INDIES INFILTRATE
POP CHART

Tommy Richman, Josh Abraham, Scott Cutler

Josh Abraham and Scott Cutler’s PULSE Records couldn’t possibly have had a better launch for their first go at recorded music; PULSE/ISO Supremacy’s Tommy Richman is currently #1 at Pop with his smash “MILLION DOLLAR BABY.” What's more, the independent's victory took place on the majors' home turf: radio. Richman's breakout hit has also crossed 1 billion global streams, toping Spotify’s global and U.S. charts as well as TikTok and Shazam's domestic charts.

Don’t call it a trend, but the Top 40 radio chart, long the purview of major labels, is being ruled by an indie for a second consecutive week—Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” powered by Ghazi’s EMPIRE, reached #1 at Pop last week.

These two monster records aren’t flukes either. Having logged their #1 weeks, neither is disappearing. Island’s Sabrina Carpenter will undoubtedly enter the fray with a chart-topping run for “Please, Please, Please,” but expect “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”—led by Concord promo boss Angelo Scrobe—and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” to stay competitive through the rest of the summer and possibly into Q4.

PULSE popped a bottle of charcoal-infused kombucha to celebrate.