David Bowie has been named one of the world’s bestselling artists since his death last year, beating British musicians Adele and Coldplay.

New figures show he became the second-most popular musician of 2016 following his death in January last year, while his final album Blackstar was named fifth best-selling record worldwide.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) numbers, released on Tuesday, named Canadian rapper Drake the most popular singer overall after the release of his hit track One Dance and album View.

Coldplay came third, followed by Adele in fourth position and Justin Bieber in fifth.

Coldplay made third position in the list.
Coldplay made third position in the list (PA)

Prince, who died a year ago, also made the list, coming in ninth place between Rihanna and The Weeknd.

Beyonce’s Lemonade topped the global bestselling albums list, closely followed by Adele, who enjoyed a second year of success with her 2015 record 25.

Last year saw a number of significant deaths in the world of music, including Leonard Cohen and George Michael as well as the Ziggy Stardust star.

Frances Moore, IFPI’s chief executive, said: “There is no doubt about peoples’ tendency to buy memorabilia after an artist has passed away.

Bowie's final album, Blackstar.
Bowie’s final album, Blackstar (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

“There is a degree of memento, but of course Bowie’s musical legacy is different because he also released a new album at the time of this death.”

The numbers were shared during a conference on Tuesday with leading figures from music giants Warner, Sony and Universal.

The panel reported a growth of 5.9% across the global music market over the past year, but said it marked only a second year of growth after a total 40% drop in music sales since 1999.

Digital sales made up exactly half of overall music revenue for last year, a 5% increase on the previous year’s figure.