Pop stars Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny were among the most-streamed artists of 2021, according to figures from Apple Music and Spotify.
But it was newcomer Olivia Rodrigo who took the top spot in the UK - with her punk-pop anthem Good 4U emerging as the most-played song on both services.
Globally, her debut hit Drivers License was the biggest song for Spotify users.
British artists were well-represented in the year-end charts, with Dua Lipa's disco-pop odyssey Future Nostalgia becoming Spotify's second most-played album, after Olivia Rodrigo's Sour.
The earworm Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran, which was intentionally intended to soundtrack a summer of lockdown loosening, was Spotify's third most popular song of 2021.
However, it only ranked 53rd on Apple's ranking, indicating that the service's target audience is mostly in the United States.
According to Spotify, Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper, was the year's most popular musician overall, with 9.1 billion streams.
"I don't into it to be the number one most-streamed artist," said the 27-year-old, upon hearing the news. "I just make music. I just enjoy my 'work'."
Taylor Swift was Spotify's second most-played artist, after BTS, Drake, and Justin Bieber, who all released fresh versions of their legendary albums Fearless and Red this year.
Spotify and Apple Music together account for 48% of the worldwide streaming industry, and successful artists may gain a lot of attention for their most popular songs.
Over the previous 12 months, all of Spotify's top five songs have been listened over 1 billion times.
The music business has recovered from the piracy crisis of the 2000s thanks to streaming profits, with UK record companies earning £736.5 million last year.
However, there is criticism over how the money is allocated, with many musicians and composers claiming that when their songs are played, they get paid a pittance.
A group of MPs called for a "total reset" of the streaming business earlier this year, urging that revenues be divided evenly between record companies and performers.
Artists now earn roughly 16 percent of the proceeds under the existing arrangement.
