Publishers Quarterly Q1 2026: Sony Keeps Dominant Streak Alive

Sony Music Publishing continued to sweep the No. 1 spot on both the Top Radio Airplay and Hot 100 publishing rankings in the first quarter of 2026 after claiming that distinction in all four quarters last year.

Its best showing this quarter was on the Radio Airplay rankings, where it garnered a 29.11% share, with a stake in 71 of the Top 100 songs, including Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need,” which topped that chart. While that was down slightly from the 75 songs and 30.03% showing it produced in the fourth quarter of 2025, Sony showed a big improvement on the Hot 100 rankings over the prior quarter, posting a 29.08% share with a stake in 65 songs — up from 21.57% and 49 songs in Q4 2025. It also had a stake in the Hot 100 chart’s top song of the quarter, Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.”

Another factor boosting Sony’s performance: It was the administrator for the quarter’s top songwriter, the Songs of Orchard’s Shane “sombr” Boose, who accomplished that feat for both charts.

Warner Chappell Music (WCM) came in at No. 2 on both publisher rankings, with a 23.22% share and a stake in 58 songs on Top Airplay; and a 20.49% share and a slice of 50 songs on the Hot 100 chart. WCM’s top Airplay song was the No. 2 track, Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might,” while its top Hot 100 song was the No. 3 tune, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary.” That marked an improvement on both charts from Q4 2025, when Warner Chappell had a 22.13% share on Top Airplay while claiming 57 songs; and a 16.92% share on pieces of 36 songs on the Hot 100, where it placed third.

On the Top Airplay chart, Warner Chappell has ranked second in 10 of the last 11 quarters — and the only reason it missed out on second in Q4 2024 was because it came in at No. 1. The company also ranks No. 1 on the Top Country Airplay songs chart for the 10th consecutive quarter.

Likewise, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) landed the No. 3 spot in both rankings, and also showed market share improvements. On the Top Airplay rankings, its market share improved to 14.48% (58 songs) from the prior quarter’s 13.92% (44 songs). On the Hot 100 chart, UMPG’s share climbed to 17.55% (47 songs) from the prior quarter’s 16.69% (36 songs), when it ranked fourth. Its top song on both charts in the first quarter was “Man I Need.”

After attaining a lofty No. 2 ranking on the Hot 100 in Q4 2025, Kobalt fell back to its traditional No. 4 spot after a more than 10 percentage point drop to 11.15% from the prior quarter’s 21.43%. On the Radio Airplay rankings, Kobalt finished with a 9.86% thanks to a stake in 32 songs, a drop from its Q4 showing of an 11.59% share and 40 songs. BMG continued to rank at No. 5 on both charts, with 6.19% in market share on Top Radio Airplay (12 songs) and 5.24% (seven songs) on the Hot 100. Concord claimed the No. 6 slot on both rankings, while Top Airplay finished out with Reservoir, Big Machine Music, Mike Curb Music and Sentric, respectively; and the Hot 100 finished with Sentric, Pulse, Bluewater Music and Spirit, all four of which missed the rankings in Q4 2025.