After a rough few decades battling against online piracy, the music industry is booming, pulling in an estimated £20.6 billion in revenue in the past year alone. Thanks to streaming services, record companies can now distribute their artists’ music worldwide, pulling in huge audiences and even bigger profits.
But which record labels are the most successful, and which artists are responsible for their profits?
The experts at Spin Genie UK have dived into the data, looking at the profits of various music labels across the UK and US, as well as Google searches, monthly listeners, and playlist reach to find out.
The Most Successful UK Record Labels
1. EMI Records
Annual Revenue: £1,300,000,000
Home to some of the biggest names in pop music, including Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Lewis Capaldi, it's no surprise EMI is the most successful British record label. With a whopping 146 artists on its roster, EMI has an annual revenue of £1.3 billion.
2. Rough Trade Records
Annual Revenue: £33,243,050
Up next is the indie label Rough Trade Records. Starting as a record shop in London before branching out into music production, the label has an annual revenue of £33 million. Despite its origins as an alt-rock label, Rough Trade now has a diverse range of artists, from Mercury Prize-nominated experimental rockers ‘black midi’ to the electro-pop duo Jockstrap.
3. Island Records
Annual Revenue: £13,218,070
Island Records is in third place, with an annual revenue of £13 million. The label, now owned by Universal Music Group, started out focusing on reggae artists and signed Bob Marley in the early 70s. Island’s success during this time turned it into a major label, releasing records from some of the era’s most popular rock and folk acts, including Cat Stevens and Steve Winwood.
The Most Successful US Record Labels
1. Atlantic Records
Annual Revenue: £3,166,004,720
Taking the top spot as the most profitable record label is Atlantic Records, with an annual revenue of £3.16 billion. Originally specialising in soul and R&B artists like Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, the label is now home to artists as diverse as Bruno Mars, Paramore and FKA Twigs.
2. Columbia Records
Annual Revenue: £2,374,503,540
In second place is Columbia Records, one of the oldest record companies on the list. Now owned by Sony Music Entertainment, the label has signed record deals with some of the biggest names in music, from industry legends Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen to modern pop powerhouses Adele and Harry Styles.
3. Interscope Records
Annual Revenue: £45,115,567
Interscope Records completes the top three, raking in £45 million annually. Originally, the label let artists and producers have complete creative control over their music. However, Interscope has faced criticism from artists for delaying album releases and shelving some releases indefinitely.
The Most Searched Record Labels
1. Interscope Records
Annual Searches: 682,000
Interscope Records is the most googled label, with 682,000 searches over the last 12 months. The company recently launched the Interscope Vinyl Collective, a subscription series of limited-edition vinyl records from some of its most celebrated artists. It started with Dr. Dre’s solo debut, The Chronic, and Blink 182’s self-titled album will be released in February this year.
2. Republic Records
Annual Searches: 555,500
Republic Records takes second place, with over half a million searches since January 2023. The label had tremendous success thanks to releasing Taylor Swift’s rerecording of her back catalogue, which made vinyl sales rocket to their highest level since 1990. Republic is also home to Ariana Grande and Drake, so it's no surprise it ranks so highly.
3. Columbia Records
Annual Searches: 549,700
Columbia Records is up next with 549,700 searches over the last year. The label has had some high-profile signings and departures in the previous 12 months, with hotly-tipped rapper Central Cee and singer Halsey joining Columbia Records and alt-pop star Grimes departing after only dropping two singles.
The Label with the Most Listeners
1. Island Records
Monthly Listeners: 477,140,000
Island Records is the most listened-to label, with over 447 million monthly listeners from its biggest artists, including Hozier, Amy Winehouse and Ariana Grande.
The label handles the UK distribution of many artists signed to US Republic Records, like Stevie Wonder and Post Malone, and promotes British bands, including Sports Team and Yard Act.
2. Republic Records
Monthly Listeners: 476,270,000
With world-renowned artists such as Lorde and Nicki Minaj on its roster, it’s little wonder Republic Records takes second place. The label is owned by Universal Music Group, which also owns Capitol Records and Polydor. Republic has more than 476 million combined monthly listeners from its top artists.
3. Polydor Records
Monthly Listeners: 442,080,000
Rounding out the top three is the British label Polydor Records. The label has 442 million combined monthly listeners from its leading artists. Polydor is home to some of the biggest K-pop groups in the world, including Blackpink and BTS, so it's no surprise that Polydor Records lands in the top three.
The Label Featured on the Most Playlists
1. Island Records
Total Playlist Reach: 8,124,400,000
Island is the label with the most reach, with a combined total of 8.1 billion listeners for playlists featuring the artists signed to the label. Island Records has signed some of the world’s top artists, including Amy Winehouse and handles the UK distribution of global pop stars like Lil Wayne and Nick Jonas.
2. Republic Records
Total Playlist Reach: 7,031,000,000
Up next is Republic Records, with a combined playlist reach of over 7 billion listeners. The New York-based label is home to a diverse array of award-winning and multi-platinum-selling artists, from Daddy Yankee to Florence + the Machine, so it is no wonder they place second.
3. Polydor Records
Total Playlist Reach: 6,964,000,000
Coming in just behind Republic Records is UK label Polydor, which has a reach of 6.9 billion listeners. Last year, the label saw massive success with its new imprint, Chaos, which focuses exclusively on dance music and Olivia Rodrigo’s second album with its lead single, Vampire.
Methodology
Beginning with a list of the most successful UK and US record labels taken from sites such as Musicianwave, we sourced their annual incomes from list articles, ZoomInfo, RocketReach and Companies House.
We used Google Ads’ Keyword Planner to find the total number of searches for each record company from January to December 2023.
To find the total monthly listeners and playlist reach, we sourced a list of the major artists from each label according to list articles. We then took the monthly listeners and playlist reach for each major artist from Songstats and combined them to estimate the total number of monthly listeners for each label.
Currencies were converted on 01/03/2024 using xe.com.
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