Warner Bros. Records Ends 2007 in Top Sales Slot

01/07/08 -- Warner Bros. Records, led by Chairman and CEO Tom Whalley, has ended 2007 with the Number One U.S. album market share among individual record labels for the year according to Nielsen SoundScan figures released last week. Outperforming the marketplace, the label has also claimed the Number One market share in current albums and digital albums in a year when digital album sales are up 53 percent over 2006 with 50 million albums sold.

Highlights:
- Best-Selling Albums By Josh Groban, Linkin Park, Michael Bublé, My Chemical Romance, White Stripes, Goo Goo Dolls, And Muse Lead Label To Claim The Year-End #1 Spot In Overall U.S. Market Share, As Well As #1 Current Album And Digital Album Market Share;
- Josh Groban Is Best-Selling Solo Artist of 2007
- Christmas Album Noël Is Top-Selling Album Of The Year

Three of Warner Bros. Records artists have also finished the year among the Top Ten best-selling artists of 2007. Josh Groban has emerged at Number 1 with 4.83 million albums sold, a figure that includes the multi-platinum Awake and Groban’s Christmas blockbuster Noël, which was the top-selling album of the year with sales of 3.7 million. The first holiday album in the history of SoundScan to hold the top position on the year-end chart, Noël spent five consecutive weeks at Number One on the album chart.

Linkin Park and Michael Bublé finished at Number 7 and Number 8, respectively. Linkin Park’s Minutes to Midnight was the seventh best-selling album of the year with nearly 2.1 million copies sold. Bublé sold 2.53 million units in 2007, a figure that includes his latest smash Call Me Irresponsible.

Digital music enjoyed major sales increases in 2007, with more than 840 million tracks purchased industry-wide. Linkin Park’s Minutes to Midnight was the sixth best-selling digital album of the year, selling 189,000 downloads, while the band itself is the tenth best-selling digital artist with 4.3 million units sold. Other Warner Bros. Records artists in the Top 20 Digital Albums include Josh Groban at Number 13 and the White Stripes at Number 14.

Here are more company highlights from 2007:

In the U.S.:

* In terms of sales, 16 albums by Warner Bros. Records artists scored 35 Number One positions across 14 formats including: Josh Groban’s Noël (Album, Digital Album, Internet, Classical Crossover, Holiday) Linkin Park’s Minutes to Midnight (Album, Digital Album, Internet, Rock, and Hard Rock); Michael Buble’s Call Me Irresponsible (Album, Digital Album, Internet, Jazz); White Stripes’ Icky Thump (Digital Album); Big & Rich’s Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace (Country); Neil Young’s Chrome Dreams II and Live At Massey Hall (Internet); Smashing Pumpkins’ Zeitgeist (Digital, Internet, Alternative, Rock, Hard Rock); Avenged Sevenfold’s self-titled album (Alternative, Rock, Hard Rock); Madonna’s The Confessions Tour (Music Video); Lori McKenna’s Unglamorous (Heatseekers); Bill Engvall’s 15 Off Cool (Comedy); Larry the Cable Guy’s Christmastime in Larryland and Morning Constitutions (Comedy); Serj Tankian’s Elect the Dead (Alternative, Hard Rock); HIM’s Venus Doom (Hard Rock); and Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s 10 Days Out: Blues From the Backroads (Blues).
* In terms of radio, seven singles by Warner Bros. artists scored 13 Number One positions across four formats, including Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Snow” (Rock, Active Rock, Alternative); Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” and “Bleed It Out” (Rock, Active Rock, Alternative); the White Stripes’ “Icky Thump” (Alternative); Disturbed’s “Land of Confusion” (Rock), and Michael Bublé’s “Everything” and Josh Groban’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” (both Adult Contemporary).
* Warner Bros. Records continued its ongoing charity efforts in 2007. In November, the company released Live Earth — a CD/DVD package that brought together the best performances from the July worldwide concerts with proceeds going to benefit the Alliance for Climate Protection. In December, the company presented Amnesty International with a check for $2.5 million — the proceeds raised from the sales of Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign To Save Darfur, which is a double album featuring more than 20 John Lennon songs recorded by today’s best-selling artists. The money goes to supporting Amnesty International’s campaign to end the violence in Darfur.
* Nonesuch released Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky, which debuted at Number 4 on the charts (a career high for the band) and was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Rock Album” — one of eight nominations for the label, including three for the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’s recording of Neruda Songs. In addition, two films for which Nonesuch released soundtracks — Sweeney Todd and There Will Be Blood — were nominated for numerous film awards, including Golden Globe nods for “Best Picture.”
* Word/Curb was the Billboard Christian Imprint of the Year for the second year in a row. Word artists scored three Number One singles at Christian R&R radio, including Big Daddy Weave, whose “Every Time I Breathe” spent three weeks at the top spot and was the third most-played track on Christian radio. Retail-wise, BarlowGirl scored a Number One Christian/Gospel debut, while pureNRG was the best-selling new artist of 2007 at Christian retail.

Worldwide:

* Worldwide sales. WBR has enjoyed huge success this year with releases from Josh Groban, Neil Young, Peter Cincotti, Linkin Park (Minutes to Midnight scored Number 1 debuts in more than 20 countries) and Michael Bublé (Call Me Irresponsible scored Number 1 debuts in more than 10 countries).

Warner Bros. Records’ Number 1 status speaks to the breadth of the label’s roster, which in addition to Linkin Park, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and My Chemical Romance, also include charted albums by country artists Blake Shelton and The Wreckers, emerging alt-rock singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, career rockers Stevie Nicks and Eric Clapton, comedy superstar Larry the Cable Guy, and soundtracks for award-winning box office smash films The Departed and Spider-Man 3.

Look for forthcoming releases from Madonna, Metallica, R.E.M., Disturbed, Josh Groban, the Raconteurs, Muse, Idina Menzel, Jack’s Mannequin, The Veronicas, MURS, Taking Back Sunday, Mike Jones, The Black Keys, k.d. lang, Emmylou Harris, T Bone Burnett, and others.

Source: Warner Bros. Records

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