Sony Music Publishing Passes 40% of Hot 100 Shares for First Time
Sony Music Publishing held a 42.86% share of Billboard's Hot 100 publisher rankings in the third quarter of 2026, becoming the first publisher to pass the 40% mark. Billboard published the figures on 9 November 2026.
The Hot 100 is Billboard's weekly chart of the most popular songs in the United States. A publisher's share measures how much of that chart it holds a stake in, across the quarter. Publishing is the ownership of a song as a composition, separate from the recording. When that song is played, streamed or performed, the publisher collects part of the income.
Sony's previous high on the Hot 100 was 37.32%, set in the second quarter. The company finished the third quarter 25 percentage points ahead of the second-placed publisher. It also claimed stakes in 76 songs on the Hot 100.
Sony also ranked first on Billboard's Top Radio Airplay publisher chart, with a 36.02% share and stakes in 74 songs on the Radio Airplay Songs list. That made it the company's sixth consecutive quarter at the top of both charts. Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" finished the quarter at No. 1 on the Hot 100 song list and No. 2 on the Radio Airplay list. In the second quarter, Billboard credited Sony's stake in the same song with helping the company reach the top spot.
Warner Chappell Music stayed in second place on both charts for the third quarter in a row. It recorded a 17.86% share on the Hot 100 and 23.07% on Top Radio Airplay. On the Country Radio Airplay chart, Warner Chappell was the leading publisher for the 12th consecutive quarter, with a 33.12% share.
Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt and BMG finished third, fourth and fifth on both the Hot 100 and Top Radio Airplay charts. Each held the same position for the third quarter running.
Sony's wider business also grew. Billboard reported on 5 November 2026 that Sony's global roster drove double-digit revenue growth in the third quarter, with ATEEZ, Ella Langley and Bad Bunny among its top-selling artists.
The recording side of the industry is a separate ranking. In Billboard's record-label market share figures for the third quarter of 2026, Sony Music ranked second at 25.69%, down from 26.65% a year earlier. Universal led the label groups.
For the songwriters behind those 76 chart songs, each play and stream can generate a payment that is divided among the rights holders. A publisher's share on a chart is a way of seeing how much of that flow runs through one company's catalogue. It does not show how much any individual writer earned.
