Sony Music Revenues Giddyup 23% On Strength of Beyonce, Streaming

Boosted by double-digit growth in recorded streaming and helped by major releases from Beyoncé and Future & Metro Boomin, Sony Music said on Tuesday that total revenue grew 23% to 442 billion yen ($2.7 billion) during its fiscal first quarter, which ended June 30.

Sony’s operating income improved 17% to 86 billion yen ($534 million) and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) jumped 30% to 108 billion yen ($671 million). Adjusted OIBDA margin improved to 24.4%.

Both of Sony’s music divisions — recorded music and publishing — posted similarly solid year-over-year gains during the period, resulting in the ninth consecutive year of growth on the recording side and 11th straight year of gains for publishing.

Recorded music revenue increased 26% to 299 billion yen ($1.8 billion), with subscription and ad-supported streaming up 19% to 197 billion yen ($1.2 billion) and accounting for roughly 66% of that recorded segment tally. Physical revenue sunk 5.6% to 24 billion yen ($150 million), year over year, while Sony’s “other” category — lumping merchandise, live performances and licensing revenue from synch, public performance and broadcast — jumped 81% to 73 billion yen ($453 million).

Sony said some of its top sellers for the fiscal quarter were Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER, Future and Metro’s WE DON’T TRUST YOU, Travis Scott’s UTOPIA and SZA’s SOS. Some non-all-capped wins included Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old, 21 Savage’s american dream and Doja Cat’s Scarlet.

Music publishing revenue rose 28.7% to 97 billion yen ($602 million). Streaming revenue climbed 36% to 56.5 billion yen ($351 million), while publishing’s “other” category grew 19.7% to 40.1 billion yen ($249 million) when compared to the year-ago period. The company disclosed that as of March 31, its publishing division either owned or administered approximately 6.24 million songs, an increase of 14% in the last two years.

Sony Music’s visual media and platform revenue declined 7.1% to 39.7 billion yen ($246 million). The segment includes mobile gaming, software for PCs and game consoles, and software development contracts.

Looking ahead, Sony Music Entertainment raised its forecast for full-year revenue by 3% to 1.7 trillion yen (approximately $11.5 billion) with a projected operating income increase of 5% from the previous forecast in May to 20 billion yen.

Financial results for Sony Music’s fiscal first quarter:

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Written by Mr. Nimbus