Sony/ATV Songwriters Dominate IFPI’s 2017 Top Sellers

Ed Sheeran is at No. 1 on both charts with ÷ the top album for the calendar year with 6.1 million units sold and “Shape Of You” the top single with 26.6 million units sold. These latest successes for Sheeran follow IFPI announcing in February that he was 2017’s top artist worldwide with fellow Sony/ATV songwriters Drake and Taylor Swift in second and third places respectively.

IFPI’s global charts for 2017 are unveiled as part of its newly-published Global Music Report and show that Sony/ATV-signed artists were responsible for four of the year’s top five albums. Besides Sheeran, Taylor Swift had the year’s No. 2 album with Reputation (4.5 million units sold), Pink ranked at No. 3 with Beautiful Trauma (1.8 million unit) and Sam Smith’s The Thrill Of It All finished at No. 5 (1.4 million units). The No. 4 album for 2017 was Rag’n’Bone Man’s Human, which features a number of songs co-written by Sony/ATV songwriters, including by the album’s executive producer Jamie Scott.

Sony/ATV also publishes the top five songs for the calendar year. Alongside “Shape Of You”, this includes “Despacito” (24.3 million units sold), which was co-written by the company’s songwriters Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Erika Ender and was No. 2 for the year. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay’s “Something Just Like This” finished at No. 3 (11.5 million units), while Bruno Mars: “That’s What I Like”, which was co-written by Sony/ATV Ray Romulus, came in at No. 4 (9.7 million units) and The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey’s “Closer” was at No. 5 (9.0 million units). Ed Sheeran also claimed a second song in the Top 10 with “Perfect” at No. 9 (7.9 million units).