"This can't be serious": Billboard reveals the top producers of the 21st century so far – and people aren't happy

Billboard has published a list of the 21st century's top 25 producers, ranking producers by how many No. 1 hits they've landed on the Billboard Hot 100 since the turn of the millennium, and the results may surprise you.

The winner, however, is no surprise. Swedish superproducer Max Martin landed the top spot in Billboard's rankings, having absolutely dominated the charts since securing his first No. 1 with Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time in 1999.

Since then, he's produced chart-topping hits for P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Snoop Dogg, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and more, and is set to cement his prime position with the release of Taylor Swift's forthcoming album The Life of a Showgirl later this year.

It's not Martin's success that has sparked heated debate amongst fans, but the absence of some hugely influential 21st-century producers – Pharrell Williams, Rick Rubin and Metro Boomin, among others – and the fact that a number of superstars known primarily as recording artists have placed highly in the list, thanks to the producer credits they have on their own songs.

The artist highest in Billboard's rankings is Beyoncé, who sits at No. 6, just behind Swedish producer Shellback and ahead of Jack Antonoff, Benny Blanco and Timbaland. Trailing close behind is Taylor Swift, who comes in at No. 13 thanks to producer credits on six of her 12 chart-topping singles. Other artists on the list include Mariah Carey, ranked in fifteenth place, and The Weeknd at No. 19.

Best known as artists, performers and songwriters, there's no denying that Beyoncé and Swift aren't in the same category as producers like Jack Antonoff and Max Martin: production isn't their primary focus, and they don't produce music for other artists. Should this disqualify them from the list, though, even if they've earned their place in Billboard's rankings thanks to production credits on their own (astronomically successful) songs?

While many have questioned the validity of these credits, suggesting that artists at Swift and Beyoncé's level are often given production credits to increase royalty share or give the impression of creative control, this devalues the transformative contributions that these artists have made to the production of their own music. (It's also telling that most of this skepticism is being levelled at female artists, rather than male artists such as The Weeknd.)

Beyoncé has been involved in production since the very beginning of her career. In an interview from the early '00s, she talks about being denied producer credits on Destiny's Child's first album, despite handling the vocal production. (On the follow-up, The Writing's on the Wall, Beyoncé co-produced more than half the album's songs.)

Producer Stuart White recalled working with Beyoncé on 2022's Renaissance in an interview with Sound on Sound: "She is a true genius at producing and she’s brilliantly right on it, all the time," White said. "She may say, ‘That sounds cool, but can you dirty it up?’ and I’ll put on some of her favourite saturation or distortion plugins to try to get the right feeling."

Producer DJ Swivel has also spoken highly of Beyoncé's production skills, and despite working across 10 studios with 20 different producers on the 2011 album 4, she is said to have overseen the entire process: "B was the main producer, as every idea had to pass her approval and the bars that she set. Ideas would come in and she'd say 'OK, that's great, but let's add live drums to this part,' you know?

"She can knock a song out in an hour, and it will sound incredible," DJ Swivel recalled. "I remember one day we worked for 36 hours straight, and she cut six entire songs with leads, BVs and comps. I think she even managed to squeeze in a couple of business meetings too!"

Billboard's list is admittedly flawed – why rank producers by the amount of No. 1 hits they've worked on, instead of overall chart performance, streams or sales? – but the publication is right to recognize the contributions of artists to the production of their own records. As Billboard notes, regardless of how they made the list, everyone on it can rightfully claim credit for shaping the sound of pop music since the turn of the century.

Check out the full list over at Billboard.