Q1 MARKETSHARE REPORT:
SME, EMI PLAY CATCH UP

For the first time in memory, there’s a real race in overall marketshare among the Big Four, with runner-up Sony Music Entertainment, thanks in large part to nabbing two of the year’s Top 10 albums to date in Sade (#2) and Susan Boyle (#4), finally closing the gap on perennial leader Universal Music Group. The two are essentially deadlocked for the top spot with 26.7% apiece. SME is up an impressive 5.3 percentage points over last year at this time, while UMG dipped 1.7 to put the two in a tie.

In total marketshare, Warner Music Group (14.8%, -1.3) still leads EMI (11.8%, +3.1) by 3 percentage points, but in new releases, the gap is much closer, with WMG (12.9%) ahead by less than .5.

On the label side, Rob Stringer’s surging Columbia/Epic Records Group (10.1%) has caught and passed last year’s leader, Jimmy Iovine’s IGA (8.8), though they shared a .8 gain. Iovine’s label placed two Lady Gaga albums, The Fame at #3, and The Fame Monster EP at #10, in the Top 10 for the year.

Barry Weiss’ RCA/JIVE Label Group is up next, scoring 8.0%, up 1.2 over last year, thanks to two in the Top 10, including Ke$ha (#5) and Alicia Keys (#7).

Mel Lewinter’s Universal Motown Records Group places two in the Top 10 in Cash Money/Universal Motown’s Lil Wayne (#6) and Big Machine/Universal Republic’s Taylor Swift (#8) on the way to a Top 5 finish, with 6.0%.

Biggest single label gainer is Mike Dungan’s Capitol Nashville (5.5%, +4.2), thanks to Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now, the year’s biggest seller with 1.5 million to date, dwarfing last year’s leader, Taylor Swift’s Fearless, which had sold 787k to this point.

Other positive label marks are registered by Warner Bros. (5.2%, +1.8), Disney Music Group (3.2%, +.5), Capitol Music Group (3.1%, +.6) and SME Nashville (2.3%, +.7).

In the year’s Top 10 year-to-date album race, Lady Antebellum is far and away the leader, while Sade trails with 990k, both beating 2009’s leader, Swift.

For the full report, click here.