The biggest developing story of 2023 is dramatically evident in our marketshare chart as the biz nears the end of Q1.
Republic, which seized control of current share late last year, has absolutely dominated through the first 11 weeks of 2023 and now sits at 12.3%, a stunning four percentage points above the field. Not only that, but
Monte Lipman’s crew is closing in on the top spot in overall share as the scalding-hot label climbs to 9.1, while
John Janick’s long-reigning
Interscope Geffen A&M finds itself in a rare off-cycle stretch.
That isn’t surprising given that Republic and its label partners have scored a pair of massive hit albums in
Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping
One Thing at a Time (
Big Loud/
Mercury)—lined up to become the year’s biggest album—and
Taylor Swift’s late-’22 supernova,
Midnights, #3 YTD and north of 4m ATD. They’re joined on the leader board by albums from
Boominati’s
Metro Boomin (#4),
OVO’s
Drake &
21 Savage (#6) and
BIGHIT/
Imperial’s
TOMORROW X TOGETHER (#10), with Wallen’s 2021 champ
Dangerous still at large at #5. The country superstar’s ongoing success is directly attributable to the visionary partnership of Lipman and Big Loud boss
Seth England.
In all, Republic owns more than a third of the Top 50 real estate with an insane 18 entries; Swift occupies five slots and Drake four, with Wallen and
XO’s
The Weeknd landing three apiece. The company’s Taylor-driven 10.9% vinyl share is icing on its towering layer cake.
Sony-owned,
Brad Navin-led indie distribbery
The Orchard is #2 in current share at 8.3%, with
Atlantic and IGA tied for #3 at 7.2.
Peter Edge’s
RCA rounds out the Top 5 with 6.0%, thanks in large part to
TDE’s acclaimed, ascendant
SZA, whose
SOS (
TDE)—a fixture at the top of the chart since its 12/9/22 release—has moved another 1.1m units YTD. The R&B innovator’s “Kill Bill” also sits atop the Streaming Songs chart as
Top Dawg and Edge’s wildly successful collaboration continues to bear fruit.
Miley Cyrus is experiencing a dramatic career comeback on
Columbia, scoring her first #1 single in a decade with the massive “Flowers,” while
Endless Summer Vacation, her first studio album on Big Red, snags the #8 slot YTD as
Ron Perry performs his latest magic trick. Additionally,
Harry Styles and
Beyoncé’s celebrated 2022 albums are hanging out in the Top 15.
Deep catalog, a pair of Top 25 LPs from
Quality Control/
Motown’s
Lil Baby and current hits from
Sam Smith and up-and-comer
Toosii have combined to keep
Michelle Jubelirer’s
Capitol Music Group at #5 in overall share. The same recipe is being served up by
Warner—whose 2022 breakout star
Zach Bryan is holding strong at #9 YTD for
Aaron Bay-Schuck and
Tom Corson.
In other noteworthy action,
Luke Combs’ three Top 50 albums have powered
Randy Goodman’s
Sony Nashville to a Music City-leading 2.1% in current share, while
UMG Nashville
transitions into the
Cindy Mabe era.
Afo Verde’s
Sony Latin
is flirting with a 2% current share, and
Jesús López’s
UMLE is at 1.6% in overall.
Elsewhere among the majors,
Future, with the #18 album, is still delivering for
Sylvia Rhone’s
Epic;
Tunji Balogun is in the midst of his revitalization of
Def Jam; and
Ken Bunt’s
Disney Music Group, coming off a banner year with the
Encanto soundtrack, is currently championed by
Queen’s Greatest Hits I at #31.
With all those numbers in play, there’s one indisputable truth at the quarter pole of 2023: The championship is now Republic’s to lose as House Lipman positions itself to make music-business history.
