Universal Dominates Album Chart

Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music conglomerate, hammered the competition this week with a stunning display of market power, capturing six positions in the top 10 on the nation’s pop chart.

With hot-selling albums from all four of its label divisions, Universal is setting up for a strong fourth quarter. The list this week includes MCA’s Mary J. Blige at No. 2; Island Def Jam’s Slipknot at No. 3; Universal/Motown’s Brian McKnight at No. 7 and Juvenile at No. 8; Interscope/Geffen/A&M;’s Toby Keith at No. 9; and Puddle of Mudd at No. 10.

The sales figures illustrate the consistent strength of Universal’s operation, which was formed from the 1998 merger of Seagram Co. and PolyGram. Competitors predicted that the combined market share of the two companies would plummet within a year of the merger.

Instead, Universal has held firm, grabbing 27.8% of current-album sales in the U.S. so far this year, according to SoundScan.