As I write, SONY hold the top three positions on Billboards Top 200 Albums… no this isn't another who says the majors are dead or the charts are a joke post, this is the Sony is finally beating out Universal Music.
According to the New York Post, Sony super exec Doug Morris, who left UMUS earlier this year, is poised to steal the crown for most sales. Sony has gone from a 26% share to a 29% share and currently less than 2% separate the two behemoths. So will SONY do it? Maybe but not in the long term and the reason why is simple: they release "21" and Adel's hit isn't repeatable and once it dies? Then Universal, who won the EMI battles with Warners, will regain their crown.
Meanwhile, Morris, who was dumped from Universal, must be one very very happy man today.
And all of this brings us back to the question of the major labels. How can they be dead when essentially they rule the charts? And how can they be alive when shifting 600 units in a week can get you into the Top 50?
Perhaps one answer is on the way: SONY have started their own streaming music app. Does this mean they will break away from Spotify? How if they own part of Spotify? Or is it an alternative to an alternative? If the price was right, say, $5 to $10 a month I would absolute add A SONY subscription to my life, how could I not?
Oh and for those of you not paying attention to rock nyc's Friday billboard charts, that would be Adam Lambert, Adele and Carrie Underwood