3 Canadian musicians make top 10 global best sellers list for 2016

Feb 9 2017, 2:49 am

Drake, The Weeknd, and Justin Bieber have been named three of the world’s top recording artists in 2016.

The top 10 best-selling artist list was released on February 8 by IFPI, an international music organization that represents 1,300 record companies from across the globe.

Drake placed first on the IFPI list, highlighting the success of his 2016 release, Views. The album became the first album to reach one billion streams on Apple Music, and lead single “One Dance” was the first song to be played one billion times on Spotify, according to the IFPI.

“I’m delighted to be able to honour Drake as the IFPI Global Recording Artist 2016. Drake’s phenomenal success reflects how deeply his unique sound appeals to an enormous global audience,” said IFPI chief executive Frances Moore in a statement. “The Global Top 10 list features a number of amazing artists, and the variety and vibrancy of their art speaks volumes about the exciting state of music today.”

Toronto’s The Weeknd released his highly acclaimed third album Starboy in the winter, with three major singles “Starboy”, “I Feel It Coming” and “Party Monster” that got a lot of play in 2016.

Meanwhile, Bieber made the list, although his last release was Purpose in 2015.

David Bowie took second place on the global chart with his album Blackstar, reaching number one in 24 countries. In third and fourth place on the chart, respectively, were Coldplay and Adele whose 2015 albums A Head Full of Dreams and 25 remained immensely popular throughout 2016.

IFPI

According to the IFPI, the independently verified Global Recording Artist chart “includes sales of albums – across digital, CD and vinyl formats; singles, both downloaded and physical; and on-demand audio streams and music videos across the calendar year. The chart includes all the music of each artist featured, not just one track or album. It uses album equivalent units to combine measurements of downloads, physical sales and streams.”

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