Taylor Swift has been named the 2022 Global Recording Artist of the Year by IFPI, the organization that represents the global recorded music business. This is Swift’s third time receiving this honor. Taylor Swift is the only performer to have ever received the award more than once.
This one-of-a-kind honor takes into account an artist’s or group’s total year-over-year worldwide performance across all digital and physical music forms, from streams to vinyl.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) Global Recording Artist of the Year Award is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, and Taylor Swift has won the award more times than any other artist (in 2014, 2019, and 2022). Taylor Swift has maintained a consistent presence in the IFPI Global Artist Chart over the intervening years, ranking in the Top 3 in 2015, 2017, and 2020, and even coming second in 2021 behind the K-Pop sensation BTS. In October 2022, with the help of her new album Midnights, she climbed back to the top of the IFPI Global Artist Chart.
Besides, Drake was at #3, making his sixth Top 3 entry since the chart’s inception, and BTS were at #2 (their third consecutive year in the Top 3 following back-to-back wins in 2020 and 2021).
Frances Moore, Chief Executive of IFPI, said, “It is a tremendous pleasure to award the IFPI Global Recording Artist Award to Taylor Swift for a record-breaking third time in the chart’s ten-year existence. Taylor is a truly stunning international star who is constantly developing as an artist and expanding her global fan base.
“It’s amazing to see superstars from Latin America, Taiwan, and South Korea, in addition to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, on this year’s Global Recording Artist Chart. Record labels are still working tirelessly all around the world to discover and nurture future global stars so that they might have lasting commercial success.
Many different types of artists are represented in the current edition of the IFPI Global Recording Artist Chart. Bad Bunny, a superstar from Puerto Rico, reached the highest rank ever for an artist performing primarily in Spanish when he debuted at number four.
Because of his everlasting fame in China and South and Southeast Asia, Jay Chou made history when he entered the Chart at position #9. South Korean talents were particularly strong this year, with more musicians than any other country breaking into the Top 10 for the first time; in addition to BTS, SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids debuted at positions six and seven on the charts. British artists Harry Styles (#8) and Ed Sheeran (#10) made the top ten, while Canadian superstar The Weeknd debuted at number five.
