The latest market figures for 2018 confirmed that Anne-Marie had the year’s biggest-selling debut with Speak Your Mind. The album has moved 168,335 copies, according to the Official Charts Company.
Of course, Music Week readers will already know that Anne-Marie is our Breakthrough Artist Of The Year. As well as scoring streaming hits, the singer is now an established album artist.
“It’s been amazing to see what she has done [in 2018] - and obviously not to forget that has been built on four years of working together with Rudimental,” Asylum MD Ed Howard told Music Week.
In 2018, Anne-Marie had two songs in the Top 20 biggest tracks of the year – 2002 (No.12) and Marshmello collaboration Friends (No.13). The Ed Sheeran co-write 2002 also made No.7 in the most streamed video tracks of 2018.
The longtime Rudimental collaborator recently joined the group for their Alexandra Palace show. She’s signed to Asylum/Atlantic via Rudimental’s Major Tom’s imprint.
Anne-Marie first charted in 2015, and Howard acknowledged that it now takes longer to break an artist.
“I think it certainly does,” he said. “For Anne-Marie, interestingly, it was a personal and creative journey that she went on with Rudimental. She started off touring with them and went around the world. It is very much a melting pot of pop and soul and club music that gave her those musical influences, and there is no way to hide that you’re fronting that band as a vocalist.
“Also in terms of promo and touring experience, she really got her teeth into all those different areas. I don’t think there is a way to fast track that. If you blow up overnight, you probably won’t have those skills honed in the way she does now. It’s such that she can look happy on stage supporting Ed [Sheeran] in a stadium because she’s done it before many times. I think necessarily it does take a certain amount of time.”
Anne Marie is probably the first artist we’ve launched wholeheartedly in the new paradigm
Ben Cook
As well as being a singles streaming success story, Anne-Marie’s album has reached fans via DSPs – 57.8% of Speak Your Mind’s consumption is based on streams.
“In the last few years we’ve really pivoted our approach, particularly with Anne Marie – Anne Marie is probably the first artist we’ve launched wholeheartedly in the new paradigm,” Atlantic president Ben Cook told Music Week. “The fact we’ve had a very global mindset from day one has been a huge benefit for her. She’s been a great recipient of that thinking, in which her management has been important partners here as well.”
In partnership with Warner Bros in the US, Atlantic/Asylum is working to build Anne-Marie’s international profile.
“Our next step is to better what we’ve achieved collectively in every area and quickly, and show her off to the world in the best way possible, building on the amazing platforms that we’ve created for the last four years,” said Howard.
While her debut album was held off the top by Post Malone and The Greatest Showman and 2002 also peaked at No.3, Cook predicted a solo chart-topper before long.
“I do think she is a No.1 artist, she has already been there with [Clean Bandit single] Rockabye,” said Cook. “So she's had the experience of being part of driving a record to No.1 and I think she’ll have that on her own merits very soon. I have every confidence in her.”
Anne-Marie is set to feature on Rudimental’s forthcoming album, Toast To Our Differences, later this month. New solo material is also expected sooner rather than later, and she's touring Australia, Europe and the UK from March to June, including two dates at the Eventim Apollo.
“She’s got a load of touring and it’s about keeping people engaged and keeping her in conversation, so we’re not going to go quiet for very long with her,” said Cook. “She has two concurrent records - another big hit at the moment with the release with James Arthur from The Greatest Showman Reimagined, and Perfect To Me. She’s still going to be right at the forefront of the business in 2019 and then we’ll start to keep that ground contact going.”
To read Anne-Marie’s Breakthrough Artist interview subscribers can click here.
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