Universal Music Group head Lucian Grainge. Picture Credit: UMG
In the middle of continued streaming-plateau issues, Universal Music Group (UMG) has actually published its Q3 2024 financials– total with flat taped music streaming membership profits and a minor ad-supported income enhancement.
These and other intriguing efficiency information emerged in the leading label’s just-released third-quarter profits report. As numerous will remember, UMG shares parted with over 20% of their worth in the wake of the Q2 report, relatively due to financier issues about a possible streaming plateau.
Consequently, an expansion-minded Universal Music put out an aggressive streaming projection, anticipating an 8-10% yearly subscription-revenue growth on the taped side, going through 2028.
To put it simply, the Q3 2024 revenues specifics are very important on several levels for UMG, which connected $3.12 billion (EUR2.87 billion) in overall profits to the three-month stretch (up 4.3% YoY).
Behind the amount, $2.34 billion/EUR2.15 billion originated from tape-recorded music (up 5.4% YoY however down 2.5% quarterly), with a flat EUR500 million/$544.15 million credited to publishing (up 1.8% YoY however down 2.2% quarterly). However, tape-recorded music streaming profits (membership and ad-supported) grew by simply under 1% from the 2nd quarter, the appropriate files reveal.
The classification’s increase wasn’t the outcome of a subscription-revenue spike. On the contrary, memberships contributed a similar quantity ($1.24 billion/EUR1.14 billion) to tape-recorded music earnings in Q2 and Q3, with the latter representing a 7.6% YoY bump.
In falling less than 1% YoY to $385.26 million/EUR354 million, Q3 ad-supported taped earnings enhanced significantly from Q2’s $373.29 million/EUR343 million (which was down 4.2% YoY).
Completing UMG’s Q3 2024 tape-recorded income, long-term downloads slipped 28.8% YoY to $45.71 million/EUR42 million, as physical earnings from vinyl and CDs dropped 2% YoY and over 19% quarterly to $313.43 million (EUR288 million). Licensing and other sources experienced a 20.4% YoY walking (3.2% quarterly) to $353.73 million/EUR325 million in Q3, the report suggests.
Leading sellers on the quarter mainly consisted of the normal suspects– Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Post Malone plus Sabrina Carpenter along with Chappell Roan– and UMG chalked up the physical-revenue decline to Q3 2023’s “strong CD sales in Japan.”
Moving to publishing, the previously mentioned EUR500 million (up 14.2% YoY when omitting Q3 2023’s Phonorecords III earnings increase) resulted primarily from digital sources’ $321.05 million/EUR295 million. That sub-total increased just somewhat YoY and fell 5.1% from Q2 2024.
From there, the directly specified sync classification installed $69.65 million/EUR64 million (a 16.4% YoY enhancement and a $3.26 million/EUR3 million quarterly boost) in Q3 2024 publishing income for Universal Music.
Efficiency royalties represented another $109.92 million/EUR101 million (down 4.7% YoY and about 1% quarterly), as mechanical ($30.47 million/EUR28 million, up 12% YoY) along with other ($13.06 million/EUR12 million, up 9.1% YoY however down practically 8% quarterly) comprised publishing’s staying profits.
Retailing and other brought UMG $257.95 million/EUR237 million in Q3 2024 (up 4.4% YoY). » …
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