Sony Music's revenue rose 10 percent year-on-year to 448.2 billion yen ($2.9 billion) last quarter, according to its records SZA, David Gilmour and Travis Scottcombined with higher sales from live shows and merchandise, helped drive growth in both recorded music and music publishing.
For the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, Sony Music – which includes Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment Japan and Sony Music Publishing – reported quarterly operating income of 90 billion yen ($589 million), up 12% on same period annually before.
Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) rose 15 percent year-on-year to total just under 112 billion yen ($733 million), Sony Music parent Sony Group Corp. said on Friday (8 November).
The company said growth in revenue from streaming subscriptions, live events and recorded music merchandise, as well as the impact of foreign exchange rates, were among the key drivers of its positive quarterly financial results. They take Sony Music's half-year profit to 890.2 billion yen ($5.8 billion), up 16% year-on-year, on half-year operating income of 176 billion yen ($1.1 billion).
Breaking down Sony Music's quarterly earnings, recorded music revenue rose 14% year-on-year to 290 billion yen ($1.9 billion), with subscriptions and streaming-supported advertising up 9% to 189 billion yen ( $1.2 billion), accounting for about 65% of the company's recorded music earnings.
Physical revenue rose 22% year-on-year to ¥25 billion ($164 million), while Sony's “other” category — which includes merchandise revenue, live performances and licensing revenue from sync, public performances and broadcasts — rose 33% to 68 billion yen ($446 million).
SZA's blockbuster album danger signalwhich has broken numerous chart records since it was first released in December 2022, including overtaking Aretha Franklin'small Aretha Now As the longest-running chart topper on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums list, it was Sony Music's top seller of the quarter.
In second place was Gilmour's first studio album in nine years, Luck and Strangewhich debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 earlier this year. Other top sellers for Sony Music during the quarter were Scott's UTOPIA, Future & Metro Boomin'small WE DON'T TRUST YOU, Beyoncé'small COWBOY CARTER, Harry Styles' Harry's house and Luke Combs' This is for you. The one title in the top 10 outside of this decade was Michael Jackson'small Impressive workthe co-produced 1982 classic Quincy Joneswho passed away on Sunday (November 3).
On the music publishing side, Sony Music reported revenue of 92 billion yen ($604 million), up 11 percent year over year. The company said its publishing arm's strong performance was driven by strong gains in streaming revenue, which rose 9 percent to just under 53 billion yen ($347 million). The “other” category of issuance rose about 13 percent year-on-year to 38.6 billion yen ($253 million). The company revealed that as of March 31, its publishing division either owned or managed about 6.24 million songs.
Visual media and platform sales, which include revenue from animation titles, game apps and service offerings for music and visual products, fell slightly to 62 billion yen ($407 million), down 1 percent from the same period last year.
Sony Music said its full-year revenue forecast was unchanged from the previous quarter with forecast sales of 1.74 trillion yen (about $11.4 billion) and forecast operating income of 330 billion yen ($2.2 billion). .
Sony Music's financial second quarter highlights:
▪Revenue 448 billion yen ($2.9 billion), up 10% year over year.
▪Adjusted operating income of 112 billion yen ($733 million), up 15%.
Recorded music revenue rose 14% year-over-year to ¥290 billion ($1.9 billion)
▪Music publishing revenue of 92 billion yen ($604 million), up 11%
▪ Visual media and platform revenue of 62 billion yen ($407 million), down 1%
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/sony-music-earnings-q2-sza-david-gilmour-events-publishing/
