> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.hypebot.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Drake, Bowie Top IFPI Global Top Selling Artists Of 2016 - URL: https://www.hypebot.com/drake-bowie-top-ifpi-global-top-selling-artists-of-2016/ - Published: 2017-02-08T10:33:02.000Z - Updated: 2017-02-08T10:33:02.000Z - Description: Drake was the world’s best-selling recording artist of 2016 according to the IFPI , driven by the success of his fourth album, Views, which was released last year. Drake is. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2017/02/drake-bowie-top-ifpi-global-top-selling-artists-of-2016.html] - Author: Bruce Houghton - Tags: Major Labels, Music Business, Apple Music, Body painting, CBS Television Studios, Fifty Shades Darker (film), Instagram, James Corden, Lily Donaldson, Philippines, Taylor Swift, Zayn Malik, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 10:13 [![Drake](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201b7c8d39c7b970b-150wi "Drake")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201b7c8d39c7b970b-popup?ref=hypebot.com)Drake was the world’s best-selling recording artist of 2016 according to the IFPI , driven by the success of his fourth album, *Views*, which was released last year. Drake is the fourth recipient of the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Award which reflects worldwide sales across physical and digital formats, including downloads and streams. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ [![image from www.air.org.au](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201b8d25de85c970c-300wi "image from www.air.org.au")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201b8d25de85c970c-popup?ref=hypebot.com) Drake was the top selling artists globally in 2016, according to the IFPI, after his *Views* became the first album to reach one billion streams on Apple Music, while *One Dance*, the album’s second single, was the first song to be played one billion times on Spotify. David Bowie took second place on the IFPI Global Top 10 thanks to the release of *Blackstar* two days before his death in January 2016\. The album reached #1 in 24 countries. In third and fourth place on the chart, respectively, were Coldplay and Adele. Previous global chart toppers were One Direction (2013), Taylor Swift (2014) and Adele (2015). **Top 10 Global Recording Artists of 2016** 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 *The independently verified IFPI 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.* Related articles [![](http://i.zemanta.com/376921889_80_80.jpg)](http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-music-wants-to-be-more-than-a-utility-2017-1?ref=hypebot.com)[How Apple is taking a page out of the Netflix playbook with its Apple Music strategy (AAPL)](http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-music-wants-to-be-more-than-a-utility-2017-1?ref=hypebot.com) [![](http://i.zemanta.com/377096976_80_80.jpg)](http://mix965houston.cbslocal.com/2017/01/27/taylor-swift-lily-donaldson-birthday/?ref=hypebot.com)[Taylor Swift Sends Lily Donaldson a Birthday Shout Out](http://mix965houston.cbslocal.com/2017/01/27/taylor-swift-lily-donaldson-birthday/?ref=hypebot.com) [![](http://i.zemanta.com/377240097_80_80.jpg)](http://time.com/4655730/grammys-2017-when-who-beyonce-adele/?ref=hypebot.com)[Everything You Need to Know About the 2017 Grammys](http://time.com/4655730/grammys-2017-when-who-beyonce-adele/?ref=hypebot.com) [![](http://i.zemanta.com/377079414_80_80.jpg)](http://time.com/4648633/taylor-swift-zayn-50-shades-video/?ref=hypebot.com)[Watch Taylor Swift and Zayn's New Music Video For I Don't Wanna Live Forever](http://time.com/4648633/taylor-swift-zayn-50-shades-video/?ref=hypebot.com)