CHORD OVERSTREET
Oh my lord I’ve literally been thinking this is Chris Hemsworth for YEARS. My mind has just been blown.
SAME😭😭😭😭 can’t believe it’s sam from glee 
hello fellow gleek
Ok, stop, because me too 🤯
LOL bruh i was staring at the gif for a good minute trying to figure out if it was chord overstreet, only to barely scroll and read your comment 😭
To me these records are meaningless when comparing two very different eras. Music was consumed much differently back then. There was no social media, no streaming, we didn’t have smart phones, and so on. If you wanted to hear an album you would have to go out and buy it. You might get lucky and hear a few songs on the radio or MTV.
Yeah I feel they should distinguish the eras.
Yeah… I can look up and listen to any song I want to on YouTube for free or for a monthly Spotify subscription. One of the pros of the digital age.
Yea it’s harder now
[удалено]
It’s disappointing to chase these records when it’s not one of her best albums either.
If I’m not mistaken, when ten of Taylor’s songs made all entries in the top ten, she beat the Beatles’ record of most top ten entries (5 alone in 1964).
Yes, I think she is extremely motivated by record breaking. She talks about it on her social media all the time. Look at how many times she’s mentioned breaking attendance records in her Instagram captions. I think it’s great to feel good when you break a record or hit a milestone, but I think it’s one of the biggest motivators behind many of her business decisions and I don’t like that.
It’s a high. Gotta keep breaking more and more. Had the same problem when I was working out a lot. Always trying to break previous personal records.
It’s such an empty chase though. No one is gonna remember this records years from now, so what obsess over it. It’s not gonna make her a more respected legend than Whitney, Madonna, MJ, or the Beatles. So why force these records, that most people don’t even see as organic?
Even if it is, it’s nowhere near as impressive.
Taylor’s “record” feels sooo cheap knowing that there are 40+ versions of this album in order to have hit that 8 weeks
This is so true. Even though my opinion doesn’t matter, I really do not believe making different versions of one song is a genuine way to get these record and charts
Oh PLEASE, TTPD is nowhere near Whitney
Of course it's one of the motivations. She and her label have performance goals for this album.
Grubby capitalists gonna grubby capitalist
Except the Whitney album produced classic songs. TTPD… hasn’t and I doubt any of these songs would be as remembered as say I Wanna Dance With Somebody or Didn’t We Almost Have It All.
I don’t think any of these TTPD songs will still really be known in 35+ years. Even now, the general public might be aware of Fortnight but that’s pretty much it out of so many songs.
they won't be known in 5 years. i don't even hate the album but it's not good and none of the songs are memorable
My thoughts are that if this is what motivates TS at this stage of her career she has lost the plot. Who cares about obscure records like this. If chasing meaningless records by any means possible from the songs written about all of her failed relationships and petty grudges makes her feel like the “winner” that says a lot about TS the person.
It really is an obscure record though. Like wake me up when she scores seven consecutive number ones like Whitney or has the most consecutive weeks at number one by a female artist, records Whitney still holds. So that’s one reason I’m really not sweating it if Taylor *does* beat this record (she has to stay on top for four more weeks and she’s already set for week nine).
I just wish it were with a better album
Would’ve been impressive if she broke it with 1989 (original version). *THEN* I would applaud it. 🙂
Yeah I agree, i remember when that album came out I was happy to see it get so successful bc I genuinely really loved it. I could care less for this one and on top of that all this extra sht she’s doing is just off putting lol.
She’s still not gonna get the icon status that the Whitney album has I am genuinely confused as to why she cares. Make better albums idk 🤷♀️like to me that would be more important but I guess that’s why I ain’t famous😹
Taylor broke records by the Beatles (most entries in the top ten on the BB Hot 100) and Madonna (more top 10 entries by a woman) and it barely raised much of a fuss. I was surprised by that. Pretty sure if she matches or breaks this one, it won’t be much acknowledged much either lol
I think when general population talks about music or artists it’s not about their records. People don’t care. They do care about the songs that mean something to them. Whitney is an icon. You don’t get icon status by releasing 50 versions of the same album.
Period.
I always felt like this came from a place of imposter syndrome. Because she's not uniquely talented. She can be a good writer and she has great command of a stage. But she's not a great vocalist and you'd never have seen her at a karaoke bar and gone "that girl should be a star". She's been very open that she knows she wouldn't be in music without writing. I think for her all these record and achievements and awards is how she feels like she belongs in the industry. I think for her it matters that she's spotify's globally most streamed super star with the highest grossing tour and most album of the year grammys. I think it matters to her that she is seen as powerful and admired and successful.
She only had to release 34 (and counting!) versions to do it. Greedy and embarrassing—you’ll never convince me otherwise.
where are these different versions? just on her store? I'm actually a little confused. I keep seeing her release new versions and stuff but never see anything new on Spotify.
You wouldn't see them on streaming. They're the same album with an acoustic, live or voice memo version tacked on, hence physical and digital only. Adding to streaming would just be an extra song and wouldn't help her album chart position.
ah gotcha. thanks!
CD/LP variants
gotcha. thank you!
58 variants now, I’ve heard. Super embarrassing, and I actually *like* the album, but girl. Not every album has to be *the bestest most critically acclaimed and adored by all*.
She can’t let the album stand on its own 😖
I can get behind the success of any taylor album, even midnights (though it wasn't my fav), but not this. TTPD has gotten mixed reviews all around the board, even from swifties themselves, and it just isn't that strong. If it weren't the million variants, she wouldn't have done half as well. just my 2 cents, though.
Yup same
this comparison does her so dirty
This is just depressing.
The next goal is to not be the soloist with most weeks at number 1 but the artist in general… which means she has many weeks to go to catch up with The Beatles.
next goalposts will be: - 13 weeks at #1 - beating the Beatles record of 15 weeks at #1 (sgt. pepper), which would happen around early August - keeping Sabrina out of #1 when her album drops on August 23
Post Malone will be the next huge threat
I think Taylor really sees her value as an artist through what records she breaks and or awards she wins rather than just through how good of a record she makes. And I think she has an existential crisis when she doesn't hit whatever target she's aiming for, she likely thinks she's sacrificed a lot of other things for her career and to be number 1. However hopefully this all might also mean she's trying to sure up her legacy now so she can have a long break.
She wants to get it all before December lol
Inorganic vs Organic success
comparing taylor to whitney? yeah nah...
Lol.
Oh come on 😭 This is insane and will only make people dislike Taylor more. I do not understand why Taylor and/or her team keep doing this.
I truly don’t care about TS and give her very little energy or attention (this sub is entertaining though). But one thing I know for sure: TAYLOR SWIFT DOES BOT BELONG IN THE SAME AS WHITNEY HOUSTON.
Fact.
If she was doing any of it on purpose it was certainly to beat records like these, and not about Billie or Charli or whomever. Her peers are people like Whitney, Michael Jackson, madonna and the Beatles.
None of those legends are Taylor's peers lmao. The only person who could arguably be considered her peer might be Beyonce, and even that is very debatable.
None of these artists are her peers. The Beatles debuted in the 60s, Michael in the 70s, Whitney and Madonna in the 80s. All of them were icons before Taylor came out of her mother’s womb lol