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NEAR TRUTHS: KINGDOMS
File under: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. (3/26a)
ONE SHINING HITS LIST
She shoots, she scores! (3/26a)
YTD MARKET SHARE
Zeroing in on the elite teams (3/27a)
BEST IN THE WEST:
STEVE BERMAN
High time for another Eminem skit (3/26a)
MUSIC REVENUE TOPPED $17B IN 2023: RIAA
Streaming subscriptions lead the charge. (3/27a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
Blighty Beat
SHEERAN HELPS WMG RULE H1
7/6/17

Max Lousada’s WMG rules the U.K.’s best-selling singles and albums of the year so far, thanks in part to Atlantic star Ed Sheeran. Sony scores high with Rag’n’Bone Man while Universal does the same with “Despacito” and Drake.

Sheeran is #1 on album best-sellers with ÷ adding up a combined total of 2m sales—1.22m physical, 371k downloads and 415k streaming equivalent sales. “Shape of You” is the most-streamed song of all time in Blighty with 184m streams since January. It's also the best-selling single of the year with 717k downloads, and a combined total of 2.6m. “Castle on the Hill” takes #2 with 1.5m equivalent sales (455k downloads, 105m streams), followed by “Galway Girl” at #4 with more than 1m combined sales. Sheeran’s second album X also appears in the albums tally at #4.

On the singles list, Ben Cook’s Atlantic has one more entry with “Symphony” by Clean Bandit f/Zara Larsson at #7 on 820k.

David Joseph’s UMG U.K. has three singles in the Top 10 with long-running #1 “Despacito” (Polydor) at 1.2m combined sales. Tom March and Ben Mortimer’s Polydor imprint also has “You Don’t Know Me” by Jax Jones f/Raye at #7 with 820k. At #10, UMG JV 3beat has “Solo Dance” by Martin Jensen. Over on albums, Drake’s More Life (Island) is the highest UMG entry at #4 with 224k combined sales, followed by Take That at #7 with Wonderland (Polydor).

For Jason Iley’s Sony, Rag’n’Bone Man is this year’s runaway success with breakout track “Human” (Columbia) at #5 on best-selling singles with 907k combined sakes. Chainsmokers and Coldplay follow at #8 with “Something Just Like This” (RCA). Syco, now helmed by Tyler Brown, has Little Mix at #9 with “Touch.” The girl group’s latest album Glory Days is #6 on albums with 210k combined sales in 2017. Ferdy Unger-Hamilton’s Columbia has the #2 spot on albums with Rag’n’Bone Man’s Human on 668k combined sales.

There are two independent album entries: breakout grime star Stormzy is at #8 with Gang Signs & Prayer (#Merky) on 186k combined sales while Adele’s last album on XL, 25, is at #10. In terms of British-born releases, there’s seven in singles and nine in albums.

Best-selling singles of 2017

  1. Ed Sheeran “Shape of You” (Atlantic)
  2. Ed Sheeran “Castle on the Hill” (Atlantic)
  3. Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber “Despacito (Remix)” (Polydor)
  4. Ed Sheeran “Galway Girl” (Atlantic)
  5. Rag’n’Bone Man “Human” (Columbia)
  6. Jax Jones f/Raye “You Don’t Know Me" (Polydor)
  7. Clean Bandit f/Zara Larsson “Symphony” (Atlantic)
  8. Chainsmokers and Coldplay “Something Just Like This” (RCA)
  9. Little Mix “Touch” (Syco)
  10. Martin Jensen “Solo Dance” (3beat)

Best-selling albums of 2017

  1. Ed Sheeran ÷ (Atlantic)
  2. Rag’n’Bone Man Human (Columbia)
  3. Various Artists Now That’s What I Call Music 96 (UMG/Sony/WMG)
  4. Drake More Life (Island)
  5. Ed Sheeran X (Atlantic)
  6. Little Mix Glory Days (Syco)
  7. Take That Wonderland (Polydor)
  8. Stormzy Gang Signs & Prayer (#Merky)
  9. Various Artists Now That’s What I Call Music 95 (UMG/Sony/WMG)
  10. Adele 25 (XL)