Talk:List of best-selling music artists

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Talk:List of best-selling music artists/Artists

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It is essential to provide reliable sources when editing this article. For examples, see the references section. Unsourced or unreliably sourced additions will be removed immediately.

The list is frequently edited in good faith to update the certified sales figures; however, claimed sales figures need to be supported by reliable sources, preferably from news organizations.

Artists with claimed sales figures below 75 million may not be added to the list.

Whilst we encourage editors to be bold, it is highly recommended to discuss changes on this talk page before editing.

Below you can get an understanding as to when certifications for songs are added to the total certified sales of the listed artists.

One lead artist and one featured artist. (The issued certification(s) should be added to the total of both, the lead artist and the featured artist as both will have almost equal amount of part).
Two lead artists. (The issued certification(s) should be added to the total of both lead artists as both will have almost equal amount of part).
Two lead artists and one featured artist. (The issued certification(s) should be added to the total of both lead artists as well as the featured artist. Both lead artists will play a significant part in a song and the part of the featured artist also should be significant enough).
One lead artist and two featured artists. (The issued certification(s) should be added to the total of the lead artist and to the total of both featured artists as almost all should have equal amount of part).

The year next to markets below indicates how far back the certification systems go in each country. The percentages stand for the global market share based on a 2007 IFPI report.

USA: RIAA (1958) (31.6%)
Japan: RIAJ (Physical certifications since (1989)(16.5%)
UK: BPI (1973) (10.6%)
Germany: BVMI (1975) (8.4%)
France: SNEP, Infodisc (albums), Infodisc (singles) (1973) (5.8%)
Australia: ARIA (1990) (2.23%)
Canada: Music Canada (1975) (2.22)
Italy: FIMI (2009) (1.95%)
The Netherlands: NVPI (1978) (1.52%)
Spain: PROMUSICAE (1979) (1.48%)
Austria: IFPI (1990) (1.10%)
Mexico: AMPROFON (1999) (1.08%)
Brazil: PMB (1990) (0.97%)
Belgium: Ultratop (1995) (0.91%)
Norway: (Archived certification-database) (1993) (0.86%)
Switzerland: Schweizer Hitparade (1989) (0.84%)
Sweden: IFPI (Archived certification-database), Sverige Topplistan (Chart-database) (1987) (0.81%)
Denmark: Hitlisten (Chart-database), IFPI Denmark (2001) (0.67%)
Ireland: IRMA (2005) (0.52%)
Poland: ZPAV (1995) (0.51%)
Finland: IFPI (1971) (0.49%)
Argentina: Capif (1980) (0.48%)
New Zealand: Recorded Music NZ (1978) (0.37%)

Nana Mouskouri[edit]

Making a topic so we can come to a consensus on Nana Mouskouri's placement on the list, she has various reliable claims of selling anywhere from 300 million to 350 million records. Nana released 800 albums reportedly and sold around 2 million units per year, if each album was selling just over 400,000 per release then it would add up to those figures Never17 (talk) 20:12, 28 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I would also like to come to a consensus on artists like Bing Crosby and Cliff Richard after we solve this dilemma Never17 (talk) 20:13, 28 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Also a-ha, who have sold 100 million records as per a source in their article 31.126.172.105 (talk) 23:14, 2 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, i don't know how we tackle artists who lack certifications but have reliable and seemingly non-inflated sales figures for them Never17 (talk) 00:18, 3 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

We could provide a reliable source and add them to the list. Paladium (talk) 11:42, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Never17: About Nanan Mouskouri, there are claims that she has sold between 300 and 350 million records, but these figures are exaggerated and incorrect. Firstly, the claim that she released 800 albums is highly incorrect. In reality, she has likely released fewer than 80 distinct albums. Often, an album is re-released in different countries with different covers and sometimes additional tracks in the local language. This does not make them different albums. For example, Madonna’s "Music" album had an extra track, "American Pie," in its European release, but it is still the same album as the U.S. version. Secondly, the assertion that she sells 2 million copies of each album annually is unrealistic. If true, she would consistently appear on best-selling album lists in various countries, which she does not. She has few certifications in France and rarely appears on official charts. Moreover, in the U.S., the largest music market, Nana Mouskouri has minimal presence in terms of certifications and chart positions. This lack of presence is consistent across most countries. Nana performed better in countries like Greece where you got a gold disc status for selling 10,000 only.--Markus WikiEditor (talk) 18:31, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

True, i wasn't sure so i asked you guys Never17 (talk) 18:40, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Oasis have reached the threshold of 75 millon record sales wordwide.[edit]

It is fairly obviously that Oasis have sold 75 million worldwide. Definetly Maybe sold 15 million, Morning Glory has sold 23,500,00 and Be Here Now has sold 10,000,000. Dont believe the truth has sold over 7,000,000. They have other massive selling albums and the single Wonderwall has sold over 6 million copies. Can you look into this please as they have other studio and live albums am sure they have sold 75 million records. Can you help me please ?. Regards 178.167.187.48 (talk) 22:42, 31 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Update Taylor Swift sales in Brazil[edit]

https://pro-musicabr.org.br/home/certificados/?busca_artista=Taylor+Swift&busca_tipo_produto=&busca_tipo_certificado=&busca_pela_gravadora=&busca_ano= 179.209.44.78 (talk) 01:55, 1 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Please Update AC/DC, Metallica, Beatles, Black Eyed Peas, Killers and Post Malone Sales in Brazil[edit]

https://pro-musicabr.org.br/home/certificados/?busca_artista=AC%2FDC&busca_tipo_produto=&busca_tipo_certificado=&busca_pela_gravadora=&busca_ano=, https://pro-musicabr.org.br/home/certificados/?busca_artista=Metallica&busca_tipo_produto=&busca_tipo_certificado=&busca_pela_gravadora=&busca_ano=, https://pro-musicabr.org.br/home/certificados/?busca_artista=Beatles&busca_tipo_produto=&busca_tipo_certificado=&busca_pela_gravadora=&busca_ano=, https://pro-musicabr.org.br/home/certificados/?busca_artista=Black+Eyed+Peas&busca_tipo_produto=&busca_tipo_certificado=&busca_pela_gravadora=&busca_ano=, https://pro-musicabr.org.br/home/certificados/?busca_artista=Killers+&busca_tipo_produto=&busca_tipo_certificado=&busca_pela_gravadora=&busca_ano=, https://pro-musicabr.org.br/home/certificados/?busca_artista=Post+Malone&busca_tipo_produto=&busca_tipo_certificado=&busca_pela_gravadora=&busca_ano=, please 2804:1530:401:2B00:197F:FBAA:DC0B:631C (talk) 12:12, 1 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Roberto Carlos and Nelson Gonçalves[edit]

If you take a look at the List of best-selling Latin music artists page, Roberto Carlos and Nelson Gonçalves are reported to have sold 100 and 75 million copies, respectively. They both should also be in this page. Check out that article's talk page for discussion of those artists in the lists. Erick (talk) 17:50, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 9 June 2024[edit]

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Change Drake's US sales number that's under Total Certified Units from 426.28 million to 291.5 millions. Assuming you are supposed to add US RIAA Albums sales with Single sales, 291.5 million is correct. Either way 426.28 million is an incorrect number that does not bear out in any source, and is disproved in the source listed. My two sources linked below. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=TAA#search_section https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=TAS#search_section Chasezt (talk) 02:59, 9 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]