Taylor Swift named 2019’s top global recording artist;  8 of top 10 are Universal artists

Taylor Swift

SANTA MONICA, March 02, 2020– Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, had more artists in the IFPI’s top ten global artists of the year in 2019 than any record company since the IFPI started tracking these figures in 2013. IFPI, the global organisation that represents the recorded music industry, published its annual Top 10 Global Recording Artists for 2019 today.

This is the first time that artists from one company comprised eight of the top ten artists of the year worldwide, with Republic Records/UMG artist Taylor Swift named as the Global Artist of the Year for 2019.

Taylor Swift was joined on the list by UMG artists: Post Malone; Billie Eilish; Queen; Ariana Grande; Drake; Lady Gaga; and The Beatles. In addition, BTS, who charted at number seven globally, are distributed exclusively for all Japanese language releases by Universal Music Japan, becoming the first international act to achieve Million certification in Japan for the release of their single Lights/Boy With Luv in 2019.

The IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Award and top 10 chart is the only ranking to accurately measure consumption across all formats (including streaming channels, digital and physical album and singles sales) and all countries. It is weighted based on the relative value of each method of consumption.

In 2019, for the first time in more than a decade, UMG led all of the world’s top 5 music markets* (U.S., Japan, U.K., Germany & France).

(*source: official chart data for owned & licensed content, taken from sources including: Nielsen Soundscan, BVMI, OCC, GFK, SNEP & Oricon)

 IFPI Top 10 Global Recording Artists of 2019**

  1. Taylor Swift (UMG)
  2. Ed Sheeran (Warner)
  3. Post Malone (UMG)
  4. Billie Eilish (UMG)
  5. Queen (UMG)
  6. Ariana Grande (UMG)
  7. BTS (Big Hit/UMG/Sony)
  8. Drake (UMG)
  9. Lady Gaga (UMG)
  10. The Beatles (UMG)
(**source: IFPI)

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries. Featuring the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. Universal Music Group is a Vivendi company.

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