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Bad Bunny vs Taylor Swift: 2023’s most profitable album goes to…

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As 2023 draws to a close, many music round-ups are proclaiming the year’s ‘best’ songs and albums. These opinion-based lists often have us shouting in disagreement, but what does the data say?

The experts at BestCasinoSites.net sought to unveil the biggest songs and artists of 2023, by how much the most played songs may have earned in streaming royalties. To do this, the total play count of Spotify’s top 10 tracks and top 5 albums globally was inserted into a royalties calculator, Music Gateway, to uncover each track and album’s estimated earnings. 

2023’s most streamed albums earned…

Album

Artist

2023 Spotify streaming ranking

Total number of plays

Total estimated royalty earnings (USD)

Un Verano Sin Ti

Bad Bunny

1

15,177,011,050

$66,609,711

Starboy

The Weeknd

4

12,613,283,498

$55,360,439

Midnights

Taylor Swift

2

7,555,421,108

$33,159,653

SOS

SZA

3

6,395,059,341

$28,066,992

MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO

KAROL G

5

4,469,366,190

$19,616,310

*The list of albums is based on Spotify’s top 5 most-streamed albums of 2023, which have then been ranked by their total estimated royalties earned since first released.

For the second year in a row, Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti takes the coveted top spot as the most streamed album on Spotify, as well as the highest-earning. With over 15.1 billion streams, the Puerto Rican rapper and singer may have earned a staggering $66,609,711 in royalties.

In second place is Starboy by The Weeknd, which has potentially earned the rapper a huge $55,360,439 in royalties. Despite the album turning seven years old this year, it is still one of the most streamed albums on the service, taking the fourth spot in Spotify’s yearly round-up.

Rounding off the top three is Taylor Swift’s Midnights, earning the star an estimated $33,159,653 from royalties. Amid her slew of rerecorded albums, Taylor Swift’s newest original release is Spotify’s second most streamed album of the year.

2023’s most streamed songs earned…

Track

Artist

2023 Spotify streaming ranking

Total number of plays

Approximate global listening time (in YEARS)

Total estimated royalty earnings (USD)

As It Was

Harry Styles

3

2,888,768,828

15,287

$12,679,215

Flowers

Miley Cyrus

1

1,649,774,820

10,456

$7,237,628

Kill Bill

SZA

2

1,534,251,994

7,439

$6,732,410

Cruel Summer

Taylor Swift

6

1,486,798,966

8,386

$6,526,471

Anti-Hero

Taylor Swift

10

1,297,224,284

8,221

$5,692,505

Seven (feat Latto) (Explicit version)

Jung Kook, Latto

4

1,207,972,161

7,005

$5,301,960

Calm Down (with Selena Gomez)

Rema, Selena Gomez

8

1,171,887,751

8,875

$5,143,482

Creepin’ (with The Weeknd & 21 Savage)

Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, 21 Savage

7

1,112,368,286

7,790

$4,882,866

Ella Baila Sola

Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma

5

1,026,265,316

5,366

$4,504,424

Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53

Bizarrap, Shakira

9

849,135,747

5,758

$3,726,905

*The list of songs is based on Spotify’s top 10 most-streamed songs of 2023, which have then been ranked by their total estimated royalties earned since first released.

BestCasinoSites.net can reveal that Spotify’s highest-earning track is Harry Styles’ As It Was, potentially garnering the artist $12,679,215 from just one song. Despite being released in April 2022 the track has been streamed plenty this year, ranking as the third most-played single of 2023, rising four places since last year’s Spotify Wrapped. Thanks to its continued popularity, the track has a combined global listening time of over 15,000 years!

Capturing the second most lucrative song, Miley Cyrus’ hit single Flowers may have earned a whopping $7,237,628 in royalties. The lead track off of Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation album, was the singer’s first new music since 2020’s Plastic Hearts. Flowers is Spotify’s song of the year, and the fastest song to surpass one billion streams on the platform (a feat achieved in just 112 days), contributing to a global listening time of almost 10,500 years.

Cashing in at just under £400,000 less, SZA’s Kill Bill is Spotify’s third highest earning track, at $6,732,410. Clocking over 1.5 billion plays to date, it is the second-most played track of 2023. The singer went on to release a four-song bundle of the single, including a sped-up version inspired by a trending sound created by a TikTok user. SZA also recruited fellow superstar Doja Cat for a featured version of the single.

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