The latest incarnation of Wikipedia’s Best-Selling Recording Artists (Worldwide) list looks like this:
(Worldwide sales = Total albums and singles)
Note: In general there is no organization that certifies worldwide record sales (such as the RIAA does for U.S. record sales). Thus, there are few if any reliable figures to go into this list. Fans, biographers, and record lables may grossly overestimate sales figures for publicity purposes. Many of bestselling artists from Asia, Africa and Latin America are still not included because of the lack of data. Thus, the list cannot be considered definitive, and must be taken with a grain of salt.
Now, this list has changed several times: Reference.com shows this incarnation. Answers.com shows this.
Notable entries in these lists, which are not on Wiki’s current list:
The discussion thread in Wiki shows much in dispute and makes for an interesting read.
The Beatles and Elvis went from ~500,000,000 to ~ 1,000,000,000! The Guiness/EMI Estimate for The Beatles says 1,000,000,000 +. Elvis.com says ~ 500,000,000 for The King.
So, who do you think is right? Have The Beatles moved over 1 Billion units? Or do you think it’s in the 500 mil. range? Did The King move 500 mil. or 1 Billion? Even for The Fab Four and The King, 1 Billion seems awfully high!
If I was on Jeopardy, and the answer was “The Best-Selling Musical Artist Worldwide”, would the correct question be: Who are The Beatles? Or would it be: Who is Elvis Presley?
Lastly, I’m ashamed to say that two of the top selling musical artists in the world were unknown to me: Alla Pugacheva and Nana Mouskouri. And to think, I thought I knew my stuff when it came to music.
Thoughts?