The 10 most popular music artists of 2018 so far, according to Nielsen

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The 10 most popular music artists of 2018 so far, according to Nielsen

drake

YouTube/Drake

Drake's "God's Plan" video.

Drake and Post Malone are in a league of their own in popular music this year, according to Nielsen's mid-year report on the music industry.

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The two rappers, whose versatile music has allowed them to top charts across multiple genres, took the top two spots on Nielsen's ranking of 2018's most popular artists by total album-equivalent consumption, a metric which includes all music sales, streaming figures, and digital downloads.

Drake's Billboard No. 1 single "God's Plan" led all songs in on-demand streaming and total consumption. Post Malone's single "Psycho" came in second in both categories.

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Malone's album "Beerbongs & Bentleys," released in April, beat out the original soundtrack for the film "The Greatest Showman" to lead Nielsen's list of year's most popular albums by total album-equivalent consumption.

Here are Nielsen's 10 most popular artists of 2018 so far, ranked by total album-equivalent consumption:

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10. Taylor Swift

10. Taylor Swift

Total album-equivalent consumption: 1,068,000 Album sales: 285,000 Digital songs: 986,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 1,027,226,000

9. Eminem

9. Eminem

Total album-equivalent consumption: 1,081,000 Album sales: 302,000 Digital songs: 917,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 1,031,565,000

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8. The Weeknd

8. The Weeknd

Total album-equivalent consumption: 1,104,000 Album sales: 178,000 Digital songs: 500,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 1,314,121,000

7. Kendrick Lamar

7. Kendrick Lamar

Total album-equivalent consumption: 1,264,000 Album sales: 228,000 Digital songs: 864,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 1,424,425,000

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6. Ed Sheeran

6. Ed Sheeran

Total album-equivalent consumption: 1,267,000 Album sales: 338,000 Digital songs: 1,926,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 1,103,995,000

5. J. Cole

5. J. Cole

Total album-equivalent consumption: 1,339,000 Album sales: 288,000 Digital songs: 303,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 1,530,496,000

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4. XXXTentacion

4. XXXTentacion

Total album-equivalent consumption: 1,068,000 Album sales: 285,000 Digital songs: 986,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 1,027,226,000

3. Migos

3. Migos

Total album-equivalent consumption: 1,470,000 Album sales: 112,000 Digital songs: 900,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 1,903,032,000

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2. Drake

2. Drake

Total album-equivalent consumption: 2,474,000Album sales: 71,000 Digital songs: 1,999,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 3,304,426,000

1. Post Malone

1. Post Malone

Total album-equivalent consumption: 2,624,000 Album sales: 324,000 Digital songs: 2,030,000 Streaming on-demand audio: 3,145,868,000

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