i.b. TEASE

ON THE FRONTLINE: There was action aplenty during the final days of the 2013 frontline marketshare battle, as Rob Stringer’s Columbia executed the music biz equivalent of the two-minute drill to perfection, scoring with that spectacular late move from Beyoncé and another strong showing from One Direction (1.2m)—both selling for full price at iTunes, representing a real windfall for Columbia—to finish the year at 8%. This late charge brought Team Stringer to #2 in the final standings, and all signs point to the label owning Q1, with continuing sales on Beyoncé and 1D, along with a new Bruce Springsteen album this week and Foster the People in March, while the soon-to-b-released sophomore album from Broken Bells (whose first sold 420k) and the debut from Glee’s Lea Michele are the wildcards. Monte Lipman’s Republic won the 2013 frontline competition with 9%, and the expected Grammy spike for Lorde will be the first significant catalyst in a still-building sales story that will likely see the teenage phenomenon eclipse her remarkable 2013 performance by the end of this year. Will Lipman get new records from Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift and Florida Georgia Line this year? So asks our own I.B. Bad, whose new column will appear on this site in its entirety tomorrow. (1/16p)