Lucian Grainge: The empire builder
UMG: Lucian Grainge drove Universal Music to a commanding 39.2% in overall marketshare after bringing EMI’s recorded-music operation under his control for $1.9 billion—minus Parlophone and other assets. EMI’s flagship U.K. label was snapped up by Warner Music for a staggering $765m, though it remains a distant third in what had previously been the Big Three. The UMG commander also beefed up his executive team with the addition of the experienced Michele Anthony as the New York-based EVP of the music group, initially prompting much chatter about what this move would mean for the power base of UMG East Coast overseer Barry Weiss, though the speculation seems to have died down in recent weeks.
Steve Barnett: The head coach
Grainge persuaded fellow Brit Steve Barnett to leave Columbia and take up the challenge of rebuilding the former EMI in the U.S., now flying the Capitol Music Group banner. Barnett proceeded to dramatically increase CMG’s frontline marketshare to 6.5% while climbing all the way to 7% in overall/TEA, a major accomplishment. He did so by building the company with the revitalizations of Virgin, Harvest, Caroline, Astralwerks, Priority, I.R.S. and Capitol itself, as well as the addition of the Christian Music Group. Working out of the renovated Tower, the new Capitol team demonstrated its chops with the crisply executed rollout of Katy Perry’s PRISM, with EVP Greg Thompson playing point guard. Perry’s album has moved 770k since its October release, putting it at #17 for the year. Fellow EVP Michelle Jubelirer, whom Barnett lured from a thriving law practice, oversaw CMG’s associated labels and put together an innovative major-indie partnership with Merge for Arcade Fire’s Reflektor, which debuted at #1 a week after PRISM, demonstrating CMG’s newfound competitiveness.
Monte Lipman: The champ
Fortified by a rich new contract, Monte Lipman led Republic to a runaway win in frontline marketshare with 9.1%, thanks in large part to contributions of associated labels including Slim and Baby’s Cash Money (biggest seller: #6 Drake with 1.26m), Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine (#14 Taylor Swift, with another 818k on her 2012 LP) and Jason Flom’s Lava (whose Lorde has sold 542k albums and 4m on her smash single "Royals"). Republic co-founder and President Avery Lipman spearheaded the company’s A&R efforts, while Charlie Walk led a revitalized marketing department, their efforts resulting in such breakthroughs as Florida Georgia Line (#7, 1.24m), while Ariana Grande scored a #1 debut. Lil Wayne, The Band Perry and the Les Misérables soundtrack also finished in the Top 50.
John Janick: The entrepreneur
At IGA, the ruling triumvirate of Jimmy Iovine, John Janick and Steve Berman restored the luster of the perennial powerhouse. In his first full year as President/COO, Janick deftly focused and reenergized the company, taking it to #1 in overall/TEA marketshare with 7.8%, while finishing #4 in frontline share with 7 %. This renewed focus led to an impressive array of hit albums from superstar Eminem (#2, 1.5m), newcomers Imagine Dragons (#5, 1.29m, along with #3 single "Radioactive," now at 5.3m), red-hot veteran Robin Thicke (#23, 636k, plus the year’s biggest-selling single in "Blurred Lines," with 6.4m), as well as four more Top 50 finishers in Lady Gaga, holdovers Maroon 5, rookie Kendrick Lamar, the Great Gatsby soundtrack and 2012 Idol winner Phillip Phillips.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, the Steve Bartels-led IDJ had a frustrating year, as the company’s A&R sources failed to deliver a steady stream of music to the powerhouse marketing division that Bartels had built—though it should get a late boost from the 12/23 release of a new collection from Justin Bieber. The company did most of the heavy lifting on Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail (#8, 1.1m), though Roc Nation (which inked a deal with UMG) got the marketshare, while the challenging though critically acclaimed Yeezus from fellow rap god Kanye West (#25, 611k) limited its commercial appeal. Rihanna’s 2012 album (#29, another 581k) and the reunited Fall Out Boy (#48, 472k) were IDJ’s other Top 50 entries. Look for a big turnaround in 2014 from a reorganized IDJ as the company looks for a new head of Def Jam.
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