Warner's Hit Machine

Bronfman has overseen a range of top sellers as CEO of Warner Music Group—albeit in a rapidly shrinking market

• Since its 2004 release, Green Day's American Idiot has sold more than an estimated 12 million copies around the world.

• With 3.7 million albums sold, Josh Groban's Noël was the biggest seller of 2007. In 2000, it wouldn't have cracked the top 10.

• Despite selling just more than 2 million units, Kid Rock's Rock n Roll Jesus was the fourth best-selling album of 2008.

• At 1.5 million units sold in 2008, T.I.'s Paper Trail was the year's eighth biggest hit.

• Linkin Park's 2007 Minutes to Midnight sold 625,000 copies in its first week. Its previous album sold 810,000 in its debut week.

• A Bronfman discovery, James Blunt had the U.K.'s best-selling album of the decade with Back to Bedlam.

• Eminem's Recovery, released last month, sold 741,000 units its first week. It's on course to be one of the year's top sellers.

• AC/DC's Black Ice sold more than 780,000 units in its first week in 2008. It even beat High School Musical 3.

Data: Nielsen Soundscan; Billboard; Bloomberg News