Tracks Ranking – Raw sales – Digital singles
All sales made through legal platforms are considered, as well as ringtones. The figures given here are units sold.
Please keep in mind that some artists are missing, because their analysis has not been done yet. The complete list is available here. All figures reflect the value as collected at the time of the artist’s respective articles.
1. 2010 – Adele – Rolling In The Deep [21] – 20,600,000
2. 2010 – Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – Moves Like Jagger [Hands All Over] – 20,140,000
3. 2008 – Lady Gaga – Poker Face [The Fame] – 20,110,000
4. 2010 – Eminem ft. Rihanna – Love the Way You Lie [Recovery] – 18,710,000
5. 2009 – Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling [The E.N.D.] – 17,700,000
6. 2011 – Adele – Someone Like You [21] – 17,350,000
7. 2014 – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk [Uptown Special] – 17,030,000
8. 2010 – Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are [Doo-Wops & Hooligans] – 16,190,000
9. 2002 – Eminem – Lose Yourself [8 Mile] – 15,930,000
10. 2013 – Various Artists – Let It Go [Frozen] – 15,540,000
11. 2009 – Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow [The E.N.D.] – 14,350,000
12. 2008 – Coldplay – Viva La Vida [Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends] – 14,210,000
13. 2012 – Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa – Payphone [Overexposed] – 14,000,000
14. 2008 – Lady Gaga ft. Colby O’Donis – Just Dance [The Fame] – 13,630,000
15. 2012 – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz – Thrift Shop [The Heist] – 13,360,000
16. 1981 – Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’ [Escape] – 13,140,000
17. 2008 – Beyoncé – Halo [I Am… Sasha Fierce] – 13,120,000
18. 2011 – Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – We Found Love [Talk That Talk] – 12,960,000
19. 2010 – Katy Perry – Firework [Teenage Dream] – 12,820,000
20. 2010 – Bruno Mars – Grenade [Doo-Wops & Hooligans] – 12,470,000
21. 2009 – Lady Gaga – Bad Romance [The Fame Monster] – 12,240,000
21. 2008 – Taylor Swift – Love Story [Fearless] – 12,240,000
23. 2012 – Imagine Dragons – Radioactive [Night Visions] – 12,100,000
24. 2010 – Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris – Baby [My Worlds] – 12,070,000
25. 2008 – Beyoncé – Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) [I Am… Sasha Fierce] – 11,930,000
26. 2008 – Katy Perry – I Kissed A Girl [One Of The Boys] – 11,810,000
27. 2008 – Katy Perry – Hot N Cold [One Of The Boys] – 11,790,000
28. 2013 – Katy Perry – Roar [Prism] – 11,750,000
29. 2007 – Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend [The Best Damn Thing] – 11,630,000
30. 2010 – Eminem – Not Afraid [Recovery] – 11,610,000
31. 2014 – Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud [x (Multiply)] – 11,430,000
32. 2007 – Rihanna ft. Jay-Z – Umbrella [Good Girl Gone Bad] – 11,400,000
33. 2006 – Justin Timberlake ft. Timbaland – SexyBack [FutureSex/LoveSounds] – 11,310,000
34. 2015 – Adele – Hello [25] – 11,270,000
35. 2006 – Beyoncé – Irreplaceable [B’Day] – 11,140,000
36. 2013 – Avicii – Wake Me Up [True] – 11,120,000
37. 2005 – Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean – Hips Don’t Lie / Sera Sera [Oral Fixation, Vol. 2] – 11,080,000
38. 2010 – Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg – California Gurls [Teenage Dream] – 11,060,000
39. 2009 – Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind [The Blueprint 3] – 10,900,000
40. 2012 – Bruno Mars – Locked Out of Heaven [Unorthodox Jukebox] – 10,850,000
41. 2012 – Maroon 5 – One More Night [Overexposed] – 10,650,000
42. 2011 – Lady Gaga – Born This Way [Born This Way] – 10,330,000
43. 2011 – Adele – Set Fire To The Rain [21] – 10,040,000
44. 2012 – Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man [Unorthodox Jukebox] – 9,950,000
45. 2012 – Rihanna – Diamonds [Unapolegetic] – 9,840,000
46. 2011 – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton – Can’t Hold Us [The Heist] – 9,800,000
47. 2014 – Taylor Swift – Shake It Off [1989] – 9,700,000
48. 2008 – Rihanna – Take A Bow [Good Girl Gone Bad] – 9,660,000
49. 1994 – Mariah Carey – All I Want for Christmas Is You [Merry Christmas] – 9,600,000
50. 2013 – Katy Perry ft. Juicy J – Dark Horse [Prism] – 9,470,000
I’m hoping you guys can add Luis Miguel to this list. He’s a legacy artist with over 4.5 billion streams on Spotify which is insane.
Shakira is the latest superstar singer-songwriter to sell her copyright-publishment catalogue. Shakira sold 100% of her rights to Hipgnosis Songs Fund limited. The sales comprises 145 songs including global smashes like “Whenever, whenever”, “Hips dont lie”. Being a songwriter is an accomplishment that i consider equal to and perhaps even greater than being singer and an artist. Calvin Harris sold all his songwiting and publishment rights for 90 million dollar. About 400 artists has sold their songs to private investment group. Half dozen or so companies who are buing up to catalogues of successful artists (songwriters). The artist gets a… Read more »
This means that BTS has sold 50M of albums worldwide???? 50M album units worldwide?
Please do blackpink
Please calculate Ricky Martin’s sales
‘Greatest Hits’ Tops 2020 Catalogue Chart In USAMore good news for Queen’s ‘Greatest Hits’! The 1981 compilation album was the biggest selling catalogue album in the US for 2020, outselling Fleetwood Mac, Bob Marley and The Beatles!
Streaming services currently make some songwriters rich. Most recently Neil Young sold 50 % of his songwritings and publishment rights for $150 m. Stevie Nicks sold her rights for $100 million to Private Wave investment firm like Young. Catalogue prizes have risen maybe 3‐5 times in recent years. “It’s no secret that the art of songwriting is fundamental key to the all great music”, said Universal Music CEO Lucian Grainge. It’s rare today, that one person do everything, songs, publishment, singing, produce.. It’s usual that4 or 5 person make songwriting and many people is doing another parts of music. It… Read more »
The four big pictures should be The Beatles, Elvis, Jakson, and Queen.
UPDATE MARIAH CAREY PLEASE