Ed Sheeran beats Taylor Swift to be named most played artist

nme.com:

Ed Sheeran has been named the most played artist of 2023, beating out close competition from Taylor Swift.The Suffolk-raised singer, songwriter and guitarist has topped the charts when it comes to the most listened-to artist in the UK over the last year – ranking at the tip of the list when it comes to having his music played across radio, television and public spaces.The study was carried out by the music licensing company PPL, who compiled all of the data across January to December last year, and made a rank of the most played artists across the country.As aforementioned, Sheeran was closely followed on the list by Taylor Swift, with the latter becoming the second most-listened-to artist in the UK.

The year prior she was in 10th position, and the huge leap sees her match the previous high she had in 2015. The jump is expected to be a result of her announcing her international ‘Eras Tour’ shows last year, and subsequently announcing her latest album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’.Discussing the news that he had topped the list, Sheeran said: “Thank you for naming me the most played artist for last year.

Thank you to my team, not just for me, but for all the other artists you work with – I’m happy that you get this recognition.”Dua Lipa was named as the third most played artist on the list – no doubt aided by her hit contribution to the Barbie soundtrack, ‘Dance The Night’ – and the Number Four position was filled by Calvin Harris.David Guetta, Sir Elton John and Coldplay filled up spots five, six and seven respectively, and eighth place was taken by new entrant Tom Grennan.