TEAM STRINGER FUELS
COLUMBIA SURGE

When Rob Stringer crossed the ocean to helm Sony Music U.S. three years ago, his mission was twofold—identify and sign exciting new acts while cementing relationships with the label’s array of legendary superstars.

With the help of Columbia Records chieftain Steve Barnett, who hasn’t been this happy since he was ironing Angus Young’s knickers, the combined label group is well on its way to accomplishing the task.

The label just scored two consecutive #1 albums in John Mayer and, this week, Susan Boyle’s year-leading 700k debut.

On top of that, Beyonce received 10 Grammy nominations last night, the most in the field, including Album of the Year (I Am… Sasha Fierce), Record of the Year (“Halo”) and Song of the Year (“Single Ladies [Put a Ring On It]”).

In all, the group received a total of 42 nominations, including two in the Best New Artist category in MGMT and The Ting Tings after winning the award last year with Adele, a tribute to their development of new talent.

Other Grammy leaders include Maxwell, with six, including Song of the Year (“Pretty Wings”), Bruce Springsteen with four, Chris Botti with three and MGMT, Bob Dylan, AC/DC and Israel Houghton with two apiece. Brendan O’Brien who worked on both the Springsteen and AC/DC albums earned a nod in the Producer of the Year, Non-Classical category. Others who were nominated include John Legend, Adele, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick Jr., Slayer, Miranda Lambert, Mary Mary, the Cadillac Records soundtrack and Johnny Cash.

During the year, the labels scored #1 albums with icons Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand as well as Mayer, Boyle and The Fray. In terms of overall marketshare, Stringer’s Columbia/Epic, thanks in large part to Michael Jackson sales, is way out front, with a whopping 11%, while for new releases, at 7.7%, they trail only Atlantic.