NEAR TRUTHS:
MERCURY SPIKES

Tyler Arnold and Ben Adelson-led Mercury has rapidly emerged as one of the hottest labels in recent memory.

The two young execs have experienced a terrific rise over the last decade. Arnold was a student at Northeastern in 2014 when Adelson brought him into Republic via an internship that turned into an A&R assistant gig and, in 2017, VP stripes. His first signing—made while he was a 23-year-old A&R assistant—was Post Malone, who of course blew up (two of Posty’s albums have done well over 9m in U.S. ATD, and he’s amassed 70m+ in global album equivalents). Thanks to his longtime association with Seth England, meanwhile, Arnold subsequently locked down the Big Loud partnership that brought Morgan Wallen aboard and turned him into a megastar (Wallen’s One Thing at a Time and Dangerous: The Double Album have done 9m+ and 7m+, respectively, with 20m in global album equivalents). Arnold also inked streaming giant Metro Boomin—whose recent collabs with Future were two of the biggest hip-hop drops of the last few years, with Heroes & Villains doing 2.5m in U.S. ATD—directly to Republic.

USC Thornton Music School grad Adelson interned for Republic in 2007 and became Avery Lipman’s assistant two years later; three years later, he assumed an A&R post at Republic that saw him ink James Bay, Stephen Sanchez, Conan Gray and his game-changer, Noah Kahan, whose Stick Season has done 2.4m in U.S. ATD. Adelson, who also managed Young the Giant for 15 years, moved up to VP, SVP and finally EVP at House Lipman before joining Arnold to launch Mercury in 2022. In addition to the acts named above, Mercury has a new ZAYN record eliciting serious buzz.

Big Loud’s collaborative roster, we might add, includes brilliant creators like HARDY and ERNEST, both part of Wallen’s circle. We’re told that HARDY, who enjoyed big streaming and awards action with the brilliant “wait in the truck” featuring Lainey Wilson, will drop a new set in July as part of the Big Loud/Mercury deal. His last album, the mockingbird & the crow, has done about 1.2m in U.S. ATD, while prior set A Rock has amassed nearly 1.3m.

The collaborative possibilities demonstrated by the Post/Morgan giant "I Had Some Help" and Post’s prior guest spot on Kahan’s “Dial Drunk” are enhanced by Republic’s partnership with Jon Loba’s Broken Bow on Jelly Roll, whose career is poised to go nuclear, and insiders are buzzing about a possible partnership with Cindy Mabe’s UMG Nashville for hot, Rakiyah Marshall-repped signing Tucker Wetmore.

The potential for more mixing and matching among top Mercury and Republic acts is tantalizing, and Mercury’s considerable might, combined with the power of the Republic machine—home to Taylor, Drake, Ariana, The Weeknd, Metro Boomin, et al.—is inspiring in biz watchers visions of absolutely bone-crushing market share. Republic’s country market share, incidentally, is now 15 (the top Nashville labels have about 10 apiece); new music by Post and Jelly will push that number up even further.

While they pursue their signings individually, we’re informed, NYC-based Arnold and L.A.-based Adelson huddle on all Mercury biz—along with highly adept EVP Alex Coslov. The label’s success is testimony to the skilled mentoring and development of executive talent by the brothers. Support from key Republic operatives Roppo, Spangler and Lipson is proving essential, as are dealmakers like EVP Steve Gawley, SVP Dan Getz and Mercury’s designated hitter in biz affairs, SVP Christina Suarez.