Adele tops the rankings for total sales with an astonishing $16.3 million, some $9 million more than the nearest artist. Taylor Swift's earnings of $7.2 million means she reaches second place, with Ed Sheeran and Drake placing in joint fourth with $4 million in sales, Gigwise reports citing Billboard.
Presumably, Adele's huge single 'Hello', from her long-awaited third album was a major contributor to these findings, with 25 becoming the biggest-selling album in America since her last album, 21, Gigiwise said.
Taylor Swift's 1989 World Tour, in support of her album of the same name, included incredible cameo appearances by the likes of Julia Roberts, Mick Jagger and even Lisa Kudrow with whom she performed the iconic Friends song 'Smelly Cat' with.
However, in a role-reversal Taylor Swift tops the Billboard list of earners based on songwriting alone, with $4.1 million in just the year of 2015. Meanwhile, Adele pulled in $3.7million netting herself a comfortable second place on the list. Ed Sheeran placed 4th with $2.4 million while Sam Smith finished just inside the top ten with $1.2million.
This comes at a time when British artists have their highest share in global music sales. With a recent study reporting that "UK acts account for over 1 in 7 of albums sold world-wide in 2014".
That Adele and Taylor Swift top both lists should surprise no one really, especially with just how incredible a year 2015 was for both of them, Gigwise said.
