A simple way to rank all artists on Melon from 2005 - 2025

Twice and BlackPink do not make the top 10 overall.

That is surprising.

I like this a lot!

I'm not sure if the 0.8 is the best number since I feel 0.57 for a #2 is a bit low (after all many times it depends on timing, and a #2 + #3 should count more than a #1 IMO), maybe a 0.9 or 0.85 could be tried to see the difference with this rank, but I think this method shows a better result than a simple linear ranking. Nice job!

Day6 in the list we love to see it

And it's crazy that most of their success is from the past year

Quote from BEG4DAWIN

Twice and BlackPink do not make the top 10 overall.

That is surprising.

It is very difficult to compare across generations. Data comparisons based on positions on chart will most definitely favor 4th gen because of the fact that songs spend so long in the top 100 now after the reform.

Also it cannot capture 3rd gen's strengths against 4th gen such as total unique listeners, streams (some of which 4th gen will never surpass again)- Example, D4's peak in 2018 with 85M digital points and 1M unique listeners on melon.

Honestly I think this method could be great just for comparing between 4th gen artists onwards only.

We are gone from the days where we need to take into account downloads, streams, Unique listeners, digital points all at once on top of how many weeks spent in top 10 and 100 etc.

Since the charts are simpler now with less things to consider compared to the past, positional data could in fact work

If MHJ did not decide to strike Hybe, NJ would have dethroned IU by now

again but why ^ (-0.8)

why that particular methodology

you say compared to the alternatives but again you never provide any justifications for why those alternatives in the first place...

you did mention that - The chart was being reformed many times, a #1 in 2015 is different than a #1 today. which is perfectly understandable so why not a weight metric based on total melon listeners of the group or song/ total listens altogether? or unique listeners of a song vs total unique listeners

that way it can account for the change in melon total listeners over time

Quote from WhyKnock

If MHJ did not decide to strike Hybe, NJ would have dethroned IU by now

Why did you become an IU hater?

That’s a fun way to slice the data. Thanks for sharing!

Quote from Seoged

Why did you become an IU hater?

She undermined KPop whenever she could, hindering its advances and making all acts, until Huntr/x having to watch their backs because she could strike from the back whenever she felt like.

Quote from vinslow4

Because among those rank^-x formula, -0.8 is the least step but still satisfies #1 > #2 + #3.

Originally I went for 1/rank (or rank^-1), but the difference between #2 and #10 is too big in this. -0.7 is definitely less drastic but doesn't give #1 the edge over #2 and #3.

I've thought about more complex methods but decided those weren't worth it lol.

The difference is more about a track can stay on chart longer than before. Weighted unique listeners can't fix this.

The <listeners of the group> / <total listeners altogeter> also doesn't work when comparing downloading era vs streaming era. One costs both money and time while other just costs time. A subscriber can just stream every songs they want, but they'll think twice before download anything.

Display More

it still explain why 1 > 2+3 why use that particular methodology? why not 1 > 2+3+4

also I haven't calculated anything but does it also mean 2>3+4 and so on? ie. does 98>99+100???

also no. 1 in melon historically had a higher number of UL than no.1 ion melon these days so why does both having a score of 1^-0.8

maybe use weighted UL / total UL per day and total those fractions as long as they stay in the top 100 or whatever...

why doesn't listeners/total listeners work since they only compare the available method of listening (ie. only streams previously) and not streams and downloads so we're comparing like with like. Prior to downloads every song was in the same boat - only streams were available and now every song is still in the same boat only streams and downloads are available...am I making sense?? lol

then is the solution to use something like goan points or circle points since they take into account the downloads as well (obviously that includes platforms beyond just melon.

Quote from vinslow4

Anyway, here is the google sheet id for anyone interested 1IqRt-dx62YqstQdhqz9ZfJaCoN4E0X4-YrytjtXMKP0

Can y‍ou fix the link? The text doesn't actually link to anything.

Quote from vinslow4

Still works for me.

Code

spreadsheets/d/1IqRt-dx62YqstQdhqz9ZfJaCoN4E0X4-YrytjtXMKP0

screenshot_2025-08-21T12:56:51.png

Got it--I was able to access the spreadsheet by manually cutting and pasting the text. It appears that this forum doesn't actually allow users to link to Google Docs.

Quote from vinslow4

Still works for me.

I've reviewed your spreadsheet, and the data contained within doesn't appear to match what's presented in this thread.

In the Weekly_Data tab, Score column, y‍ou assign a score based on the formula Score = (1 - (Rank - 1) / 100), so a #1 song has a score of 1, while a #100 song has a score of 0.01.

In the Total_Score tab, y‍ou then sum up all the scores for each artist, with, for example, I‍U coming out on t‍op with 1458.59 points in total.

This conflicts with I‍U's total of 259.75 shown above. Basically, I'm not seeing h‍ow the exponential point distribution function y‍ou mentioned earlier is being incorporated.

This is very interesting and is honestly in line with the chart trends from the early 00s to now.