John Janick’s
Interscope Geffen A&M will spend a third consecutive year as the overall marketshare leader, holding a commanding 9.7% share with just a few weeks remaining until the champagne corks are popped.
Monte and
Avery Lipman’s
Republic rises to #1 in current share behind a string of blockbuster releases from superstar acts.
IGA kicked off the year for
Sir Lucian Grainge’s
UMG juggernaut with
Dr. Dre’s thrilling
Super Bowl halftime show, connecting a new generation of fans with hits from the West Coast’s finest, most notably reviving “The Next Episode” from Dre’s
2001.
Among Team Janick’s top 2022 performers were
Olivia Rodrigo with her breakthrough 2021 album
SOUR, as well as Gen Z favorites
Juice WRLD and
Billie Eilish, who landed multiple LPs in the Top 50 YTD.
Kendrick Lamar’s long-awaited
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers lent the label another #1 to go with his evergreen catalog, giving the
Grammy contender three albums in the Top 50 for the year. Geffen’s new partnership with
Bighit provided another chart-topping album for
BTS and
successful solo singles for group members.
Republic received a towering exclamation point on its year last month when the label’s cleanup hitter,
Taylor Swift, knocked it out of the stadium with her 10th LP,
Midnights. Swift moved 1.5m+ in her first week—a mind-boggling achievement in the post-bundling streaming era. It’s a good year anytime
Drake drops, but during the last 15 months the
OVO boss delivered a hat trick for the Lipmans. Swift and Drake rank #1 and #2 YTD in units by artists.
Meanwhile,
Big Loud/
Mercury’s
Morgan Wallen continues to top DSPs with his enduring 2021 smash,
Dangerous: The Double Album, which moved 2m+ more units in 2022. Perennial sluggers
The Weeknd and
Post Malone released new sets this year, while
Stray Kids (
JYP/
Imperial via
Ingrooves) topped the chart with two different LPs.
Michelle Jubelirer is making headway with her rebuild of
Capitol Music Group, which has been reawakened by a late-year rocket ship from
Sam Smith.
UMG Nashville standard bearer
Chris Stapleton was once again a bright spot for
Mike Dungan and
Cindy Mabe. And
QC/
Motown released a new set by 2020 champ
Lil Baby.
Rob Stringer’s
Sony Music is having one of its hottest streaks in the last quarter century this calendar year.
Ron Perry’s
Columbia has led the way, paced by its superstar triumvirate of
Harry Styles, whose
Harry’s House is the year’s fourth-biggest album, closing in on 2m, #14
Beyoncé and #31
Adele; 2021 LPs from
The Kid LAROI and
Polo G also made the Top 50.
Peter Edge’s
RCA remains north of 5% overall behind its newest superstar,
Doja Cat, and breakthrough artist
Steve Lacy.
Future, with the year’s #7 album,
I Never Liked You, and host with the most
DJ Khaled have put a smile on the face of
Sylvia Rhone’s resurgent
Epic, while last year’s pickup of
Todd Moscowitz’s
Alamo has borne fruit with its first Sony release,
7220, from flagship artist
Lil Durk. And
Luke Combs landed two LPs in the Top 50 for
Randy Goodman’s
Sony Music Nashville.
But that’s not all, folks, not by a long shot. Sony-owned distribbery
The Orchard has experienced exponential marketshare growth during this decade under
Brad Navin, rising from 4.7% overall in 2020 to 5.3 last year and surpassing 6 in 2022 while rolling a stunning 7 in current. Leading the charge is
Rimas’
Bad Bunny, The Orchard’s first superstar, who has scored the biggest U.S. album (3m and counting) and tour of 2022 and fast-tracked the growth of the Latin genre domestically and internationally.
Retiring
WMG chief
Steve Cooper has thoughtfully set the table for successor
Robert Kyncl as
Atlantic will finish the year at #2 in both metrics, while
Warner is #5 overall YTD with 6.3%.
Aaron Bay-Schuck and
Tom Corson have minted a new star in country maverick
Zach Bryan, and
Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 landmark
Rumours remains the Holy Grail of deep catalog.
Highlighting Latin growth in the U.S.,
Universal Music Latino, in its first full year under the leadership of President
Angel Kaminsky, increased to 1.5%, leading frontline Latin labels.
Sony Latin, meanwhile, rose to 1.2. But it was
Disney’s
Encanto soundtrack (#5 YTD) that set the stage for the 2022 Latin explosion.
