Q3 2025 Record Label Market Share: REPUBLIC Stays No. 1, Atlantic Surges After Big Quarter

Call it the calm earlier the Taylor Swift storm. The archetypal 3 quarters of this twelvemonth — which span Dec. 31, 2024, done Oct. 2, 2025 — efficaciously relation arsenic a study paper for the grounds concern earlier the inevitable takeover of the superstar’s Life of a Showgirl album, which came retired Friday (Oct. 3). The medium instantly sold 2.7 cardinal copies connected its archetypal day, which would already marque it the second-biggest medium of the twelvemonth to day — but that’s not nether treatment conscionable yet. 

Even without the caller Swift release, her statement location REPUBLIC — which encompasses Republic Records, Island Records, Mercury Records, Big Loud and indie distributor Imperial — is inactive starring the battalion for the twelvemonth truthful far, with a 13.60% three-quarter existent marketplace share, powered by immense albums from Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter and The Weeknd, among others. It’s a leap from the industry-leading 12.69% existent stock Republic enjoyed astatine midyear, though down from the Swift-powered 15.21% it posted done 3 quarters successful 2024, erstwhile her The Tortured Poets Department medium spent 17 of its eventual 19 weeks atop the Billboard 200.  

Keeping Republic precocious pre-Showgirl are the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack and continued gains from Big Loud (2.71%, up from 1.42%) and Island (2.68%, up from 2.15%). The erstwhile was driven by Wallen’s continued success, the second a singular leap considering that 2024 was a large breakout twelvemonth with Carpenter and Chappell Roan. Clearly, the statement continued firing connected each cylinders. 

In 2nd erstwhile again is Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA), inclusive of Verve Label Group, which ended the 3rd 4th with a 10.43% existent marketplace share. That’s up from the 10.13% IGA held astatine the aforesaid people successful 2024 and is boosted by chart-topping albums from Lady Gaga and Playboi Carti this year, positive the continued occurrence of Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft and Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, some from past year. By opus depletion units, Lamar and SZA’s “luther” remains the biggest opus of 2025 truthful far, and IGA’s existent stock has travel down from its Q1 precocious of 12.67% arsenic the opus has receded. 

Making the biggest leap successful the 3rd 4th is the Atlantic Music Group, astatine a 7.83% existent share, though that people comes with immoderate caveats that marque it hard to comparison with past quarters. Most significant: This is the archetypal 4th that Luminate’s marketplace stock numbers bespeak Atlantic’s reorganization, which moved 10K Projects and its 1.52% existent marketplace stock nether Atlantic for the archetypal time. (Atlantic’s stock besides includes 300 Entertainment, which was included successful erstwhile quarters.) That helps explicate Atlantic’s leap from 5.75% astatine the midyear 2025 people (and 5.51% from Q3 2024), though it besides enjoyed a immense 3rd quarter. Subtracting 10K’s show for examination purposes, Atlantic’s 7.28% for the play from June 26 done Oct. 2 reflects Alex Warren’s summertime of occurrence with “Ordinary” and chart-topping albums from Twenty One Pilots and Cardi B.  

Warner Records, which ranked fourth, maintained its beardown presumption implicit the past fewer years, posting a 6.13% existent share, though it was down twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth from 6.54% past year. (Warner’s stock includes immoderate of Warner Latin, Warner Nashville and catalog statement Rhino.) 

Atlantic’s maturation has benefited the Warner Music Group overall, boosting its existent stock astatine the nine-month people to 16.83%, up from 16.25% astatine this constituent successful 2024. That’s inactive acold down Sony Music Entertainment’s second-place showing: The statement grew twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth — from 25.89% to 26.65%, with assistance from a Bad Bunny bump. And Universal Music Group (UMG) remained No. 1, though contempt its apical 2 labels boasting double-digit shares of their own, the lack of a Swift medium during the play contributed to the euphony company’s year-to-year existent stock gaffe to 35.96% from past year’s 36.65%. (That, of course, volition alteration soon.) By organisation ownership, the indie assemblage is down from 21.21% past twelvemonth to 20.55% this year, portion by statement ownership, the indie assemblage stands astatine 39.43%, up from a 37.09% stock successful 2024, easy the largest conception of the industry. 

Sony’s benefited from owning astatine slightest a bulk involvement successful 5 of the six labels that circular retired the apical 10. At No. 5 is Columbia Records, with a 4.54% existent share, up somewhat from the 4.41% it held this clip past year. For the aforesaid comparative period, RCA dropped 1 slot to seventh and 4.31% to 4.22%; Alamo Records, successful eighth place, vaulted from 1.86% to 2.54%, inclusive of its indie distributor Santa Anna; and Sony Latin (2.11%) and Sony Nashville (1.83%) finished ninth and 10th...