TEA

ANYONE FOR TEA? Lest you think a smash single doesn’t significantly move the needle in today’s record biz, take a gander at the above track-equivalent albums (TEA) chart and the Top 10 immediately below for compelling proof of The Way Things Are Now. Robin Thicke contributes the equivalent of 31.5k album sales, while Imagine Dragons add a TEA of 19.2k to its album tally of 29.6k to propel the John Janick-helmed IGA to the top spot this week. Doing the math so that you don’t have to, the Thicke-Dragons tandem totals 80.3k, which, combined with Gatsby’s 24.9k, gives the label group 105.2k, more than enough to get the job done on a blah week for album retail. Double shots from Daft Punk and Florida Georgia Line, respectively, land Columbia and Republic in the next two slots. Monte Lipman and co. have a great shot to top next week’s overall-plus-TEA marketshare chart behind debuts from Black Sabbath and The Lonely Island, while Yeezus is coming in two weeks to strike an expected blow on behalf of Steve Bartels’ IDJ and the album as a going concern. Action to come, as we’re inclined to say at moments like this. (6/13a)