HITS HIGH FIVE: AULD AND IN THE WAY

It’s the end of the first week of 2017 and the room has finally stopped spinning. While we spent the week testing hangover cures from Tasmania, Macedonia and Pacoima, more industrious types were analyzing music industry data from 2016. Those stories and more make this week’s HITS High Five.

Columbia Records is the undisputed SPS champ of 2016 while Republic’s streaming percentage rocketed to a best-in-the biz 10.4.

Insights about streams and sales pack the 2016 U.S. Music Industry Report from Jim Lidestri’s BuzzAngle Music. The big picture: Overall consumption ticked up nearly 5% as a record high in audio streams offset declines in sales. Meanwhile, streaming was up 65.1% in the U.K.

Upon further review—is that a sign we’ve been watching too much football lately?—our Grammy whisperer Paul Grein has come up with three ways the Recording Academy’s nominations review committee has had an impact on the noms.

A Pentatonix Christmas was the top-performing album released during the fourth quarter of 2016 while The Weeknd’s Starboy dominated the quarter Q4 in the TEA and SEA breakdowns.

Chinese giant Alibaba is looking to invest $7.2b in media over the next few years. Are Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter part of the plan?