Ahead of International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8th, Spotify is honouring the female voices that listeners cannot get enough of. Spotify is also creating the first-ever IWD global campaign, driven by the hashtags #musicneedswomen, #podcastsneedwomen and #audioneedswomen, to highlight how important women are to the industry.
On March 8, a new Women’s History Month hub will go live on Spotify, which will include all female tracks, playlists and podcasts as well as playlist takeovers from some of the most dynamic women in audio.
Below you’ll find the top female artists based on data from January 1-March 1, 2020.
Taking the number one artist spot is Billie Eilish – and not only just among female artists, but she’s also the top artist overall this year (from January 1-March 1). Billie has more than 10.3 billion all-time streams, more than 60 million monthly listeners, her track “bad guy” has surpassed 1.2 billion streams and she recently released the new James Bond theme song “No Time To Die.” Taylor Swift is the second-most streamed female artist on Spotify in 2020 so far, followed by Ariana Grande, Halsey and Camila Cabello.
When it comes to podcasts, these female-hosted shows are Spotify fan favourites based on hours streamed, and it’s clear that our obsession with true crime reigns supreme. My Favorite Murder, a comedic true crime series from comedians Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, is Spotify’s most popular female-hosted podcast. Crime Junkie, hosted by self-described “crime junkies” Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, comes in second.
Globally, female podcast listeners specifically are true crime obsessed – and turns out there’s a scientific reason why. Check out a recent interview with social psychologist Amanda Vicary on Spotify’s blog For the Record to get all the details.
And if true crime isn’t really your jam, don’t fret – there’s still a female-focussed podcast for you. Consider these Spotify Originals:
- The Cut on Tuesdays: A weekly exploration of topics ranging from culture, style, sex and politics from Gimlet.
- Motherhacker: A thrilling fictional series about a woman, voiced by Carrie Coon, who goes after the thieves who robbed her of her life savings from Gimlet.
- Motherhood Sessions: A deep dive into psychological shifts and challenges that accompany motherhood from Gimlet.
- The Guilty Feminist: A comedic – and very honest – take on everyday challenges women face.
Read Also: Spotify: John Legend’s “All of Me” is No.1 love Song
For even more of the female voices Spotify listeners can’t get enough of, see below for the top 10 most-streamed female artists enjoyed globally and by South African audiences. And be sure to check out our playlist of the 50 most-streamed women in music right now.
Top 10 most-streamed female artists in South Africa (based on streams from January 1-March 1, 2020):
2. Taylor Swift
3. Halsey
5. Selena Gomez
6. Beyoncé
8. Dua Lipa
9. Rihanna
10. Tones And I
Top 10 most-streamed female artists in the world (based on streams from January 1-March 1, 2020):
2. Taylor Swift
4. Halsey
6. Selena Gomez
7. Dua Lipa
8. Nicki Minaj
9. KAROL G
10. Tones and I
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