Taylor Swift dominates Spotify Wrapped globally, while Drake and The Weeknd crack global top 5 most streamed
The streaming giant released its annual Spotify Wrapped year-end lists Wednesday
Canadians took two of the top four spots on Spotify's list of most-streamed artists globally in 2024, while Taylor Swift dominated the charts in Canada and abroad.
The streaming giant unveiled its annual Spotify Wrapped listening trends overview Wednesday, with Taylor Swift unsurprisingly coming in first place worldwide with more than 26.6 billion streams, and also topping Canada's list.
Swift also earned the year's most-streamed album in Canada and globally, with The Tortured Poets Department, released in April.
But Toronto's The Weeknd followed Swift as the No. 2 most-streamed artist around the world, while Drake came in at No. 4.
Puerto Rican reggaetón star Bad Bunny, who held the top spot for three years in a row before Swift dethroned him last year, took the No. 3 spot, and Billie Eilish came in at No. 5.
Drake took the second spot among listeners in both Canada and the U.S., while The Weeknd fared lower in his home country than abroad, at No. 7.
After those two artists, the top streamed Canadians worldwide were London, Ont.'s Justin Bieber, Calgary's Tate McRae and Pickering, Ont.'s Shawn Mendes, in that order — though none of them made the top 10.
Shaboozey takes top song in Canada
When it came to songs, Canadians fell in love with Shaboozey's country hit A Bar Song (Tipsy), which took the No. 1 spot here, but was No. 3 in the U.S. and didn't reach the global Top 10.
Sabrina Carpenter's summer pop jam Espresso was the No. 1 song in the U.S. and globally, and was No. 4 in Canada.
Swift also took the international top artist and album slots on Apple Music's Replay, while Apple's No. 1 track was Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us, a diss track aimed at Drake, released amid a drawn-out feud between the two rappers.
On Spotify, which provided more detailed breakdowns, Not Like Us hit No. 2 in the U.S. but was No. 10 in Canada, and failed to crack the Top 10 globally.
Drake has launched legal actions against Universal Music Group, accusing the music giant of defamation for the song, saying it falsely accuses him of being a sex offender. Drake is also alleging Spotify and UMG — the distributor for the record labels of both Drake and Lamar — conspired to falsely boost the song's popularity.
Streaming now accounts for most of the money generated by the music industry — a whopping 84 per cent in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, and 67.3 per cent worldwide, according to a 2024 report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which tracks global sales.
Spotify is the largest platform of all, making up roughly 31 per cent of the total market share, with a reported 626 million users and 246 million subscribers in more than 180 markets.
The top 10 most streamed artists on Spotify in Canada:
1. Taylor Swift
2. Drake
3. Zach Bryan
4. Morgan Wallen
5. Travis Scott
6. Kanye West
7. The Weeknd
8. Future
9. Eminem
10. Post Malone
The Top 10 most streamed songs on Spotify in Canada:
1. Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy)
2. Benson Boone - Beautiful Things
3. Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen - I Had Some Help
4. Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso
5. Noah Kahan - Stick Season
6. Teddy Swims - Lose Control
7. Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves - I Remember Everything
8. Hozier - Too Sweet
9. Billie Eilish - Birds of a Feather
10. Kendrick Lamar - Not Like Us
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With files from The Associated Press