Taylor Swift wins IFPI biggest-selling global artist crown for sixth time

IFPI confirmed that Taylor Swift is the Official Biggest-Selling Global Artist of 2025, awarding her the distinction for a sixth time and marking a fourth consecutive year at the top of the Global Artist Chart. The announcement, issued by IFPI on February 18, 2026, framed the milestone as historic: Swift’s six wins now equal the combined total of all other artists over the past decade.

IFPI credited a multi-pronged release strategy for 2025’s surge in consumption, pointing to Swift’s 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and the wider exposure from the tour film The End of an Era. IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley called the achievement “a truly historic achievement,” highlighting the artist’s “creative consistency and the long-term global strategies supporting her releases,” language echoed in IFPI’s release and media coverage.

The Life of a Showgirl provided measurable heft. Billboard reported the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in October 2025 and amassed 4.002 million equivalent album units in its opening week, the largest week on record for equivalent album units, surpassing Adele’s 2015 opening with 25 at 3.482 million. The LP returned to the top for a total of 12 weeks at No. 1, with Billboard specifying those weeks were non-consecutive. Rolling Stone and other outlets noted two singles, “Opalite” and “The Fate of Ophelia,” have remained fixtures on the Hot 100, amplifying the album’s long-tail presence in streaming and radio.

Beyond raw figures, the IFPI award underlines an industry model where integrated rollouts, high-profile studio albums, cinematic or streaming documentary tie-ins, and coordinated physical and digital campaigns, translate into outsized market share. For labels, streaming platforms and merch and ticketing partners, Swift’s performance in 2025 reinforced a template for maximizing lifecycle value: a blockbuster album week, ongoing single consumption, and a visual product that funnels viewers back into listening. That combination also fuels secondary markets such as vinyl production and concert film licensing, though IFPI did not publish detailed revenue or viewership breakdowns alongside the chart.

IFPI’s Global Artist Chart top 20 for 2025 lists: 1, Prior Year: 1, Taylor Swift; 2, Prior Year: 5, Stray Kids; 3, Prior Year: 2, Drake; 4, Prior Year: 7, The Weeknd; 5, Prior Year: 20, Bad Bunny; 6, Prior Year: 9, Kendrick Lamar; 7, Prior Year: 13, Morgan Wallen; 8, Prior Year: 10, Sabrina Carpenter; 9, Prior Year: 4, Billie Eilish; 10, Prior Year: RE (2020), Lady Gaga; 11, Prior Year: 11, Ariana Grande; 12, Prior Year: NEW, Tyler, The Creator; 13, Prior Year: NEW, Mrs. GREEN APPLE; 14, Prior Year: 3, SEVENTEEN; 15, Prior Year: 8, Eminem; 16, Prior Year: 19, Linkin Park; 17, Prior Year: 6, Zach Bryan; 18, Prior Year: RE (2023), Ed Sheeran; 19, Prior Year: RE (2023), SZA; 20, Prior Year: RE (2021), Justin Bieber.

The list carries its own stories: Stray Kids climbed to a career-high No. 2 and secured a third straight year in the global top five, Bad Bunny logged a sixth consecutive year on the chart, and Lady Gaga re-entered the top 10 for the first time since 2020. IFPI also flagged an exclusive cohort of artists who have appeared on the chart each of the last five years, including Swift, Drake, SEVENTEEN, The Weeknd and Eminem.

IFPI said it will unveil the Global Single Chart and Global Album Chart later this week, publications that will provide finer grain detail on how streaming, physical and digital formats combined to make 2025 a record year for Swift and to shape the priorities of labels and platforms for the coming cycle.