Spotify is the leading music streaming platform with top artists from all around the world releasing tracks and albums on it. However, there are certain undisputed leaders on Spotify in terms of all-time streams and followers. Here, we’ll take a look at the top 20 most streamed artists on Spotify till date.
Drake, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Ed Sheeran, BTS, and other global sensations have been ruling the Spotify top charts for years. Some of them have been ruling the music streaming platform for more than a decade. With the number of Spotify users surging rapidly, the data has changed quite a bit in recent times.
20 Most Streamed Spotify Artists
Spotify is the most popular music streaming platform with over 551 million users and 220 million premium subscribers in around 184 regions. It’s estimated that there are more than 11 million artists and creators on Spotify. However, only a few of them are recognized globally with millions of listeners monthly.
Let’s take a look at the top 20 most streamed Spotify artists of all time who have been ruling the platform for years and have gathered countless fans across the world. We have used the latest available data for this list.
1. Drake
Total Streams: 63.92 billion
Drake is the most popular artist on Spotify with nearly 64 billion streams till now. He is a generational talent whose first public appearance came around 20 years back. Since then, he has been ruling the top charts for years. He mainly focuses on hip-hop and R&B genres, both of which are widely admired by the masses.
He also started coming up with pop and trap hits lately that are getting massively famous in various regions. Many consider Drake as the most influential hip-hop artist and his record number of streams on Spotify proves that right. And not so surprisingly, he is also one of the richest rappers in the world.
2. Taylor Swift
Total Streams: 59.62 billion
Taylor Swift is rightfully the most powerful female musician right now. She has been on a heavily successful Eras Tour lately and her Spotify streams continue to soar at a record pace. She has overtaken the spot of the second most streamed Spotify artist only recently after defeating a rap sensation.
Swifties are crazy for Taylor and they keep listening to her music without stopping. She has also revolutionized the modern country music. Her lyrics are often linked with her personal experiences and fans frequently find ‘Easter Eggs’ in her songs and music videos that help her stay trending.
3. Bad Bunny
Total Streams: 58.72 billion
Bad Bunny is the third most famous artist on Spotify now after recently losing his spot to Taylor Swift. He has been among the most influential rappers lately due to incorporating various genres including Latin trap. He also focuses on numerous topics such as heartbreak, self-love, LGBTQ acceptance, humor, and others.
Bunny rose to fame rapidly after his songs frequently went viral on social media platforms. He has also been appearing in WWE shows lately. In 2022, Bad Bunny entered the WWE Royal Rumble and reached the top five contenders. He is currently the most streamed Latin artist right now.
4. The Weeknd
Total Streams: 48.43 billion
The Weeknd is the most famous Canadian artist on Spotify whose music makes people remember the ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson. He has released five studio albums and three mixtapes that fans love around the world. His dark lyrics, musical brilliance, and unique stage name are the key reasons behind his fame.
In 2016, The Weeknd broke the record for the most streams by a single artist in 24 hours on Spotify. He also holds the record for most monthly listeners on Spotify with over 106 million streaming his music every month as of October 2023. The love his music receives on the platform is unmatched.
5. Ed Sheeran
Total Streams: 44.93 billion
Ed Sheeran is the most famous English artist on Spotify with numerous global hits. His biggest hit “Shape of You” and the intimacy anthem “Perfect” bring him the most number of streams on Spotify. Sheeran is popular for his soft rock and folk-pop style which fans absolutely love.
In December 2019, Ed Sheeran was awarded the title of the global most-streamed artist of the decade by Spotify. Ed Sheeran is the most followed artist on Spotify with over 115.45 million followers. He also holds the fifth spot of the most monthly listeners on Spotify as of October 2023.
6. Ariana Grande
Total Streams: 38.54 billion
Ariana Grande is the second most followed artist on Spotify with over 94.29 followers as in 2023, only behind British sensation Ed Sheeran. She is one of the most influential female artists on the music-streaming platform who focuses on the pop, R&B, and miscellaneous genres.
Her first TV appearance came in 2002 when she performed the national anthem on Ice and was performing on Broadway at the age of just 15. The love she receives from her fans is pretty exceptional.
7. Justin Beiber
Total Streams: 38.51 billion
Justin Beiber is among the top 10 most followed artists on Spotify and also in the list of top 10 artists with the most monthly listeners on the platform. He rose to fame at a young age. In 2010, teenagers around the world were vibing to his tracks due to his relatable lyrics and groovy music.
He has around 224 tracks on Spotify and all of them are loved by fans. Beiber is among the most recognized artists worldwide. He has been the face of famous brands like Adidas and Calvin Klein.
8. Eminem
Total Streams: 37.88 billion
Eminem is the most recognized rapper globally and the seventh most-followed artist on Spotify with around 77.30 million followers. Despite starting his career in the early 1990s, he still continues to be relevant among fans and leads the monthly rap music charts everywhere.
He has 296 tracks listed on Spotify and fans love them. His song “Lose Yourself” won the Oscar award and is the first rap song ever to win the prestigious Golden Trophy.
9. BTS
Total Streams: 35.77 billion
K-pop band BTS is the most streamed group on Spotify with over 70 million followers. The South Korean band was formed in 2010 and their popularity has surged rapidly in recent years. They have 253 tracks on the platform and their ‘Purple Army’ loves all of them.
The group has experimented with several genres over the years, combining elements of R&B, Rock, EDM, Pop, Dance Pop, and Disco. Their lyrics are often the highlight as they focus on social commentary for various problems such as mental health, self-love, reliance and growth, and more.
10. Post Malone
Total Streams: 35.63 billion
Post Malone is another highly popular artist on Spotify with over 61.58 monthly listeners. He is known for offering blends of genres including Rap-Roc, Pop, R&B, Hip-Hop, and others. He debuted in 2013 and has been ruling the platform since then.
In 2019, Post Malone was the most streamed artist on Spotify for the year with more than 6.5 billion streams. One fun fact about him is that he got his stage name from an online rap name generator. His real name is Austin Richard Post.
11. Kanye West
Total Streams: 32.23 billion
Kanye West is one of the most influential and controversial artists in the world. He has more than 58 million monthly listeners on Spotify. However, his numbers have been dropping a bit lately. Still, the American rapper that most fans know as Ye or Yeezy continues to rule the top charts worldwide.
He has released 138 singles till now and all of them are available on Spotify. Kanye West was also the brand ambassador of Adidas. However, he is no longer the brand ambassador but Adidas continues to own the rights to sell Yeezy designed footwear.
12. J Balvin
Total Streams: 32.20 billion
J Balvin is widely known for his viral songs such as Mi Gente, In da Getto, Bum Bum Tam Tam, and others. The Colombian singer gets over 52 million listeners on Spotify every month. Referred to as the “Prince of Reggaeton,” he is one of the best-selling Latin artists with over 35 million records sold globally.
13. Billie Eilish
Total Streams: 29.71 billion
Billie Eilish is another highly recognized name on this list. She is the fifth most followed person on Spotify with over 87 million followers and gets around 69 million monthly listeners on the platform. Her massively hit song “Lovely” managed to gain more than 2 billion streams on the platform.
14. Coldplay
Total Streams: 27.97 billion
British rock band Coldplay is the second most famous group on Spotify, only behind BTS. They have over 47.60 million followers on Spotify and get around 66.32 million monthly listeners. Their tracks “Hymn for the Weekend,” “Viva La Vida,” and “Something Just Like This” are hugely loved on the platform.
15. Juice WRLD
Total Streams: 27.62 billion
Late rapper Juice WRLD continues to rule Spotify posthumously. The American rapper had a short but glorious career of four years, where he mastered the emo rap and SoundCloud rap genres. Unfortunately, he passed away in December 2019 due to ingesting a lethal dose of oxycodone and codeine.
16. Dua Lipa
Total Streams: 27.24 billion
Dua Lipa is one of the top 10 artists with the most monthly listeners on Spotify. She ranks 9th, with over 72 million people streaming her songs every month. The English artist has over 41.82 million followers on Spotify. Her tracks Levitating, One Kiss, Dance the Night, and others continue to rule the top charts.
17. Imagine Dragons
Total Streams: 26.91 billion
American pop-rock band Imagine Dragons is the third most famous group on Spotify, only behind BTS and Coldplay. Consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman, Imagine Dragons is the overall fifteenth most followed account on Spotify with 50.61 million followers.
18. Rihanna
Total Streams: 26.61 billion
Rihanna is one of the most established artists in the world. In 2012, she was the most-streamed artist on Spotify. She still rules the platform more than a decade later with over 58.23 million followers. Rihanna ranks fourth on the list of top 10 artists with the most monthly listeners on Spotify with over 77.27 streams.
19. Travis Scott
Total Streams: 26.51 billion
Travis Scott is another massively popular name on this list with over 62.31 million monthly streams on Spotify. The American rapper, singer, and record producer has earned four number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. He is also known for his widely discussed relationship with influencer Kylie Jenner.
20. XXXTENTACION
Total Streams: 25.84 billion
Late American rapper and songwriter XXXTENTACION is still the 20th most-followed person on Spotify with more than 43.26 million followers. He quickly rose to fame at the age of just 20 after dropping two consecutive hit albums. Unfortunately, he was shot and killed in Florida during a robbery in 2018.
Final Take:
These are the 20 most streamed artists on Spotify as of October 2023. None of these names would surprise anyone as all of them are global music sensations. However, the absence of some major artists would be a bit confusing for some of our readers, so we’ll share some honorable mentions below:
- David Guetta: 24.69 billion streams
- Khalid: 24.09 billion streams
- Maroon 5: 23.70 billion streams
- Bruno Mars: 22.85 billion streams
- Beyonce: 22.32 billion streams
- Shawn Mendes: 22.12 billion streams
- Selena Gomez: 19.44 billion streams
That’s it for this guide. If you want to know more stats about artists and Spotify, feel free to let us know in the comments.
Frequently asked questions:
Canadian rapper Drake is the most-streamed artist of all time on Spotify. He has been ruling the platform for nearly a decade and continues to be the undisputed king with nearly 64 billion streams globally. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift is just behind him and is also the most-streamed female artist of all time.
“Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd is the most-streamed song on Spotify, with over 3.83 billion streams while British singer Ed Sheeran’s global hit “Shape of You” comes second with 3.64 billion streams. Meanwhile, “Dance Monkey” by Australian singer Tones and I is the most streamed song by a female artist.
Taylor Swift holds the record for the biggest streaming day for any artist on Spotify. She broke her own record with 67 million streams on March 19, 2023. Rihanna was the previous record holder with 54 million streams until Taylor took over with the help of Swifties.
Spotify uses a number of factors including the Total number of streams of a song, how recently a song has been placed, the frequency that a track has been played, and more to calculate the popularity index of an artist. Drake is the most popular artist on Spotify right now followed by Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny.
I’m Monali Gupta, an entertainment journalist, and Social Media expert. I have written for several major publications and websites as a ghostwriter. I’m also known for my unique and witty writing style, and my ability to spot the next big trend in entertainment and Social Media Industries.
