Sony, Warner Music register over 13% growth in Q1 revenues

Calendar Q1, which is Sony’s and Warner’s fiscal Q4 and Q2, saw the two major music companies’ revenues grow to $1.99bn and $1.38bn, representing a 13.5% and 13.2% increase at constant currency, respectively.

Last week, Music In Africa reported Universal Music Group’s Q1 earnings, which showed significant revenue growth of 21.6% year-on-year with streaming accounting for most of the growth at a 14.6% hike.

Sony Music’s recorded music streaming revenues grew to $1.04bn, a 20.2% jump in Q1year-on-year. Warner gained 9% in streaming revenues, about $776m, compared to the corresponding period last year. The company said the growth was impacted due to a new deal with one of its digital partners.

Sony’s recorded music and publishing business generated an additional $237m in Q1 year-on-year. In 2021, the two divisions made $7.49bn in revenues, a 23.9% hike year-on-year.

Separately, recorded music grew 25.2% year-on-year to reach $5.77bn, while music publishing saw 19.7% growth year-on-year to hit $1.72bn.

“Sales are expected to increase year-on-year mainly due to higher sales for Recorded Music and Music Publishing primarily resulting from an expected increase in revenues from streaming services and the impact of foreign exchange rates, as well as the impact of the acquisition of AWAL,” Sony said.

Warner, meanwhile, posted $1.15bn in total revenue, up 11.4% year-over-year at constant currency. Recorded music revenue grew 14.8% compared to the same period last year, and physical music sales reached $122m, an 8.0% spike year-on-year, which was primarily driven by increasing vinyl sales, the company said. 

Sony’s best-sellers included Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and The Kid, while Warner’s top three sellers were Ed Sheeran, Michael Bublé, and Dua Lipa.