Publishers Quarterly: Sony Music Publishing Makes History Again in Q3
Categoria: Musica
The publisher is the first company to surpass the 40% market share milestone, with a big assist from Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas."
Por Billboard | 09/11/2026
This year, Sony Music Publishing keeps topping its own record-breaking performances as measured by Billboard ’s 20-year-long history of ranking music publishers by market share for hit songs. After scoring the highest-ever market share for the Hot 100 in the second quarter with 37.32%, Sony has now become the first publisher ever to surpass the 40% market share milestone with 42.86% in the just-completed third quarter, setting a new record for that chart. Related 2026 Q3 Record Label Market Share: UMG Rebounds, Columbia Climbs Michael Sanft, Attorney Who Represented Keffe D in 2Pac Murder Trial, Dies at 54 Kenny MacPherson, Veteran Music Publisher and Big Deal Music Co-Founder, Dies at 71 That performance makes Sony the top-ranked publisher for the Hot 100 chart, while it was also the No. 1 publisher on the Top Radio Airplay chart, with a 36.02% tally, thus keeping its No. 1 streak going on both charts for the sixth consecutive quarter. To accomplish that feat, Sony claimed 76 songs on the Hot 100 chart and 74 songs on the Radio Airplay Songs list, including Ella Langley ’s “Choosin’ Texas,” which finished at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Also helping Sony maintain its No. 1 ranking was its role as the administrator for the top songwriter on the Radio Airplay chart, Shane “ sombr ” Boose, who placed three songs on that chart, including the No. 30 tune “Back To Friends.” Perhaps the most astounding part of Sony’s performance on the Hot 100 publisher rankings this quarter is that it beat out the No. 2 publisher by 25 percentage points. Coming in second place this quarter was Warner Chappell Music, which turned in a 17.86% market share on the Hot 100 rankings. On the Top Radio Airplay rankings, Warner Chappell was also the No. 2-ranked publisher with a stronger showing, where it tallied a 23.07% market share. On the Top Radio Airplay song list, Warner Chappell snared a stake in 55 songs, with its top song being the No. 3 tune, Bruno Mars ’ “Risk It All.” It also had 44 songs on the Hot 100 chart, with its top song, Ariana Grande ’s “hate that I made you love me,” landing at No. 4. This marks the third consecutive quarter that Warner Chappell ranked at No. 2 on both charts. For the 12th consecutive quarter, Warner Chappell was also the top-ranked publisher on the Country Radio Airplay chart with a 33.12% share. Similarly, for the third consecutive quarter, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt and BMG ranked, respectively, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 on both charts. In placing third, UMPG tallied a 12.31% share on the Hot 100 rankings, with a stake in 39 songs. On the Radio Airplay chart, its share was 11.33% thanks to 42 song placements. Its top song on both charts was “hate that I made you love me,” which was No. 4 on the Hot 100 and No. 5 on Top Radio Airplay. Both