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A diss-track battle between two of the world’s biggest hip-hop stars has led to cryptic allegations that Drake directed his heavyweight record label to yank a hit featuring Kendrick Lamar from the airwaves. But would such a move be possible?
Probably not, say legal experts who study broadcast rights and the music business. “As a general law, broadcast stations have a lot of discretion over what they put on the air — almost unlimited discretion,” says Charles Naftalin, a Washington, D.C., attorney for Holland & Knight who specializes in telecommunications law. “A station is virtually free to pick and choose what it wants.”
Lamar’s new song “euphoria,” which he released April 30, alleges Drake and Republic had attempted to “try cease and desist on the ‘Like That’ record” — a reference to the recent Future–Metro Boomin hit containing a Lamar verse that attacks last year’s Drake-J. Cole track “First Person Shooter,” and helped spark the recent back-and-forth between the two rappers. Then a screenshot of an alleged email appeared on social media purporting to be from a Republic business-affairs executive declaring “we are not granting radio rights” for “Like That.” (Reps for Republic and Universal Music Group, the label’s parent company, did not respond to requests for comment, and the screenshot could not be verified.)
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Hypothetically, if Lamar’s lyrical allegation were true, and the Republic exec’s email were legitimate, how could a label, even the home of Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, The Weeknd and Post Malone, which has the industry’s largest market share, pull off such a move? One conceivable explanation stems from the fact that “Like That” is an unusual business collaboration — it’s a joint release from competing major labels, Universal-owned Republic and Sony-owned Epic. The former is Metro Boomin’s label; the latter is Future’s label. (Adding confusion to the affair: Lamar records for Interscope, also owned by UMG, so he is, in a very broad sense, Drake’s labelmate.)
Because Republic had a hand in releasing “Like That,” it is conceivable — though extremely unlikely — that the company could demand that radio stations stop playing its own song. “I don’t readily see a legal reason to request takedown from radio solely based on certain lyrics being in the song,” says Matt Buser, an attorney who represents top artists and music companies. “However, there could be a justified legal reason for takedown based on the promotional grant of rights and understanding between the two collaborating labels.”
Like Buser, Larry Kenswil, a retired top business and legal affairs executive for UMG, has no idea what is in the contractual agreement between Republic and Epic for “Like That.” (A rep for Sony, Epic’s parent company, also did not respond to a request for comment.) But he’s certain that Republic has no right to demand a radio takedown. If Lamar’s “euphoria” lyric about a cease-and-desist is true, Kenswil says, “The artist [Drake] complained to the label [Republic] and the label felt like they had to do something to satisfy the artist. But, of course, we probably don’t have the full story.”
He adds: “That happens all the time. Artists tell their lawyers: ‘Send a cease-and-desist.’ The lawyer says, ‘Uh, I don’t think they’re doing anything wrong.’ ‘Send a cease-and-desist or I’ll fire you.’ And they send the cease-and-desist — and don’t follow up.’” Evidence on behalf of Kenswil’s theory: “Like That” not only came out, but radio played the track, it debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and remained there for three weeks. And as of this writing, “Like That” is No. 21 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart.
Following her departure from longtime home Sony Music Nashville last year, Miranda Lambert has signed a new deal with Republic Records. Nashville’s Big Loud will provide country radio promotion and marketing efforts as part of its partnership with the Universal Music Group-owned label.
As the first salvo in the new deal, Lambert will release the new track “Wranglers” on May 3. It will mark her first new music since the release of her 2022 album, Palomino. “’Wranglers’ is a tale of a woman taking her power back. I think we can all identify with the character in this song, because we have all had a time in our life that we needed to find a way to find our strength and also get a little revenge on someone that did us wrong or hurt us,” she said in a statement. Lambert will likely premiere the song during the seven-time CMA female vocalist’s headlining Stagecoach Festival appearance this Saturday (April 27).
Lambert’s affiliation with Republic comes as the New York-based label has moved more into country music and further into its partnership with Big Loud; in March, Big Loud inked a multi-year distribution deal with Mercury Records/Republic for all of its acts. Previously, only releases by Big Loud acts Morgan Wallen, Lily Rose and Dylan Gossett had gone through the partnership. Notably, Gossett is signed to Big Loud Texas, an imprint Lambert and Jon Randall started last year through Big Loud.
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“Being in Texas with Jon, recording where I cut my teeth as a young artist, felt like coming home. I thought about the women — and men — who’ve lived, loved and found power in my music, and I wanted to get back to the root of those spaces,” continued Lambert, who is managed by Marion Kraft. “Talking to [Republic founder/chairman Monte [Lipman], [Republic founder/vice chairman] Avery Lipman and the team at Republic, as well as [Big Loud CEO] Seth [England] and the Big Loud folks who are leaning in, everyone understood my desires and vision for this next era of my music. Aligning like that is empowering; it gives you a license to really chase it. Signing with Republic has inspired me to find the sweet spot for me and all the people like me. I can’t wait for everyone to hear ‘Wranglers,’ and the rest of this record.”
“Miranda Lambert’s legacy as both a consummate storyteller and legendary performer speaks for itself. Her new music is spectacular and we are thrilled and honored to welcome her to Republic Records in partnership with Big Loud,” added Monte Lipman.
Lambert added that the move has been inspiring. “Having a new home has given me a hunger I didn’t realize I still had inside me,” she said. “This song feels like it could be on the same record as ‘Gunpowder & Lead’; it has that same fury. I can’t wait to get out there with this new label and this new music… Monte Lipman and his team fire me up!”
“Gunpower & Lead,” featured on Lambert’s second album, 2007’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, became her first top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
There’s no word on when Lambert will drop a new album, but Republic president/COO Jim Roppo said in a statement, “As she puts the final touches on her fantastic new body of work, it has all the hallmarks of her signature sound, yet she continues to push herself as a songwriter, producer and performer. We’re all at the beginning of a very special moment, and we’re grateful to be on this journey with her.”
Lambert, the most awarded artist by the Academy of Country Music Awards, recently wrapped her residency in Las Vegas and will be on the road through September, during which time she will headline several music festivals.
What a difference a year — or a couple of months with a massive label shakeup — can make.
The reorganization of the Universal Music Group that occurred in February — which loosely divided the music giant’s labels under two umbrellas, Republic Corps and the Interscope Capitol Labels Group (ICLG) — has created a new hegemony that effectively splits its industry-leading market share in half, meaning that Republic Corps’ Monte Lipman and ICLG’s John Janick sit atop label empires that, in a given week, can rival the Warner Music Group as a whole in terms of market share. (For Republic, given its partnership with Big Loud for Morgan Wallen and the eye-popping success of Taylor Swift and others, that was already the case at times last year.) In the first quarter of 2024, for example, both Republic Corps (13.69%) and ICLG (13.81%) put up current market share figures that are more than double the next-highest label from any other company.
Yet for comparison’s sake — and to get a sense of the trends in the market — we’ll set that reorganization aside for now, particularly as it happened in the midst of a quarter and thus doesn’t reflect the totality of the first three months of 2024. And even under the old alignment, Republic (which, even prior to the shift, encompassed Island, Big Loud, Mercury and Imperial) and Interscope (which similarly already included Geffen and Verve Label Group) still lead the pack for releases through the end of March.
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Republic, on the strength of enduring hit albums by Wallen, Swift, Drake and Noah Kahan, as well as the huge success of the new Ariana Grande album eternal sunshine, posted a 12.84% current market share (defined as albums released within the past 18 months), only marginally coming down to earth from the eye-popping 13.47% full-year current share it posted in 2023, and a slight uptick over the 12.45% first quarter it enjoyed last year. Meanwhile, Interscope’s 9.10% current share is a big jump from the 7.75% it posted in the first quarter of 2023, and up from the full-year 8.80% it posted last year, with the enduring success of Olivia Rodrigo and breakout singles from Xavi (“La Diabla” and “La Victima”), among others, helping boost its position.
But perhaps the biggest story of the first quarter of 2024 has been the smash success of Warner Records, which surged from seventh place in Q1 2023 (5.23% current share) all the way to third in Q1 2024 (6.41%), reflecting the remarkable success the label has had on the Hot 100 so far this year. Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” Teddy Swims’ Hot 100 No. 1 “Lose Control” and Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” feat. Kacey Musgraves are all among the top five songs of the year so far, while Bryan’s 2023 self-titled album and his 2022 album American Heartbreak are both among the top 20 albums of the first quarter. Warner — whose market share includes catalog label Rhino as well as Warner Latin and parts of Warner Nashville — continued to build on its 2023 trajectory, when it finished with a full-year current share of 5.96%.
That surge pushed Atlantic Records down into fourth place, at 5.14% current share, a drop of more than 2% from the 7.22% it maintained in Q1 2023. Atlantic — which includes 300 Elektra Entertainment in its market share — did have a big hit from Jack Harlow, whose single “Lovin’ On Me” topped the Hot 100 for five weeks in the first few months of the year. Atlantic’s hold on fourth, however, was only 0.01% above RCA Records, which came in at 5.13%, as the enduring strength of singles by SZA, Doja Cat and Tate McRae, combined with a viral smash from Flo Milli (“Cruel Summer”), kept the label in fifth place, despite dropping from 5.76% in Q1 2023, when the SZA album had a lock on the top of the Billboard 200.
Sticking in sixth place is Capitol Music Group — whose market share still contains indie distributor Virgin, as well as Quality Control/Motown, Capitol Christian, Astralwerks and Blue Note — which posted a 4.71% current share, down from 5.56% in the first three months of 2023. Dropping to seventh is Columbia, which includes some labels from indie distributor RED in its market share, at 3.71%, down from 5.85% a year ago. Though, in this particular ranking, Columbia is an unfortunate casualty of the end-of-March cutoff date; Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter debuted the week after with the biggest first week of the year, which will be reflected in the second quarter. In eighth, Epic Records saw a big boost, posting a 2.99% share (up from 2.06% last year), though that also seems like it will be trending higher in Q2, with the twin Future/Metro Boomin albums still growing. Sony Latin (2.38%, up from 1.92%) and Sony Nashville (2.08%, down from 2.30%) round out the top 10 in current market share.
Among the label groups, UMG’s dominance continued, with its 33.90% current share ticking up slightly from 33.59% in the first quarter of 2023, while Sony Music Group’s 26.91% came in lower than last year’s 28.46% — again, likely a quirk of the calendar. Still, despite Warner Records’ individual surge, the Warner Music Group’s overall current share slipped to 15.98%, down from 16.81% in Q1 last year. (WMG’s market share still contains 1.09% from BMG, despite the latter announcing that it would be ending its distribution arrangement with Warner; projects that were in the works prior to the agreement ending are still going through the Warner system, a BMG spokesperson says.) The big beneficiary in current market share is the independent sector, which grew its mark from 21.15% in Q1 last year to 23.21% this year by distribution ownership, a significant increase. Both the independent release of the chart-topping Ye and Ty Dolla $ign album Vultures 1 and the huge success of Mitski’s “My Love Mine All Mine” contributed to the boost.
The numbers are more static when looking at overall market share, which includes back catalog, though the trends are still there: Universal (38.23%, up from 37.65%) and the indies (16.28%, up from 16.18%) both were up over Q1 2023, while Sony (27.23%, down from 27.62%) and WMG (18.26%, down from 18.55%) dipped. By label ownership, the independent sector remains larger than any individual major, accounting for 36.09% in overall market share, albeit down from the 37.38% it had in Q1 2023.
Among the individual labels, Republic’s huge current numbers pushed its overall market share above Interscope’s for first place, at 9.94%, up from 9.16% last year, while Interscope’s second-place showing at 9.85% still represented growth from its leading 9.44% last year. Atlantic’s strong catalog numbers meant that in overall share it remained in third place, at 7.65%, besting Warner Records, which jumped into fourth at 6.72%. Interscope, meanwhile, retained its top spot in catalog market share, at 10.09%, with Republic (9.03%) and Atlantic (8.43%) behind.
Nashville’s Big Loud Records has inked a multi-year distribution deal with Mercury/Republic for all releases, effective immediately.
Previously, only releases from Morgan Wallen, Lily Rose and Dylan Gossett had gone through the partnership, while the rest of the Big Loud roster was distributed through Stem and Amped.
In a memo to the staff obtained by Billboard, Big Loud founders/partners Seth England, Craig Wiseman and Joey Moi stressed that the move is not an acquisition and that the full staff will remain intact: “This partnership allows for Big Loud Records to remain fiercely independent while leveraging their global distribution and resources, as needed, to best serve our world-class roster. Artists and our staff will see increased creative opportunities, robust international support, new multimedia partnerships, additional multi-format promotion muscle and merchandising resources, among many other benefits. And to clarify: Big Loud Records has not been acquired in any way. Our full staff will remain intact and will continue to lead with the artists we represent.”
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The move comes as Mercury/Republic parent Universal Music Group is undergoing a massive restructuring, with the East Coast labels realigning under a new structure called Republic Corps under chairman/CEO Monte Lipman. Mercury will continue to be led by president Tyler Arnold and general manager Ben Adelson.
The announcement arrives as Wallen’s One Day at a Time spends its 19th non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, breaking the previous record of 18 weeks held by Garth Brooks more than 30 years ago.
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The memo is in its entirety below.
Good afternoon everyone,
We’re writing to share an important update regarding our distribution for Big Loud Records and our affiliate labels.
After many incredible years with Stem and Amped we have decided to enter into a new multi-year distribution deal with Mercury Records/Republic, amplifying our existing partnership with Monte & Avery Lipman as well as Tyler Arnold and the greater Mercury Records/Republic team.
We are immensely grateful for the tireless efforts of Milana, Kristin, Bobby, Alison, and the entire team at both Stem and Amped who have supported our releases for the better half of a decade. Both teams have been an integral part of our growth story and remain a highly recommended distribution and artist resources solution for self-determined artists and companies. We remain proud investors of Stem to this day.
The Big Loud partners and executive leadership team are immeasurably proud of what this roster and staff have accomplished over the past eight years. Our songs, albums, artists, and company have seen the top slots of nearly every chart in our format. Best of all, we’ve earned those accolades with integrity. We’re reaching new heights with broadened creative ventures and international outposts leading our growth into new genres and markets. With this next chapter, we are thrilled to elevate with a like-minded, best-in-class team that’s effectively been the #1 all-genre record label in the business for the last decade. Rest assured, Mercury Records/Republic both mirrors and supports our renegade spirit.
This partnership allows for Big Loud Records to remain fiercely independent while leveraging their global distribution and resources, as needed, to best serve our world-class roster. Artists and our staff will see increased creative opportunities, robust international support, new multimedia partnerships, additional multi-format promotion muscle and merchandising resources, among many other benefits. And to clarify: Big Loud Records has not been acquired in any way. Our full staff will remain intact and will continue to lead with the artists we represent.
Our hope is that this announcement makes you as excited as the partners and the executive leadership team feel because we achieved this together. From the smallest artists to the biggest, it takes the entire village – we are confident Big Loud will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Please feel free to reach out to your department head, Patch, Austen, or Seth if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Seth, Craig, and Joey
As the broader restructuring of the Universal Music Group’s label operations continues on the West Coast with the newly-formed Interscope Capitol Labels Group, the East Coast labels have now also begun to unveil their new structure under chairman/CEO Monte Lipman, with a new name of its own: Republic Corps.
The new structure and designation is set to be the umbrella “central operational hub” for each of the labels underneath it, with former Republic Records co-president Jim Roppo serving as president and COO of the new overarching group, reporting to Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman.
Each of the labels have individual leaders, many of whom remain in the same roles they had prior to the reorganization: Republic Records will now be led by president and chief creative officer Wendy Goldstein, formerly co-president of Republic alongside Roppo; Mercury Records will continue to be led by president Tyler Arnold and general manager Ben Adelson; Island Records will remain under the purview of co-CEOs Justin Eshak and Imran Majid; Def Jam Recordings will remain under chairman/CEO Tunji Balogun; and IMPERIAL Music/Casablanca Records will still be run by president Glenn Mendlinger. According to a release, each of the labels will maintain “full independence and autonomy” under the new structure.
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Roppo, leading the Republic Corps. teams, will work across each of the labels, with former Republic head of global commerce Kevin Lipson becoming his “chief lieutenant,” with an expanded role that will encompass revenue strategy at the group. They will lead a series of shared departments, led by executives from several different East Coast label teams.
Former Republic Records head of promotion Gary Spangler will take up the same title in the new Corps., with support from former Republic Records exec Lucas Romeo and former Island promotions head Ayelet Schiffman in support, and format leads that include former Def Jam exec Natina Nimene overseeing urban; and former Republic execs Gary Dumler overseeing pop, Davey Dee Ingenloff overseeing rhythm, Manny Simon overseeing adult and Amanda Dobbins overseeing rock.
Most recently general manager of Island Records, Mike Alexander is moving to a new role overseeing global marketing at Republic Corps, with a team consisting of Myra DeCastro (Def Jam), Steve Rowen (Island) and Zoe Briggs (Republic/Mercury). Additionally, former Republic head of media Joseph Carozza will lead media strategy for the Corps, with a team consisting of Beau Benton (Republic), Marisa Bianco (Mercury), Lauren Ceradini (Def Jam) and Lauren Schneider (Island).
On the legal side, two executives that previously worked for parent group Universal Music on behalf of all of the East Coast labels will retain their titles under the new Republic Corps. designation: Steve Gawley will remain as executive vp of business & legal affairs and business development, while Joe Schmidt retains the title of executive vp/CFO, both of whom will report directly to the Lipmans. Additionally, Republic Corps. will include teams led by Jenny Beal (Production), Brittney Ramsdell (creative synch), Meredith Oliver and Liza Corsey (A&R administration) and a data and analytics team, according to a release.
The new Republic Corps. structure comes amidst the broader reorganization of the Universal Music Group labels announced by UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge on Feb. 1, which divided the labels into an East Coast-West Coast structure, with Republic Corps. comprising the East Coast division. The West Coast labels, under chairman/CEO John Janick, have been reformulated as the Interscope Capitol Labels Group, with that structure coming into focus over the past week. Both companies have been undergoing extensive layoffs as part of the reorganization, which included the combining of many labels’ promotions and publicity staffs into shared services divisions, among other moves.
The layoffs and restructuring at the Universal Music Group have begun to take place, multiple sources tell Billboard.
As part of the new structure, several top executives have been laid off, Billboard can confirm. Interscope Geffen A&M president of promotion Brenda Romano is among those to have been let go, as well as Interscope’s executive vp/head of media strategy and communications Cara Donatto and Def Jam executive vp of media and brand strategy Gabe Tesoriero.
So far, Billboard has confirmed over two dozen layoffs across UMG labels, including Interscope, Republic, Capitol, Def Jam and Island.
The layoffs began shortly after Universal wrapped up its fourth quarter earnings call Wednesday, during which chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge confirmed a long-rumored “strategic organizational redesign” that would result in “reduced headcount” and “efficiencies.” A UMG spokesperson declined to say how many staffers would be affected by the cuts, but the company told investors that it expected to realize 250 million euros ($271 million) in annual savings by 2026 through the move. Universal saw 11.11 billion euros ($12 billion) in revenue in 2023, and reaped a net profit of 1.26 billion euros ($1.37 billion).
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The layoffs had been in the offing since last October, when Grainge mentioned that UMG would need to “cut to grow” in a Q3 earnings call, then said in a January New Year’s memo to staff that despite UMG being the “most successful company in the history of the music industry,” the company would “further evolve our organizational structure to create efficiencies in other areas of the business, so we can remain nimble and responsive to opportunities as they arise, while also taking advantage of the benefits of our scale.” A spokesperson then confirmed cuts were coming in a statement Jan. 12, after Bloomberg reported the company planned to cut “hundreds” of jobs in the first quarter of the year.
Layoffs continued Thursday (Feb. 29), and some staffers speculated to Billboard that they may continue into Friday. There is no word on how many people were affected, nor any specifics in what departments they were, though in addition to promotions, publicity and A&R, at least some people in logistics, synch, international and commercial marketing were among the layoffs. Staff members from Republic, Interscope, Capitol, Island and Def Jam were among those laid off.
On Feb. 1, Grainge announced in an internal memo that Universal would be restructuring its label operations, adopting a loose East Coast-West Coast operation wherein Republic Records co-founder/CEO Monte Lipman would begin to oversee Republic, Def Jam, Island and Mercury, and Interscope Geffen A&M chairman/CEO John Janick would take responsibility for Interscope, Geffen, Capitol, Motown, Priority, Verve and Blue Note. Days later, Capitol Music Group chair/CEO Michelle Jubelirer announced she was stepping down from her post and was replaced by Geffen president Tom March as chairman/CEO of Capitol and Universal Music Publishing Group executive Lillia Parsa joining as co-president alongside Arjun Pulijal.
As part of the new alignment, and with Donatto and Tesoriero out at Interscope and Def Jam, respectively, it appears that Capitol Music Group executive vp/head of media strategy and relations Ambrosia Healy will now run corporate communications for the West Coast labels, and Republic Records executive vp of media and artist relations Joe Carozza will oversee corporate communications for the East Coast labels.
Reps for UMG did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Additionally, reps for several individual labels either declined to comment or could not be reached for comment.
This story is developing.
Republic Records‘ CEO and COO Monte and Avery Lipman accepted the award for the label of the year at Billboard‘s Power 100 event last night (Jan. 31) in Los Angeles. The award was presented by Noah Kahan, who recalled being signed to the label nine years ago when he was, he recalled, “a kid with […]
Singer 4Batz, whose track “act ii: date @ 8” erupted on social media and streaming services during Christmas week, has sparked a bidding war among several major labels, sources familiar with the negotiations tell Billboard.
Four years ago, it was routine for previously unknown artists with viral singles to score big record deals in a matter of weeks. But that path slowed to a trickle in 2023, and some label executives started to worry about a stagnant climate for new artists.
That helps explain why many A&R executives are now eager to sign 4Batz. One executive calls the singer’s rapid ascent “the most exciting thing to happen in the last six months” in the music industry. Multiple major labels, including Republic Records, Atlantic Records and Warner Records, are in conversations with 4Batz’s team about a potential deal.
While he has released just two songs to date, they are already earning more than 9 million streams a week in the United States between them, according to Luminate. “act ii: date @ 8” leads the way, climbing to No. 76 on the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart. Due to this upward momentum, two sources familiar with the label negotiations say they are all but certain to end in a robust seven-figure deal for 4Batz. When another R&B singer, Muni Long, enjoyed a viral breakout with “Hrs and Hrs” late in 2022, her subsequent record deal came with an advance of around $5 million, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations.
Legal counsel for 4Batz declined to comment.
In the heady early days of TikTok, it was common for half a dozen major labels to compete over a new act with a hot single. From 2019 through at least the end of 2021, this led to big deals for artists like Lil Tecca, Arizona Zervas, Ant Saunders and more. During that period, “it felt like every single day another artist signed a deal that was a gazillion dollars,” one music attorney told Billboard last year.
But as 2022 bled into 2023, fewer unsigned acts surged into view behind singles that streamed like crazy. Executives worried that virality on short-form video platforms no longer sparked listening the way it once did; sometimes what happened on TikTok stayed on TikTok.
At the same time, many label executives became disillusioned with the viral chase. Due to the intense competition around these deals, they invariably ended up being costly. (Though two of the acts who were able to translate viral energy into noteworthy Hot 100 success in 2023, the rapper Superstar Pride and the singer Oliver Anthony, both ended up remaining independent rather than taking a fat check from a major label.) The high cost of the deal put a lot of pressure on young artists to replicate their initial success quickly — to prove they were worthy of a hefty investment in a bottom-line-focused business. Many of the signings were unable to make the leap from popular song to popular artist.
“We’ve all been burned to a certain degree,” Tab Nkhereanye, a senior vp of A&R at BMG, said last year.
As a result, labels have been more circumspect when it comes to signing artists with viral singles in the last 18 months. They’ve also been trying to connect with more acts earlier in their careers via low-cost distribution deals; that way, they have a pre-existing contractual relationship if one of those signings starts to take off. (“act ii: date @ 8” was released through Vydia, a music tech company which is now part of the Larry Jackson-helmed gamma; this marks another win for Vydia, which also brought in Sexyy Red, one of last year’s few genuine breakouts.)
But 4Batz has shown staying power in recent weeks, spending all of January to date near the top of Spotify’s Global Viral 50. “act ii: date @ 8” is hypnotic and loop-able, with feathery come-ons and a slinky bass vamp; it already cracked the top 10 on the Hot R&B Songs chart, leapfrogging established artists like Brent Faiyaz (a clear influence on 4Batz).
R&B is on the upswing at the moment, which is another factor working in 4Batz’s favor. SZA and Victoria Monet dominated the latest Grammy nominations, with Janelle Monae and Coco Jones also scoring nods in the Big Four categories. In R&B, “it’s highly unusual for an artist to come onto the scene with the numbers and interest from labels” that 4Batz has, an executive says. “Normally an artist has to drop more music to get this level of attention.”
At the midyear point of 2023, Republic Records had put up a 12.46% current market share — defined as albums released in the past 18 months — which was a remarkable figure, and more than 4.5% higher than the second-largest label. Now, as 2023 has come to a close, Republic finished the year even higher, reaching an eye-popping 13.47% current market share for the year. That’s the highest full-year mark since at least 2015, when streaming began to lift the industry out of its post-CD doldrums, and more than 3% higher than its current share in 2022, which was a then-industry-leading 10.38%.
Republic’s high-water mark stems from a combination of both enduring releases dating back to the end of 2022 and massive albums from two of the biggest stars on the planet this year: Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen. For full-year 2023, Swift and Wallen (signed through Republic’s deal with Big Loud, which on its own commanded a 2.33% current share) combined for seven of the top 10 albums in U.S. consumption units, according to Luminate, including four of the top five. With Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains ranking at No. 10, Republic had an astonishing eight of the 10 biggest albums in the United States in 2023. And Republic’s fourth quarter was even more dominant: In the final three months of the year, the label’s current market share ballooned to 16.79%, buoyed by new albums from Drake, Nicki Minaj and Stray Kids. That’s higher than the current share of the entire Warner Music Group across that three-month period, which stood at 15.50%.
Following Republic — which includes Island, Big Loud, Mercury Records, Cash Money and indie distributor Imperial in its market share — Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) came in second in current share, at 8.80%, up from the 8.72% it tallied in 2022. The label — which also encompasses Verve Label Group — scored another big success with Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album GUTS. It also saw critical acclaim for Verve’s Jon Batiste, once again a Grammy darling, and continued its extremely strong recent track record of breaking new artists, with Gracie Abrams up for best new artist at this year’s Grammys — a category the label has won in three of the past four years.
The success of Republic and IGA helped parent company Universal Music Group roar back to a 35.84% current market share for 2023, jumping two points year over year from 2022’s 33.57%. In second, Sony Music Entertainment also grew year over year, up to 27.08% from 2022’s 26.99%, while Warner Music Group dipped to 16.95%, down from last year’s 18.30%. The indies, by distribution ownership, accounted for 20.13% current market share, down from 21.14% in 2022.
In third and fourth place in current share among frontline labels are a pair of Warner Music Group labels, Atlantic Records (6.83%, down from 9.15% in 2022) and Warner Records (5.96%, up from 4.86% in 2022). Atlantic (encompassing 300 Elektra Entertainment), which dipped from second to third place year over year, scored a big win with the Barbie soundtrack as well as No. 1s from Lil Uzi Vert and Jack Harlow, despite a two-plus point percentage drop in current share. Meanwhile, Warner Records — which includes Warner Latin, catalog label Rhino and parts of Warner Nashville in its share — surged from sixth place last year to fourth place this year with a more than 1% boost. Zach Bryan’s self-titled album and No. 1 Hot 100 single “I Remember Everything” led the way, with Bryan landing at No. 4 on Billboard’s year-end Artist 100 ranking and his “Something in the Orange” being the third-most-streamed song of 2023.
In fifth, Capitol Music Group also saw a big year-over-year boost in current share, from 4.97% in 2022 to 5.90% in 2023. The label — which remains in fifth place despite the jump in share and encompasses Motown/Quality Control, Blue Note, Astralwerks, Capitol Christian and indie distributor Virgin Music — enjoyed the breakout success of Ice Spice (signed in conjunction with 10K Projects) in the past year as well as a top 10 Hot 100 single from Toosii.
Sixth place in current share belongs to RCA Records at 4.70%, a one-spot jump over last year when it came in with 4.65%. The label, whose market share does not include any other labels or distributors, benefited from the enduring success of SZA’s multi-Grammy nominated S.O.S. album, the third-biggest project of 2023, as well as huge hits from Doja Cat, Tate McCrae and Ateez, the latter of which landed a No. 1 album in the fourth quarter. Dropping into seventh is Columbia at 4.67% of current share, down from fourth in 2022 when it had a 6.67% share. Columbia, which includes some labels from indie distributor RED in its market share, still racked up a big hit with Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 this year on its way to becoming the fourth-most-streamed song of 2023 and the most-heard song on radio in the United States, according to Luminate.
In eighth, Sony Nashville jumped a half percentage point year over year to 2.32% from 1.89% last year, with a big Luke Combs album helping it rise one spot from last year’s ranking. Meanwhile, Sony’s Epic Records slipped to ninth year over year, despite boosting its current share from 2.23% in 2022 to 2.30% in 2023 and scoring a pair of big projects from Travis Scott — whose Utopia album was the seventh-biggest of 2023, according to Luminate — and Tyla with “Water,” which roared into the Hot 100’s top 10 late in the year. Rounding out the top 10 is yet another Sony label, Sony Latin, which also had a huge year, upping its current share from 1.24% in 2022 to an impressive 1.95% in 2023.
In overall market share, Republic’s dominance with newer releases lifted it to the No. 1 slot over IGA, 9.83% to 9.65%, despite the latter’s industry-leading 9.93% share of the catalog market. Atlantic, at 8.09%, sits comfortably in third, while Warner Records and Capitol Music Group are neck-and-neck in fourth and fifth, with 6.68% and 6.66% overall share, respectively, with their catalog shares tied at 6.92%. Columbia’s 6.65% catalog share is enough to lift it into sixth in overall share, ahead of RCA, with the two separated at 6.14% and 5.16%, respectively, in overall share. Epic (2.61%), Sony Nashville (2.05%) and Def Jam (1.84%) round out the overall top 10 rankings.
Among the label groups, the weight of catalog once again lifts all ships, with UMG jumping to an industry-leading 38.46% overall market share, up from 37.54% in 2022. Sony also saw an increase year over year, ending 2023 at 27.18%, up from 2022’s 26.87%, while Warner dipped slightly year over year, to 18.62% in overall share in 2023 compared to 19.05% in 2022. The indies by distribution ownership also fell, to 15.74% from 16.54% in 2022.
Republic Records has a big week in the Billboard 200 albums chart’s top 10, as the label is home to a whopping eight of the top 10 titles on the list dated Jan. 13. Since Luminate’s electronically monitored music data began powering the chart on May 25, 1991, no label had previously held eight of […]
