FINAL 2024 MARKET SHARE

Much as NIL and the transfer portal have brought a newfound dynamism to college football, sweeping reorganizations transformed two of the Big 3 major-label franchises in 2024. As a result, UMG is looking more dynastic than ever, while WMG has set itself up to better compete with its two bigger rivals.

Sir Lucian Grainge’s 38.6% slice of the U.S. overall market-share pie was largely attributable to the bicoastal behemoths he created in March, John Janick’s league-leading Interscope Capitol and the Lipman brothers’ REPUBLIC Collective, which finished second in the overall pecking order while once again running away with current share.

Interscope Capitol’s championship roster includes superstars Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, along with scintillating sophomore Gracie Abrams, who finished 2024 on a roll. Janick, with the help of savvy top execs including redoubtable Vice Chairman Steve Berman, A&R Co-Heads Nicole Wyskoarko and Sam Riback, Head of Creative Content Michelle An, promo domo Greg Marella, Chief Revenue Officer Gary Kelly and Capitol topper Tom March, built on his years of market-share dominance prior to adding Capitol, Motown/Quality Control, CCMG, Astralwerks and Blue Note to his arsenal.

REPUBLIC Collective, captained by Jim Roppo, with EVP Gary Spangler running promo, posted a 12.3 overall and a whopping 16.7 in current behind market-share monsters Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen (in partnership with Seth England’s Big Loud), while Island co-heads Justin Eshak and Imran Majid broke Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan wide open, and Post Malone and Noah Kahan led Tyler Arnold and Ben Adelson’s Mercury. These acts, along with Boominati/Freebandz’s Metro Boomin, Ariana Grande, OVO’s Drake and Island’s Elton John, collectively landed the top three albums of 2024, seven of the Top 10 and 17 of the Top 50. Not only that, but REPUBLIC has become the biggest country-music marketing machine in memory—despite the fact that UMG Nashville isn’t part of its percentage.

Also contributing to Uni’s ginormous slice of the pie were Cindy Mabe’s UMG Nashville, Jesús López’s UMLE and Nat Pastor and JT Myers’ #2 distribbery, Virgin Music Group—which is expected to get a nearly two-point market-share boost from the recently acquired Downtown.

At Rob Stringer’s Sony Music, (27.4 overall, 26 current), it was business as usual, thanks to the efforts of the music group’s established executive leadership. While Ron Perry was developing a slew of potential breakouts, Columbia rode Parkwood star Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER (#17, 1.4m+), which has scored a passel of Grammy noms, and Tyler, the Creator, who released one of the strongest hip-hop albums in some time (#42, 939k), cementing his status as a cornerstone act for Big Red. Likewise for veteran act Hozier, whose “Too Sweet” finished Top 10 in audio streams.

Peter Edge, John Fleckenstein and Team RCA were powered by TDE’s SZA (#4, 2.5m on the year and 6.2m ATD) and consistent shot-maker Doja Cat, while rising star Tate McRae scored a streaming hit with “Greedy.” And Sylvia Rhone’s Epic continued its run as a hip-hop powerhouse behind Travis Scott, 21 Savage and Future, whose WE DON'T TRUST YOU collab with Metro Boomin finished #10.

Columbia, RCA, Epic, Todd Moscowitz’s Alamo, Afo Verde’s Sony Latin and Sony Nashville, now helmed by Taylor Lindsey, gave Stringer’s legion the 5-10 entries in the final current-share standings. Top distributor The Orchard was paced by Latin indies Rimas and Double P (Prajin).

At third-place WMG (18.4 overall, 16.7 current), proactive ruler Robert Kyncl tapped Elliot Grainge and a crew of young bloods led by fellow 10K alumni Zach Friedman and Tony Talamo to inject new energy into moribund Atlantic. The leadership change went down as Charli xcx’s BRAT was selling like hotcakes and becoming a pop-cultural phenomenon. Core artist Bruno Mars subsequently had a pair of smashes on collabs with Interscope’s Lady Gaga and BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ. These modern-day scorers, combined with Atlantic’s deep catalog, will give Grainge a viable recipe for success moving forward.

Maverick country superstar Zach Bryan (with the #9, 14 and 24 albums), Top 5 streamers and Best New Artist contenders Benson Boone and Teddy Swims and reunited rock stalwarts Linkin Park (#26, 1.1m) all lit up the scoreboard for Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson’s Warner (#3 in current, 4 in overall). Their burgeoning empire grew late in the year when they gained oversight of Cris Lacy and Gregg Nadel’s Warner Music Nashville.

Speaking of big changes, while Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” is #1 in total streaming (including video), Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” on EMPIRE, is #1 in audio-only streaming, making it the first independently released song to finish #1. Will the status quo continue to shift in 2025? We’re about to find out.