Beth Garrabrant
It’s hardly a surprise, but it’s still a significant achievement: Taylor Swift is Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for 2023. She’s the No. 1 most-streamed female artist in Apple Music history and is also the female artist with the most songs to reach Apple Music’s Global Daily Top 100.
“I am so honored to be Apple Music’s Artist of the Year,” Swift said in a statement. “Thank you to every single one of you for making this year the most incredible, joyful, celebratory year ever. From streaming the music nonstop to screaming it together in real life at the shows, dancing chaotically in movie theaters, none of this would have been possible without you. Thank you so much.”
This is the first time Swift has received this award, which is now in its fifth year. Billie Eilish was Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for 2019, followed by Lil Baby (2020), The Weeknd (2021) and Bad Bunny (2022).
“Taylor Swift’s impact on music is absolutely undeniable — not just this record-breaking year, but throughout her entire career,” Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats, said in a statement. “She is a generation-defining artist and a true change agent in the music industry, and there is no doubt that her impact and influence will be felt for years to come. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate her achievements.”
As we all witnessed in real time, in wonder and awe, Swift reached a new level of superstardom this year. In the first 10 months of 2023, she saw 65 songs reach Apple Music’s Global Daily Top 100 — more than any other artist ever.
Swift saw consistent streaming lifts throughout the year, particularly around the enormous success of The Eras Tour. The week the tour kicked off in March, Swift’s streams grew 61 percent globally. She continued to see double-digit growth in monthly streams throughout the summer. Apple Music’s Set List: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was the No. 1 most-streamed Set List of the year, and among the top 40 editorial playlists of the year.
“Cruel Summer,” from Swift’s 2019 album Lover, became one of the biggest songs of the summer on Apple Music worldwide. The song re-entered the Global Daily Top 100 in April for the first time in four years and has remained there ever since.
Midnights still stands as the biggest album of all time by a female artist in Apple Music history by first-day and first-week streams worldwide.
On Wednesday (Nov. 8), Apple Music is spotlighting the music and moments that defined Taylor Swift’s Eras era. Listeners can tune in to an array of radio programming celebrating Swift’s two decades’ worth of melodic album narratives, as well as interviews, album collections, and playlists that showcase the singer-songwriter’s journey leading up to this historic year. Tune in at apple.co/am-1.
Swift’s Artist of the Year honor is part of the Apple Music Awards, and she will receive a physical award that includes a silicon chip that powers Apple products. The award is Apple’s “silicon wafer” suspended between a polished sheet of glass, and a machined and anodized aluminum body. According to a press release: “In a symbolic gesture, the same chip powering the devices that put 100 million songs at listeners’ fingertips also sits at the very heart of the Apple Music Awards.”
In other Swift news, she heads into the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Nov. 19 as the leading finalist, with nods in 20 categories, and is set to restart her blockbuster Eras Tour on Thursday in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
