In addition to monitoring radio airplay, online streaming and music consumer behavior, Nielsen is the authority in tracking what music people are buying both in-store and digitally. That’s why outlets like Nash Country Daily and Billboard, among others, often cite Nielsen’s statistics in its articles and charts.
An interesting stat that NCD came across this week: Nielsen has also developed its own N-Score, a metric that helps determine the marketability and endorsement potential of athletes, actors and musicians by taking into account factors such as awareness, likeability, influence, role model status, style and success. To get an N-Score, Nielsen fields surveys to more than 1,500 people every week with about 50 different celebrities.
According to Nielsen’s current results, the 15 most marketable country artists (and their N-Scores) are:
- Carrie Underwood: 90
- Reba McEntire: 89
- Dolly Parton: 89
- Garth Brooks: 85
- Shania Twain: 84
- Willie Nelson: 84
- Kenny Rogers: 82
- Faith Hill: 80
- Marie Osmond: 78
- Keith Urban: 78
- Blake Shelton: 78
- Miranda Lambert: 77
- Tim McGraw: 77
- Brad Paisley: 76
- George Strait: 76
Carrie, who tops the list, has her own fitness line, Calia, as well as endorsement deals from Olay and Almay. Reba has her own beauty line, Reba Beauty, and a home goods line available at Cracker Barrel, while Dolly’s Dollywood theme park has remained one of the biggest tourist attraction in the state of Tennessee for decades, drawing more than three million visitors each year.
A few notable names omitted from the list include Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith, who all have lucrative portfolios and endorsement contracts.
Interesting stuff, nonetheless.
photos: Reba McEntire courtesy BMLG; Carrie Underwood by Timothy Kuratek/CBS; Dolly Parton by Quantrell Colbert/NBC
