Ed Sheeran becomes first British artist to hit over 2bn streams on Spotify

The 'Drunk' singer is only the second artist to reach the milestone

Ed Sheeran always seems to have something massive to celebrate (Getty Images)

In case you were not aware, acoustic troubadour Ed Sheeran is extremely popular. So popular in fact that he has become the first British artist to reach over two billion streams on Spotify.

The “A-team singer”, who was the most streamed artist on Spotify in 2014, has only released two studio albums, the first of which, +, was released in 2011 through Atlantic records.

Rapper Eminem is the only other artist to have reached the two million mark, yet his success comes from a total of eight albums.

Atlantic Records UK’s general manager, Mark Mitchell, said "Ed achieving two billion streams on just two albums is a phenomenal achievement.

"It not only highlights the popularity of his timeless sound and the explosive growth of his army of fans, it also demonstrates how great music can be successful on all formats.

"He’s already topped charts around the world with ‘x’ but we’re not stopping, he’s midway through his world tour and we’re still working as hard as ever to help him smash even more records."

Ed Sheeran performing live (Getty Images)

Sixty million people currently use the streaming service, which Sheeren credited as being the reason he was able to play Wembley.

“I do not think I would be able to sell out these venues had people not streamed my music. It’s getting it out to people who are learning the songs and wanting to come to the gigs,” the 23-year-old said backstage at the BBC Music Awards.

While Sheeran may be complimentary of the service, many other artists refuse to use it, most famously Taylor Swift who pulled her entire repertoire from Spotify.

The “Thinking Out Loud” singer said of his collaborator's move: “Fair play to Taylor, she said 'I can sell a million in week one if I don’t put my record on Spotify' and she did, and I’m saying 'I can play Wembley if I do put my record on Spotify' and I’m doing that.”