JANICK'S INTERSCOPE CONTINUES ITS ROLL

So how do you stay in the win column when you’re leading the league in marketshare? Bursting out the gate with a once-in-a-generation single helps. Even John Janick’s IGA, which developed and launched the careers of cult icons Billie Eilish and Juice WRLD, is in awe of the explosion that is “drivers license.”

With streaming growing rapidly at the end of the last decade, let's examine the biggest debuts (total activity in weeks 1-4) over the last four years. Drake and “WAP.” Those are the only other vehicles in front of Olivia Rodrigo’s fast start and historic debut. One was a culture-shifting female rap collab in 2020, while Drake’s two smashes “God’s Plan” and “In My Feelings” arrived during 2018’s record-breaking Scorpion season.

In this window, “drivers license” now ranks fourth among the fastest songs to hit over 1.5m units in its first four weeks. And among pop hits in the last three years from genre-leaders Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Halsey, Rodrigo’s first lap for Geffen ranks #1.

While “drivers license” has the benefit of more platforms and apps that integrate virality faster than ever, Rodrigo’s streaming numbers offset a drastic sales dip for the overall market since 2018.

Rodrigo’s “license” shattered records at Spotify—both Global and U.S.— and Amazon Music within its first week of release. Another caveat to the Rodrigo phenomenon: this is her first solo single. The rest of the artists in the table below had established careers at the time these fast-moving singles were launched.