Taylor Swift has been awarded the Global Recording Artist of the year 2014 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, according to the IFPI report.

The award is based on various measures such as physical sales, downloads and streaming worldwide. Swift's album "1989,' which released last year, sold over 8.6 million copies worldwide and has spent 11 nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart. Also, two songs from the album, "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off" topped the Hot 100, according to Billboard.

Swift was presented with the award by the CEO of IFPI, Frances Moore, during the rehearsals for Brits, according to the Daily Mail.

Speaking to Billboard on presenting the award, Moore said, "Congratulations to Taylor Swift. She merits this result as she is a hardworking and talented performer who has an amazing ability to connect with audiences worldwide. This IFPI award reflects the global popularity of recording artists across the diverse ways in which fans choose to listen to music today."

One Direction, which topped the list in 2013, slipped to second in 2014, according to IFPI. The third position went to popular singer-songwriter, Ed Sheeran, for his his second studio album "X.'

Swift's album has spent almost 11 weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard 100 chart. Reportedly, she is the only person in music history to have three albums hit the 1 million plus first-week sales figure, according to the Daily Mail.

After receiving the award, Swift tweeted, saying, "'Life was never worse, but never better."