NEAR TRUTHS: ITS BASKET RUNNETH OVER

As Sony’s fiscal year ended on 3/31, it’s worth taking a look at the individual successes behind House Stringer’s blockbuster run. The company’s YTD current marketshare of 28.4 (up nearly five points over 2020) reflects its hot streak; in overall share, which is dominated by catalog’s 70%+, it’s much more difficult to move the needle, but SME has still managed to hit 27.6, up by almost two points over 2020.

The massive success of frontline acts like Columbia’s Harry Styles, Beyoncé, Adele and Miley Cyrus; RCA’s SZA (who has the #2 album YTD and is nearing superstar status), Steve Lacy and Doja Cat; and Epic’s Future and 21 Savage are well documented. The Orchard has become an important part of the puzzle with its 8 marketshare, while Sony Nashville continues to nurture strong acts—Randy Goodman and team have notched impressive success with Luke Combs, whose cover version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” is looking like a potential crossover smash.

Meanwhile, SME’s marketshare in the surging Latin sector is a commanding 53.7 in current and 45 overall. The Orchard leads the entire sector as the distributor of Rimas’ Bad Bunny, whose most recent set was the biggest album of 2022 by a mile—and remains in the Top 10 YTD. His Coachella headlining spot only further cements his dominance.

Sony has done a number of significant deals over the past two years, including acquiring AWAL (which has recently yielded big streams with JVKE and Lizzy McAlpine, the latter newly inked to RCA for future releases) and Todd Moscowitz’s Alamo (which has another biggie from Rod Wave) and the catalogs of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, not to mention such globally consequential entities as Brazil’s Som Livre label and the U.K.’s audio-production giant Somethin’ Else. Look for announcements of some major new deals in the next few months.