Top 20 best-selling artists of 2023
IFPI’s 2023 Global Recording Artist of the Year Award, highlighting all of the top 20 biggest-selling artists of last year.
Music industry company IFPI has posted their annual ‘Global Artist Chart’. This data is comprehensive, tracking worldwide sales of each artist’s entire body of work across streaming, download and physical music formats, during the calendar year.
Find the full top 20 below, including each artist’s position in the top 20 last year.
Unsurprisingly at number one for 2023 is Taylor Swift. This is the first time an artist has topped the list four times, after previous years 2014, 2019 and 2022. This comes after the artist released her tenth studio album Midnights towards the end of 2022, followed by the 2023 “Taylor’s Version” re-releases of two albums – Speak Now and 1989. Her entire back-catalogue saw impressive streams, thanks to the massive success of her Eras tour, bringing tracks like Cruel Summer, initially released in 2019, renewed attention and chart-topping success in 2023.
There are four K-Pop acts in the top 10, including South Korean artists SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids, who scored second and third respectively, as well as TOMORROW X TOGETHER and NewJeans.
It was a first appearance in an IFPI Global Artist chart for eight of the top 20 in 2023. This includes US country star Morgan Wallen after his 2023 release of One Thing At A Time. Lana Del Rey made her first appearance in the top 10, after last appearing on the top 20 back in 2014. 2023 was also a first for Japanese star King & Prince, and US artists SZA and Zach Bryan.
Previous IFPI number one artists are as follows:
- 2022 – Taylor Swift
- 2021 – BTS
- 2020 – BTS
- 2019 – Taylor Swift
- 2018 – Drake
- 2017 – Ed Sheeran
- 2016 – Drake
- 2015 – Adele
- 2014 – Taylor Swift
- 2013 – One Direction
We are immensely proud to award the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Award to Taylor Swift for the fourth time, as she continues to redefine the limits of global success. Taylor is a singular talent and her commitment to her craft and her fans is truly phenomenal.
It is also fantastic to see so many artists entering the chart for the first time, and the return of established acts years after their last appearance. As the global recorded music landscape shifts and new opportunities emerge, record companies continue their work to build global, long-term careers for their artists.
Lewis Morrison, Director of Charts and Certifications, IFPI
Check out the IFPI’s 2023 best-selling singles and albums.
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Prior year position: RE (2014)
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20. King & Prince
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