A combination of factors — including a surging independent sector, a varied release schedule and some big albums shifting from current status to catalog — has made the first quarter of 2026 an aberration in comparison to the recent history of U.S. recorded-music market share. 

Still, some things don’t change: As has been the case for much of the past half-decade, big albums from Taylor Swift (The Life of a Showgirl) and Morgan Wallen (I’m the Problem) helped drive REPUBLIC to an industry-leading market share, ending the first quarter with a 9.98% current share, defined as albums released in the past 18 months, according to Luminate. (REPUBLIC’s market share includes Island, Big Loud, Mercury and Universal Records.) Yet those fluctuations in the quarter — as well as Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and The Tortured Poets Department; Wallen’s One Thing at a Time; and Drake’s For All the Dogs all moving to catalog status — meant that REPUBLIC’s current share slipped below 10% in a quarter for the first time since 2022. 

Also shaking things up is Atlantic Music Group, which has capitalized on growing momentum over the past year to surge into second place, with an 8.76% share — its highest current market share since 2022, when it regularly posted figures north of 9%. (Atlantic’s market share also includes 300 Entertainment and 10K Projects.) Big projects from Bruno Mars and Don Toliver and continued success from singles by Kehlani and Alex Warren helped boost Atlantic to the No. 2 slot. Year-over-year comparisons for Atlantic are tough, as 10K, which on its own has a 1.69% current share this year, was not incorporated into its market share until the third quarter of 2025. 

Dropping to third is Interscope Geffen A&M, at a 7.95% share, a reflection of both its release schedule and two major releases of its own shifting to catalog: Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft and Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us. (IGA’s market share also includes Verve.) That’s down from a current score of 12.67% in last year’s first quarter, when it was the top label in the U.S. industry. 

All that upheaval among current titles at the top means that Universal Music Group’s current market share by distribution ownership dipped to 30.76% for the first quarter of 2026, down from the 36.82% it had in the first quarter of 2025. (Olivia Dean and J. Cole albums were big drivers in the quarter as well.) Each of its competitors — Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group and the collective independent sector — had gains year over year, with Sony closing the gap at the top with a 28.62% share, up more than a percentage point from last year, bringing it to within two points of UMG for the first time in years. (Sony owns indie distributor The Orchard, which has had a massive first three months of 2026.) Warner also jumped, increasing over 2% to 17.98% in the first quarter. But the biggest beneficiary was the indie sector, which grew from 19.92% last year to 22.65% in the first quarter of this year.

By label ownership, the indie sector’s growth is even more impressive: At 44.15%, indies collectively are by far the largest portion of the current music business in the United States, according to Billboard estimates based on Luminate data. Indies have had a big year so far with both Bad Bunny and Djo being big drivers for their labels, Rimas and Djo Music, respectively. Bad Bunny in particular had an extraordinarily strong beginning of the year, capped by his performance at the Super Bowl halftime show and victory at the Grammys for album of the year. Universal was second at 22.64%, followed by Warner’s 17.26% and Sony’s 15.95%. 

Beyond the top three among individual labels, Warner Records came in fourth by current market share with 5.54%, bolstered by a big January release from Zach Bryan, followed closely by a surging Columbia Records, whose 5.49% was up markedly from last year’s 4.25%, as Harry Styles, Ella Langley and Dominic Fike began to catch fire. Capitol Music Group (which includes Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol Christian and others) stayed in sixth, with a market share gain to 4.92% from last year’s 4.56%. RCA dipped to seventh, coming in at 3.23%, dropping from last year’s 4.83%, when it placed fifth in the first quarter. Rounding out the top 10 is another trio of Sony labels: Alamo Records (2.11%), Sony Music Nashville (1.91%) and Sony Music Latin (1.74%). 

Among label groups by distribution ownership, overall market share — which includes catalog titles as well as current — adhered much closer to the standard of the past few years. Universal’s industry-leading tally came in at 37.68%, followed by Sony’s 28.09% and a 19.38% share for WMG, with the indies at 14.84%. That represents a slight dip for both Universal and the indie sector year over year, while Sony and WMG both grew in market share. Interscope led an extremely close three-way race at the top among individual labels with 9.75%, closely followed by REPUBLIC (9.32%) and Atlantic (9.29%). 

In catalog share, Universal was even more dominant with a 39.76% share, with Sony at 27.93%, Warner at 19.80% and the indies at 15.35%. Interscope again led a tight race at the top with 10.28%, followed by Atlantic at 9.45% and REPUBLIC at 9.12%. 

A new Latin music festival is on the horizon with the announcement of Bamba set to debut in October in Chile.

Cofounded by Juanes and Lotus — the production company behind Lollapalooza Chile — along with their management team helmed by Rafael Restrepo, Bamba seeks to elevate Latin music by combining a world-class production with defining hospitality. 

“Bamba was born to take the experience of our music to another level,” said the Colombian singer-songwriter in a press statement. “We want to celebrate Latin talent and identity with the production quality of the world’s greatest stages, while maintaining that intimacy and warmth that define us. It is a space where our cultures meet to proudly celebrate who we are.”

The two-day festival taking place Oct. 24 and 25 at Parque O’Higgins in Santiago has a curated lineup that embraces rock, pop, alternative and dance music. 

In addition to Juanes, Marc Anthony, Fito Páez, Carlos Vives, Bomba Estéreo, Elena Rose, Orishas, Conociendo Rusia, Gale and Paloma Morphy — who won the 2025 Latin Grammy for best new artist — will form part of the lineup.  

“We want the public to be able to enjoy Latin American music in a new dimension, inviting those who love major concerts to experience them in a more intimate way,” added Sebastián de la Barra, director of Lotus. “We have designed a gathering featuring spacious settings and genuine hospitality, where the warmth of our spirit allows for a full connection with the music and energy of our region.” 

For more information, visit the festival’s website, and see the full lineup, below:

Gracie Abrams is back. The singer-songwriter finally announced on Monday (May 11) that her third studio album is on its way, revealing the title — Daughter From Hell — cover art and release date on Instagram.

“My third album is out July 17,” she wrote in the caption. “Whoa whoa whoa. Freaking out.”

The artwork is an up-close photo of Abrams in a crouched position, her eyes trained on something in the distance. “I am so ready for it to be yours,” she added of the LP.

Per the Daughter From Hell countdown page on Spotify, the project will feature 16 tracks, including lead single “Hit the Wall,” which drops Thursday (May 14). The album was produced by Abrams’ longtime collaborator Aaron Dessner, who worked with her on both her 2023 debut LP, Good Riddance, and 2024 sophomore effort The Secret of Us. Her first album reached No. 52 on the Billboard 200, while her second peaked at No. 2, marking her breakout moment with hit singles such as “That’s So True” and “I Love You, I’m Sorry.”

Abrams has long been teasing that she had new music in the works. In her 2025 Billboard cover story, she said that she and Dessner were “catching each other in these little pockets between hectic times” to work in the studio together as often as possible.

“Every day that I live with the music, things start to become a little clearer,” she added at the time. “There’s something we’re starting to crack that is making both of us feel energized.”

In April, she ramped up her album hints by sharing photos of her journal decorated with “DFH” stickers.

See Abrams’ Daughter From Hell announcement below.

FKA Twigs will step into her most challenging acting role to date later this year when she begins filming a biopic of Jazz Age legend Josephine Baker. The as-yet-untitled film from director Maimouna Doucouré (Cuties, Hawa) financed and co-produced by Studiocanal, is being offered for sale at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens on Tuesday (May 12) and runs through May 23.

According to Variety, singer Twigs (born Tahliah Debrett Barnett), 38, said in a statement, “I am honored to collaborate with the immensely talented Maïmouna Doucouré on this incredible project. Josephine Baker’s extraordinary legacy is such an inspiration to me and to so many people around the world. She lives on in our hearts as a visionary, groundbreaking woman whose story is as powerful as it is relevant today. I cannot wait to embody Josephine Baker bringing her fight, her love, her losses, her talent and her heroism to the big screen.”

In addition to writing and directing the film, Doucouré will also produce it under his Bien Ou Bien Prods. banner.

Twigs, who can be seen in theaters now in the Anne Hathaway/Michela Cole musical drama Mother Mary, will take on the challenging role of the St. Louis-born singer, dancer, actress and activist who found fame in France and was the first Black woman to star in a major movie, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics. Known for her high-energy performances and envelope-pushing stage costumes, Baker was a French Resistance spy during WWII, during which she smuggled coded messages to France from opposing forces hidden inside her lyrics. She was also the only female speaker at the 1968 Poor People’s March for civil rights in Washington, D.C. in 1968.

The singer, nicknamed “Black Venus,” took time away from the stage to raise what she called her “Rainbow Tribe” of 12 adopted children from a variety of countries and backgrounds and died in April 1975 at age 68 following a show at the Bobino Theater in Paris. According to Variety, the project is in development with support from Baker’s sons, Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker, as well as the other members of the Rainbow Tribe.

“Josephine Baker has lived with me for years. Working on this film, I realize how modern, fearless and complex she was,” Doucouré said in a statement. “Beyond the legend, I want to explore her contradictions, her wounds and her immense courage, as well as her relentless fight for dignity. With the extraordinary FKA Twigs bringing her rare artistry, intelligence and emotional depth to the role, it is a huge honor to work with Studiocanal to bring Josephine’s story to the screen for a global audience: the story of a woman who never stopped reinventing herself and fighting for justice and equality.”

The magazine said Studiocanal will release the film theatrically in their territories — the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand — with no information at press time about distribution in North America.

FKA Twigs released her fourth studio album, Eusexua: Afterglow, in November.