Sure, everybody’s making lists these days, and everybody can comment, no big deal, but when esteemed publications like Rolling Stone or Billboard come with those, they can create some serious (media, social, and regular ones) uproar. This time around, it was a turn for Billboard and its most recent of the 21st century.
As was to be expected, there was a multitude of yays and nays, as well as quite a few bones of contention concerning the list. The first problem some commentators and publications saw was the selection criteria Billboard chose - the producers on the list were ranked based on the number of No. 1 hits they had on the Billboard Hot 100 since this century.
Was this the only list to consider, and/or is the quality of the music they worked on something the list to be based on? These were some of the questions posed, but not the ones most commentators, and particularly fans, had a bone to pick with. It was the names of some producers that didn’t appear, and even more so, some that did appear on the list.
Did Billboard get the list correct?
As the online industry publication notes, nobody seems to have a problem that Swedish producer Max Martin, who was (or is) the production mogul behind the likes of Britney Spears, P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Snoop Dogg, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and more is at the top of the list, nor is it with quite a few other names on the list.
But quite a few, particularly among the fans, have a problem with it. First of all, some of the names are missing. For them, the glaring omissions are, for example, the likes of Pharrell Williams, Rick Rubin, and Metro Boomin.
Yet, the key problem for many is the inclusion of some artists that were included on the list, due to the fact that their names are often included in the producer credits for the songs they recorded. Of course, those sticking out are those of Beyoncé (No. 6 on the list) and Taylor Swift (No. 13 on the list). Also on the list are Mariah Carey (No. 15) and The Weekend (No. 19). What seems to be the problem?
Many comments say that none of the artists that are on this list should qualify, no matter how successful their songs are, because production is not their primary thing, nor did they produce some other artists, contrary to Martin, or say Jack Antonoff, and Benny Blanco, ahead of whom Beyoncé as and artist/producer is placed.
The key gripe here is that they are given production credits to boost the royalties they receive for their music. Yet, there are some serious counterarguments here that should be considered.
First of all, the largest number of gripes seems to be directed at Beyoncé and Taylor Swift (female artists) and not so many at The Weekend (as a male artist). Secondly, both Beyoncé and Swift were involved with the production of their music quite early in their careers (particularly the former) and have had serious input into the manner their music was produced before it reaches the audience.
Some producers who had worked with them, like Stuart White, who recalled working with Beyoncé on 2022's Renaissance in an interview, with, "She is a true genius at producing and she’s brilliantly right on it, all the time.”
This Billboard list (like possibly any other) is flawed, particularly by some of the criteria used, but excluding artists who worked on producing their music (partly or completely) is not one of them.