2022 (NEARLY) FINAL MARKETSHARE
John Janick’s Interscope Geffen A&M will spend a third consecutive year as the overall marketshare leader, holding a commanding 9.7% share with just a few weeks remaining until the champagne corks are popped. Monte and Avery Lipman’s Republic rises to #1 in current share behind a string of blockbuster releases from superstar acts.
IGA kicked off the year for Sir Lucian Grainge’s UMG juggernaut with Dr. Dre’s thrilling Super Bowl halftime show, connecting a new generation of fans with hits from the West Coast’s finest, most notably reviving “The Next Episode” from Dre’s 2001.
Among Team Janick’s top 2022 performers were Olivia Rodrigo with her breakthrough 2021 album SOUR, as well as Gen Z favorites Juice WRLD and Billie Eilish, who landed multiple LPs in the Top 50 YTD. Kendrick Lamar’s long-awaited Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers lent the label another #1 to go with his evergreen catalog, giving the Grammy contender three albums in the Top 50 for the year. Geffen’s new partnership with Bighit provided another chart-topping album for BTS and successful solo singles for group members.
Republic received a towering exclamation point on its year last month when the label’s cleanup hitter, Taylor Swift, knocked it out of the stadium with her 10th LP, Midnights. Swift moved 1.5m+ in her first week—a mind-boggling achievement in the post-bundling streaming era. It’s a good year anytime Drake drops, but during the last 15 months the OVO boss delivered a hat trick for the Lipmans. Swift and Drake rank #1 and #2 YTD in units by artists.
Meanwhile, Big Loud/Mercury’s Morgan Wallen continues to top DSPs with his enduring 2021 smash, Dangerous: The Double Album, which moved 2m+ more units in 2022. Perennial sluggers The Weeknd and Post Malone released new sets this year, while Stray Kids (JYP/Imperial via Ingrooves) topped the chart with two different LPs.
Michelle Jubelirer is making headway with her rebuild of Capitol Music Group, which has been reawakened by a late-year rocket ship from Sam Smith. UMG Nashville standard bearer Chris Stapleton was once again a bright spot for Mike Dungan and Cindy Mabe. And QC/Motown released a new set by 2020 champ Lil Baby.
Rob Stringer’s Sony Music is having one of its hottest streaks in the last quarter century this calendar year. Ron Perry’s Columbia has led the way, paced by its superstar triumvirate of Harry Styles, whose Harry’s House is the year’s fourth-biggest album, closing in on 2m, #14 Beyoncé and #31 Adele; 2021 LPs from The Kid LAROI and Polo G also made the Top 50. Peter Edge’s RCA remains north of 5% overall behind its newest superstar, Doja Cat, and breakthrough artist Steve Lacy.
Future, with the year’s #7 album, I Never Liked You, and host with the most DJ Khaled have put a smile on the face of Sylvia Rhone’s resurgent Epic, while last year’s pickup of Todd Moscowitz’s Alamo has borne fruit with its first Sony release, 7220, from flagship artist Lil Durk. And Luke Combs landed two LPs in the Top 50 for Randy Goodman’s Sony Music Nashville.
But that’s not all, folks, not by a long shot. Sony-owned distribbery The Orchard has experienced exponential marketshare growth during this decade under Brad Navin, rising from 4.7% overall in 2020 to 5.3 last year and surpassing 6 in 2022 while rolling a stunning 7 in current. Leading the charge is Rimas’ Bad Bunny, The Orchard’s first superstar, who has scored the biggest U.S. album (3m and counting) and tour of 2022 and fast-tracked the growth of the Latin genre domestically and internationally.
Retiring WMG chief Steve Cooper has thoughtfully set the table for successor Robert Kyncl as Atlantic will finish the year at #2 in both metrics, while Warner is #5 overall YTD with 6.3%. Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson have minted a new star in country maverick Zach Bryan, and Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 landmark Rumours remains the Holy Grail of deep catalog.
Highlighting Latin growth in the U.S., Universal Music Latino, in its first full year under the leadership of President Angel Kaminsky, increased to 1.5%, leading frontline Latin labels. Sony Latin, meanwhile, rose to 1.2. But it was Disney’s Encanto soundtrack (#5 YTD) that set the stage for the 2022 Latin explosion.
