The Enduring Legacy Of The Beatles: A 2020 Music Perspective

Just in case you thought a handful of decades or so could dim the popularity of the English quartet known as The Beatles, the Nielsen Music Midyear Report is here to disabuse you of that notion. According to the data measuring "album-equivalent unit" (a measurement of album sales across all media as well as streams), the title of 2020's biggest selling rock band belongs to Paul, John, George, and Ringo.

The Beatles have moved 1.094 million album-equivalent units in the US in the first half of 2020, far more than any other act in the rock genre, and they are the only act to crack the million unit figure. When looking at all genres, they stand out as the only act of any kind to cross the million-album-unit threshold except for one: the Korean pop sensation BTS, which has shifted 1.417 million album-equivalent units in the US in the first half of 2020.

BTS, a Korean boy band, has been compared to The Beatles for the intense fervor of their biggest fans. They are the artists behind 2020's bestselling album of the year in terms of physical copies sold, with more than 500,000 units (excluding digital downloads and streams) of their new album Map of the Soul: 7 sold in the US. While BTS continues to thrive, other top-selling pop artists like Billie Eilish are also making waves in the music industry.

Even after 50 years since their breakup, The Beatles still reign supreme within the rock genre. The only rock group without a robust decades-old back catalog to crack the top five is Imagine Dragons, which sold 593,000 album-equivalent units between January and June of this year. Other notable rock acts include Queen with 768,000 units sold, Fleetwood Mac with 565,000 units sold, and Metallica with 551,000 units sold.