The Global Recording Artist of the Year is an award presented by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) to honor the year's commercially best-performing musician, based on global album-equivalent units earned, which includes music downloads, streaming and physical sales.

[1] It has been awarded every year since January 2014, starting with the British boy band One Direction, who won the accolade for 2013.

[8] Ed Sheeran received the award for 2017 with the release of his third studio album ÷, which included the singles "Shape of You", "Castle on the Hill", "Galway Girl", and "Perfect".

[15] Swift claimed the award for Global Recording Artist of 2023 for a record-breaking fourth time the following year.

[28] For singles, until 2019, IFPI listed the figures based on a combination of pure track downloads and streaming numbers converted into track-equivalent units.