NEAR TRUTHS: STATE OF THE REPUBLIC

Morgan Wallen’s extraordinary 12-week run at #1 was ended last week—by labelmate Taylor Swift. The latter has once again pushed the marketing envelope with a slate of new Midnights offerings, mobilizing the ever-ready army of Swifties.

Republic is knocking the cover off the ball, with 12.2 in current YTD marketshare. House Lipman has eight of the YTD Top 20 albums, including the #1, #3, #4, #5 and #7 titles, with more superstar releases on the way. Either Taylor, Morgan or Stray Kids (JYP/Imperial/ Republic via Ingrooves) will likely be #1 on the next chart, which would give Republic 14 straight weeks on top. It’s worth noting that the Imperial deal has added a full point to Monte’s marketshare, and Republic has just announced an expansion of its pact with JYP.

Swift’s work makes up 26% of the label’s current marketshare, while Wallen’s accounts for 35% YTD. The latter’s Big Loud home contributes 3.1 of that 12.2. Wallen has sold 3.5m in U.S. album equivalents and Swift 3.3m.

The deals for these two giant acts could’ve gone anywhere—Tay was the hottest free agent on the planet when she parted ways with BMLG, and Wallen was the hottest new artist at the time he was signed. Both deals were robustly contested before landing at Republic. Monte has emerged as the biz’s consummate dealmaker, possessing both a great nose for the deal and an unbeatable capacity to close—not to mention that innate ability to know when to go for it. The highly competitive signing of Anitta is the latest example of his success on the risk-reward spectrum.

Among the latest achievements by the company that, according to legend, began on Monte and Avery Lipman’s kitchen table: Morgan Wallen’s latest, One Thing at a Time (Republic/Big Loud), which nested at #1 for 12 consecutive weeks and has done 2.6m+ YTD U.S. (and 3.2m in ATD). The country phenom’s prior full-length, Dangerous: The Double Album, has done nearly 900k YTD and is nearing 7.6m ATD.

The redoubtable Swift, meanwhile, released Midnights in the fourth quarter of 2022. It’s done north of 1.2m YTD U.S. and is well past 4.5m in ATD, led by enormous streams for “Anti-Hero,” now at around 850m at Spotify. Seven months later, the project remains among the Top 10 albums of 2023, alongside two Wallen sets and two other Republic releases, Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains (approaching 900k YTD) and Drake and 21 Savage’s joint album, Her Loss (750k+ YTD).

The singer-songwriter and bona fide force of nature is also in the middle of a massive international tour. During a recent stop in Nashville, she announced that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) will be released on 7/7. If history is any guide, the Swifties brigade will collect the hell out of this one as well.

The Weeknd, for his part, released The Highlights (XO/Republic) greatest hits project in 2021. It’s amassed more than 13m ATD U.S. and continues to bounce around the Top 20, as does 2016’s Starboy. Four Weeknd titles have collectively amassed 1.4m YTD U.S. album equivalents.

On our most recent Top 50 chart, Republic not only owns three of the Top 5 but also has 10 albums in the Top 25. Of course, Monte’s probably asking his team why they don’t have 15.