Streaming Records Update

Spotify says Taylor Swift is now its most-streamed artist ever, while The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” has become the service’s most-streamed song of all time. (newsroom.spotify.com) The rankings came from Spotify’s first all-time charts, published April 23 as the company marked 20 years since its 2006 founding. Spotify said the lists reflect global streams through April 2026. (newsroom.spotify.com) Spotify’s top 4 artists all time are Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Drake, and The Weeknd. Its top 3 songs are “Blinding Lights,” Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” and The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather.” (newsroom.spotify.com) Those lists put two different streaming patterns side by side: Swift’s advantage comes from a deep catalog and repeat album listening, while “Blinding Lights” sits at No. 1 as a single track with long-running replay value. Spotify’s all-time album chart is led by Bad Bunny’s 2022 album *Un Verano Sin Ti*. (newsroom.spotify.com) Swift’s position follows several recent Spotify records tied to new releases. In April 2024, *The Tortured Poets Department* became the first album in Spotify history to top 300 million streams in a single day, and “Fortnight” became Spotify’s most-streamed song in a single day. (newsroom.spotify.com) Spotify’s own 2024 Wrapped also showed Swift’s scale before the new all-time list arrived. The company said she was its 2024 global top artist with more than 26.6 billion streams that year. (newsroom.spotify.com) Bad Bunny’s No. 2 all-time finish comes after he reclaimed Spotify’s annual top-artist title in 2025, his fourth year at No. 1, according to reporting on the new chart release. The Associated Press said Swift led the yearly race in the two years before that, while Bad Bunny held it from 2020 through 2023. (abcnews.com) Spotify did not explain its full all-time methodology when asked by The Associated Press. The same report said streaming generated 82% of U.S. recorded-music revenue, and that Spotify had 751 million users and 290 million subscribers across more than 184 markets. (abcnews.com) Trade outlet *Hits Daily Double* reported that “Blinding Lights” reached No. 1 with about 5.3 billion career streams on Spotify. That helps explain why a 2019 single is still setting the benchmark in 2026. (hitsdailydouble.com) The new charts do not settle who “won” streaming this year so much as they show which artists and songs lasted across the platform’s first two decades. On Spotify’s ledger, Swift owns the artist crown and “Blinding Lights” owns the song. (newsroom.spotify.com)