We’re eight months into 2024, but the major storylines haven’t changed since early March, when
UMG unveiled its
Big 10-SEC-style realignment. That bold move unleashed a pair of titans in
Interscope Capitol Labels Group—the runaway leader in overall market share this year behind all-pros including
Billie Eilish,
Olivia Rodrigo,
Kendrick Lamar,
Eminem and
KAROL G—and current-share-dominating
REPUBLIC CORPS, as proven winners
John Janick and
Monte and Avery Lipman embrace the expanded responsibilities
Sir Lucian Grainge has bestowed upon them.
While the market-share gods
still haven’t made these sweeping changes official, we’ve got you covered—the post-reorg breakdown on the adjacent page provides a detailed look at the actual standings in the new world order.
Along with
Taylor Swift (ably assisted by her
13 team and the label's indefatigable
Jim Roppo) and
Morgan Wallen, the latter in partnership with
Seth England’s
Big Loud, Uni’s Beast of the East can claim an energized
Island, which has simultaneously broken
Sabrina Carpenter and
Chappell Roan, two of the year’s biggest artist-development stories, a pair of feathers in the caps of co-heads
Justin Eshak and
Imran Majid. They’re lighting up the scoreboard in parallel with
Mercury’s
Tyler Arnold and
Ben Adelson, the former responsible for
Post Malone, the latter having inked outlier turned superstar
Noah Kahan.
The aforementioned duos and others across the industry playing field are making the case that two heads—label co-heads in this context—are sometimes better than one, and the partnership frequently but not exclusively (Island and Mercury’s co-leaders are engaged in both disciplines) involves complementary A&R and marketing expertise.
That’s very much the case at
Warner Records, where A&R specialist
Aaron Bay-Schuck and marketing expert
Tom Corson are leading the league in developing and breaking new acts. Just a few months ago,
Benson Boone and
Teddy Swims were little-known aspiring artists; now they’re newly minted stars with massive hits and viable careers, mirroring the ascent of Bay-Schuck signing
Zach Bryan, a grass-roots maverick who’s now the poster boy for the Bunny’s new-model army. In a related note, although the share of
Ben Kline and
Cris Lacy’s
Warner Nashville has never been broken out within parent company
WMG, L.A.-based Bay-Schuck and Corson will now have oversight over the Nashville division in acknowledgment of their ongoing hot streak and its roots in authenticity.
As
Atlantic’s current market share drops to a five-year low—putting it more than a percentage point below Warner,
Robert Kyncl is making an attempt to stop the hemorrhaging by replacing the company’s leadership team, notably including longtime CEO
Julie Greenwald. In the coming months, industry eyes will be locked on new CEO
Elliot Grainge as he takes on the challenge of reinvigorating the moribund label.
At
RCA,
Peter Edge is on a two-album roll with
SZA in collaboration with
Top Dawg’s
TDE, while
Nipper’s team adds
Tate McRae’s name to its list of breakthroughs.
Epic, led by the estimable
Sylvia Rhone, continues to stand tall in the hip-hop world, thanks primarily to the trifecta of
Travis Scott,
Future and
21 Savage.
Sony sister label
Columbia, #5 overall and #6 in current—the reverse of RCA—has had a big year behind flagship artist
Beyoncé, but Big Red has simultaneously reentered the artist-development sweepstakes with gusto, as
Ron Perry and
Jen Mallory fast-track
Megan Moroney (in partnership with
Sony Nashville),
Koe Wetzel and
Central Cee while reigniting the careers of
Hozier,
The Kid LAROI and
Dominic Fike.
Another twosome—
Virgin Music Group’s
Nat Pastor and JT Myers—compete in the distro sector, which is delivering at an unprecedented rate as Sony’s
The Orchard, WMG’s
ADA and
Larry Jackson’s
gamma. (don’t call it a label) slice off a combined 13.5% of current market share.
Will any of these dynamic duos maintain their momentum and rise to the rarefied level of
Belichick and
Brady or
Reid and
Mahomes? We have no clue, as usual, but it’ll be fascinating to watch it all unfold, this season and beyond. Because that’s why they play the games—to see who’ll win.
