earnings
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Sphere, the stunning venue that has transformed the Las Vegas skyline and redefined the concert-going experience, generated $4.1 million from U2’s first two concerts in September, its owner, Sphere Entertainment Co., reported in its quarterly earnings release on Wednesday (Nov. 8).
The $2.3 billion Sphere is a 366-foot tall, 516-foot wide spherical venue with a wrap-around video screen that envelopes a seated audience of 17,600. Sphere’s external skin — called Exosphere — is covered in 580,000 square feet of programmable LED exterior lights that advertises the venue’s technological capabilities.
Sphere also made $2.6 million in additional revenue, primarily from advertising on the Exosphere that began in September.
With only two concerts under its belt through the end of September, Sphere’s earnings release was about the venue’s potential, not its revenue to date. “Our journey with Sphere is just beginning,” said executive chairman/CEO James Dolan during Wednesday’s earnings call. “And while it will take some time for Sphere to realize its full potential, we’re off to a great start.”
U2’s original 25-show residency has been extended by an additional 11 shows that will occur in January and February 2024. The company expects to host two additional residencies in the second half of the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2024, according to Dolan. “We’re having conversations with artists across a wide variety of genres, including discussing runs of varying lengths,” he said.
Sphere had an adjusted operating loss of $83.1 million in the quarter, an increase of $19 million from the prior-year period. It also had $2.8 million of venue operating expenses in the quarter and $2.2 million of event-related expenses. An additional $2.1 million in advertising costs were related to the Oct. 6 launch of The Sphere Experience featuring the film Postcard from Earth by Darren Aronofsky. Selling, general and administrative expenses amounted to $84.2 million.
The Las Vegas venue is the first of what Sphere Entertainment expects to be multiple Sphere venues. Dolan was light on specifics but said there is “a great deal of interest and substantive discussions” in several additional markets. “I will say that it does look like Sphere will be a global brand,” he said, “and so we should expect the expansion globally rather than just in the U.S.”
Sphere Entertainment had total revenue of $118 million in its fiscal first quarter ended September 30, down 4% from the prior-year period. MSG Networks contributed $110.2 million of revenue, down 10% year over year. MSG Networks, which operates two regional sports networks, joined Sphere following a spin-off of MSG Entertainment in April. That same month, Sphere reached an agreement to sell its stake in Tao Group Hospitality to global luxury lifestyle company Mohari Hospitality for about $300 million.
Shares of Sphere Entertainment fell as much as 8.4% to $30.58 on Wednesday morning before recovering to $31.90, down 4.4%, by mid-afternoon. The stock price took a bigger hit on Monday, however, dropping 9.6% following the company’s announcement late on Friday that CFO Gautam Ranji had left the company. Dolan attributed Ranji’s departure to Sphere being a new type of business. “It’s pretty challenging,” he said. “I think we both came to the conclusion that it probably wasn’t a great fit.”
Financial metrics for the first fiscal quarter:
Total revenue of $118 million, down 4% year over year.
Adjusted operating loss of $57.9 million, up 88% year over year.
Net income of $66.4 million, up from a $44 million net loss in the prior-year period.
Sphere revenue of $7.8 million.
Sphere event-related revenue of $4.1 million.
MSG Networks revenue of $110.2 million, down 10% year over year.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG Entertainment) had revenue of $142.2 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, down 3% year over year, as it started its first full fiscal year as a standalone live entertainment company.
MSG Entertainment, which spun off from MSG’s Sphere and MSG Networks businesses in April, had lower event-related revenue and faced a tough comparison to the prior-year quarter. Not only did the prior-year quarter benefit from some concerts that were rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Madison Square Garden enjoyed a 15-show run from Harry Styles from Aug. 20 to Sept. 21, 2022, that grossed $63.1 million from 277,000 ticket sales, according to Billboard Boxscore.
The company saw “significant” merchandise spending from Styles’ fans at those shows, said Dave Byrnes, MSG Entertainment executive vp/CFO, during Tuesday’s earnings call, and per-capita merchandise spending was down last quarter as a result. Fan spending on food and beverage “was up meaningfully” in the latest quarter, however, and MSG Entertainment is seeing “strong in-venue spending from our guests,” he said.
Strong demand for concerts, also seen in Live Nation’s latest earnings results, will help MSG Entertainment achieve a low double-digit percentage increase in event bookings this fiscal year. The company is getting help from a new generation of musicians who have graduated from smaller buildings in its portfolio to its flagship venue, Madison Square Garden. “This fiscal year, there are a number of acts, including Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler Childers and Niall Horan, who previously performed at either The Beacon [Theatre] or Radio City [Music Hall] that will soon headline the Garden for the first time in their careers,” said Byrnes. What’s more, he added, “a number of these first-time acts” are playing multiple nights and experiencing “strong ticket demand for their entire run.”
Beyond the concert business, MSG Entertainment has high expectations for its family shows. The company has 187 planned shows of its Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, up from 181 shows in the prior fiscal year. MSG Entertainment expects paid attendance of about 1 million, bringing the holiday run back to pre-pandemic levels. In addition, Cirque du Soleil’s holiday show is returning after it took the year off in 2022, with 66 shows scheduled across The Theater at Madison Square Garden and the Chicago Theatre.
“We’re currently on sale with more concerts at our venues than we were at this time last year for the second half of fiscal ’23,” said Byrnes, “and of those on-sales, a majority of those tickets are already sold, and sell-through on those shows is currently up [a] high single-digit percentage as compared to the second half of fiscal ’23.”
MSG Entertainment repurchased about 3.5 million shares during the quarter, including repayment of a delayed draw term loan facility from Sphere Entertainment with 1.9 million shares. About 1.6 million shares were repurchased at $31.20 per share as part of the secondary underwritten offering by Sphere Entertainment in September.
Looking forward to the full year, MSG Entertainment reaffirmed its previous guidance of revenue from $900 million to $930 million and adjusted operating income of $160 million to $170 million. It lowered guidance for operating income to $85 million to $95 million, down from $100 million to $110 million.
Shares of MSG Entertainment fell as much as 9.8% to $27.55 on Tuesday morning before recovering to $29.09 by midday, a 4.7% decline from Monday’s closing price.
Fiscal first quarter financial metrics:
Revenue of $142.2 million, down 3% year over year.
Operating loss of $33.4 million, up 196% year over year.
Adjusted operating loss of $700,000, down from a $11.5 million operating profit.
Net loss of $50.7 million, up 183% year over year.
Reservoir Media reported Tuesday (Nov. 7) that revenue grew by 15% year-over-year to $38.4 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2024, ending Sept. 30, 2023. During the quarter, the independent music company acquired new catalogs like Joe Walsh, Latin music icon Rudy Perez and country writer Brent Maher as well as continued expansion in its Arabic music catalog through its partnership with PopArabia — contributing to its inorganic growth.
This quarter’s rise in revenue, up from $33.3 million in Q2 of fiscal 2023, was mostly thanks to growth in its recorded music division, which was up 22% from last year’s second quarter, and publishing, which was up 8%. Reservoir notes that the growth in recorded music is largely driven by Chrysalis Music (acquired in 2019) and Tommy Boy (acquired in 2021) and partially offset by lower synchronization and film/tv licensing revenue, likely hindered by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Chrysalis’ sprawling catalog of masters includes “Dancing With Myself” by Generation X and “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Connor, whose catalog saw a 2,885% spike in listenership after her death earlier this quarter. Tommy Boy is home to some of hip-hop’s most pioneering players, including De La Soul, the trio that Reservoir ushered on to streaming services for the first time during Q4 of fiscal year 2023 to a solid monetary boost.
In the publishing sector of their business, Reservoir’s revenue reached $25.9 million, compared to $24.1 million in last fiscal year’s second quarter. The gain was a product of strong results in performance and mechanical revenue in particular. Performance monies were up 47% YoY and mechanical was up 25% YoY. These wins, however, were offset by changes with the Copyright Royalty Board — which regulates publishing royalty rates in the U.S. — Reservoir says, leading to a decrease in digital by $2.1 million which was recognized in the prior year quarter related to the newly affirmed royalty rates for the 2018-2022 period.
The company also signed a handful of award-winning frontline songwriters in the past quarter, including Steph Jones, Rob Ragosta, Cam Becker, Josh Record, and Wé Ani.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a closely watched metric of profitability, was up 24% this quarter to $15.9 million.
Founder and CEO, Golnar Khosrowshahi, says the company is confident in its position, both in the U.S. and emerging markets “We are encouraged by the growing opportunities internationally and welcome recent additions of El Sawareekh and RE Media expanding our presence in the emerging markets,” she says. “We will continue to pursue acquisitions in the U.S. and across the globe, and we have the right team and strategy to close accretive deals enhancing the portfolio and building long term value for the business and our shareholders.”
Jim Heindlmeyer, CFO, says that, as a result of the company’s “consistent progress against our strategic growth plan demonstrates the resilience of our business model and ongoing tailwinds from the growing music industry,” Reservoir is raising both its revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal 2024. “We are pleased to announce another quarter of strong performance, driven by meaningful top-line growth in both business segments,” he says.
The company’s outlook for fiscal 2024:
Revenue is anticipated to be $133 million-$137 million for the year ending March 31, 2024, with 10% growth at midpoint
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $50 million-$52 million with 10% growth at midpoint
Apple reported a blowout quarterly earnings report, with its serviced division (which includes Apple TV+, Apple Music and other media-related offerings) hitting another new record with $22.3 billion in revenue.
That was up from $19.2 billion a year ago, and from $21.2 billion in its last quarter.
In total, Apple delivered revenues of $89.5 billion in its fiscal Q4, with profits of $23 billion, reflecting strong demand for its iPhone line.
“Today Apple is pleased to report a September quarter revenue record for iPhone and an all-time revenue record in Services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “We now have our strongest lineup of products ever heading into the holiday season, including the iPhone 15 lineup and our first carbon neutral Apple Watch models, a major milestone in our efforts to make all Apple products carbon neutral by 2030.”
Apple is seeking to improve its revenues and margins in its services business, raising prices on Apple TV+ and other subscription offerings last month. Apple TV+ now costs $9.99 per month, though it is also included in the Apple One subscription bundle, which includes products like Apple Arcade, Apple News, and extra cloud storage.
“We achieved all time revenue records across App Store, advertising, Apple Care, iCloud, payment services and video, as well as the September quarter revenue record on Apple Music,” Cook added on the earnings call.
As for Apple TV+, Cook touted Martin Scorsese’s new movie Killers of the Flower Moon, and noted the awards that ths ervice has garnered.
“We’re telling impactful stories that inspire imagination and stir the soul,” Cook said. “Making movies that make a difference is also at the heart of Apple TV+, and we were thrilled to produce Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, a powerful work of cinema that premiered in theaters around the world last month.”
Apple CFO Luca Maestri added on the call that Apple’s services division now has “well more than one billion” subscribers.
Also on the call, Cook confirmed that the company is investing significantly in generative artificial intelligence: “Obviously we have work going on, I’m not going to get into details about what it is because as you know, we don’t we really don’t do that,” Cook said in response to a question from an analyst. “But you can bet that we’re investing, we’re investing quite a bit. We’re going to do it responsibly. And you will see product advancements over time where those technologies are at the heart of them.”
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Live Nation had another record-setting quarter as music fans swarmed to concerts and continued to spend on live entertainment amidst persistent inflation, high gas prices and a resumption in student loan repayments in the United States. The concert promotion and ticketing giant posted third-quarter revenue of $8.2 billion, up 32% from the prior-year period, the company announced Thursday (Nov. 2). Adjusted operating income (AOI) rose 35% to a record $836 million.
A year ago, revenue reached a then-record $6.2 billion as artists returned to the stage after pandemic layoffs. In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic shut down the global touring business, Live Nation posted third-quarter revenue of $3.8 billion — 54% below what the company reported Thursday. Some growth since 2019 stems from acquisitions such as OCESA, the Mexican concert promoter Live Nation bought in 2021 for $416 million. But m uch of the record-setting result comes from the high number of touring artists and greater fan spending.
“While we have benefitted from tailwinds for many years, it has accelerated due to the globalization of our business along with a fundamental shift in consumer spending habits toward experiences,” president/CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement. “With the majority of opportunity still untapped from Milan to Bogotá to Tokyo and beyond, we expect the industry will continue growing in 2024 and for years to come.”
Through the first nine months of 2023, Live Nation’s revenue increased 36% to $16.9 billion and AOI rose 33% to $1.7 billion. Both nine-month figures were greater than Live Nation’s revenue and AOI for full year 2022.
In the concerts division, third-quarter revenue rose 32% to $7 billion and AOI grew 21% to $341 million. The number of fans at Live Nation concerts also grew 21% overall — 34% in international markets and 13% in North America.
Venue Nation, Live Nation’s venue management company for venues it does not own, increased ancillary revenue at operated venues. At amphitheaters, ancillary per-fan revenue was up 10% to $40 year to date. At theaters and clubs, ancillary per-fan spending rose in the double-digits globally.
Ticketmaster revenue grew 57% to $833 million while AOI jumped 94% to $316 million. Total fee-bearing gross transaction value was up 36% to $10 billion, with North America growing 32% and international markets climbing 49%. The ticketing company had 17 million net new client tickets in the first three quarters of the year.
Sponsorship and advertising revenue rose 7% to $367 million in the third quarter, while the division’s AOI improved 11% to $250 million.
Through mid-October, Ticketmaster sold 140 million tickets to Live Nation shows, up 17% year-over-year and surpassing the 121 million tickets sold in full-year 2022. Over the same period, the company sold 257 million fee-bearing tickets, a 22% improvement, and expects to surpass 300 million fee-bearing tickets in 2023.
For full-year 2023, the company expects 55 million fans at Live Nation-operated venues, up from 49 million in 2022. Ticketmaster expects full-year margins to remain in the high 30s through the fourth quarter. Sponsorship and advertising margins are expected to remain in the low 60s.
Looking forward to 2024, event-deferred revenue — ticket sales for future events — was up 39% to $2.6 billion through mid-October. About half of 2024’s expected show count has been booked for large venues — amphitheaters, arenas and stadiums — which is up double digits from the same point in 2022.
Revenue up 32% to $8.2 billion.
Adjusted operating income is up 35% to $836 million.
Year-to-date operating cash flow of $762 million, down from $928 million in Q3 2022.
Year-to-date free cash flow (adjusted) of $1.3 billion, up from $996 million in Q3 2022.
Ticketmaster revenue up 57% to $833 million.
Sponsorship and advertising revenue up 7% to $367 million.
Earnings per share rose 28% to $1.78.
Led by strong sales and a world tour by the group Seventeen, K-pop giant HYBE’s third quarter revenues grew 20.7% year-over-year to 537.9 billion won ($410 million at the quarter’s average exchange rate), the South Korean company announced Thursday (Nov. 2).
When counted over the first nine months of 2023, Seventeen sold 11 million albums, including 5.1 million copies of Seventeenth Heaven, an eight-track EP, in the week after its Oct. 23 release. Seventeen also performed 18 times in nine cities across Asia, including shows at Japan’s five major domed stadiums that attracted 515,000 fans. In the third quarter alone, Seventeen performed two shows at the Tokyo Dome in Japan as well as a concert at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea.
HYBE also pointed to a string of successful solo releases by members of BTS for contributing in the quarter. V’s Layover sold 2.1 million albums in the week after its Sept. 8 release. J-Hope’s Jack in the Box, released July 15, reached No. 1 on the Tunes chart in 49 markets. D-Day by Agust D, also known as BTS member Suga, performed 28 times in 10 cities in North America and Asia.
HYBE’s music sales of 264.1 billion won ($201 million) was up 104.4% from the prior-year period and was 7.4% better than the 245.9 billion won ($187 million) in the second quarter. Concert revenue was up 83.9% year over year to 86.9 billion won ($66 million) but fell 44.8% from the prior quarter.
The company’s acquisition of Atlanta-based hip hop label Quality Control has quickly made a major impact. Home to such artists as Migos and Lil Baby, Quality Control accounted for 19% of HYBE’s streaming revenue in the quarter.
Big Machine Label Group, picked up in 2021 through the acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, contributed 27% of third-quarter streaming revenue while South Korean labels took a 54% share.
Weverse, HYBE’s social media platform, increased its monthly active users to 10.5 million in the third quarter from 9.5% in the previous quarter and 6.9 million in the third quarter of 2022.
Shares of HYBE gained 5.4% to 243,000 won ($180.89) in early trading on Thursday in South Korea.
Total revenues grew 20.7% to 537.9 billion won ($410 million).
Music revenues gained 104.4% to 264.1 billion won ($201 million).
Concert revenue jumped 83.9% to 86.9 billion won ($66 million).
Merchandising and licensing revenue fell 25.3% to 85.7 billion won ($65 million).
Fan club revenue grew 21.3% to 21 billion won ($16 million).
Adjusted EBITDA grew 13.1% to 90.8 billion won ($69 million).
Net profit improved 5.9% to 98.6 billion won ($75 million).
Satellite radio giant SiriusXM reported quarterly net profits rose nearly 50% compared to a year ago, but that it also lost 96,000 self-pay subscribers in recent months.
The company reported on Tuesday (Oct. 31) that net income was $363 million, up from $247 million in the third quarter of last year, while revenues held roughly flat from a year ago at $2.27 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
Chief executive Jennifer Witz said in a statement that the company’s investments in new product and technology upgrades — expected to be unveiled next week — will help grow Sirius’ subscriber base and business by helping customers find exclusive event content from top programs and artists, including Ed Sheeran and Wu-Tang Clan.
“Our content portfolio continues to differentiate us in the audio marketplace with exclusive access to live sports, talk, music, and one-of-a- kind content,” Witz said in a statement, calling the next-gen platform “a key component of our long- term vision for the company’s consumer offerings.”
“The ongoing enhancements to our user experience will ensure that our unique suite of content resonates with our audience in increasingly personalized ways,” she said. “This leading content and upcoming product upgrade will be paired with our unmatched business model, which we expect to continue delivering significant and growing free cash flow in the years ahead.”
The looming tech releases are geared toward improving “discoverability, personalization, and ease of use to both streaming and in-car subscribers,” according to a statement, and they will kick off with the unveiling of a new app, followed by in-car updates.
Investment in the app and updates was costly. In March, SiriusXM announced it was cutting 8% of its workforce to accomodate continued investment while ad sales slumped and subscriber growth was sluggish.
While SiriusXM reported a decline in self-pay subscribers and paid promotional subscribers, the total number of subscribers and the total revenue from SiriusXM held flat from a year ago at 34 million and $1.6 billion respectively. Average revenue per user was also flat at $15.69, despite getting a boost from certain full-price subscription rate hikes.
Advertising revenue for the company’s Pandora and off-platform business edged 3% higher to $418 million from a year ago, due to increases ad sales in programs and podcasts.
The number of monthly active users on Pandora fell to 46.5 million from 48.8 million a year ago. Subscriber revenue held flat at $132 million from a year ago.
Here’s a snapshot of the company’s quarterly earnings:
Third Quarter 2023 Revenue of $2.27 Billion
Net Income of $363 Million, Up 47% Year-Over-Year; Diluted EPS of $0.09
Adjusted EBITDA of $747 Million, up 4% compared to $720 million in the third quarter of 2022
Free cash flow of $291 million, down from $329 million in the prior year period
French music streaming company Deezer added 500,000 subscribers in the third quarter, helping its revenues improve by 4.8% (5.5% at constant currency) to 120.7 million euros ($131.4 million), the company announced Thursday (Oct. 26).
“We are back to meaningful subscriber growth and secured top line acceleration starting in Q4 thanks to the implementation of a new wave of price increases, as well as the ongoing growth of new partnerships,” said CEO Jeronimo Folgueira in a statement.
A relatively small music subscription service, Deezer has recently taken an outsized position of influence with its partnership with Universal Music Group to revamp how it calculates artist royalties and addresses fraud. The “artist-centric” system was announced in September and will be implemented in France in the current quarter, to be followed by additional markets. Around half of Deezer’s streams are already running on the new model, the company said Thursday.
While direct subscriptions remained flat at 5.6 million, subscribers from partnerships grew from 3.8 million to 4.3 million. Deezer said it had “very strong initial subscriber growth” in Brazil and Mexico stemming from its partnership with Uruguay-based e-commerce giant Mercado Libre. The third quarter was also the first full quarter for which Deezer managed the Sonos Radio service. Deezer also powers the music streaming in RTL+, a multimedia platform launched by RTL Germany that has 4.5 million subscribers, according to RTL’s website.
Revenue from direct subscribers grew 3.3% to 71.7 million euros ($78 million). Revenue from partnerships increased 11.9% to 34.2 million euros ($37.2 million). Other revenue (advertising and ancillary revenue) decreased 16% to 4.1 million euros ($4.5 million).
France accounted for 59% of Deezer’s revenue in the quarter compared to 60% in the prior-year period. Direct subscribers in France increased by 200,000 while subscribers elsewhere decreased by an equal amount.
Direct subscribers are more lucrative than partnerships on a per-subscriber basis. Direct subscriber ARPU (average revenue per user) rose 3.4% to 4.9 euros ($5.33) while partnerships ARPU improved 10.6% to 2.9 euros ($3.16). Direct subscriber ARPU will get a further boost from a price increase instituted on Sept. 21 for all new subscribers in France, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. For all current direct subscribers, the increase will progressively roll out starting on Oct. 24.
Deezer reiterated its previous guidance of 7% to 10% revenue growth for the full year and a “significant reduction” in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the second half of the year.
Q3 2023 financial metrics:
Revenue grew 4.8% (5.5% at constant currency) to 120.7 million euros ($131.4 million).
Total subscribers grew 4.9% to 9.9 million.
Direct subscribers were flat at 5.6 million. Subscribers from partnerships grew by 500,000 to 4.3 million.
ARPU from direct subscribers grew 3.4% to 4.9 euros ($5.33).
ARPU from partnerships grew 10.6% to 2.9 euros ($3.16).
Led by strong subscription growth and a dominant quarter from Taylor Swift, along with strong sales of releases by Olivia Rodrigo, Morgan Wallen and Seventeen, Universal Music Group (UMG) grew revenue 3.3% (9.9% at constant currency) to 2.75 billion euros ($3 billion at the period’s average exchange rate) in the third quarter, the company announced Thursday (Oct. 26).
UMG will get another boost this quarter from Swift’s release of the re-recorded version of her 2014 album, 1989, on Friday. “She is a phenomena,” said UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, listing a string of global chart successes of Swift’s previous 2023 album of re-recordings, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), released in July. “This level of performance can only really be described as truly astonishing.”
UMG’s fourth quarter will also benefit from the new release of an unreleased track by The Beatles, “Now and Then,” on Nov. 2. “Now and Then” was written by John Lennon in the late ‘70s and just recently finished by the band’s remaining members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. “The fact that more than four decades after its original recording, we can use the latest technology to bring this recording everywhere is truly remarkable and something that we’re very proud of,” said Grainge.
Third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EDITDA) increased 5.1%, or 11.3% at constant currency, to 581 million euros ($632 million), and adjusted EBITDA margin improved 0.3 percentage points to 21.1%.
The company’s recorded music segment declined 1.1% to $2.04 billion ($2.2 billion), a 5.2% increase at constant currency (or an 8.9% increase excluding a 71 million euro legal settlement recognized in the prior-year quarter). Subscription revenue grew 6.7% (13% at constant currency), despite not yet receiving a boost from recent price increases at Spotify and YouTube Music. Those benefits are expected to be felt in the fourth quarter, said CFO Boyd Muir, who noted that “each of these services raised prices in certain markets, and on certain plans, not across all subscribers.” YouTube, which Muir said “has a particularly global subscriber base,” raised prices first in the United States and other markets in the following weeks. As a result, “the benefit will initially be more limited.”
Recorded music’s ad-supported streaming revenue grew 5%, the same as the previous quarter. UMG remains “cautious” about ad-supported growth in the coming quarters, said Muir. Results in any quarter come from a mix of fixed and variable deal structures, he explained, meaning UMG’s results aren’t a close reflection of trends in the advertising market. “We do, however, continue to see opportunities for improved deal terms and product innovation driving higher levels of growth in this business over the medium term,” he said.
Downloads and other digital revenue declined 56.9% (53.2% at constant currency) due to the prior-year legal settlement and a broad decline in download sales. Licensing and other revenue declined 11.8% (6.9% at constant currency) due to a strong prior-year quarter that benefitted from artists’ return to touring as the concert business recovered from pandemic-era shutdowns.
Music publishing revenue grew 17.5% (24.6% at constant currency) to 491 million euros ($534 million). Excluding a 53 million euro ($58 million) catch-up payment in the music publishing segment related to the Copyright Royalty Board’s (CRB) Phonorecords III ruling for streaming royalties from 2018 to 2022, publishing revenue improved 4.8% (11.2% at constant currency).
Publishing’s digital revenue grew 25.6% (33.6% at constant currency) on strong streaming and subscription growth and the CRB III catch-up payment. Synch revenue declined 3.5% (and grew 3.8% at constant currency) while mechanical revenue was stable.
Revenue growth “is beyond our expectation and guidance,” said Muir, while noting that “the revenues that are incremental to our expected growth are actually coming from lower-margin areas of our business.” In the third quarter, 75% of UMG’s revenue above analyst’s consensus expectations came from merchandise and physical products. “They are EBITDA-accretive, but margin-dilutive of the business segments we must pursue,” said Muir. UMG still expects a one-point improvement in adjusted EBITDA in calendar year 2023.
Revenue grew 3.3% (9.1% at constant currency) to 2.75 billion euros ($3 billion).
Recorded music revenue declined 1.1% to $2.04 billion ($2.2 billion), a 5.2% increase at constant currency.
Publishing revenue grew 25.6% (33.6% at constant currency), or 4.8% (11.2% at constant currency) excluding a CRB III retroactive royalty adjustment.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.1%, or 11.3% at constant currency, to 581 million euros ($632 million).
Adjusted EBITDA margin improved 0.3 percentage points to 21.1%.
LONDON — BMG’s revenues jumped 11.5% to 414 million euros ($450 million) in the first half of 2023, fueled by strong growth in the company’s publishing business and a number of high-profile acquisitions, including a major interest in Paul Simon‘s portion of the Simon & Garfunkel catalog and a deal for George Harrison’s solo recordings.
The record label and publisher’s operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were up 23% (on a constant currency basis) to 90 million euros ($98 million) at the mid-year point ended June 30, according to figures released Wednesday Aug. 30 by BMG’s German parent company Bertelsmann.
Classic songs from Blondie, Kurt Cobain, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards – coupled with hit releases by contemporary artists like Lewis Capaldi and Austrian rapper RAF Camora — helped drive the company’s 62% of revenues that come from publishing. That equates to around 257 million euros ($280 million) by Billboard’s calculation (the company didn’t break out revenue numbers).
Recorded music represented 34% of revenue (around $152 million) with Jelly Roll, Kylie Minogue, Godsmack and Rita Ora among BMG’s top-selling recording artists. Among its most listened-to catalog titles were tracks by Motley Crue, Black Sabbath and George Harrison.
In total, BMG said its digital businesses accounted for 63% of revenue, down from 69% in the first half of the previous year. The company said the decrease was due to higher digital revenues being offset by stronger growth in live revenues, driven by a post-pandemic surge in touring.
BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld, who took over from longstanding chief executive Hartwig Masuch July 1, said the double-digit percentage growth reflected the company’s “strong performance in the face of an increasingly tough market.”
“Against the background of a soft advertising market, a maturing subscription streaming business and a physical music market impacted by inflation-driven cost increases, this is a very positive result,” said Coesfeld in a statement.
Breaking down the revenues on a regional basis, the U.S. was BMG’s biggest market, generating 217 million euros ($236 million), a rise of £14 million euros ($15 million) on the first half of 2022. Germany was BMG’s second biggest market with revenues of 49 million euros ($53 million), followed by the United Kingdom, which brought in 42 million ($46 million).
BMG completed 15 acquisitions in the six-month reporting period, including a deal for Paul Simon’s royalty and neighboring rights income to the full recorded Simon & Garfunkel catalog. Other deals closed in the first half of this year included the acquisition of the song catalog of 1960s British band The Hollies and a share of the writer’s royalties from the heavily synced German Eurodance group SNAP!
In February, BMG reached an agreement with Dark Horse Records over George Harrison’s solo works, marking the first time that the former Beatle’s recorded and publishing rights have sat together under the same roof. To commemorate Harrison’s Feb. 25 birthday, Dark Horse and BMG released Harrison’s entire catalog in Dolby Atmos surround sound exclusively on Apple Music.
Alongside BMG, Bertelsmann’s media holdings include RTL Group, Penguin Random House and service provider Arvato. Bertelsmann reported total revenue of 9.7 billion euros ($10.6 billion) for the first six months of the year, up 4.5% on the previous year. Organic revenue growth was 2.3%.