Eminem is an artist who has had a huge influence on the rap industry and the music industry in general. He recently entered the list of the top 10 highest-selling artists of all time. Few would be surprised by this, and it’s definitely an honor that the rapper has earned through hard work.
How the Rankings Work
Chart Masters is the app that provides the “most accurate data within the music industry.” They use two systems to determine the rankings: a CSPC (commensurate sales to popularity concept) and an ASR (artist success rate) model.
In addition, LPs, studio albums, how many physical units like CDs were sold, how many digital songs were sold, and even how they’re streamed are taken into account as well.
Other Artists on the List
Eminem was ranked 11th on the list for a while. Curious who he dethroned? It was none other than legendary Led Zeppelin, who he sneakily surpassed with 207,262,000 sales!
At the top of the list is none other than The Beatles, followed by Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Queen, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra, and Elton John.
Upstaging Other Rappers
Eminem is actually the only contemporary artist on the list, at least so far. He is also the only rapper there. In fact, he doesn’t have any competition near the top when it comes to rappers.
Drake sits all the way down at 41, Kanye West is 61, and 2Pac is 73. It just goes to show the influence Eminem has had on the rap industry with his 11 studio albums and three collaborative records.
Changing the Music Industry
Between 2000 and 2009, he was the best-selling musical artist in the US and the best-selling male artist in the 2010s. He’s even got six diamond certifications, the most in hip hop, also coming in as the most certified artist in RIAA history last year!
While he has a lot of controversial songs, there’s one he absolutely refuses to play these days: “Cleanin’ Out My Closet.” The song is really hard on his mom and his relationship with her, but he’s since made an apology track called “Headlights,” and although it came decades later, apologies are better late than never at all.