Republic: IB tease, story link

DUCKS LINED UP: Monte Lipman’s Republic scored another #1 album this week with Pearl Jam, marking the label’s fourth chart-topper in the last seven weeks, following Ariana Grande and Jack Johnson in September and Drake earlier this month. This recent run further ramps up a wildly successful year for Republic, as the latest marketshare percentages dramatically reveal. With a 9.4% new-release share year-to-date, the company is nearly two full percentage points ahead of its nearest rival. As I.B. Bad points out in his latest column, posting tomorrow morning, he true test of a label’s performance has to do with how it fares in the frontline (or new-release) business—it’s the measuring stick employed when top executives are renegotiating their deals. Competing in the frontline arena is dependent on A&R and promotion—the blocking and tackling of the business—and Republic excels in both areas, as evidenced by the remarkable job Lipman and his team, starting with President/COO Avery Lipman, and EVP Charlie Walk, have done with Lorde, transforming the precocious teenager from an unknown to a top seller in the space of a few months. For more on the subject, click here. (10/24a)