How influential IS Kanye?

Much ado has been made regarding Kanye’s supposed recent SNL rant, getting coverage from the likes of New York Times Page Six, CNN, Variety, etc. THE key topic of conversation from reporters and commenters of all types, is what seems to be Yeezy’s claim on an audio recording of being 50% more influential than any person dead or alive. Originally pushed out as a rant by the artist directed at SNL staff, it was later indicated the recording was of a private conversation with his team.

No whether Kanye influences you or just plain pisses you off, there is no argument, his words have a large audience and elicit responses from across the globe and in the most powerful media outlets on the planet, not to mention social media.

How influential is Kanye? Well, enough to get Nielsen Talent Analytics the most powerful and respected data reporting system in the world took time out to gather some data to share with us.

According to Nielsen’s Talent Analytics:

Kanye West has had a LOT to say recently. It was reported that audio from the set of West’s recent SNL appearance captured Kanye saying that he’s 50 percent more influential than any human being dead or alive, including Stanley Kubrick, Pablo Picasso, Pablo Escobar, and Paul the Apostle.

Using Nielsen’s Talent Analytics solution, we looked into just how influential Mr. West really is among Americans who are aware of him. He’s influential for sure, but 50% more than others? Not quite. Here’s what our analysis found:

· While nearly a quarter (24%) of U.S. adults who know Kanye West think he’s influential, his score for this attribute is lower than the average across hip-hop (30% of U.S. adults think hip-hop artists are influential), music (34), sports (28), and TV/Film (28).

· However, he is considered more offensive than the average entertainer across those same categories, as 56% of U.S. adults think Kanye is offensive. Miley Cyrus is rated as more offensive than Kanye (61).

· Oprah Winfrey is actually 200% or 3X more influential than Kanye. Taylor Swift is 129% more influential or 2X more influential than the rapper/fashion designer.

· Among Millennials (ages 18-34), we see a similar pattern, but Kanye is as influential with this group as the average sports personality (28) and slightly more influential when compared to the average score for TV/Film actors (27).

See additional information in the chart below from Nielsen Talent Analytics:

Celebrity Influence Comparison
Among Americans who are aware of the respective entertainer
Source: Nielsen Talent Analytics
Read as: Among U.S. adults who know Kanye West, 24% think he is influential.
% Influential
Entertainer	Among Adults 18+	Among Adults 18-34
Kanye West	24	28
Oprah Winfrey	72	71
Taylor Swift	55	53
Stephen Spielberg	77	74
Serena Williams	56	55
Category Average
Hip-Hop/Rap	30	30
Music	34	32
Sports	28	28
TV/Film	28	27
% Offensive
Entertainer	Among Adults 18+	Among Adults 18-34
Kanye West	56	51
Miley Cyrus	61	54
Ray Rice	53	46
Charlie Sheen	53	45
About Nielsen Talent Analytics
The collective Nielsen intelligence, insights and solutions for linking brands and audiences to entertainment personalities. Talent Analytics includes custom analytics powered by Nielsen N-Score and leverages a variety of Nielsen data sets (such as TV ratings, our Homescan panel, and consumer segmentation systems).
About Nielsen N-Score
N-Score is Nielsen’s syndicated tool for evaluating the endorsement potential for personalities across the Sports, Television, Film, Music, Book Publishing and Radio industries. Approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers who are representative of the U.S. population are surveyed on a weekly basis (English-only) where they are asked to assess 50 different personalities. A personality’s total “N-Score” is then determined using a proprietary calculation incorporating a personality’s awareness and likeability along with 10 other attributes. Nielsen N-Score survey data are then linked to other Nielsen solutions to produce additional segmentation and demographic information (i.e. Nielsen Talent Analytics).

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Tags: Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.