The Country Champions

Germany Takes the Crown

Holy cow, Germany dominates this map like nothing else. We’re talking Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Mendelssohn, Schumann – basically your entire classical music playlist. But here’s the thing: this wasn’t some random stroke of luck.

Picture the Holy Roman Empire – hundreds of tiny kingdoms and duchies all trying to one-up each other. Every petty prince wanted the best court musicians. Every major church competed for the most impressive organists. All that competition? It created jobs, prestige, and a culture where being a great composer actually mattered.

Plus, those Lutheran churches weren’t messing around with simple tunes. They wanted complex, emotionally powerful music that could move entire congregations. Suddenly, every town needed skilled composers.

Italy’s Creative Explosion

Italy comes in second. Much of northern Italy was actually part of the Holy Roman Empire too, which helps explain the similar musical abundance. Those same competitive court systems that worked in Germany were happening in Italian city-states.

But Italy added its own special ingredients. This is where opera was invented, where Renaissance courts turned music into pure spectacle. Venice stands out especially – it opened the world’s first public opera house in 1637 and became a musical laboratory where Vivaldi helped invent Baroque style while running an orphanage music school. The city’s political independence let composers experiment in ways that wouldn’t have been possible elsewhere.

Cities like Florence and Naples became centers of innovation too. Monteverdi basically created modern opera, and Italy’s culture of public entertainment created audiences hungry for new musical experiences.

Austria’s Concentrated Power

Don’t let Austria’s size fool you. This was the Habsburg Empire at its peak, and Vienna was one of Europe’s biggest, richest cities. Austrian composers like Schubert grew up where music wasn’t just entertainment – it was how empires showed off their power.

Vienna might be on of the most important city on this entire map. Sure, Mozart wasn’t born there, but he moved there. Same with Beethoven. The Habsburg capital became the place where musical careers were made. Why? Money, for starters – the imperial court had deep pockets. But also audiences: wealthy nobles and a growing middle class who actually understood complex music. Vienna attracted talent from across Europe, creating this incredible creative community.

France’s Sophisticated Scene

France earned its spot differently. French composers like Debussy, Ravel, and Berlioz didn’t just copy German or Italian styles – they created something uniquely French. The conservatory system in Paris produced technically brilliant musicians who could innovate within established traditions.

Paris in the 19th century was like a musical magnet, pulling in composers from everywhere. Saint-Saëns and Bizet weren’t just born there – they were products of that specific urban environment. The Conservatoire trained world-class musicians, while the city’s concert halls and opera houses gave them places to perform. The city offered something unique: royal patronage mixed with artistic freedom, plus wealthy audiences who weren’t afraid of new sounds.

The Others

England shows up modestly with composers like Purcell and Britten. Russia and Poland start appearing in the 19th century when nationalist movements encouraged composers to develop their own national styles. Chopin‘s Polish identity became inseparable from his music.

The Time Periods That Mattered

The Baroque Boom (1600-1750)

Most map dots cluster in specific time periods, and the Baroque era is huge. Why then? Powerful courts and the Catholic Counter-Reformation created massive demand for ceremonial music. Being a court composer meant steady work and real social status.

Bach, Handel, Vivaldi – these guys weren’t starving artists. They had jobs, pensions, and respect. The Baroque period made composing a legitimate profession.

The Romantic Revolution (1800-1910)

But the 19th century? That’s where the map really explodes with births. Everything changed during the Romantic era. Middle-class families started buying pianos. Public concerts became popular entertainment. Sheet music became a profitable business.

Suddenly, composers didn’t need court appointments – they could make livings selling music directly to the public. Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Wagner, Tchaikovsky – they all figured out how to turn musical talent into independent careers.

The Classical Bridge (1750-1820)

The Classical period sits right between Baroque and Romantic, producing giants like Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. This was when composer-performers became superstars, and when musical forms like the symphony and string quartet got perfected.

Why These Patterns Happened

Look, musical talent probably existed everywhere. But only certain places provided the training, audiences, and financial support that let composers actually develop their abilities.

Political fragmentation helped big time. Instead of one dominant capital, places like Germany had dozens of courts competing for prestige. More patrons meant more opportunities.

Economic prosperity obviously mattered – poor societies don’t spend money on elaborate music. But cultural values mattered too. Societies that prized artistic achievement over purely practical concerns produced more composers.

P.S. Which country or city on this map surprises you most? And here’s what I keep wondering: if someone made this same map for rock music, or jazz, or electronic music, would we see completely different patterns?

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Spotify has also transformed how we search for music. For instance, personalized playlists, powered by algorithms based on the user’s music preference, meant that Spotify recommended over 30 percent of overall listening in 2017. Tracks by little-known artists that otherwise would remain unknown are moved to the forefront and up the charts, thanks again to Spotify’s playlists.

But the world’s most popular streaming media service doesn’t get access to these tunes for free — in 2021 alone, Spotify shelled out seven billion dollars in royalties to the music industry. What you may not know is that users have a say in just how much is paid to music creators, with a pay-per-stream fee generated each time a song is played.

With this in mind, the data analysts at NetCredit wondered: based on local listeners worldwide, which songs are earning the most money in each nation on Spotify?

Key Findings

• Sunflower by Post Malone has earned the most money overall ($4.5 million from American listens)
• Blinding Lights by The Weeknd is the highest-earning song in 10 nations (more than any other individual song)
• Most of the highest-earning EDM songs are by a handful of artists, including Avicii, the Chainsmokers, Elton John, SAINt JHN, or Tiësto
• Meanwhile, top-earning hip-hop rap songs are often by local artists

The Highest-Earning Song in Every Country

With 80 million songs at the touch of a button, Spotify has made it easier than ever to enjoy your favorite music on the go. Artists reap the benefits, too, receiving a fee every time their tracks are played. But which song in every country is earning the biggest bucks thanks to local listeners?

The world map below reveals the overall highest-earning song in each country based on the money generated from Spotify streams. Some songs are the same across countries, like Blinding Lights by the Weeknd and LA CANCION by J Balvin, while others are unique, like Malta’s love for Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You.

The Highest-Earning Rock Song in Every Country

The top-earning rock song in 12 nations is Believer by Imagine Dragons, having racked up the most money ($662k) from listeners in Brazil, where the hit track was certified Diamond.

In 10 countries, Sweater Weather by American rock band the Neighbourhood is the highest-earning song, collecting $2.1 million from U.S. listeners alone.

The Highest-Earning Hip-Hop/Rap Songs in Every Country

In 14 countries, Drake’s 2016 hit One Dance made more money from local streams than any other hip-hop or rap song, earning the most in the United Kingdom ($948k), where the song was also the best-selling single of 2016.

Both INDUSTRY BABY and MONTERO by U.S. rapper Lil Nas X also appear, with the former earning the most money ($47,083) from Spotify streams in Japan. Lucid Dreams by Juice Wrld earned the most money overall ($4.3 million) thanks to American listeners.

The Highest-Earning EDM Song in Every Country

The world map below reveals the electronic dance music (EDM) song in every country that’s made the most money from Spotify streams. In 14 nations, Roses (Imanbek Remix) by SAINt JHN comes out on top, with streams in Canada generating the most money ($369k).

Elsewhere, mostly in South America, Cold Heart (Pnau remix) by Elton John is the highest-earning track. This song was Elton’s first no. 1 single on the U.K. charts in 16 years. The Chainsmokers, Tiesto, and Avicii also appear.

The Highest-Earning Latin Song in Every Country

Spotify has made it easy for Latin fans across the world to enjoy their favorite music, lining the pockets of top artists every time they press play. In 19 countries, Farruko’s 2021 hit Pepas has earned more money from Spotify streams than any other Latin song, banking the most ($411k) in Germany.

Luis Fonsi’s Despacito is the highest-earning in 17 countries, while in the U.S., I Like It by homegrown talent Cardi B and Latin icons J Balvin and Bad Bunny have made the most money ($54,104).

The Methodology Behind This Study

NetCredit set out to reveal the hit song in every nation that has earned its author the most money on Spotify based on its total stream count.
The NetCredit team retrieved each country’s ‘weekly totals’ chart from Kworb. These figures illustrate the total number of streams for songs that have spent at least one week in the top weekly charts of Spotify. Then the team used the Spotify API to sort artists into their associated genres:

1. Rock = any mention of rock
2. Hip-hop/rap = any mention of either genre
3. EDM = any mention of “electronic dance music” or “EDM”
4. Latin = any mention of Latin (e.g., Latin pop, Latin rock) or “reggaeton”

Then the NetCredit team defined the most streamed song for each genre. They multiplied the number of total streams for every song by Spotify’s payout-per-stream figure, which equals $0.005 per stream (data was taken from Ditto Music).

The data was gathered between January 6 and 11, 2023.

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But, perhaps because tiling as an industry took off in Victorian times, the wonder of the tile is often overlooked. After all, can there be true glamour in a decoration whose use depends on a substance called ‘grout’? Actually, yes. From vintage patterns to streamlined sophistication, tiling can make anybody’s bathroom or kitchen a place they want to be.

While some cultures have a world-famous tiling tradition from which to draw inspiration, others are less well known. That’s why QS Supplies decided to create a mapped guide to the most desirable tile designs from every country on Earth…

World Map

Ceramic tiles are one of the oldest forms of material art. Besides their sustainability and captivating beauty, they reveal a lot about a place’s history and culture. Tiles have been used worldwide for thousands of years, adorning the interiors and exteriors of buildings, from cathedrals and palaces to the everyday home. Most nations have their unique design styles. Some have changed throughout the years, whereas some remain unchanged and are just as popular today.

Europe

Ceramic tiles have been displayed and crafted since the 4th century worldwide. In the 16th-17th century. Modern Europe saw the rise of Delft tiles, which helped influence tile designs all over Europe in modern society. Delft Tiles were originally Chinese porcelain designs but soon integrated into Dutch imagery and later into other counties in Europe. On the other hand, Greek mosaics are known to be some of the earliest forms of art, dating back to the 3rd Millennium BC.

The Middle East and Central Asia

Popularity in handmade and hand-painted ceramics flourished during the Islamic Period, where you would find stunning tile works in Tunisia and Iran dating back to the 9th century. Known for their distinctive style, Iznik ceramics were produced in the 15th century during the Ottoman Empire, their design combining traditional Ottoman arabesque patterns with Chinese elements.

North America

Although Ceramic tiles only began their journey in the United States around the 1870s, other countries in North America, such as Mexico, had their own traditional Talavera Spanish Pottery Tiles, which began in the 16th century. Its ceramic techniques were known to be of Indigenous, Spanish, and Italian influence. Cuba, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Panama, and the Dominican Republic also use similar styles and designs that are influenced by the Spanish during the 16th century.

South America

Azulejos heavily influenced South American tiles, a form of Portuguese and Spanish painted tin-glazed ceramic tile that dates back to the 16th century. With bursts of yellow, red, blue, white, and green, these beautifully designed tiles are an ornamental art form. They typically feature images, such as flowers, suns, and specific geometric patterns.

Africa

It is believed that the earliest form of tile making came out of the Holy Land and in North-East Africa, around the 3rd and 4th centuries BC. Zellij tilework is a particular ceramic that is popular in Moroccan architecture. Originating from Islamic artwork, this mosaic style is made from hand-chiseled tile pieces set with a plaster base. Tunisian ceramics captured the true beauty of enameled tiles and pottery in the 18th century. This continued in Nabeul during the 20th century, after the city became the capital of Tunisian ceramics.

Asia and Oceania

China has been producing tiles for the mass market for thousands of years, with porcelain being extremely popular in the 17th century. Chinese Ming porcelain is a unique blue and white design used for tiles, plates, and bowls. Other countries in this corner of the world, such as Japan and India, were greatly influenced by designs from around the world, ranging from traditional Islamic designs and patterns to 19th-century Victorian styles.

Methodology

QS Supplies gathered information on tile designs throughout every country across the world. They began by working through a list of countries and getting notable design styles.

The team cross-referenced this with information found on Pinterest and Dreamstime, which gave us a grand vision of how tiles look worldwide and the subtle/vast differences between them.

The world of tiling dates back to as early as the 4th century BC. From that point, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Ottomans, Victorians, Chinese, and the Dutch all had an artistic ideology around art, and all similarly took influence from previous styles and designs. This meant a comprehensive approach was required to ensure our information was correct. To ensure this, QS Supplies sourced information from professionals such as ceramists, archaeologists, and historians to decide which tiles originated from/are the most notable from every corner of the world.

I collected the data in February 2022.

The post World Map Depicting Traditional Tile Designs From Every Country appeared first on Vivid Maps.

People have to go to cyberspace as the just way of seeing so various world-great artists. The Ken Bromley Arts Supplies team desired to find out which artists were googled for the most in 2020, using Google Keyword, and who has been most famous in every nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They created a world map to present the most famous artists in every country and continent.

World’s Most Popular Artist

Leonardo da Vinci is the world’s most famous artist, winning in a sum of 82 nations.

Leonardo da Vinci is best known for his Mona Lisa and Last Supper arts, which can be seen in the Louvre in Paris and the Santa Maria Delle Grazie in Milan.

The recognizable Mexican feminist artist Frida Kahlo came 2nd, winning in 29 nations, with Artemisia Gentileschi coming in 4th, making these two female artists make the victors top.

Dutch painter and wounded soul Vincent van Gogh 3rd are prevailing in 24 countries. Van Gogh’s famed Starry Night oil painting is housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The top 7 most searching artist in the world

The maps below show the winners in each continent.

Europe

Africa

North America

South America

Asia

Oceania

The post The Most Googled Artist in Every Country Mapped appeared first on Vivid Maps.

Sara Drake via squarespace.com

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Related post:
– United States Old Maps

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Musical map of United States

Musical Map of Europe

Musical Map of Africa

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Reddit user: halfabluesky

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This context is part of what makes a pictorial map published that same year so interesting. Created by Klengston Rude, the map is more than just a visual guide to Alaska’s rivers, mountains, cities, and wildlife. It also reads — subtly but clearly — like a visual endorsement of Alaska’s place in the American story. A kind of soft propaganda, perhaps. A way of showing the public: “Look how beautiful, rich, and full of potential this new state is.”

The map is packed with details. Moose, seals, bears, lynx, mountain goats, and bald eagles are illustrated throughout the state’s vast terrain. Major glaciers are labeled, mountain ranges sketched, cities and settlements placed alongside winding rivers and coastal inlets. Roads and highways — some real, some still only proposed — stretch out across the landscape, reflecting ambitions to connect communities in this rugged land. The cartographer likely used government sources such as U.S. Geological Survey maps and Alaska Territory infrastructure records to construct it, but like many pictorial maps of the era, it mixes cartography with illustration and storytelling.

What also stands out are the six historical scenes flanking the map on the left and right. These short illustrated vignettes mark what the mapmakers considered turning points in Alaska’s history: Bering’s expedition in 1741; the first Russian settlement in 1784; the U.S. purchase from Russia in 1867; the Klondike gold rush in 1897; the capital’s move to Juneau in 1900; and finally, statehood in 1959. Taken together, they present a neat historical arc — from discovery to settlement to inclusion in the Union.

But of course, the real story wasn’t that tidy. While Alaska’s statehood passed in Congress with strong support in the final vote, the road there had been long and often contentious. Many southern states worried about new liberal votes in the Senate. Others feared increased federal spending on infrastructure or defense in a state that had only around 225,000 residents at the time. Opposition voices, like that of Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, argued Alaska was economically dependent on the federal government and culturally too different to be granted equal status. Supporters, including President Eisenhower, saw it as a way to strengthen national unity and increase strategic reach, especially with tensions high during the Cold War.

So in that environment — with public opinion not yet firmly in favor — this kind of colorful, appealing, patriotic map likely served more than just educational purposes. It was a way of helping Americans feel more familiar with and connected to a place many had never seen or thought much about. It put wildlife, infrastructure, and historical legitimacy front and center. It helped shape an image of Alaska as not just remote wilderness, but as a place full of life, history, and American identity.

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