Recently, I watched a 2022 video1 that cited 16 songs that are 30+ years old and have over 1 billion plays on Spotify. Intrigued and curious, I wondered if that list had grown since then. Much has been made of the dominance of “catalog” songs, defined as tracks that are three years or older, in the streaming industry. Approximately 60% of streaming revenue comes from catalog songs.
I think that 30+ years old and 2 billion plays are appropriate markers to determine a “standing the test of time” designation. Music trends tend to change every 3-5 years, so 10 years, i.e., 2-3 shifts represents a significant generational gap in styles. And songs that remain popular after three generations of change have definitely stood the test of time. Such songs are often cultural touchstones not just for different generations but sometimes across generations.
One billion streams is a significant milestone in the music business. Spotify has a running Billions Club playlist – 977 songs as of this post – that celebrates this rare achievement in their database of over 100 million songs. Two billion streams is an even more restricted club. Only 182 songs have reached that level. Again, this is reasonable evidence of standing the test of time.
30+ years old. 2 billion plays. Here is the list. The differences between them testify to each song’s unique place in popular music. The Top 5 are in bold. Special shoutout to Queen for having three songs in this exclusive club.
1970s
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (2,837,804,839)
Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now (2,362,223,480)
Fleetwood Mac – Dreams (2,156,860,586)
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Have You Ever Seen The Rain (2,044,278,898)
Earth, Wind & Fire – September (2,025,173,409)
[Just missed: AC/DC – Highway to Hell (1,976,548,336)]
1980s
The Police – Every Breath You Take (2,741,300,282)
Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’ (2,474,496,300)
a-ha – Take on Me (2,380,516,549)
Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine (2,308,451,013)
TOTO – Africa (2,208,687,897)
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (2,200,352,355)
Queen – Another One Bites The Dust (2,196,139,955)
Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants To Rule The World (2,125,952,800)
[Just missed: Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer (1,958,875,221 835,488)]
1990-1995
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (2,466,234,867)
Oasis – Wonderwall (2,385,059,535)
Radiohead – Creep (2,232,302,422)
Mariah Carey – All I Want for Christmas Is You (2,178,390,106)
Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise (2,138,106,334)
P.S. This list is notable for its absence of songs from the 60s but classic songs like Let it Be and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction “only” have 828 and 850 million streams, respectively. Spotify was launched in the US in 2011 and didn’t gain global traction until 2015, 50 years removed from the 60s. It’s reasonable to assume that a very small percentage of Spotify users are music fans from that era, therefore classic songs from the 60s won’t amass enough streams to join the Billions Club, much less garner 2 billion streams.
Ray's Musings 
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