SPRINGTIME FOR SONY: A FISCAL FLOWERING

Sony stars Future and Beyoncé will deliver no-brainer #1 releases for Sony Music on 3/22 and 3/29, respectively, just before the group’s fiscal year ends on 3/31. Future’s We Don’t Trust You, the first of two 2024 collaborations with Metro Boomin, and Bey’s act ii: Cowboy Carter (Parkwood/Columbia) will cap a stellar Q4 from SME, which was highlighted by 21 Savage’s chart-topper American Dream (Slaughter Gang/Epic), as well as Travis Scott’s UTOPIA (Cactus Jack/Epic), which has remained in the Top 20 since its arrival last summer. Additionally, Alamo’s Bossman Dlow makes a Top 20 debut this week with Mr. Beats the Road, powered by hit single “Get In With Me.”

TDE/RCA’s SZA also continues to generate massive activity, and since the superstar scooped up three 2024 Grammys, SOS has had a consistent Top 5 berth on the album chart. SZA also recently dropped a brand-new cut, “Saturn,” which has been streaming impressively as fans await the long-teased deluxe version of the R&B phenom’s smash set.

Looking ahead, Columbia alternative powerhouse Vampire Weekend will seek to extend its run of three consecutive #1 albums with Only God Was Above Us, which lands on 4/5, the first Friday of Sony’s new fiscal year. It’s the follow-up to 2019’s Father of the Bride, which opened with a career-best 141k units (a number largely fueled by a tour bundle). A second Future x Metro set will arrive a week later.

And while Future and Bey prepare home runs for Sony, the label group continues to enjoy heavy action with monster singles and albums from AWAL’s Djo, RCA’s Bryson Tiller, FAX/Epic’s Tyla, RCA’s Tate McRae, River House/Sony Nashville’s Luke Combs and Alamo’s Rod Wave.

What else is ready to bloom for Big Red? Stay tuned.