Taylor Swift named IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2019

No doubt about it: Taylor Swift is the world’s biggest artist for the year, again.

TayTay is named IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2019, an honour that recognises a musician’s global impact across streaming, downloads and physical formats, including vinyl.

This marks the second time Swift has snared the award, having won it in 2014. She’s one of just two solo female artists to scoop the accolade, along with Adele (2015), while One Direction (2013), Drake (2016 and 2018) and Ed Sheeran (2017) are the other winners.

Watch Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’:

Swift’s big year comes down to her seventh studio album, Lover, which debuted at No. 1 more than ten territories last August, including Australia where the pop star invaded the national singles chart on release with 13 entries.

The set passed three million album-equivalent sales worldwide by the end of its first week of release, according to the IFPI.

“Taylor Swift is the epitome of a truly global star,” comments Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI. “She continues to grow as an artist and maintains an incredibly strong connection with her fanbase, whilst continuing to evolve her sound with each album. It is a pleasure to be able to present her with the Global Recording Artist of the Year award for the second time.”

The IFP’s global top 10 is dominated by acts from the U.S. and U.K., with South Korea’s BTS the only international act getting in on the action (at No. 7).

There’s a little something for everyone, with hip-hop (Post Malone at No. 3, Drake at No. 8) and heritage acts (Queen at No. 5 and The Beatles at No. 10) represented, and four of the top ten are female singers (Swift, Billie Eilish at No. 4, Ariana Grande at No. 6 and Lady Gaga at No. 9).

Watch Taylor Swift’s ‘ME!’ featuring Brendon Urie:

The IFPI award and top 10 chart is said to be the only ranking to accurately measure consumption across all formats and all countries.

The international trade body counts some 1,300 major and independent company members in almost 60 countries. See the lists below.

IFPI Top 10 Global Recording Artists of 2019

1. Taylor Swift
2. Ed Sheeran
3. Post Malone
4. Billie Eilish
5. Queen
6. Ariana Grande
7. BTS
8. Drake
9. Lady Gaga
10. The Beatles

Previous winners

2018 – Drake
2017 – Ed Sheeran
2016 – Drake
2015 – Adele
2014 – Taylor Swift
2013 – One Direction

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.