Beatles vs. Stones. The age-old debate has ended friendships, shaken marriages, and spawned a countless number of rock radio debates over the decades. Now, it appears that the underdog Stones might have a leg up on their critically-acclaimed counterparts thanks to modern digital metrics.
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While the Beatles have sold more records, won more awards, and arguably inspired more rock disciples, the Fab Four have suffered a massive decline in popularity on both Google and YouTube, according to Digital Music News. Dating back to 2010, when their search popularity peaked at 100 million queries per month, the boys from Liverpool have endured a downward slide, dipping well below the 25 million mark currently.
Meanwhile, the Rolling Stones, thanks in large part to the simple fact that they’re all still alive (not to mention touring and releasing records), have held steady over the last decade. “By comparison, the Rolling Stones are far more popular on Google (and YouTube),” writes Digital Music News.
Much of the Beatles decline can be attributed to the natural twilight of a once-great band’s career; with only two living members, and reunions few-and-far between, it’s only natural for public interest in the group to wane. Combine that with the greying of their audience, and you have a recipe for lost interest.
But on the other hand, one has to wonder if there’s more in play here than just the staggering good health of Mick Jagger and Co. With enough hindsight, the Stones’ loose, bluesy aesthetic seems to be more timeless than the Beatles uber-produced gilded age records. Not to mention, in 2017 it’s markedly more “cool” to be seen in a classic Stones concert Tee than some brown-washed Beatles four-square Let It Be memorabilia.
Check out the data here, and let us know what you think about this classic debate!