NEAR TRUTHS: A TABLE NEAR THE FRONT

LIVE CURRENT: Leading the charge among Sir Lucian Grainge’s labels at present is Monte Lipman’s en fuego Republic, which dominates current marketshare in the opening weeks of 2023 with a whopping 11.1. The label had the #1 current marketshare at the end of 2022 with 10.4.

Monte’s streak is powered by Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift, Drake & 21 Savage, The Weeknd, Metro Boomin and Post Malone. The label locked up an incredible seven spots in the most recent chart's Top 10. The new, 36-song set from Wallen should help keep the lights on at House Lipman.

RUNNING THE TABLES: Part of the success of the Grammy telecast, which scored a stunning 30% ratings boost, resided in getting top stars to show up and sit at the tables by the stage—a big value-add to Music’s Biggest Night.

Viewers of the CBS trophy fest had that voyeuristic itch scratched big-time, as Adele, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lizzo and more rubbed elbows and otherwise participated in the festivities. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins and CBS’ Jack Sussman proceeded from the understanding that TV audiences love that kind of celebrity access. This meant superstars who didn’t wish to perform could still get a huge look.

Another strong visual at the tables: Beyoncé and JAY-Z, both of whom were strong presences on the show. Bey’s on-camera wins making her the all-time Grammy trophy champ were the culmination of a strong narrative amid host Trevor Noah’s stream of honorifics (“the Queen… the GOAT”) and a wave of adoration from attendees. All of this, too, contributed to the vastly improved ratings.

Of course, anyone seated behind the front tables was shrouded in darkness—and thus not on TV. But because the team was able to track the superstars all night, their fans stayed riveted to see what they’d do and enjoyed the illusion of hanging out with them.

CHAMBER MUSIC (PART 906): As for the awards themselves, debate continues to rage about how much the insider cliques populating the Academy’s secret chamber control the distribution of trophies, and how much the results are subject to the caprices of the larger voting body. More often than not, biz folks’ assessments of this topic begin with “If you believe voting counts…” Does it? Conflicting evidence abounds, particularly around the Big 4 categories.

Clearly, there is much horse-trading by some of the more influential players, whose agendas are strongly reflected in genre wins. But do we really believe someone pulled a secret lever for Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt, or were their names and respected body of work enough to mobilize older Academy voters on their behalf? In any case, the system still looks broken and at times not at all reflective of today’s music.