The first-quarter rankings for music-publishing royalties are in, and the most notable winners are Sony/ATV and SONGS. Although the former’s No. 1 finish is hardly surprising – Sony/ATV has held the top spot for seven successive quarters since taking over administration of EMI Music Publishing in 2012 – the company’s 31.9 percent market share, almost double that of No. 2-ranking Universal Music Publishing Group, should have Sony/ATV chairman/CEO Martin Bandier handing out primo cigars to his executives.
SONGS CEO (and former Judge bassist) Matt Pincus also should be celebrating. The company, which was the breakout success story of fourth-quarter 2013, continued its surge by nearly doubling its fourth-quarter market share. This is the second consecutive quarter that SONGS, which administers publishing for Jason Derulo and Lorde, has landed in the top 10 and its third time overall. The company made its debut at No. 9 in first-quarter 2013 with a 1.6 percent share.