It is safe to say that the music industry has evolved with the times. It is, after all, one of the most lucrative industries the world has to offer.
With the advent of streaming services, music has never been more accessible than it is today. In the same light, the opportunity for becoming a famous musician has also never been easier. Nowadays, working with a major record label is no longer a must. All a talented musician need is some investment money for proper recording equipment. He or she can then get exposure via streaming services such as Spotify. Today, it is among the biggest streaming giants in the market. In fact, in April of 2020, it has seen an astronomical growth with over 133 million premium registered users. As such, we should take note and give credit to the most-streamed artists of the 2010s and the most-streamed tracks.
Most-Streamed Male Artists
Drake
Drake is undoubtedly one of the most prominent figures in modern pop music. Moreover, he is given credit for popularizing Toronto Sound, Canada’s popular hip-hop genre. Thank Me Later, his debut album was released in 2010, and since then, Drake has become one of the top-selling music artists of all time.
Ed Sheeran
This Englishman has risen to prolific heights since his first album release in 2011. He was an instant success and was given credit for Best British Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act during the 2012 Bit Awards. Moreover, he has also won the Grammys for Song of the Year in 2016 for his song Thinking Out Loud.
Post Malone
Austin Richard Post, better known as Post Malone, stormed the music scene back in 2016. His debut album Stoney set a record for most weeks on the US Billboard Top Hip-Hop Album. Since then, his credit score soared exponentially. He has also been nominated at the Grammys six times and has won three American Music Awards.
Most-Streamed Female Artists
Ariana Grande
Before becoming a music artist, she was doing Broadway and was part of Nickelodeon’s TV series, Victorious. In 2013, Ariana released her debut album, Yours Truly, and immediately earned a reasonable degree of recognition. Today, Arian has won a Grammy Award for Best Vocal album for Sweetener. Meanwhile, her album, Thank U, Next, set the record for the largest streaming week.
Rihanna
She is one of the most decorated pop artists of modern music. This Barbados native has collaborated with the best of the best in the industry, such as Sir Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, Eminem, Shakira, and Kanye West. She is one of the wealthiest female artists with an astounding estimated net worth of $600 million to her credit.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift initially became famous in the country genre scene with her self-titled debut album in 2006. Then, by the start of the 2010 decade, she had grown musically, and her sound evolved, introducing influences of pop and rock with her album Speak Now. She is one of the best-selling music artists of all time and has won the Grammys 11 times.
Most-Streamed Tracks
Ed Sheeran – Shape of You
As we know, Ed Sheeran is one of the most-streamed artists of the past decade, and his song, Shape of You, is also given credit for being most-streamed on Spotify. It is part of his third album ÷, released in 2017.
Drake ft. WizKid & Kyla – One Dance
This song is part of Drake’s fourth album, Views, released in 2016. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as being named song of the summer by Billboard. It also became the most streamed track on Spotify, earning Drake a significant amount of investment money.
Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – Rockstar
This song is the lead single for Post Malone’s second album Beerbongs & Bentleys, released in 2018. It earned a degree of commercial success, topping the US Billboard top 100.
