Chartmaster Unveils 2023’s Most Streamed Artists, Sparking BTS’ ‘Inorganic’ Streaming Debate
Topping the ranking were familiar names, with Taylor Swift leading at 29.10B streams, followed by Bad Bunny, The Weeknd, Drake, and Peso Pluma in the top five.
A notable mention goes to BTS, representing K-pop at the No.21 position with 5.93B streams. However, Chartmaster didn’t shy away from addressing a concern in BTS’s streaming strategy.
They pointed to the impact of inorganic streams/farming and the focus on individual member solo releases, causing a dip in BTS’s overall streaming numbers.
Chartmaster remarked, “There have been many traces of inorganic performances in recent years, which impacts the perception of BTS’s success. Parts of BTS’ fans in countries like Vietnam and Thailand are trying too hard to game the system, leading to BTS-related songs to go up and down in clearly inorganic fashion.
In the past, it wasn’t that much of an issue. But when Vietnam is now making up 8% of Jungkook’s Seven’s global streams, and Thailand 13%, while historically BTS used to record a more natural 1% to 1.5% and 2% to 2.5% respectively in these markets, we will need to address the issue to maintain accounting methods fair to every artist.”
This observation from Chartmaster stirred dissatisfaction and inquiries among BTS fans.
Fans took to X to voice their opinions. One fan emphasized the natural drop in streams, considering BTS had only released two group songs in 2023—an OST and a fan song. They argued that maintaining a daily stream count of 13 million, even without active fan streaming, indicates BTS’s global popularity beyond the fan base.
Others directed their feedback to Chartmaster, urging fairness in evaluating streaming practices. They called for consideration of similar practices among other artists and suggested corrections to ensure a balanced perspective.
In the midst of it all, a prevailing sentiment emerged: a call for unbiased and fair chart updates, emphasizing the importance of objective reporting music statistics.
