NEW YORK, NY (Top40 Charts/ Atlantic Records) - For the second year in a row, Atlantic Records ranks as the No 1 label in the music industry - with the biggest U.S. total album market share of 2009. As reported by Nielsen SoundScan (for calendar year ending January 3), Atlantic wrapped up the year with an 8.23% Year-To-Date current album market share, and a 7.33% Year-To-Date total album market share (current and catalog combined). Atlantic is also far and away the leader in current digital album market share for 2009, at 8.45%.
Atlantic Records posted 19 albums in the Top Twenty on the Billboard 200 in the course of 2009, including 11 Top Ten debuts. In Billboard magazine's year-end charts, five out of the top twenty Artists of the Year were part of the Atlantic family - including T.I. (Grand Hustle/Atlantic), Flo Rida (Poe Boy/Atlantic), Jason Mraz (Atlantic), Zac Brown Band (Home Grown/Big Picture/Atlantic), and Roadrunner Records' Nickelback.
Atlantic released a wide range of hugely successful digital singles in 2009, with 27 included in the year's Top 200 Digital Songs tally - including Flo Rida's "Right Round," which sold over four million downloads and holds the record for most digital singles sold in a single week. 15 Atlantic songs sold over one million downloads each in 2009, and the company has the No 1 and No 3 best-selling digital songs of all time: Flo Rida's "Low," with over five million downloads, and Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours," with over four million downloads.
"To have reached the No 1 spot in 2008 was hugely gratifying; to have done it again in 2009 is thrilling confirmation that we are on course with our long-term strategy," said Atlantic Chairman/CEO Craig Kallman. "Atlantic has just wrapped up our most successful two-year period in more than two decades. What is most significant is that we have achieved this with a smaller roster and fewer releases, as we have shifted our mission from being a traditional record company to an A&R-driven music content company where focused, deep, and long-term artist development is king. I'd like to thank our brilliant artists and passionate staff for coming together to realize the vision of the new Atlantic in 2009 and beyond."
"When we began rearchitecting the new model Atlantic in 2004, our goal was to live everywhere the consumer lives, to find innovative and compelling ways to offer music from a diversity of artists at every stage of their careers," said Atlantic Chairman/COO Julie Greenwald. "We've come a long way in the past five years, building a company that is breaking new ground, seizing every opportunity, and exploring every platform to get our music heard. We live for our artists, and it is our belief in them that fuels our passion and our determination. In these challenging times, music is a more dynamic and vital force than ever, and I join with Craig in congratulating our fantastic roster and staff for their amazing work."
Alongside its market share and chart achievements, Atlantic Records earned a cornucopia of gold and platinum certifications from the RIAA in 2009, with 19 Atlantic artists racking up gold, platinum, and/or multi-platinum awards. At the top of the leader board was Jason Mraz, whose single "I'm Yours" was certified quadruple platinum, while also making history by setting a new record for the longest-running single on the Billboard Hot 100, at 76 weeks. In addition, '09 saw Mraz's album "WE SING. WE DANCE. WE STEAL THINGS." (Atlantic) earn RIAA platinum, while another single from the album, the Grammy-nominated "Lucky" feat. Colbie Caillat, earned RIAA gold.
2009 saw Kid Rock score a triple platinum album for "ROCK N ROLL JESUS" (Top Dog/Atlantic), while T.I. racked up multiple RIAA certs, including a double platinum album for "PAPER TRAIL" (Grand Hustle/Atlantic), a pair of triple platinum singles for "Whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life" feat. Rihanna, and a double platinum award for his Grammy-nominated collaboration with Justin Timberlake, "Dead And Gone."
One of the year's biggest breakthrough stories, the triple-Grammy nominated Zac Brown Band earned a string of RIAA kudos, including a platinum album for "THE FOUNDATION" (Home Grown/Big Picture/Atlantic), a platinum single for "Chicken Fried," and a pair of gold singles for "Whatever It Is" and "Toes."
Record-breaking rapper Flo Rida made history again in 2009, when his RIAA five-times platinum single, "Low," was ranked as the No 1 Digital Song of the Decade. Not one to rest on his laurels, Flo Rida also earned triple platinum in '09 for his smash "Right Round" single, as well as a platinum award for "Sugar" feat. Wynter. Both tracks are from his Grammy-nominated second album, "R.O.O.T.S." (Poe Boy/Atlantic).
The "TWILIGHT" saga not only made box office magic, but proved to be a musical sensation as well. Its first soundtrack album, the Grammy-nominated "TWILIGHT - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK" (Summit Ent/Chop Shop/Atlantic) debuted at No 1 on the Billboard 200, was certified double platinum, and ranked as the No 1 soundtrack of the year. The second album, "THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK," released in October 2009, debuted at No 2 on the Billboard 200, moved into the No 1 spot in its second week on the chart, and has already been certified RIAA platinum. This marked the first time that both a soundtrack and its sequel have reached No 1 on the chart.
Another top-charting Atlantic-distributed album, "DARK HORSE" by Grammy-nominated Roadrunner recording group Nickelback, earned an RIAA double platinum award and was ranked as Billboard's No 3 album of the year. Also in the multi-platinum pantheon were Shinedown, whose smash single "Second Chance" (Atlantic) reached double-platinum status, as did 3OH!3's "Don't Trust Me" (Photo Finish/Atlantic). O.A.R. earned RIAA platinum for their "Shattered" single (Everfine/Atlantic), plus a bonus gold award for their 2005 single, "Love And Memories." Other platinum-scoring singles were "All The Above" from Maino (Hustle Hard/Atlantic), and Cobra Starship's "Good Girls Go Bad" feat. Leighton Meester (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen).
Paramore landed a pair of RIAA gold certs in '09, including a gold music video award for "THE FINAL RIOT!" long form DVD (Fueled By Ramen) and a gold single for "Decode," their Grammy-nominated hit song from the "TWILIGHT" soundtrack (Summit Ent/Chop Shop/Atlantic). Also scoring gold was Trans-Siberian Orchestra with "NIGHT CASTLE" (Atlantic), the group's first new album in five years, who also landed a gold digital single in 2009 for their 1996 classic, "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24."
Rounding out Atlantic's bounty of RIAA awards for 2009 were a trio of gold singles: Rob Thomas's "Her Diamonds" (Emblem/Atlantic), Carolina Liar's "Show Me What I'm Looking For" (Atlantic), and Uncle Kracker's "Smile" (Top Dog/Atlantic). In addition, the year saw new RIAA certifications for several other releases from past years, including a double platinum single for Sean Paul's "Temperature" (VP/Atlantic), gold singles for Rob Thomas's "Ever The Same" (Melisma/Atlantic) and Death Cab For Cutie's "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" (Atlantic), and a gold album for Skillet's "COMATOSE" (Atlantic).
Atlantic's remarkable sales success is matched by the label's continuing artistic achievement, as reflected by the company's sweeping assortment of nominations for the upcoming 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Atlantic and its affiliated labels and artists earned 25 nods, spanning a remarkable range of categories. Among the honorees are Zac Brown Band, Musiq Soulchild, and Pleasure P - each with three nominations; and Jason Mraz, T.I., and Flo Rida - with a pair of noms each. Individual nods went to Death Cab For Cutie, Trey Songz, Sean Paul, Tracy Chapman, Paramore, Nickelback, Megadeth, and both the "TWILIGHT" and "TRUE BLOOD" soundtracks. In addition, the "1970-1975" Atlantic/Rhino boxed set from 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Genesis was nominated in the Best Surround Sound Album category.
The extraordinary history of Atlantic Records is celebrated in the just-released "ATLANTIC RECORDS: TIME CAPSULE," an unprecedented boxed set celebrating the iconic label's past and present through music, images, words, and memorabilia. The most comprehensive project ever devoted to the Atlantic story, this numbered, limited edition 10-disc CD/DVD collection spans the label's entire history, from its inception in 1947 to the present day. For more details, please visit: https://atlantictimecapsule.com
