Just How Big Has Republic Records’ Year Been?
Written by djfrosty on July 13, 2023
Republic Records jumped out to a huge lead early on in the market share rankings this year among current releases (those released within the past 18 months), and maintained a 12.46% current share across the first half of the year — more than four points higher than the next-closest label, Interscope Geffen A&M (8.08%).
But Republic also did something even more impressive: it led in current market share in each of the 13 weeks of the second quarter of 2023, and has been the No. 1 current market share label for 24 of the first 26 weeks of the year so far. In fact, its market share in the second quarter never once dipped below 10%, and has only gone below that figure in two of the 26 weeks so far, and both of them came before Morgan Wallen released his massive album One Thing At a Time: 9.67% in the week ending Jan. 26; and 9.76% in the week ending March 2.
For comparison’s sake, only two labels — Interscope (twice) and Atlantic (once) — have had a single week when their current market share topped 10% in 2023. Republic’s second quarter current market share (during the months of April, May and June) was 12.42%, more than four percentage points higher than Interscope’s in second (8.37%). In each of those 13 weeks a Republic album led the Billboard 200 — 11 weeks for Wallen’s album, then one apiece for Taylor Swift’s Midnights and Stray Kids’ 5 Star — part of a 17-week run at No. 1 on the chart, the longest streak at No. 1 on that chart in 25 years.
The midyear current share mark is also the highest for any label at the halfway point since Atlantic posted a 12.82% share in 2019. And, in fact, in the week that Swift’s Midnights went back to No. 1, the week ended June 8, Republic Records’ current share was the same as that of the entire Warner Music Group: 16.43%.
At the midyear mark, Republic claimed four of the top five albums of the year so far in terms of consumption units, and seven of the top 10, according to Luminate. A Republic album has held the top spot on the Billboard 200 in all but nine weeks of 2023 so far — SZA’s S.O.S. (Top Dawg/RCA) spent eight weeks at No. 1 in the first quarter, while Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito (Universal Music Latin) debuted at the top slot in March.