TWO-MONTH MARKETSHARE:
ALL HAIL COLUMBIA, UMG
Entering the year with Omarion and the Dreamgirls soundtrack, #6 on the year’s top albums, then catching the Grammy wave with Dixie Chicks, John Mayer, John Legend and the 2007 Grammy Nominees album, perennial label powerhouse Columbia is #1 for new releases, upping their number by 2.6 over 2006 to 8.2%.
EMI’s Blue Note was the other major gainer, moving 2.5 from .7% to 3.2%, thanks in large part to Norah Jones’ Not Too Late, the year’s largest seller so far, closing in on 1 million sold.
In the Big Four total marketshare race, Universal Music Group (30.7%) maintains its dominance over Sony BMG (24.2%) with Warner Music Group (14.2%) and EMI (10.9%, +1.4), the only company sporting a gain over the year before, but still trailing as their mating dance continues.
Thanks to Idol alum Daughtry, who has the year’s #2 album with 591k sold Y-T-D, RCA Music Group is #2 in new releases, while the newly coined Capitol Music Group, encompassing the Capitol and Virgin labels, climbs to #6, thanks to newcomer Corinne Bailey Rae, #8 on the 2007 Top 10.
Interscope/A&M was #3 in the new-release category, owing to the #7 finish for Robin Thicke, followed by Island Def Jam, boosted by the #4 Fall Out Boy album, while Warner Bros. rounds out the Top Five. Disney Records, at #7, is also up from last year, rising 2.9 to 4.2%, as is #9 Zomba, which moves 2.8-3.4%, thanks largely to the continued strength of Justin Timberlake’s #5 album of 2007. Universal Records Group lands at #8, thanks in large part to Akon’s Konvicted on SRC/Universal Motown, the year’s #3 album. Sony BMG Nashville finished #13, but shows positive movement from 2.5% to 2.8%.
Other handy factoids:
*Sony BMG has four of the Top 10 albums of 2007 (Daughtry, Timberlake, Dreamgirls and 2007 Grammy Nominees), and eight of the Top 20 (including Carrie Underwood at #12, Beyonce at #16, Now 23 at #17 and John Mayer at #20).
*UMG has three in the Top 10 (Akon, Fall Out Boy, Robin Thicke) and five of the Top 20 (with Nelly Furtado at #13 and Fergie at #18).
*The highest indie release is The Shins’ Wincing the Night Away on Sub Pop, which finishes #19.
* EMI has two of the eight top-selling albums in Norah Jones and Corinne Bailey Rae.
*Disney has two of the Top 15 in the Jump In! soundtrack (#14) and Rascal Flatts (#15).
Overall, the industry was down in total sales anywhere from 15-17%, which reminds us: Anyone know where we can get our real estate license?
