NEAR TRUTHS:
DEEP BENCHES

THE SHOCK OF THE NEW: As we assess the landscape in our New & Developing Artists special, we note once again that “new acts are the lifeblood of the business” isn’t merely an appealing slogan—it’s a fact, borne out by the DSP charts.

We say it a lot, but when new and developing acts are a significant force on the charts, it’s a clear index of structural health in the biz. And while the undeniable success of indie labels and distributors has spread the wealth around, this overall picture puts the lie to the perennial claptrap about the majors having outlived their usefulness.

Records are still overwhelmingly breaking on TikTok—the new radio—and its relationship with the larger biz appears even more firmly cemented post-UMG agreement. Spotify’s box of artist-development tools and canny balance of tech and human curation in playlisting (courtesy of Jeremy Erlich, Sulinna Ong and company) have further supercharged the process of taking hot records to the next level.

What were once called distribution companies have become global marketing entities, equipped with granular analysis of data to help grow acts below the major labels’ radar—or in partnership with them, as in the case of Virgin. The latter’s Nat Pastor and JT Myers and team have helped expand UMG’s reach with those emerging acts (such as Clairo) and bring strong artist-development skills to projects like their JV with Island on Carín León. Stem has given a significant boost to acts like Tommy Richman, Tucker Wetmore, bbno$, Mk.gee, Drew Baldridge and Sinead Harnett as Milana Lewis, Kristin Graziani and their crew pull all sorts of levers in their quest to (in their words) “unfuck” the biz. Meanwhile, their Tone dashboard enables royalty transparency and liquidity for managers, indie labels and production companies.

For its part, SoundCloud—long a great reservoir for artist development—has been undergoing a major transformation under Eliah Seton’s leadership, employing advanced, proprietary tech and cutting-edge marketing for its family of affiliated acts and labels. John Summit, R2RMOE and Lay Bankz are among the developing acts they’ve been trumpeting; in recent years, SoundCloud has helped boost such artists as Billie Eilish, Zach Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Shaboozey.

Cat Kreidich-led ADA, which has become even more competitive in the wake of WMG boss Robert Kyncl’s retooling of his company’s technological reach and resources, is touting such acts as Nemzzz, Artemas, Olivia O’Brien, vaultboy, Joey Valence & Brae, Whethan, Young Jonn and Amelia Moore.

Lonny Olinick’s AWAL, which has been impressively strategic in marshaling its artist services for indie acts, has caught a big one with Djo and is waving the flag for Sukihana, Moses Sumney, Laufey and hemlock springs. FloyyMenor is a streaming monster for Steve Stoute, LaTrice Burnette and the United Masters crew. Meanwhile, Tony Bucher’s Hitmaker streams on, with YG Marley leading the pack.

And the majors are scoring big time with newer artists. Tyler Arnold and Ben Adelson’s Mercury has minted a new superstar in Adelson signing Noah Kahan, and their keen A&R instincts (Arnold inked Post Malone, now undergoing a highly profitable pivot to country) are perfectly paired with the Republic machine as the brothers Lipman read the tea leaves with typical effectiveness and proceed to push all the right buttons.

Island has seen Sabrina Carpenter rocket to the top of the heap—with two of the year’s biggest songs—while Chappell Roan breaks wide open with multiple tracks. Label co-heads Imran Majid and Justin Eshak, too, bring strong A&R chops to the UMG East Coast machine as their acts enjoy a staggering run at the DSPs. Interesting side note: According to Paul Grein in Billboard, Roan—one of the hottest emerging acts in the biz—was previously inked to and dropped by Atlantic.

Warner, which required patient rebuilding by Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson—empowered by Max Lousada’s long view—has smashed the ball with Teddy Swims and Benson Boone, and newcomers Dasha and Michael Marcagi are making big strides. These acts, as well as established superstar Zach Bryan, are all fruit of the label’s focused new-artist development.

John Janick, Steve Berman and Team Interscope are feeling the humidity with Nir Seroussi’s Miami-bred breakouts like Ivan Cornejo (who scored a Top 20 bow last week) and Xavi, not to mention fledgling stars Gracie Abrams and Reneé Rapp, and they’re taking GloRilla (in tandem with Yo Gotti’s CMG) to the next level, while Tom March rebuilds the Capitol team and stocks his roster.

Peter Edge, John Fleckenstein and RCA’s Nipper brigade are launching Lisa into the stratosphere, with Myles Smith and The Red Clay Strays coming up. Columbia’s Ron Perry, Jen Mallory and crew are kicking it with Koe Wetzel (who also debuts in the Top 20 this week), Ella Langley, Megan Moroney (whose Columbia/Sony Music Nashville set bowed in the Top 10 last week) and Central Cee.

Country remains a growth industry throughout the biz. In Nashville, Seth England’s Big Loud squad is guiding HARDY to new peaks. Jon Loba’s Broken Bow—which expects new records soon from Jelly Roll (in partnership with Republic) and Lainey Wilson—has another comer with Chayce Beckham. Back Blocks’ Tucker Wetmore was a big get for Cindy Mabe’s UMG Nashville; Nate Smith is coming on strong for Randy Goodman’s SMN; viral hitter Redferrin is the hot new thing for Ben Kline and Cris Lacy’s Warner Music Nashville. And Riley Green continues to deliver for Scott Borchetta’s BMLG.

Indies, meanwhile, are putting up exceptionally strong numbers. EMPIRE’s Shaboozey (520m global Spotify streams for “Tipsy”) is a giant. PULSE/ISO Supremacy’s Tommy Richman just passed 1b streams with “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” (about 620m worldwide via Spotify) and follow-up “Devil Is a Lie” has definite traction for Josh Abraham, Scott Cutler and company. Elliot Grainge’s 10K has an absolute rocket with Artemas (760m+ global streams on the Spot).