Drake, David Bowie Top List Of Highest-Selling Artists

Drake has topped the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's (IFPI) annual list of best-selling artists worldwide, earning the umbrella group's "Global Recording Artist of the Year" award, buoyed in large part by the success of his 2016 album Views.

David Bowie, who died on January 10, 2016 just two days after the release of Blackstar, came in second on the IFPI's list. Prince, the list's other "legacy" artist, was ninth. The list tabulates all forms of sales, physical and digital, as well as sales from the entire catalog of the artists named.

In a release, the IFPI references the billion streams that Views drew on Apple Music, where it was exclusively released, as well as the billion streams that the single "One Dance" earned on Spotify.

The IFPI was not willing to share specific sales numbers for any of the named artists.

Spotify had no comment on the accolade, while Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The full list is below.

Top 10 Global Recording Artists of 2016, according to the IFPI:

1. Drake
2. David Bowie
3. Coldplay
4. Adele
5. Justin Bieber
6. Twenty One Pilots
7. Beyoncé
8. Rihanna
9. Prince
10. The Weeknd

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