In 2016, Mozart Sold More CDs than Beyoncé
In fact, Mozart sold the most CDs in 2016, beating out Adele, Drake, and Beyoncé, even though all of those artists had Grammy-winning hits that year.
So, how'd an 18th-century composer sell more than pop music's greatest names? Well, in October 2016, the Universal Music Group released a box set commemorating the 225th anniversary of Mozart's death. Each disc included in the box set counted as one CD sold, and each set contained 200 discs. Throw in the proliferation of streaming—which has significantly dampened CD sales—and voila.
The British Navy Uses Britney Spears Songs to Scare Off Pirates
According to reports, British naval officers play Britney Spears songs to scare away Somali pirates off of Africa's eastern coast. Her songs "Oops I Did It Again" and "Baby One More Time" are the songs which are used. The rationale of playing these songs is because, supposedly, Somali pirates have a strong dislike for western culture and music, which make Britney Spears' songs a perfect fit to make the bandits move on as quickly as possible.
Metallica is the First and Only Band to Have Played on All 7 Continents
In 2013, rock band Metallica achieved a new Guinness World Records title after becoming the first musical act to play a concert on all seven continents. They set this record after performing for 120 scientists and competition winners in a transparent dome at Carlini Station in Antarctica. The band actually held concerts on all seven continents within one calendar year, following tour dates in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Michael Jackson Tried to Buy Marvel Comics
Michael Jackson so badly wanted to play Spider-Man in a movie that he attempted to buy Marvel Comics—the company that created the character and owns the rights to Spider-Man—so he could make it happen. Stan Lee, Marvel's chairman up until his death in 2018, has recalled this story publicly. The comic legend said that he thought Jackson would've been a good Spider-Man. However, Lee felt that Jackson was not a very good businessman, so it's a good thing the rights were never sold.
The World's Longest Running Performance Will End in the 27th Century
A 639-year performance based on avant-garde composer John Cage's "As Slow as Possible" started in September 2001 and is still running at St. Buchard Church in Germany. (Cage is also the guy behind "4'33"," a composition that consists of four-and-a-half minutes of whole rests—or, in normal parlance, silence.) The performance by an automated organ progresses so slowly that visitors have to wait months for a chord change, and is scheduled to conclude in 2640. The performance is so slow that the organ it's played on was not even completed before the concert began. Pipes were added to keep the music steady in 2008.
Axl Rose Smoked Cigarettes As a Part-Time Gig
While Guns N' Roses were struggling to make an impact on the Hollywood music scene in the mid-1980s, Axl Rose held down some interesting jobs, including the position of night manager at the Tower Records location on Sunset Boulevard. He and his bandmate, Izzy Stradlin, also participated in a scientific study at UCLA, where they smoked cigarettes for reported wages of $8 per hour (equivalent to $19 an hour today).
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