Just back here to say that “Here Comes The Sun” finally hit 1 billion streams on Spotify! Edit: “Come As You Are” by Nirvana finally hit 1 billion streams as well! And now it’s the second song to hit 1 billion streams by Nirvana.
@@exasperated Agreed tho. Sure it's iconic, but it outshines underrated gems like The Prophet's Song, whichiin my opinion is the best song in A Night At The Opera
"Here Comes The Sun", "Come As You Are", "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", "Fortunate Son", "We Will Rock You", "Eye Of The Tiger" and "Losing My Religion" has hit 1 billion streams on Spotify ever since this video. I'm glad that people are still listening to these classic songs. There are a few others that are on their way to hit 1 billion which are "Dancing Queen", "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", "Sultans Of Swing", "Summer Of 69", "Nothing Else Matters", "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Paint It Black" all with more than 900 mil streams.
"Here Comes the Sun" is on track to reach a billion streams (it currently has 880,389,517 streams). With that said, I think one of the reasons why not a single Beatles song has reached that milestone yet is because their catalogue wasn't put on Spotify until late 2015, relatively late compared to many of the major classic bands and artists.
Also i feel a lot of people are turn off by the absolute crime that was the mixing in the original versions of the song, also the various mixes may divide the streams all over the place.
I’m in the .01% of Beatles listeners…Spotify told me this on yearly recap. I’m definitely helping them get streams lol. They’re my overwhelmingly most streamed musician/band. I’m also only 22.
I would say AC/DC songs got a massive boost in popularity by being heavily featured in the Iron Man movies. I think both "Back in Black" and "Thunderstruck" were used
@@MegaRodrigo86 You're right. However in the US and Canada all across both countries these songs are played at every level from youth sports, to middle school, high school, college, to professional in every sport. That is not an insignificant audience. Then they are played on social media and the reach extends further.
I'm not surprised that Queen are still up to date. There is no other band like them. It's a combination of many things such as the best music catalog with a huge amount of unforgettable hits in different genres, probably the best singer and performer ever, their legendary live performances, their unbelievable artistic diversity, and the perfection of their songs, they were music video pioneers and the list can go on and on.....Queen are just part of our lives because of that not because of the movies.
Add to all that Queen, and especially Freddie, always performed with an immense amount of joy which is infectious. When an audience sees a performer enjoying the show, it is impossible to sit on your hands as a mere observer.
I agree with that statement about blocking music. Prince is a great example. His music wasnt readily available for the longest time. And that def hurt his cultural relevancy.
His music didn't start streaming until 2018 which was two years after his death. I have RU-vid music and just checked his number of subscribers which is 1.74 million. That's not bad considering how late his music entered all the major platforms.
A lot of those songs also end up in huge mainstream movies. Anthem rock works perfectly with action movies. Thunderstruck and Sweet Child of Mine are in constant use.
We Will Rock You is about to become the 5th Queen song to have 1 billion views on Spotify, with Bohemian Rhapsody almost at 2 billion. Absolutely insane
Totally agree that we old-timers (I'm 69) have not adopted Spotify. I own all those CDs (and records), and they have been uploaded to my computer and phone. I listen to them via Bluetooth. I know a lot of others in my generation who have done the same.
Stan, I'm 52. I have many of the albums from which the songs Rick spoke of on vinyl. I have mostly most of those on CD too. Now here's where it's weird (and mostly due to laziness) and I am positive I am not alone here. I subscribe to Spotify and guess what, I mostly listen to music that I already own (at least once!). I am burning money that I don't have.
Stan, this Saturday my life odometer will click over to 69...and I'm just wondering how much of an outlier I am. Because even though from my childhood through most of the '80s I played (and bought) the music of the day at home, in the car, etc., somewhere along the way (actually, pretty much 1990 on the dot), it all just ceased to be all that important (or compelling) anymore. So it's not that I'm not contributing to Spotify stream numbers because I'm older and playing that same music via "offline" media....it's that I'm simply not listening anymore.
Queen is a band that seems to be in between classic rock and modern rock, so they still can translate into the modern era. Their music is very dynamic; musically and vocally.
What's often overlooked is that Queen are really great at marketing their music too. It's near impossible to go to any sporting event and not hear either Rock You/Champions/Bites The Dust. On top of that, their music is always being used in TV/movies/commercials too. Ofc we all know about Wayne's World but don't forget the zombie killing scene in Shaun of the Dead, set to Don't Stop Me Now. That very well could've played a part in turning what was a minor hit for them at the time into > 1 billion streams on Spotify It's funny to me that even before I started listening to Queen, I already knew their biggest songs.
What you said, and also the Movie. Queen didn't have any songs with Billion plays before the movie..here, you also have to consider that FAR less songs had a billion in 2018 anyway, but still I think their most listened was Bites the Dust back then with 400M. It's severely understated how many new and younger fans the movie brought to the band.
This is so true, it's amazing what marketing can do to a song. A great example would be Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush, it was a minor hit at the time of its release yet after being used as a major plot point in Stranger Things' latest season, it suddenly turned into a global phenomenon topping charts in multiple countries and currently has close to a billion listens on Spotify.
Well, I believe the marketing only really started after Freddie's passing. I don't think they allowed their music to be licensed for ads and stuff like that when Freddie was still alive
So I dont get it, if your songs are used in sporting events that means you were good at marketing those songs? Lets take an example, song 2 by blur, that song was a big hit but it was completely random, they didnt market that song any more than releasing it as a single, so how was that song more heavily marketed than their other singles not played in sporting events?
What I love about Queen and The Beatles is that they both have many albums so there is always something to be discovered. You can listen to a song many times but then one day it just stands out and you can’t believe you’ve never paid attention before.
I believe that the reason why Thunderstruck has 1 billion+ streams/listens/plays is due to its use in the Marvel Movies specifically Iron Man. So the way that popular culture uses those timeless songs can have a Poignant impact on the musicians and the generations of listeners.
Also the fact that it was a much bigger hit outside North America in the first place. I think that's what's catching him out about it. I agree that smart licensing by the current rights holders is at least as important as how "timeless" the actual song is.
Maybe I'm biased, because the theme song for my hockey team (not the goal song, but before home games and after wins, always heard) the Tampa Bay Lightning would be its sports association, including movies. "Thunderstruck" is barely older than the team and I can remember hearing the song during pregame warm-ups with the team skating around and the song is rocking. I think had Spotify been out sooner, before team diversified, "Rock and Rock Part 2" (a.k.a. "Hey Song") would be in there.
What are y'all talking about? Thunderstruck wasn't in any Iron Man movies afaik? There are youtube edits (!) that use Thunderstruck with Iron Man (2?) scenes, but the movies used different AC/DC songs.
That's where the resurgence of queen started...I didn't hear a peep about them from the mid 1990's-2011. Then all of a sudden people like their music again. They had like 4-5 good songs, and I bet you if I played a random queen song from any album, no one would know the name of the song. lol.
@@Adrian-wd4rn Funny. They did a multimedia laser show in the Munich planetarium in 2001, in 2002 their musical "We will rock you" premiered, which is STILL being performed internationally. That same year, May played with Roger Taylor at the Queen's Golden Jubilee. From 2004 onward, they toured as Queen + Paul Rodgers and published an album in 2008.
I'm actually surprised more bands like Pink Floyd, The Beattles, Led Zepplin, etc that are blockers haven't stopped blocking yet. The fact that Dreams was propelled into one of the most played songs ever because of a Tik Tok video should have been enough to wake them up.
If Pink Floyd sells their catalog for a vast sum of money I would imagine the new owners would want to do more to promote it. Or else it doesn't seem like a good investment. I just saw Dr Strange and they used Interstellar Overdrive in it.
@@prism8289 Because neither of those bands had any serious issues, and for the most part, stayed out of the limelight. You can't make money off 4 media quiet guys (PF) and lead private lives while very popular like you can queen, which had a clearly gay front man, who died of aids.....Much more of a story to milk out of that. Pink floyd? Not so much, they haven't really been a band since 1996, some would argue 1983 with the leaving of roger waters. Led Zeppelin stopped being a band really in 1979. Just ain't much to talk about, really. Like whats a Pink floyd story? 4 architect students get together to make a band, one goes crazy on drugs after 3 years, then in comes new shy guy, they make good songs...then...uhm...some bitching and whining in 1984, and end of movie?
Also a big contributing factor is that bands like the Beatles have had so many remasters, remixes and versions over the years that the listeners are split over several variations of the same song. For example, "Let It Be" has the original version, the remastered version, two different 2009 remasters, a 2015 remaster, the 2021 mix, the Super Deluxe version, two different "naked" versions, as well as some live recordings. Many of these songs have identical audio, but they appear as separate songs on Spotify which splits listeners.
“Let it Be” also has two “original versions”. The album and the single had different solos. So even more choice to listen to. Single version with the Leslie guitar being my personal favourite.
Queen for me, as people from younger generation is the one who introduced me to classic rock. They’re just too iconic with their hits, if not because of them i won’t know about Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, even post ‘65 Beatles.
The biggest reason I'm into Queen as much as I am is because they made their music available on RU-vid early on. I didn't appreciate the Beatles until they started doing the same more recently and then I dove into their catalogue and have great respect for them now.
This is a big factor that Rick didn't touch on. A lot of older artists didn't put their music on youtube right away, in fact, you'll see under most music videos for older songs the upload date is 2009, if i recall that was when Vevo (when that was a thing) launched. The Beatles didn't put most of their music on youtube until around 2018, so that was nearly a decade of a head start that a band like Queen for example would have.
I am pretty sure that the Beatles were available on RU-vid in 2000s. But it is also true that in 2010s at some point (I don’t remember exactly which year) a lot of their music was removed from RU-vid in US but was still available forthe rest of the world. However, Queen wrote a lot more anthem-esque hit songs that are suitable for all sorts of different public events etc. I really think that is the main reason why their popularity seems to overshadow other bands on Spotify. Obviously, this is easier said than done but it has a massive impact when measuring popularity in this particular way versus let’s say the amount of albums sold back in the day, number 1 hits or weeks spent on top of the charts etc.
My brother and sister are two completely different music consumers. She listens to her playlist on her phone via Bluetooth in her car. My brother still has a flip phone and carries around a giant case with CDs and his car has 5 CD carousel player. She's listening to current pop, he's listening to the soundtrack of the movie The Big Chill or Steve Miller Greatest Hits.1974-78. So what Rick says about the medium people choose has a lot to do with those numbers.
”Dancing Queen” by ABBA is almost at 1 billion streams as well and they have 28 million monthly listeners. Also a good example of a 70’s band that have been revived and kept relevant with musicals/movies and most recently the virtual concert event in London along with a new album release. Best pop band of all time for me! EDIT: Now over 1 billion streams 🙌
To me, ABBA is up there with Queen and the Beatles as the greatest bands of all time. In my country, and in most countries around the world, ABBA is more popular and more recognised than the Beatles.
I saw Led Zeppelin in concert in 1969 and 1970. I am 33 days older than Robert Plant. I have never used Spotify. So using Spotify as the yard stick certainly could be influencing the results. If you could measure how many songs have been ripped from a CD to a computer along with Spotify, then you would get more accurate results.
Yes, But spotify does gives you an indication of how these songs are doing with today's generation. That is what Mr. Robert is trying to highlight. The cultural influence these songs/artists have today.
A new school year just started and one of my young students who basically only loves KPOP came to me and said: "Professor, I have some news. I started listening to Queen." I was so happy to hear that.
I may be wrong but films over the years "Highlander" "Flash Gordon" "Waynes World" and yes "Bohemian Rhapsody" have kept Queen in the limelight and given generations fond memories. Timeless stuff. Also helps if you write a few anthems that get used by various TV networks and sporting events, keeps it available to younger generations (who hopefully get over their Ed Sheeran phase)
As hard as they are capable of Rocking.. All of Queen's members understood the importance of pop music. They are very melodic and write simple..complicated.. catchy tunes. Rick is correct.. I can actually feel Jimi Hendrix starting to be forgotten and I love that guy
On the note of bands that don’t allow their music on RU-vid not being as relevant. Literally the only way I found out about a band like Tool was because of finding them on RU-vid, whether it was people reacting to hearing their songs, their music videos, or even just the fan uploaded lyric videos, it was basically the only way someone like me could find out about them in high school before they ever uploaded their music to streaming services. Now they were my most listened to artist for 2022
For real, RU-vid and Spotify are the best ways to discover bands and especially influencers talking about or using their songs, because that way you are exposed to them without even actively looking for it.
Yeah, I didn't know Tool even existed before Fear Innoculum was announced and it took over Twitter. And so many people I follow just happened to be a fan who went wild when that happened. I am so glad it happened though. It was my gateway to Progressive Rock/Metal, and 3 years later it's my favourite and Top 3 most played genre
Queen's Guitarist Brian May is absolutely a genius. First of all, how many Rock Guitarists have doctorate degrees in something as complex as astrophysics? Or, how many Rock Guitarists have Doctorate Degrees in anything!? Brian is also a person who understands every aspect of the sales and promotion of his products, one of which is Queen Music. He can go on 6 or 8 music radio stations a day and answer the same question on all six radio stations, about the fact that he (and his father) built the most famous guitar in the world, his Red Special Guitar that still is the primary guitar that he uses today over 50 years later, and do it in a manner that people listening think it is the first time he has ever answered that question! And he does it that way because he realizes that there is likely some person somewhere in radio land who has never heard the story and he wants to give the same respect that to that listener that a listener may have gotten 50 years, and 10,000 interviews ago. He has also learned over the years that unlike in the 70's, when Rock Musicians seldom smiled, that in his 70's, that the person who always snarls, turns other's off, so even though he suffers bouts of depression from time to time. that you will seldom see a current picture of him where he isn't smiling! Being a genius, he is constantly innovating, and he hires people who are innovators. He has his hands in everything, set design, no one knows more about sound than Brian May, promoting on every possible on-line avenue, you name it, and at the same time as he is doing all of this he is into a multitude of other activities! Stereoscopic Photography, NASA and Astrophysics, People and Animal RIghts. and just about every tribute concert you can imagine! One could write a book on all of the things that Brian May has been involved with, and many authors have!!
You are aware there are 3 other band members, right? No one compares to Freddie for star power. As another person said, the whole band credits John for his financial genius, and his electrical engineering brain that came up with the Deaky amp. And Brian and others have often said that Roger has the promotional brain. He and Brian have always been the face of Queen for interviews, because Freddie and John didn’t like them. He was the one on top of the touring logistics. He came up with idea for more than one of the album covers. And he was the one (along with Jim Beach) that pushed forward and wrangled everyone for the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert.
Love your comment and also agree with the commenters to your comment 😂… although you did leave out Brian’s particular attachment to those adorable hedgehogs. ( which Brian loves as much as his Red Special )
@@matthewche Apparently a lot of singers and bands were not very smart. Queen were not the only ones to play there. I could name just some and the list would be to long. Nelson Mandella, a few yrs. after Freddie died, asked Brian & Roger to play a benefit for aids, in Cape Town, which they did. Maybe they realized their mistake and wanted to make amends. Queen took the most heat of all those that played there. This video is about music, but you bought it up, & I just wanted to respond without being political. I feel they paid for their wrong decision. You r entitled to ur opinion. Don’t know what this has to do with music & Spotify? Plus, always when mentioned, Queen is named, like there were no other artists that played there. If u don’t like the band, just say so. No big deal. Why bring up something that happened over 30 some yrs. ago and has nothing to do with the subject of this music channel??
Everyone saying Queen gets listened to more because their songs end up in things don't see the feedback loop that is implied. But what kicked off the feedback loop? The original quality of the music. Plain and simple. Good music gets used in media, more people listen to it, gets more popular, now it's popular AND good music so it gets used more, referenced more, etc. ad infinitum.
I do have an answer for the older songs. My Dad, who's 74 now, made a playlist back in the day when he used ITunes a lot. Each list would have a year on it starting from 1952 up until 1974 maybe. Now that doesn't sound weird, right? Well, what my Dad ended up doing was he created a list on a Microsoft spreadsheet that listed every song in a particular year in the chronological order in which he remembers hearing them for the first time! He has a top 40 book that he used as a reference to ensure the dates were correct and everything. The reason he did this was not only to listen to them in the order in which he remembers them, but also because some versions of the songs aren't available on any streaming service.
That Freddie Mercury biopic really helped them out a lot because before then in my high school a lot of people didn't listen to Queen and then after that movie came out so many people started listening to them at least in my area
Queen also had diverse hits, I mean Bohemian Rhapsody is diverse on it's own, but they appealed to a wide range of people of many ages and listening habits. Punks like Queen, Goths like Queen, metalheads like Queen, pop fans like Queen and so on and so on.
In the Brian May interview with Rick, Brian answered basically to that effect, when Rick asked him why he thought Queen has stayed so popular. Brian acknowledged that they wrote about "everyday things" in many styles.
@@oldschool1107 Most of the biggest metal bands lists Queen as an influence, especially early Queen albums. Queen created the first thrash metal song. Queen's classical style is closer to metal then many blues rock bands.
You're absolutely right. When artists constrict their exposure, whether through their own desire or through an overbearing label, people move on to other popular artists they can actually share with people.
What is astounding about Queen is that their front man, Freddie Mercury, has been dead for over 30 years. Their songs are so amazing they can keep going on, and be so popular, this many years on.
I think it has much more to do with the record labels using it to build a brand than the music actually being amazing. They were good, but not even in the top 50 bands from their decade. I think that it comes down to smart marketing, having a distinct image and a bit of luck. When you see their t-shirts at every Walmart or target, you can pretty much bet that their objective is to use the band as a brand and constantly be reminding people of them. Idk, I feel that the most successful bands aren't, and weren't, nearly as talented as their marketing teams.
queen was just another band until the internet got a love boner for no reason. whats astounding is more that people still somehow dont recognize when they are part of a weird hivemob.
@@thatsmyassbrostop Bollocks! Maybe the 20-somethings, but not overall. BTW, that is the case for every name band, so your claim makes no sense. Do you really think the average young person knows Zeppelin's' catalog? Please. You're crossing swords with an OG.
I also think that there’s a chunk of the Beatles and stones audience that just prefers physical records. The older folks have had em’ most of their life, and a good amount of the younger ones prefer their sound. Plus they have a little more personality than a phone.
I used to be that guy but after getting several voice controlled smart devices and apple car play it became clear that convenience always wins. I can just listen to whatever i want and where i want.
This is where I jump into the deep end ... In spite of not being a great fan of Queen, I still find that their most successful/loved songs have this instant classic quality to them that make them sound as if Queen somehow tapped into the original motherlode of music. You know, that vein of music that once recorded makes you wonder why no one had created it already and ask "I swear I have heard this song before?" Except you never did. The first time hearing it you somehow felt it should have already existed, but it only came into being right now. Such a strange thing. These songs somehow seem to have some threads common with the fabric of the universe, like one of Plato's forms or ideas, having always been there and manifesting itself in our world with varying degrees of imperfection. Except that Queen grabbed the very idea itself and nailed it down on tape. That's how those songs feel to me. And again, in spite of not being much of a Queen fan, I cannot really name any other band that has been able to tap that vein with such regularity.
@@laurisaarinen1126 Oh, absolutely the Beatles and M.J. as well. I didn't mean only Oasis. In fact, I would add the Beach Boys, Billy Joel, and The Who. And not every single track they ever recorded. I don't think even Queen recorded a timeless expression of a platonic form every time out. But each of these bands or artists, at their best, tapped into something universal.
Great video! Thank you, Rick. I shared it with my students in our Technology and Innovation university class, because it helps us to see which cultural icons and songs are still relevant to today's high schoolers. Great stuff!
My 7yo daughter is a massive Queen fan. I was too around that age and I certainly played her lots of stuff, so did my wife so that helps. But her hunger to go onto Spotify and not only play the songs but dive into songwriting credits and lyrics really transcends our parental input. That's just the power of Queen's music. Super fascinating.
The thing about Queen is it was sophisticated chords and vocal harmonies like Yes or early Genesis. But unlike those, where topics were often mythology or fanciful poetry, Queen covered subjects that related to everyone. You're my best friend, I love my car, my girlfriend's a rip, I'm partying my rear off so don't stop me, we are the champions. I mean it was the 70s and we we're all stoned. Who wouldn't love a six part harmony vocal bouncing from your left to right speakers. Dude!
I love early Genesis but as far as vocal harmonies I think they are nowhere near Queen. You might get the occasional song where Phil harmonizes with Peter, or on Trespass (pre-Phil) you might hear the other guys sing very simple 3-part harmonies on Dusk, but that's it.
Yes, Queen covered subjects that related to everyone, including anyone who ever shot a man in the head and then debated with devils whether they should go to hell or not.
For me Queen is complete… Powerful songs Storytelling Entertainment Musician craftsmanship Whatever occasion - you surely find good songs in Queens portfolio.
You have a great point about The Beatles, and how long it took for them to get on Spotify. I believe their music started streaming in 2016, 2017 maybe? I remember how i could listen to full Beatle albums on RU-vid but couldnt stream it in Spotify. Then when their music started streaming and then they became blockers.
Don't forget about Wayne's World in the early 90s. A lot of millennials, like my wife, grew up with that song because if that movie. I'm a later GenX person. That song was lost to me in my childhood. I became familiar with it as a teen when the movie came out.
Queen has managed to stay culturally relevant by having a new generation "discover" them periodically. My dad, a boomer, would play them on car trips. Wayne's World came out when I was in middle school. Bohemian Rhapsody came out a few years ago, and now my kids enjoy their music. I think it helps nothing sounds quite like them, even amongst their contemporaries.
@@richardcarroll9864 It's ok. everybody has their own tastes in music. I personally can't stand Bon Jovi or Journey, but a lot of people love them. I really love Queen and feel very fortunate that I got to see them play live twice in the 80's. Two of the best concerts I've been to, and I've seen pretty much everybody with a few exceptions.
Hell, what about Somewhere Over the Rainbow or White Christmas? Those are two of the most popular songs in the entire history of the West. Again it drives home my point that Spotify not equal the culture as a whole
None of they songs are the type that most people just regularly stick on a Spotify playlist to be listened to in various types of occasions to rack up the listening numbers
@@chrisnorman1902 Good point, I absolutely agree. That again shows Spotify doing Spotify-specific things that skew the list. Don't Stop Believin' or anything from Rumours can fit on almost any playlist ever made, so they do. And those "accidental" plays where the listener didn't actively choose to hear the song and may not even be paying attention in the slightest, are what drive the totals through the roof
It's songs you put on when you're by yourself, when you're with a partner, when you're with family, when you're with your friends, when it's more of a party, when it's a sports event, and so on. They rack up the listens. On most of they occasions people across the world isn't sticking on American Pie
I'm 66 and I think the reason pre-1975 music is not killing it on streaming platforms is it is STILL being listened to on vinyl and CD! I tend to use Spotify to check out newer music, if I want to spin "Fragile" or "Abbey Road" I throw on a vinyl or CD.
Curious... do you only listen to older music at home? Obviously, we've never been able to spin vinyl on the go. Also, I just bought a new car. They don't come with cd players anymore. So music choices are either streaming via your phone or satellite radio.
@@VeloVagabond My car is 2014 with a CD player, and I expect it to be my last car. If I did replace it, I would make damn sure it had a CD player. That would be my choice.
@@fastcakes I'm the same age as you John and everytime I venture out to listen to "new" music it ends up like Marlon Brando's visit to Matthew Broderick's dorm in "The Freshman"-"So, this is college. I didn't miss nothin'"
@@VeloVagabond I'm a year older than John and my car has an integrated cassette player! 🤣 I plug in my Creativd Labs Zen mp3 player via one of those cassette converters! Love my Zen (hate anything Apple), it has hundreds of Classic Rock, Metal, Pop etc albums on it, no subscription, no streaming, no ads... and easier to use than a CD player!
I've been a life long Queen fan and the older I get, the more their music astounds me. I listen to tracks like Leroy Brown, Millionaire's Waltz or Ogre Battle and simply can't get my head around this level and variety of creativity. May's solo on Days of Our Lives, for me, is about as perfect a guitar solo as you can ask for. I'd love to hear Rick do an analysis of Brian May's playing.
Very nicely explained there at the end about songs pre 1975 not having the streaming numbers. I am part of that problem. In the 1990s I replaced all my vinyl with CDs. The about 2010 I ripped all those hundreds of CDs to my Mac and started listening to that music through iTunes on an iPod and now an iPhone. In fact, my 12 year old iPod is playing right now on my 12 year old ipod docking stereo! None of those plays count as a stream!
Exactly. I have hundreds, probably in the low thousands, CDs, SACDs, DVDA, Blu Ray Audio and even DTSCD ripped to my computer that I listen over my sound system regularly. Most of which I actually paid for!
Rick, In 1971 I co-wrote and recorded a song in my band “Air” from Michigan. In 2018, Kanye West sampled 10 seconds of my song for a track on Pusha T’s grammy nominated album “Daytona”. That track is called “If You Know You Know”, and last week, my buddy in California texted me that the Pusha track is now being used in a Pizza Hut commercial! Who knew? 😊
@@christopherlees1134 my guess is the lawyers make a list of what was sampled in the track and make contact with the owners of the rights to the sample and start playing a small royalty from the get go. Better pay a little every month now than wait tor the law suit including damages and penalties and intrest and lawyers fees in 3 years time.
It would be cool to see each group or artist's average plays across their discography. That would really paint a picture of their relevance and/or fandom
Just pick a band and look up their album sales. The info out there is rich. It crazy to see some bands relevance fall of the table verses band with staying power. Look up Hendrix’s sales. He lost his relevance when he was still alive. Look at his 3 studio albums total sales. I think most people are shocked when they find out how few albums he actually sold.
Beatles and Stones have such huge, high quality back catalogues that no single song is going to stand out so much. Some bands are just known for a handful of catchy hits and these will stand out individually much more. Although Queen definitely are the exception, they seem to have managed both.
Queen has like....5, maybe 6, good songs at best. They have more forgettable music than they do anything else. The Beatles, stones, Pink Floyd, led zeppelin have knock out after knock out for the most part. Hell, many of the artists I listed have top multiple 10 songs in single albums. Queen would release an album, have nothing of note on it, then release another with a single good song...Maybe 2...Then a bunch of drivel. etc. Queen is known for having 3 mega popular songs, a gay front man who died of aids, and that's roughly about it.
@@Adrian-wd4rn That’s not really a fair statement. Queen had many great songs, especially in their early catalogue. True they had only 5 or 6 major hits. Sad, you feel Freddie was mostly known for being gay & dying of aids. Whole band were multi talented musicians. Freddie really wanted to be remembered as a musician. And their early music was great. Many later bands cited their influence. But if u didn’t like them that is you opinion. People have different taste in music.
@@Lilah1754 Doesnt change the fact theyre only popular for a few songs, and if you played any other song from their catalogue, no one would know who tf it is.
@@Adrian-wd4rn Lots of later bands are only popular for a few songs. Early fans of Queen and their early albums know many of their songs, besides their major hits. True, as I commented earlier, a lot of younger fans from BR movie only know the hits. So many great songs like Sheer Heart Attack, Brighton Rock, & more are well known by many from their early albums. Just like many only know Beatles from their later hits, & not their very early music. It all depends on fans age. I only knew Queens major hits, but after seeing movie, checked into their early discography of music & was pleasantly surprised. All bands have something to offer & if you don’t like them that is your opinion. Not all have same taste in music.Have noticed a lot of U tube reaction channels have been checking into Queens earlier music, with positive reviews. Beatles, also. So maybe younger fans will get to know more of their great early music.
@@Adrian-wd4rnnah....their current set list is awesome and it’s still missing good stuff. 2 1/2 hr set. There are songs I wish they would put back in but to do that they have to take something else back out. But yeah I guess I couldn’t imagine them not doing bo rap.
If they had streaming in the 90s Nirvana, 2Pac, Mariah, Biggie, and U2 would have at least 5 diamond singles each. Some of the best song makers in history and are perennial billboard 200 charters 30 years after the fact.
I'm glad you picked up the key point about the age group of Spotify listeners. Those two songs you mentioned with over 3 billion plays are songs I never even heard of. I'm 59.
Queen, AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, etc.---these are all great bands I listen to on a regular basis. The thing is, while I am not that old, I do not use Spotify. Instead, I have my CDs, and I rip them to files to use on my computers and MP3 players (including the one in my car) instead. So people like me, or older folks possibly in general, are not included in these numbers.
This is what it means for something or someone to be "ahead of their time"; we use that phrase too often for things that die soon, and then there's effin' Queen, who are more widely appreciated now than they ever were in their own era.
Dude the popularity of Queen is far beyond the influence reach of wayne's world. This is a cult classic for a certain age group and mostly in america, but queen is a global phenomenon. Their appearance at the olympics and the charity shows certainly helped more.
@@Soldano999 Queen's influence certainly reaches beyond Wayne's World. But I think you're glossing over just how big Wayne's World made Queen, and Bohemian Rhapsody in particular back in 1992. It pushed a song that was approaching 20 years old at the time back to #2 on the charts and introduced a new generation to Queen's music. This time period, just before Freddie Mercury passed was a low point in Queen's popularity, and that movie completely revitalized their careers and has left Bohemian Rhapsody a cultural phenomenon to this day.
@@normie2716 I think you're not thinking big enough. As the other commenter has said, Wayne's World really _was_ popular... but mostly only in the US. I see myself as a sort of "movie person". I watch more of them than the average person and I try to keep my watchlist diverse, with movies from lots of time periods and countries. But I'm also Hungarian. And I've never seen Wayne's World. I _have_ heard of it, but most people around here don't even know that it exists. I've never heard anyone mention it, not irl and not on the internet. And yet, Queen is hugely popular in Hungary, among young and old. Even before the biopic. Even without WW. I'm not saying that my experience is representative of everyone where I'm from, but I do believe that people in the US vastly overestimate the effect of movies that are only cultural phenomenons over _there_ .
@@somethingclever8526 I believe what you say is true. Here in US, Wayne’s World bought Queen to younger generation of that time. But they were already well known globally and in other parts of the world. As an “older” fan, I knew who Queen were when Freddie was still with the band, but the BR movie did introduce a younger generation to the band & their music here in the US. Many knew of their songs such as “We Will Rock You, Another One Bites the Dust, but never realized it was Queen. Glad movie introduced their music to many. Hope they checked into their early catalogue of music, which is so great!!
For most of my life I've always thought of Queen as the biggest band. I remember back in middle school we had the metal group, listening to bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, In Flames... and all of us know at least a dozen queen songs. Then there was the pop group listening to Taylor Swift or whatever. All of them knew a dozen queen songs as well. There was also the hip hop kids who also all knew a dozen queen songs. I haven't experienced this with any other band and this was before Spotify took off.
As an "older" listener and musician it is a shame that younger people aren't exposed to great musicians like Hendrix, SRV, CS&N - I grew up with this music and still am inspired to learn about their musicianship - until I studied music I was not even aware of the structure and composition of a lot of their music - I'm looking at my 70th birthday and am just starting to learn bass after years of playing drums due to these intracacies - I am once more inspired to pursue more learning - it's never too late to LEARN Thx for your spot
Congrats on picking up an instrument at 70 years old. I don't know if this will discourage you or inspire you, but if you like bass, you should look up Charles Berthoud on RU-vid. He is amazing.
The melodies, the distinctive style, the fact that so many of them have become anthems and cultural touchstones, all contribute to their timeless quality. I was in a bar with people mostly in their 20s and early 30s (I'm almost 50), and "Sweet Caroline" came on. All of them did the "dum dum dum" and "so good, so good, so good" at the right places. None of them were even born when the song came out. Great song with great melody and great lyrics. Now that's a timeless song!
Interesting to speculate about, although I do feel the Queen biopic really brought their music to a new a generation. Not only was it a great film, but it presented themes that are hugely popular nowadays. Struggling with sexual identity, coming out of the closet, struggling with loneliness, changing your identity to fit how you feel (Farrokh Bulsara, after all). The one thing I'd say a lot of the most highly played songs have in common however is the feeling of being an outsider, or an underdog. As for TikTok, it does wonders. Setting aside 'Dreams', it brought the love of sea shanties to the masses. I don't know how, I don't know why, but it's cool.
I agree that keeping these songs off of RU-vid and other places where they could be discovered is really shooting themselves in the foot. I think exposure is huge and for younger people to be interested in this stuff they have to be aware of it first. Look how the songs on stranger things took off. People literally do not know about these older songs
Remember when people were saying Kanye was going to make Paul McCartney famous? That's a perfect example of what happens when artists block their music.
I fell in love with Queen music back in the late 80s (I was born in 1977). This music is still with me. I listen to it, I sing it, I play it, I live it. God save the Queen!
I recently saw Queen and Adam Lambert in London at the o2. They played 24 songs that night. Not one of them was a disappointment. And If I have a chance to see them again I will not hesitate. Freddie wrote some beautiful songs.
What I find interesting is that, while the Beatles have no song with over 1 Billion plays, if you look at the total plays with all of their songs combined, they have almost as many plays as Queen has. Just because they have this huge amount of hit songs. They actually have 39 songs with over 100 Million plays. That's as much as many big modern artists have.
@@billygraham2132 I was born in 1980, and I definitely get it. Anyone who actually appreciates good music "gets" the Beatles. My children, all born after 2005 listen to the Beatles. On their own, not just because or when I'm around.
@@billygraham2132 I’m not a boomer and love the Beatles, my parents are boomers, I grew up listening to 60’s and 70’s music. My kids also listen to 60’s, 70’s and 80’s music because that’s what I like. Good music ensures.
I honestly found Queen through watching pro wrestling in the early 80s as the Shreveport (Mid-South) promotion played “We Are the Champions” as their commercial outtro and their most popular wrestler, Junkyard Dog, entered the ring to “Another One Bites the Dust”. I found their K-Tel greatest hits tape at the store…and been an avid fan ever since.
Have you tried to get a Queen LP at Used Records Store??? It is an almost impossible task!!! You can find records from The Beatles, The Police, Journey, Fleetwood Mack, etc... but QUEEN??? QUEEN fans are LOYAL!!! We are loyal fans!!!
I’m 58, my 16 yr old daughter is very culturally savvy. Loves film noir, classic stuff and all the way up to Lana Del Ray. She loves Queen, sure, but really gets that the Beatles were the masters. She’ll go through all the periods of their stuff and comment on it. She loves George’s stuff the most and All Things Must Pass is her fave.
I'd love to see a top twenty of long epic songs with key and tempo changes. Like Bohemian Rhapsody and Mr. Bluesky or Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. I love those kind of songs. You can start with Zeps, Achilles Last Stand!!! :)
Not to mention that it gets rolled out across all social media platforms again every year to usher in the change of season from summer to fall. Marketing - marketing - marketing.
In my humble opinion, Queen's success is down to the band ethos from the very inception of their writing and performing. They I think were making music for the people that didn't quite fit in with the other crowds. They made pop, rock, boogie, opera, soundtracks everything for everyone whether you're 8 or 80. I've never met anyone who doesn't like at least one Queen song, has there been a tribute concert since April 20th 1992 that big with that many artists ?
100% agree. also their breadth in songwriting is unparalleled... there's something for everyone. from the metalhead (stone cold crazy), pop (radio gaga, want to break free), ballad, gospel (somebody to love), classic rock (fat-bottomed girls), r&b and disco (another one bites), country (crazy little thing...), rock opera (you know!) i still remember getting into an argument with an old lady at a bar who insisted that crazy little thing called love was elvis!
The Beatles catalog takes longer than the other oldies to be available on Spotify, a few years, that could be a reason that no one of this songs reach 1b streams
They have new remix versions of lots of their songs over recent years, so maybe if they combined the counts, they would be higher? I'm sure eventually The Beatles will overtake Queen, maybe after McCartney dies, because then everyone listens to their music.
I’m 24. When I was about 11 or 12 I first heard Bohemian Rhapsody on classic rock radio. Or at least that’s the first I remember hearing it. I was just starting to get into music properly at all, and I’d already heard a good few of the classics plenty on the radio, lots of Zeppelin, Stones, Mellencamp, Mac, etc. But I was drawn into Bohemian Rhapsody like sims never heard music before when it started, and then I burst out laughing hysterically during the operatic section, only to be greeted with the most headbanging moment ever put to tape when the heavy section hit, and it all finished up with a gong. I was in shock and awe. I’d never heard anything like it. Then as I gradually got more into music and Queen quickly became my favorite band, I started reading about the story behind the music, and it seemed so rich with meaning and perseverance and so honest. The radio and all the articles I read made it seem like Queen were just another band from the 70s indebted to the real titans like Floyd, Zeppelin, The Beatles, and The Stones, who would forever be the very greatest of all time. But as much as I loved those bands too, there was something about Queen that spoke to me in the present day, something direct and pure and free and somehow under appreciated about them and their story. It’s been really unbelievable since those days to watch as more and more of the world, and my own generation especially, seems to have had the same realization I was having in real time. Queen were the greatest, or at least right up there in the Pantheon, and very near it’s peak. It’s just amazing to me how they seem to have just gotten cooler and more mainstream as time has gone on, even in the last decade or so. Everyone loves Queen, or at least begrudgingly respects the craft.
Just learned an acoustic vocalization of Bohemian Rhapsody, and it is awesome to play any version of such musical talent! I wasn't born until 10yrs after the debut😜
Queen has certainly produced many Timeless classics, but I would guess that their play count benefits from a traditionally more International reach than most bands.
Queen I hear every day on radio, in shops on tv shows. I haven't heard Hendrix on any format for years. Beatles you hear occasionally on British shows set in the 60s.
Let’s not forget songs’ appearances in other media like movies or even TV adverts. That functions to remind people about a song. I don’t seek out Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” but I hear it a couple times a year anyway.
Just watched this one. One reason people that are older don't use Spotify as much is that we still listen to CDs. Oldsters like me like to listen to all of the songs on the CD (or albums if they can afford to) not just the ones that are offered on Spotify. By the way, I love watching your videos Rick, thank you.
But the thing is, Spotify offers pretty much every album that exists. Their catalog is huuuge, but I get the appeal of using CD & Vinyl if you got a collection, especially old Vinyl Mixtapes that definitely wouldn’t be on spotify.
Great music stands the test of time. I remember getting the Bohemian Rhapsody 45 for my 9th bday and playing it over and over again on my lil blue suitcase record player, just being mesmerized by this 6 minute masterpiece. Nearly 47 years later, it still holds up as one of the all-time classics.
Bohemian Rhapsody was MASSIVE first time around in the UK. First really meaningful pop promo video too. I tried to record it on my cassette record for weeks from the radio. 🙂
It's also the record in UK history to be #1 twice selling over a million each time. Others have been #1 twice, but without selling a million both times.
Ah, the good old days, sat Infront of my boom box with the radio playing and the tape on Pause/Record, finger at the ready for when my song started or towards the end when the DJ starts talking. I still hear some of those songs today and half expect to hear a voice or jingle cut in like that cassette I listened to over and over again.
Wonder what would have happened without Bohemian Rhapsody? Among their ”hits” I think it’s the only one to stand out, whereas the rest is kind of 2-dimensional ”clap your hands” stadium rock.
@@wilhelmhagberg8854You obviously don’t know Queens early catalogue of music. Deep cuts. Bo Rap, Champions etc. are not their only songs. Queen 1 & 2, awesome. Look into their early music. You might be surprised. No stadium rock in it!
I am a huge Beatles fan (and love mostly 60s and 70s stuff)... and I have never used Spotify. I am sure there are LOTS of others like me. I recently read that Paul McCartney's live tour of 2019 was the highest grossing tour of that year. Seems pretty relevant.
I'm in my late late 20s and I just don't get spotify 😹 part of me just refuses to use it, I rather just HAVE my music with me on my itunes or physically. Also I alone have probably listened to some zeppelin songs a billion times, but you see it's off of spotify so my listens don't count 😂🤷♀
It's very simple: Everyone likes Queen. When I'm with my family I really like to connect my phone to a speaker and play some music. And I noticed that when I play a Queen song everyone likes it. My parents my siblings and even my grandmother.
@@missingno88 Not everyone has same taste in music. No prob, but that’s just your dad’s opinion. Many would disagree with him. Everyone has their own opinion, and in my opinion, they are not over rated.
I first learnt about Queen the day Freddie died, i was ten at the time. I remember when the news came on the telly my older brother saying oh no!! I asked him what happened and he told me. From that day on the days that i didn't listen to Queen probably are about a hundred after 30 years I know them. They have a huge diversity in their music, the best live shows, all four of them wrote number 1 hits, they were smart people and above all they were really good guys as humans, they stick together until Freddie died and many times i think how lucky i am to have Queen as my favourite band, their music had, have and will have a huge impact in my life. Thank you Queen and greetings from Greece..
What's the secret to being a long-lasting iconic act.....you have to be Queen! 😂😂😂Nice one Rick. I was at Live Aid in '85. At the time, Queen were somewhat in the doldrums - punk had been and gone and had swept away a lot of 'classic rock' groups who started to be labelled as 'dinosaurs', and the 80's had the first stirrings of indie and more pop-based acts. That beautiful sunny day in July '85 saw many wonderful bands get up and do their thing - special mention to my all-time favourites Status Quo who opened the show and had the audience up on their toes from the first note - but Queen's performance (especially Freddie's) was simply stunning. They stole the show in front of 80,000 people at Wembley and a global TV audience of tens of millions. Their album sales must've gone through the roof after that. I was back at Wembley the following year for Queen's solo show and they were just as elecrifying. Here we are nearly 50 years later, the lion's share of 1bn+ plays, and I still love them - unique and timeless. Quality will out.
Very nice comment. You are lucky to have been there. I was on other side of Atlantic, watching it from Phila. Amazing performances. Queen ruled that day
It's an interesting and a somewhat sad note, that many of us older folks are being naturally removed from the listening pool through the aging process. That's another factor Rick mentioned when analyzing which songs from which eras are still popular. Fewer and fewer of us sit down and listen to the complete side 2 of Abbey Road, marveling at its brilliance.
Yeah there is something about Queen, it's like a molding of brilliance. The voice of freddy, the singular guitar, 4 people brilliantly songwriting. Also multi genre of ability. Opera, rock, R&B, techno, classical, etc. Love it.
Queen was relevant in the 70s and 80s until MTv killed them in the US... until Live Aid. Then Bam! They were relevent again. Then Freddie dies. Waynes World makes them relevant in the US again. And then the biopic came out. They are still touring with Adam Lambert, which is AWESOME. They span generations. Families pass down their music choices and there, Queen again. 50 years later and they are still alive.
