LONDON – American pop star Taylor Swift was crowned the biggest-selling global artiste of 2025, industry body International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced on Feb 18, the fourth consecutive year and sixth time she has claimed its annual prize.
The 36-year-old’s success was turbo-charged by the October 2025 release of her latest album, The Life Of A Showgirl, which set several streaming records, as well as the release of a docuseries about her record-breaking The Eras tour.
“2025 was another landmark year (for Swift), driven by exceptional worldwide engagement across streaming, physical and digital formats with the release of her 12th album … and the documentary of her tour,” IFPI said.
The body, which represents the recorded music industry worldwide, noted Swift had now won its top annual artiste prize as many times as all other artistes combined over the past 10 years.
IFPI hands out the Global Artist of the Year Award after calculating an artiste’s or group’s worldwide sales across streaming, downloads and physical music formats during the calendar year and covers their entire body of work.
Swift beat out K-pop boy band Stray Kids, which came in second – their highest-ever ranking and the third consecutive year in the global top five.
Fresh from his Super Bowl halftime show, Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny placed fifth in the rankings, his sixth consecutive year in the chart.
American rapper Tyler, The Creator marked his first appearance on the chart, in 12th place, with IFPI noting he had “continued to generate strong vinyl sales across his catalogue”.
Meanwhile, Japanese rock band Mrs Green Apple entered the rankings for the first time one place below him, following what IFPI called “the success of their anniversary album 10”. AFP