YOUR WEEKLY MARKETSHARE SCORECARD, UPDATED

The addition of RED to Columbia, which became official with last week’s SoundScan report, will undoubtedly enhance the major’s standing in big-picture terms, among other benefits. But it doesn’t guarantee a #1 finish on a week-to-week basis, as the latest frontline and TEA Top 10 charts dramatically indicate. Indeed, it doesn’t guarantee a #2 either.

We speculated that Republic’s 28% frontline tally was a record breaker when we first saw the number, and it’s unequivocally a whopper, fueled by Drake’s “mixtape” (498k) and the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack (205k). As it turns out, though, 28% isn’t even close to the record of 40%, which was registered by—yup—Republic the week Taylor Swift’s 1989 bowed with 1.2m last October. Let’s call that one the full Monte, but this latest eruption definitely ain’t chopped liver.

To be continued. Mos def.