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For Sale Apr 3, 2026 at 2:52 AM

Will any band or musician in the future come to the same level of popularity as the Beatles were in the 1960s or even to this day?

Posted by space_god_7191

The Beatles were very influential in the 1960s. They basically influenced modern pop and invented many genres by accident. We have several popular artists these days. Could any of them or a future artist transcend the Beatles level of popularity and influence in the next couple of decades?
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Gonzostewie Apr 3, 2026 +31
No. Music is so spread out, split, parsed and subdivided into such niche little micro-genres that it will be nigh impossible for any one act or group to reach the masses in such a ubiquitous way that the Beatles have. The music market is saturated and filled with millions of bedroom artists that post their music and videos. There are so many ways to consume music compared to that time period where you were limited the radio, dance halls and variety shows to find new music. Nothing will ever reach that level of cultural zeitgeist and influence again. The talent is out there but it's a drop in the ocean.
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WeirdRadiant2470 Apr 3, 2026 +10
From 10 bands with a million followers each, to a million bands with 10 followers each.
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Jarardian Apr 3, 2026 +3
Yup, totally agree. I say the same thing whenever the topic of “who’s the most famous solo pop star of all time?” conversation comes up. It’s obviously Michael Jackson, and the likes of Beyonce or Taylor Swift will never be able to compete because that kind of global fame and influence just doesn’t exist any more. IMO it’s a good thing it doesn’t, as it seemed to ruin lives even worse than your average garden variety fame.
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Raucous_Rocker Apr 3, 2026 +1
This, exactly.
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wizardvictor Apr 3, 2026 +8
The Naked Brothers Band
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Igottamake Apr 3, 2026 +2
I see your Naked Brothers Band and raise you one Silver Rock. Or a wiggle.
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torchskul Apr 3, 2026 +9
I’m pretty far removed from being a Swiftie, but I do have to hand it to Taylor Swift for essentially creating this generation’s Beatlemania. I mean, very few musicians have had a grip on pop culture like The Beatles and Taylor Swift have. As for the future? Hard to tell. People are always innovating, especially with music, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
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munchyslacks Apr 3, 2026 +3
I don’t like Taylor either, but she is undeniably the answer to OP’s question. It’s not even close.
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smokeweed21 Apr 3, 2026 +1
Michael did in the 80s and 90s
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beebs44 Apr 3, 2026 +6
No. Two many choices nowadays. When they were on Ed Sullivan, watched by estimated 73 million.
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WeirdRadiant2470 Apr 3, 2026 +3
When a song was played on the radio, or Ed Sullivan, millions of people heard it at once. Now you have millions of people listening to one song per person with earbuds. There's no shared experience anymore.
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MuzBizGuy Apr 3, 2026 +2
Influence? Maybe…someone would have to usher in a wild amount of new ideas that ushers in a very long tail of influence though, and that’s probably tough with western pop/rock at this point. I’m a Beatles fanatic so I don’t say this to downplay what they did at all, but they definitely were able to capitalize at being teens in a band right at the sweet spot of a new genre of music. Rock had been around for long enough to grow but not long enough to be really dissected and reinvented too much yet. Popularity? I’m sure. We may objectively have already based on how many humans are connected globally. BTS, Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, etc. I don’t think any of them have the combo the Beatles did and we’ll have to wait and see how much people care about them in 50 years, but at the very least they’re all proof global stardom is still a real thing. So who’s to say someone can’t come along who gives us some incredibly dope shit and just blasts into the stratosphere?
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syrtran Apr 3, 2026 +3
No. The record companies are doing everything they can to prevent that from happening. The Beatles had a level of autonomy not seen by a musical act in a very long time, and it scared the c*** out of the industry. It took several decades to take that power back, and they're not letting go any time soon.
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WeirdRadiant2470 Apr 3, 2026 +1
Plus radio and Ed Sullivan were the only mediums and radio stations more or less played the same music. Streaming platforms sliced the pie into a million slices. There's no communal shared experience anymore with music.
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RevolutionaryAd1306 Apr 3, 2026 +1
Define influence….
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GodsDrunkPlan Apr 3, 2026 +1
Maybe Fauxy Moron. But time will tell
1
BattleaxeAlDente Apr 3, 2026 +1
I think there already are, just the culture is less focused on them due to bigger media availability. Swifties, Florence and the Machine, Migos, Kanye West, hell evem Spice Girls had their 5 minutes when they could all prodly claim to be as big as the Beatles in terms of popularity.
1
LargeFatherV Apr 3, 2026 +1
If anyone gets to that level, right now it looks like it’s going to be a country music star.
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fluxus2000 Apr 3, 2026 +3
But most people don't like country.
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keyboardmash2 Apr 3, 2026 +1
Yeah, it's a niche genre here
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giostarship Apr 3, 2026 +1
Michael Jackson.
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stev_mempers Apr 3, 2026 -1
In the future, dum-dum.
-1
ImAFan2014 Apr 3, 2026 -3
Are you new to music? Are you unaware that it doesn't matter what Beyonce, Eminem, or Taylor Swift record, people are going to buy it/stream it, and sell out their shows if they tour? Those are the artists with that level of popularity in the modern era.
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WeirdRadiant2470 Apr 3, 2026 +3
They haven't influenced music in any significant way though. The Beatles changed music across the board.
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ImAFan2014 Apr 3, 2026
you think Eminem didn't influence music? or Destiny's Child? you must also be new to music lmfao
0
Thisdoessuck Apr 3, 2026 +1
I didn’t think about Eminem initially but he actually came pretty close to what Op is talking about. When he first came out slim shady was a big deal, it had the combo of being catchy but always all the parents hated it so it made it taboo which then made everybody look for it. He’s mixed in with some rap legends and definitely made rap more accessible to white people while being skilled enough to be respected by the rap community. I don’t know that anybody really compares to the Beatles but he kind of checks a lot of the boxes
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fluxus2000 Apr 3, 2026 +1
I know 2 Eminem tracks and have heard two Taylor Swift tracks. I know nothing by Beyonce. We love in a world where one can easily avoid things and focus on what we prefer. This is different than the state of mass media and pop culture on the 1960s.
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