Kpop band BTS becomes world’s top artist after global recorded music soars high

Taylor Swift, Adele, Drake and Ed Sheeran also contributed heavily to the global music industry in 2021

Thanks to record labels and paid subscription streaming platforms, the global recorded music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, according to IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), the organisation that represents the recorded music industry worldwide. Touted as the biggest band in the world, South Korean pop group BTS tops the global charts for their record-breaking contributions as an artist this year, particularly for their hits Butter and Permission To Dance, reported Variety.

On Tuesday, IFPI’s official Twitter handle released its Global Music Report 2022, which revealed the growth of the industry in 2021. A whopping high for the global recorded music industry, the total revenues for 2021 were $25.9 billion. The report also included figures of markets in Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and more.

IFPI’s Global Music Report 2022 - the definitive guide to the recorded music market worldwide – is out now. https://t.co/y7Q8uhZHiU #GlobalMusicReport pic.twitter.com/gmc42X85lD

— IFPI (@IFPI_org) March 22, 2022

Along with that, the report also unveiled the list of top 10 global artists, ranked on the basis of “consumption across all formats and all countries, weighted based on the value of each method of consumption." While Kpop band BTS topped the list, it also had notable artists such as Taylor Swift, Adele, Drake, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd and more.

Moreover, the report also revealed the top 10 digital singles where BTS' top-charting single Butter took fourth place with 1.76 billion streams while The Weeknd's Save Your Tears bagged the top position with 2.15 billion streams. Dua Lipa's Levitating and Olivia Rodrigo's Drivers License also made the cut.

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