COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

I like Rihanna a lot (in the current pop/R&B musical landscape) but being a kid from the 1980's, it is unfair to her to compare her to Madonna. Madonna had really good ALBUMS, which Rihanna never had (IMO) until her most recent one. Rihanna has carved a really good niche among her peers seeing that she has had Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Beyonce,and Adele and others to compete with annually. Similarly, Madonna had fierce competition in the 1980's/1990's from Janet Jackson,Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston.

Maybe it's nostalgia talking, but social media/Youtube/music distribution have diluted the "impact" to some degree. The newer artists make it a point to be on their Twitter, Instagram , and other accounts hourly, so fans are more heavily vested in the artist brand. Rihanna (i believe) is the most successful singles artist of this era and not shockingly, has one of the largest social media followings.

Does social media equal better record sales? Perhaps, but Rihanna's pervasiveness on social media also masks the notion that she never had a REALLy good album and her singles(shorter shelf life than an album)/guest appearances allowed for her to be anywhere and everywhere. The parallel to this would be Madonna's constant appearances in the 1980's-1990's on MTV/celebrity gossip columns. In my opinion (again), Madonna's music drove her brand whereas Rihanna's brand drives her music.

Ultimately, I like them both a lot for what they are: Pop Artists. They make product for the masses to consume and their success or failure depends on our given tastes at the moment.

Just my two cents....

This was a nice post that fairly addresses the topic. I also really like Rihanna as a person and I really enjoyed Anti. I actually think she is a bit underrated when it comes to award season. She is the highest selling dignital artist as well. Besides Adele and Bruno Mars, stars like Rihanna, Beyonce, Katy Perry need social media to push their brands because their brand and music is too weak on its own Your right, back in the day it was the other way around for artists like Madonna who really drove her own brand and music. Nonetheless, I like Rihanna and Madonna but no Riri is not the "new" Madonna.