Today (June 22), PPL has confirmed Ed Sheeran as the UK’s most played artist of 2019 – marking the fourth time he has received the honour in the past five years.
The news was revealed as PPL unveiled its annual Most Played Charts – which are compiled from exclusive music usage and airplay data from radio stations, television channels, pubs, clubs, bars, jukeboxes, and shops across the UK.
Since 2015, the only other acts to have appeared in the top 10 artists chart four times are Calvin Harris, Coldplay, Jess Glynne, and Little Mix.
Calvin Harris and Rag’N’Bone Man’s hit Giant was revealed to be the most played track of 2019. The previous winner of the accolade in 2018 was Portugal The Man with their track Feel It Still.
In 2019, the top four most played tracks were all multi-artist works, with Tom Walker’s Just You And I the first non-collaboration, coming in at No.5.
In an official press release, PPL stated that 2019 marked “another great year for home grown talent” with all of the Top 5 tracks being made by or featuring British artists, while overall seven appeared in the Top 10. PPL stated that figure has remained constant for the past three years.
In a similar vein, in 2019 four of the Top 5 artists were British, and eight of the Top 10 overall.
PPL stated that the “results also reveal a clear path from emerging artist to chart-topping act for British talent.”
Winners and nominees of the BRIT Awards for Rising Star or Best New Act (previously British Breakthrough Act) since 2010 make up six of the Top 10 tracks (Rag‘N’Bone Man, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Tom Walker, Lewis Capaldi, and Mabel) and five of the Top 10 artists (Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Jess Glynne, George Ezra, and Rita Ora).
Speaking about the results, PPL CEO Peter Leathem said: “From rising stars to established names, the PPL Most Played Charts for 2019 showcase the songs and artists that soundtracked our year. British music was particularly popular, with Ed Sheeran maintaining his popularity while acts such as Tom Walker and Mabel established themselves on the airwaves. Congratulations to all those featured in our charts as well as the music businesses that invest in and support their success.”
You can read the full breakdown of PPL’s Most Played charts below
PPL’s Most Played Tracks Chart of 2019
1. Giant – Calvin Harris & Rag‘N’Bone Man
2. Nothing Breaks Like A Heart – Mark Ronson Feat. Miley Cyrus
3. Dancing With A Stranger – Sam Smith & Normani
4. I Don’t Care – Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber
5. Just You And I – Tom Walker
6. Higher Love – Kygo & Whitney Houston
7. Sweet But Psycho – Ava Max
8. Someone You Loved – Lewis Capaldi
9. Don’t Call Me Up – Mabel
10. Walk Me Home – Pink
PPL’s Most Played Artist Chart of 2019
1. Ed Sheeran
2. Calvin Harris
3. Sam Smith
4. Jess Glynne
5. Pink
6. George Ezra
7. Rita Ora
8. Little Mix
9. Coldplay
10. Maroon 5
PPL’s Most Played Charts of 2019 are announced as the company publishes its Annual Review detailing last year’s financial and operational results. In 2019 PPL collected a total of £271.8 million for performers and recording rights-holders; an increase of £25 million (10%) from 2018. It also distributed money at least once to over 108,000 performers and 11,000 recording rights-holders, making it the first time that PPL has paid more than 100,000 different performers in a single financial year.
* To read the exclusive Music Week interview with Leathem on the latest PPL results, subscribers can click here. Make sure you can access vital music biz information wherever you are by signing up for our digital edition here.
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