Charts analysis: Linkin Park score fourth No.1 album with comeback record From Zero

Their career paused, some thought permanently, after the devastating death by suicide of lead singer Chester Bennington in 2017, Linkin Park reconvened earlier this year with new vocalist Emily Armstrong fronting their eighth studio album, From Zero, which now earns them their fourth No.1, debuting atop the chart on first week consumption of 37,826 units (12,622 CDs, 10,054 vinyl albums, 472 cassettes, 4,474 digital downloads and 10,204 sales-equivalent streams). On the album, which is the 17th different title to be No.1 in as many weeks, 38-year-old Armstrong and new drummer Colin Brittain (37) join rhythm guitarist/vocalist Mike Shinoda (47), lead guitarist Brad Delson (46), bass guitarist Dave Farrell (47) and DJ Joe Hahn (47), all of whom have been with the band since before their debut album, Hybrid Theory, was released in 2000. Although Hybrid Theory sold just 238 copies on its first week on release, taking a further 10 weeks to chart, it ultimately peaked at No.4 a year to the week from its release, and yielded four Top 30 singles. It is set to become the first album by the band to secure two million sales in the next few days – improving 74-71 (2,241 sales) this week, it raises its cumulative sales to 1,999,287 units, and is the 64th most-consumed album of the 21st century. Linkin Park’s chart-topping second album, 2003’s Meteora, and 2007’s Minutes To Midnight, secured the band’s highest first week sales of 93,886 and 94,501, respectively, and have to-date sales of 1,038,643 and 775,454. Their third No.1, Living Things, opened atop the chart on sales of 41,526 in 2012. Linkin Park are the 27th group to have four (or more) No.1 albums in the 21st century but only the seventh American group, joining The Killers (eight No.1s in total), Foo Fighters (six), Kings Of Leon (six), Green Day (five), Red Hot Chili Peppers (5) and REM (four). London female R&B trio Flo have been releasing singles and EPs since 2022, but their first full length album is Access All Areas, which debuts this week at No.3 (9,501 sales). Flo’s only Top 75 single, Fly Girl, featured Missy Elliott and reached No.38 in 2023 and has to-date consumption of 116,684 units. Their 2022 track, Cardboard Box, reached No.76 early the following year, and is their most-consumed song with a to-date tally of 208,065 units. The last time a British R&B girl group was so high in the chart was in 2001, when Mis-Teeq’s debut, Lickin’ On Both Sides also reached No.3. For completist fans, acquiring all of the physical formats of From Zero is a costly exercise, with four CD, 11 vinyl and one cassette variants – but spare a thought for fans of K-Pop octet Ateez, whose new EP/mini-album, the six-song, sixteen-minute release Golden Hour Part 2, debuts at No.4 (8,618 sales), becoming their fourth album chart entry – all of them reaching the Top 10. It is available in 19 CD variants and one vinyl, all of which count towards its introductory chart tally – but the £2.99 digital version of the album and, therefore, streaming thereof, are deemed ineligible for price reasons. The album would be No.4 regardless. In America, where K-Pop is more popular and chart regulations more accommodating, Golden Hour Part 2 looks like becoming Ateez’s first No.1 with Linkin Park destined for No.2. Two other K-Pop acts will enter inside the Top 10 stateside too, with both missing out here – BTS member Jin’s Happy and Enhyphen’s Romance: Untold – Daydream. The rest of the Top 10: Short ‘n’ Sweet (2-2, 13,222 sales) by Sabrina Carpenter, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess (5-5, 7,492 sales) by Chappell Roan, +--=÷× Tour Collection (6-6, 7,409 sales) by Ed Sheeran, The Highlights (9-7, 6,944 sales) by The Weeknd, Diamonds (8-8, 6,751 sales) by Elton John, Brat (11-9, 6,676 sales) by Charli XCX and The Secret Of Us (10-10, 6,552 sales) by Gracie Abrams. All five previous collaborations between Michael Ball & Alfie Boe remained in the Top 10 on their second week but their latest, Together At Home, breaks that streak by slumping 1-27 (3,873 sales). Also evicted from the Top 10: Chromakopia (7-12, 6,024 sales) by Tyler, The Creator, Songs Of A Lost World (3-18, 4,971 sales) by The Cure and, falling out of the Top 200 (401 sales), last week’s No.4, Earth To Grace by Massive Wagons. With 12 songs – 11 of which he co-wrote – and a playing time of just 30 minutes, fifth album Shawn is the briefest yet by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes, and also the lowest-charting, debuting at No.22 (4,638 sales). Happy birthday to you: Both No.2 albums absent from the chart since the year they were first released, a 40th anniversary zoetrope vinyl edition of Iron Maiden’s fifth album, Powerslave, and an expanded (and late) 50th anniversary edition of Beatles guitarist George Harrison’s second regular solo album, Living In The Material World. pop up again this week. Powerslave re-emerges at No.33 (3,534 sales) and Living In The Material World at No.46 (2,971 sales). Twenty years ago this week saw the release of late UK-born American rapper MF Doom’s most celebrated album, Mm. Food. Uncharted at the time, it reached No.182 nearly four years ago, shortly after his death, but breaches the Top 75 for the first time this week, after being re-released in several variants, debuting at No.64 (2,380 sales). Michael Bublé’s Christmas – No.1 on first release in 2011 – is back in the Top 75 for its 14th annual Yule journey, advancing 95-31 (3,556 sales). Now That’s What I Call Music! 119 debuts atop the compilation chart on sales of 9,759 copies (8,950 CDs, 809 digital downloads). That’s 2.49% below the 10,008 units that earned its immediate predecessor, Now! 118, a No.1 debut in July and 0.51% above the 9,709 sales its 2023 equivalent, Now! 116, recorded on debut at No.1 last November. Overall album sales are up 2.78% week-on-week at 2,557,958 units, 3.23% above same week 2023 sales of 2,477,954. Physical product accounts for 377,516 sales, 14.76% of the total.

The Music Week Interview: Sophie Kennard & Becci Abbott Black

Four years after partnering to form Frame Artists, Becci Abbott Black and Sophie Kennard are basking in the glow of success, thanks to a BRIT Award and first No.1 single for Chase & Status and the achievements of a burgeoning roster that houses Arielle Free, Effy, Mozey and more. Music Week meets the duo for a discussion that takes in management strategy, motherhood in the industry and the drum & bass boom… WORDS: ANNA FIELDINGPHOTOS: BEN CARDEN-JONES Frame Artists, say co-founders Becci Abbott Black and Sophie Kennard, exists primarily to make its acts the centre of attention. The spotlight isn’t usually for them. Still, their run of success means that perspective is shifting. Recently, they’ve scored major victories with Chase & Status – who this year won a BRIT and secured their first No.1 single, Backbone, which features Stormzy and has 314,984 sales to date (OCC) – and have also backed Arielle Free, Effy and Mozey. And that’s not to mention scooping a Manager Of The Year nod at the Music Week Awards in May and being among the winners at the Artist & Manager Awards this month. Frame Artists grew out of the rapport between the two founders, a professional respect and understanding that deepened into a good friendship. “Our relationship started when I left the BBC,” says Abbott Black, who worked as a radio producer with Pete Tong, Annie Mac and more. “That was 15 years ago. I joined a management company and was working with a new artist called Ben Pearce. Sophie, at the time, was at [dance label] MTA and signed a record of Ben’s [What I Might Do], so we started working on that and it did pretty well.” “It was the first era of deep house having any big commercial success,” says Kennard, picking up the story. “It went Top 10 in several countries and was synced in a TV ad for Tesco. But for us, well, there aren’t that many female managers in our space, specifically in electronic music – although there’s obviously lots of brilliant young people, and we were much younger at the time – but I think we found a kindred spirit in each other. It was in the way that we approach the business, not thinking that it was just an electronic space. We had aspirations for the work we did to exist outside of that space.” “We just clicked,” says Abbott Black. “When I became pregnant with my little girl, I was thinking, ‘Who can help with maternity cover?’ Because at the time, I was managing a number of artists, working for two men and in a male-heavy company, and it was my first child. I didn’t know how long I’d need off and how it would work. I don’t think they did. I just knew the person that I trusted and would want to look after my artists. There was one person, and it was Sophie.” Kennard, who by this point had left her label manager role at MTA and was running her own management company, kept suggesting to her friend that they do something together, that her talent wasn’t being recognised. Practical concerns about mortgages and stability kept Abbott Black tethered to her day job, though. “I was trying to do everything as a mum of a little child…” says Abbott Black. “There was a point when I was up at 5am in Surrey, dropping her at nursery, driving into London for half six and getting on the train to be in the office in Soho, five days a week, getting home for eight. I was like, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ And I handed in my notice.” “And then I got pregnant!” says Kennard. “I thought, ‘Can Becci repay the favour?’ So we ended up setting up this new entity, Frame, and then Covid hit and I had newborn twins!” The pair have a very strong stance on their position in the industry. “Personally, I’ve never really experienced any issues with being female in the industry, of that holding me back,” says Kennard. “I don’t think I have with being female, but I have as a mum,” says Abbott Black. “There was one artist I stopped working with and one of his things was, ‘Well, you are just a mum.’” “But we think that’s a superpower,” Kennard chimes in. “We can multitask like no one else,” says Abbott Black. “When there are fewer hours in the day, you just work harder and get shit done.” This is the longer story of how Frame Artists came to be. The short version, says Kennard, “Is that we had the same vision, the same ambition.” “I’ve genuinely never met someone I’m so aligned with,” she adds. “We work alongside a lot of brilliant people, but it’s a very specific role finding your partner and we just didn’t get too deep about why we thought it would work. We’re lucky enough to still be in that same position.” “In a strange way, I’m glad we started during that dreaded time in Covid,” says Abbott Black. “We started with nothing, we grafted and we find ourselves here.” With that, the pair settle down to talk Music Week through their story so far and expand on their management ethos, work ethic, love of raving and more… Did you ever think you would come this far with Frame Artists when you founded the company back in 2020? Sophie Kennard: “Yes, we did! We believe in our artists so wholeheartedly and we know no artist is always at the top of their game. Every artist has periods of growth and periods of success. Ultimately, we choose artists that we believe have an impact on culture. We knew Chase & Status would have their time. They’re the most talented people I’ve worked with and they absolutely were due. It was just when it was going to come, and that’s not something that we can necessarily control. That’s opportunity, timing, other factors happening in the world. So did we know specifically what the successes would be? No, but we believe in each other, we believe in our incredible team and we believe in our artists.” Becci Abbott Black: “We always said we have to hire the A-team, the best there is. And I think that’s a key factor in where we are today. We hired a head of digital & strategic partnerships, Myradh Cormican, who is just great at marketing and digital, so she brought in her piece, and we fitted the jigsaw around the artists. We tailor each team in a bespoke way. When we’re taking on new artists, we think about the fact that we want to nurture our staff as well as them. We want them to become managers and love what they do, so we look at what their skills are and what they want to work with, then we look at what artists we take on and where we can fit them in.” Did you have any worries about being able to get the company off the ground and establish a reputation? BAB: “I think we already had a name for ourselves. I had worked for the BBC for 10 years, producing Annie Mac and Pete Tong. I have my stripes in electronic music.” SK: “I ran Chase & Status’ label, which had a JV [prior to EMI] with Mercury, and we also had a JV with Sony Music Publishing. We both had really strong networks and experience outside of management, which I guess, ultimately, hopefully, is the reason why we’re having some success as managers. We have a really broad understanding of all areas of the industry.” BAB: “And we had the roster. My roster came with me, so we hit the ground running with the artists.” Can you name the single biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome so far? SK: “The massive boom in the live industry and then its correction [post-Covid]. It’s navigating a new live business where the biggest impact has been in the loss of skilled people, promoters, clubs, venues... The whole ecosystem for the live industry, for me, has been really difficult to navigate, because the same opportunities just aren’t there, and things are so much more expensive. An artist that may have wanted to develop a live show in 2024 actually might find it to be cost-prohibitive to do so at an entry level, or from a development place.” BAB: “Working predominantly with electronic artists, I’ve noticed a massive impact on club culture and the amount of clubs that have closed. Especially with the smaller artists, because it’s harder to get in those clubs… Playing the regional shows, you used to just take for granted, a solid little fee at weekends. There are less and less and less of those. So it’s harder for developing artists to get their foot in the door. Scotland, which was always a key territory for us, is really struggling. But on the flipside, we were really worried about Ibiza, but now it feels like it’s back and it’s really having a moment again with Hybrid and with [UNVRS] opening next year. It’s a key thing for a lot of our artists in the summer.” Live aside, what else do you think has changed in the four years you’ve been running Frame? BAB: “Owning data and creating your own fanbase. I don’t think that was as much of a thing before. I don’t know if it’s an effect of Covid, necessarily, but it’s the way in which the world is changing and moving forward.” SK: “The fans were essentially behind a wall of Instagram or Facebook, but the last four years [have seen] the development of the most efficient way to speak to these people. Any new deal we’re doing, whether it’s with a distributor or a label, is working out how data sits with the artist. All the different companies can plug into it: your label, merch store, promoter, CRM database, whatever it is, all of those different facets talk to one centralised spot which is the artist and their data. But that’s quite a progressive approach… It goes against 20 years of [history], which is, the label controlling your data for you. Our head of digital spent a long time working out the best way to proceed with this, and then applying it across as much of the roster as she can as they come up to change their deal structures. There’s all sorts of new data tools that we’re using across various platforms in order to sell more tickets and to sell directly to customers, depending on how they’ve already interacted with us. That is a really exciting space; the tech world is really advancing almost faster than the major labels are able to. There are some really interesting companies we’re working with that are assisting us in that.” You have described Frame as a boutique firm. Does that mean you can be a bit more nimble when taking on those kind of innovations? BAB: “One million per cent.” SK: “We have had enough experience over the last 20 years to see the changes happening at all labels – independent and major. Being able to nimbly build a team for our clients means they aren’t reliant on those companies to release their music. We’ve mentioned the impact on touring in recent years and the one wonderful thing to come out of Covid was that it brought into focus that touring, especially for electronic artists, was not the lucrative income stream it used to be. That allowed us to build the business in a way that meant our artists didn’t necessarily need a major or long-term independent deal. I would credit Chase & Status’ recent success with us having such a nimble team and employing third-party people under our responsibility in order to provide the kind of marketing, digital creative or A&R services that they need. We did have a very successful relationship with EMI on the last few projects, but it’s strongly driven by management.” In the past, you have talked about Frame as being like a family. Can you really have that kind of relationship with people you are employing? BAB: “I’ve worked for a corporate company and I probably wouldn’t again. At the end of the day, everyone would like a bigger pay cheque. But, for our team, it’s about creating an environment where they can learn as well. And we do things like working with a wellness company, so every month we contribute to their gym membership, or they can have a massage, or they can get help with the mortgage. It’s those little things that we like to offer on the side.” SK: “Also, nothing is forever. We don’t expect our family to be with us forever. It’s about empowering them with brilliant tools. You wear 87 different hats every day, and hopefully they will go on to have incredible careers after Frame and we will always be grateful to them for the hard work they do while they’re here. One person has left us to start her own management company – she took her roster and we have fully supported her and wish her every success. All the staff we employed at the start have stayed with us. We want to provide people with the structure to either grow within Frame or to get an even better job afterwards.” Should managers be led by passion or by business sense? BAB: “The emotional involvement and honesty is why we work so well. Sophie leads on Chase & Status, but she will always ask my opinion on the bigger things.” SK: “I don’t think either of us will take on a new client if the other one was really not into it, or really didn’t believe in the vision. We actually had an example recently where I was encouraging Becci to take a third or fourth meeting. And Becci said, ‘I just don’t believe in the act, so I can’t.’ And I was a bit like, ‘I really do’, and she said, ‘Well, I don’t.’ So we made the decision together to not pursue it. We are 100% passionate. I don’t believe you can be the best manager for your artist if you don’t believe in them, either as much as they do or more than they do.” BAB: “I wouldn’t say we are emotional managers, but we are passionate.” Talking of emotions, Sophie, you are married to Will from Chase & Status. How is it to manage your husband? What kind of issues does that bring up? SK: “We do sacrifice some elements of our personal relationship in order to achieve more in a professional relationship. But I also am very grateful for the opportunity. It has allowed our business to grow and allowed me to grow as a manager. We’ve been together a long time, nearly 14 years. It’s our 10th wedding anniversary next year. Honestly, though, there are really three of us in the relationship. Will is actually married to Saul [Milton, fellow band member]. Saul and I have a wonderful relationship, it wouldn’t work if we didn’t. I do most of the business with Saul, and Will trusts us to do that. Obviously, I keep Will up to date with everything, and Will and Saul make all the decisions with me. But I do speak to Saul on the phone every day. If I had to have that much correspondence with Will... He’s an introvert, it wouldn’t work. But it works because of Saul, and his amazing ability to work with a husband-and-wife team and I hope he’s very happy with it. It’s been incredibly harmonious.” BAB: “The funniest thing is that our children are very big fans… And some of the lyrics!” SK: “I have heard my kids rapping along with Backbone and they’re all, ‘It’s daddy’s song!’ I think about the fact they are going to school with this language.” But that is a sure sign of crossover success! What do the things Chase & Status have achieved this year mean to you? SK: “It definitely means a lot to us, possibly more than it does to Will and Saul! They are very proud of their achievements, but it is not the driver for them, whereas for us, it rewards all the hard work the staff have put in. It really is a wonderful way of saying, ‘Guys, you’ve smashed it. Look what you’ve achieved for them.’ There is the No.1, a BRIT...” BAB: “And selling out 45,000 tickets at Milton Keynes Bowl!” SK: “They sold out in a couple of hours, their biggest ever show. They sold 45,000 tickets, and then the arena tour went on sale. They sold out The O2 in the fastest ever time for an electronic act, under four hours, which is incredible to be doing at this point in their career. Again, Will and Saul have played The O2 before, in 2013, so they are happy when I tell them, but I think I got a thumbs-up on WhatsApp, whereas me and Becci and the rest of the office are high-fiving, hugging. We had a glass of wine in the office that evening.” BAB: “Considering we’ve been going four years – and I would probably exclude the first two years with Covid – for such a small, new company to achieve that... We’re really proud.” How did you build such a strong campaign for Chase & Status? SK: “We have built super fandom by regularly doing pop-up events, fan activations and interesting marketing plays over the past three albums. This super-serves new fans with the rich history of their catalogue and creates a sense of FOMO, demand and cultural heat on everything they do. Working with Stormzy allowed us to dream big. We identified a few specific events, which he was able to attend before release: Chase & Status headline DJ sets at Coachella in April and Ushuaia in Ibiza in June. We knew we could create huge numbers of UGC creations from these events and used a brilliant marketing platform called Co:brand to spread the hype. A very intense campaign resulted in 20,000 UGC creations and 40 million views alone over a period of about 10 days around the release. Last year, our plan was to cement them as the ‘kings’ of drum & bass, now we want them to spearhead the genre to a more global fanbase, places that are just discovering it on a commercial level.” Is this all part of electronic music coming back into the mainstream? SK: “It never really goes away. It’s nice for us now because major labels, with their investment, are all looking at electronic music in a big way. But what I love about electronic music is that there are all sorts of artists that have millions of followers, that sell millions of tickets, that have never crossed the desk of some of the biggest execs in the industry, and they have very profitable businesses. But because they are not charting in certain territories, it kind of flies under the radar. Drum & bass is a burgeoning part of the industry that youth culture has cottoned on to as an energetic way to fuel what they do on social media and in live spaces. But that’s also happening in house and techno and we could reel off some of our other clients and their contemporaries who are doing 30,000 tickets in Madrid and Travis Scott is popping up with them at Paris Fashion Week. All sorts of incredible things are happening. It’s cycles of urgent rediscovery. Again, that goes back to the data platforms. Companies we work with are all about finding little sub-pockets and noticing that there are 40 people in Bristol posting aboutan Eats Everything gig. You can do that with electronic music, because the DJs and the artists perform much more regularly.” BAB: “Glastonbury was a clear indication of that earlier this year, with the late-night gigs and events all proving extremely popular and very well-attended. Perhaps they had underestimated the power of electronic music. They’ve got to take note that they need a bigger space to perform in. It’s all ages wanting to go, from 13-year-olds, up to people in their 50s and 60s.” Finally, where is the next Frame Artists success coming from? BAB: “I’m really proud of Arielle Free and I think she’s definitely one to watch. I got to know her through the BBC, so I help on the radio side and we’ve just launched her podcast. She’s a grafter, I’ve never known anybody work the hours that this girl works. There aren’t enough women [in production] and she is really pushing herself to learn the techniques and do it on her own. She looks amazing, she’s infectious behind the decks, the music is so uplifting. And there’s Mozey, who we have just started working with…” SK: “He’s a young drum & bass artist who is probably the antithesis of your classic drum & bass act. He wears gold sequin jackets on stage and is really fun and inclusive in the way that he comes across online. He’s hysterical as well. Patrick Topping, too, he just did a festival in Tenerife, bringing 4,000 people over from the UK for the second year running. He’s been building something for 10-plus years.” BAB: “We straddle the underground, too. We’ve just signed DJ Boring and Effy and they’re bubbling in the underground. We don’t underestimate that and it’s where we came from. We love raving, and that’s ultimately the foundation of what this company is about.”

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