Chart Analysis December 20, 2018

Radio recap: Which record label ruled the Most Added chart in 2018?

Charts & New Music Editor

With a total of 21 weekly crowns in 2018, Universal Music Australia is officially the Most Added label to Australian radio this calendar year.

Kendrick Lamar & The Weeknd (‘Pray For Me’) set the ball rolling in February with the major’s first win of the year. That kick-started a deluge of weekly victories that flowed consistently across all quarters.

Zedd and Shawn Mendes were the pick of UMA’s roster with three crowns each. This included a win for Zedd’s remix of Mendes’ single ‘Lost In Japan’.

Taylor Swift (‘Delicate’, ‘Getaway Car’), Post Malone (‘Psycho’, ‘Better Now’) and Ariana Grande (‘No Tears Left To Cry’, ‘God Is A Woman’) all contributed two crowns each.

Fellow major, Sony Music Entertainment, was #1 Most Added 12.5 times this year. The label achieved three 50/50 victories along the way courtesy of Calvin Harris & Sam Smith’s ‘Promises’, DJ Khaled’s ‘No Brainer’ and Little Mix’s ‘Woman Like Me’.

Justin Timberlake (‘Filthy’, ‘Say Something’), Amy Shark (‘I Said Hi’, ‘All Loved Up’) and Harris (‘Promises’, ‘One Kiss’) were Sony’s top performers with two wins apiece. The former topped the Most Added chart twice in the month of January.

As the third biggest record label in the world, Warner Music suitably finished the year in third place with six wins.

Anne-Marie (‘Friends’), Charlie Puth (‘Done For Me’) and Clean Bandit (‘Solo’) contributed to WMA’s result, while Ed Sheeran’s 2017 album Divide reaped yet another winner at radio with ‘Happier’.

EMI kicked into gear in the second half of 2018. Wins by Jonas Blue (‘Rise’), Birds Of Tokyo (‘Unbreakable’), Keith Urban (‘Way Too Long’) and Halsey (‘Without Me’) saw the label drastically increase their market share on the TMN Hot 100 airplay chart from the halfway point of 2018.

Surprisingly, #1 airplay hit ‘Youngblood’ was not the source of 5 Seconds Of Summer’s sole Most Added title of 2018. Instead, it was follow-up single ‘Valentine’ that brought home the goods in August.

Mushroom labels’ pair of crowns played out over consecutive weeks in January. Vance Joy’s early win with ‘We’re Going Home’ was further compounded by the return of Aussie starlet Kylie Minogue.

Her track ‘Dancing’ swept the competition in a high-powered week at radio, triumphing over one of the top singles of the year – ‘These Days’ by Rudimental.