The global music industry has once again placed Taylor Swift at the very top.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has officially named Swift its 2025 Global Artist of the Year, marking the sixth time she has received the honor. It is also her fourth consecutive year leading the worldwide ranking.
The recognition places her ahead of a wide range of global heavyweights, including Ed Sheeran, SZA, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Billie Eilish.
According to IFPI, the award reflects performance across streaming platforms, downloads, and physical sales worldwide during the calendar year. The calculation includes an artist’s entire body of work, not just new releases.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, IFPI said: “Swift has now won the award as many times as all other artists combined over the past 10 years, which reflects both her creative consistency and the long-term global strategies supporting her releases.”
Swift has not publicly commented on the latest milestone.
A year defined by record-breaking releases and sustained global reach
The achievement follows a landmark year for the singer-songwriter. In 2025, Swift released her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, along with the documentary miniseries The End of an Era, which chronicled her record-breaking Eras Tour.
Her Eras Tour has been described as the most commercially successful tour ever, grossing $2,077,618,725 (€1.96 billion). At the end of last year, she also released the concert film Taylor Swift/The Eras Tour/The Final Show.
The combination of touring, film, documentary content, and new music reinforced her global commercial strength across formats.
Swift remains one of only five artists — alongside Drake, Seventeen, The Weeknd, and Eminem — to have appeared on the IFPI Global Artist Chart for the past five consecutive years.
K-pop group Stray Kids secured second place this year, marking their third straight year within the top five. Bad Bunny, previously named Spotify’s Global Top Artist, ranked fifth and extended his presence on the IFPI chart to six consecutive years.
Lady Gaga returned to the ranking for the first time since 2020, landing in 10th place. Tyler, The Creator and Japanese group Mrs. GREEN APPLE made their first appearances, ranking at No. 12 and No. 13 respectively.
Other artists featured on this year’s Global Artist Chart include Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, and Billie Eilish, while Ed Sheeran, SZA, and Justin Bieber re-entered the top 20.
IFPI is expected to release the results of its Global Single Chart and Global Album Chart later this week.
With a sixth Global Artist of the Year title and four consecutive years at No. 1, Swift’s position at the forefront of the global music industry remains firmly intact.
