BY ASHLEY PALOS, CYPRESS CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
IFPI or International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, states that they are “The voice of the recording industry worldwide”. They promote the value of recorded music, campaign for the rights of recording producers, and expand the commercial uses of recorded music. They release charts for Global artists, SIngle and album charts and track recorded music performance globally capturing recorded music consumption.
On March 4, 2021 IFPI released the top 10 global recording artists of 2020. On this list starting from number 10 to 1 was, Justin Bieber, Juice WRLD, Ariana Grande, Post Malone, Eminem, Billie Eilish, The weeknd, Drake, Taylor Swift, and at number 1 BTS. This being the accurately measurable consumption across all platforms and is weighted based on the relative value of each method of consumption.
Along with the top 10 global recording artists, they released their Global Album Sales Chart on March 10th. Announcing the top 10 best-selling albums across physical sales and digital downloads. On this list was Arashi, Kenshi, King Gnu, BlackPink, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, ACDC, and BTS.
In first place, BTS’ MAP OF THE SOUL 7 being one of the most pre-ordered albums of all time and charted #1 in 20+ countries. Along with this victory, BTS became the first-ever artist to appear on all of IFPI’s charts and have 3 albums in the top of IFPI’s chart with “MAP OF THE SOUL 7”, “BE”, and “MAP OF THE SOUL: 7~THE JOURNEY”. As well as breaking the king of pop, Michael Jackson’s untouched 12-year-old record of being the only artist to chart 3 albums on the IFPI chart.
Along with IFPI being a major influence and indicator in the music industry. There is one other goal artists dream of achieving. That is, being a grammy-winning artist. The 63rd annual Grammy show aired on March 14th of this year, with winners such as Megan the Stallion, Nas, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, Harry Styles and so many other artists. However, with these wins came criticism from so many other artists and the public.
When the winners were announced, just like before fans, artists, the industry was upset. This is not the first time the Grammys has faced criticism. In a 2020 interview, Debra Dougan who is now the suspended chief executive of the organization behind the grammy’s says the committees choosing the grammy award winners are “predominantly white males who call the shots”. As well as saying it is rigged. As well as Zayn Malik recently tweeting “F*** the Grammys and everyone associated. Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there are no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionery.” So many artists like Nicki Minaj, Halsey, and Eminem have spoken about the Grammy awards being rigged. Artist, the Weeknd even went as far as telling the New York Times that he will be boycotting the Grammys forever. Statting *because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.”
The grammy awards have had a history of the gender gap and lack of diversity. A USC study was released and found that 90 percent of Grammy nominees from 2013 to 2018 were male. Along with the gender gap, there have been many accusations that the process of choosing the nominees and winners has a lot to do with race. Although they have somewhat improved, there is still a lot to unpack about the winning artists that get chosen.
Aside from the award shows and whether the artist really needs the grammy or if the Grammys want to headline with the biggest artists for view counts. 2020 was a huge year for music. Reportedly the biggest year in music since 2002. With Global music industry revenues totaling 21.6 billion across all formats. Revenues grew by 7.4% driven by major artists like Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift and Drake. The Weeknd and BTS being reported as the two most prominent artists that helped boost the music industry revenue.
Music has always been a healing factor in people:s lives, whether big or small it has always had an impact. Especially through the times of the pandemic, lots of fans have depended on music and some of their favorite artists to help get through the hard times. Numbers and awards are not all of it. As Frances Moore said, They are simply “a reminder of the enduring power of music to console, heal and lift our spirits, during the pandemic”.
