Ed Sheeran named most influential young artist by Spotify

British singer Ed Sheeran has scored yet another number one – on Spotify’s list of the top 25 most influential artists under the age of 25.

The 24-year-old star was the company’s most streamed artist of 2014, while his ballad Thinking Out Loud is the most-streamed song of all time.

Ed’s pal Taylor Swift was notably absent from the streaming service’s Global 25 Under 25 after she pulled all her music from Spotify in November last year for financial reasons.

British star Sam Smith, 23, was third on the list, just behind Ariana Grande, and boyband One Direction also made the top five, following Miley Cyrus in fourth place.

The list is based on total streams, but also on number one hits, volume and growth of streams over the past year and Spotify’s viral chart.

Other UK artists to make the list included James Bay at number 13 and new X Factor judge Rita Ora in 16th place.

Spotify’s 25 Under 25

1. Ed Sheeran.

Ed Sheeran performs in concert at Croke Park, Dublin. — Ed Sheeran (Brian Lawless/PA)

The 24-year-old UK singer-songwriter was not only Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2014, but holds the title of most-streamed song of all time with his ballad Thinking Out Loud.

2. Ariana Grande.

The 22-year-old singer averages three million streams a day and has more than 2.5 million followers on Spotify.

3. Sam Smith.

The 23-year-old star’s hit Stay With Me has streamed more than 350 million times.

4. Miley Cyrus.

A picture of Miley Cyrus performing — Miley Cyrus (Charles Sykes/AP)

Spotifiers listen to Miley’s music in consistently high numbers and the 22-year-old boasts a following of nearly 1.5 million.

5. One Direction.

When Zayn Malik announced he was quitting the boyband in March, streams increased by 796 per cent in the US. Also, their new song, Drag Me Down, set a number of Spotify records, including greatest number of streams on a single day (4.75 million on release day).

6. Disclosure.