Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” is IFPI’s biggest-selling album of 2025
Not content with just topping the global artist chart, Taylor Swift’s latest album claims IFPI’s Official Global Album of the Year top spot.
Taylor Swift had a strong 2025, claiming numerous victories, as expected, across multiple charts. Swift was crowned IFPI’s global artist of 2025, but the IFPI accolades don’t stop there. Her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl” took the number one spot on the Global Album Chart, Global Album Sales Chart, and Global Vinyl Album Chart.
IFPI shared that these wins mean that Swift has broken her own global vinyl sales record for the fourth year in a row. The success of Swift’s twelfth studio album can be attributed to a “carefully executed global release strategy”. This included numerous special edition physical formats – cleverly eeked out, capitalising on the shared Swifty appetite for sparkly new merch -, digital distribution, music videos, and more.
While Taylor Swift’s album stood on top of the pile, it was surrounded by K-pop. In the number 2 spot was Stray Kids’ “Karma”, and the number 3 position was held by SEVENTEEN’s “HAPPY BURSTDAY”. Similarly, these albums’ successes were fuelled by physical formats and strategies focused heavily on fan engagement. A proven working formula.
On Taylor Swift’s triumph, Victoria Oakley, IFPI CEO said, “Taylor Swift topping the IFPI Global Album rankings once again is a clear reflection of the strength of her connection with fans around the world.
“This year’s results also show how truly global today’s music market is, with success being driven across streaming and physical formats by artists from a wide range of countries and genres.”
IFPI’s Global Album of the Year Award is worked out according to the album’s global sales and consumption across streaming, download and physical music formats during the year.