Bruno Mars & Rihanna Are 2013's Most Illegally Downloaded Artists

Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Daft Punk have been named as the top 3 most pirated music stars of 2013.

According to Musicmetric, which analyses BitTorrent data, Bruno Mars and Rihanna’s music was illegally downloaded over 5million times last year.

Daft Punk are close behind with 4.2million downloads, while Justin Timberlake (3.93million) and Flo Rida (3.47million) complete the dubious Top 5.

Gregory Mead from MusicMetric said: "Of course we don't condone piracy, but what is clear is that BitTorrent data offers a granular insight into a band's fan engagement.

“You can see where people live and if you know where your fans are, you can plan a tour and engage with them."

The 20 most illegally downloaded acts of 2013 are as follows.

1. Bruno Mars - 5,783,556 2. Rihanna - 5,414,166 3. Daft Punk - 4,212,361 4. Justin Timberlake - 3,930,185 5. Flo Rida - 3,470,825 6. Kanye West - 3,199,969 7. Eminem - 3,176,122 8. Jay Z - 3,171,358 9. Drake - 3,139,408 10. Pitbull - 3,138,308 11. One Direction - 2,920,445 12. Maroon 5 - 2,857,652 13. Zedd - 2,828,764 14. Nicki Minaj - 2,681,177 15. Adele - 2,594,275 16. Avicii - 2,562,151 17. David Guetta - 2,441,235 18. Linkin Park - 2,352,385 19. Pharrell Williams - 2,336,996 20. Katy Perry - 2,318,740