JWC Entertainment

"Warner Music Group’s stock was up 6% after the third-largest major music company reported on Wednesday that streaming revenue growth and lower costs offset declines in merchandise and physical music sales in the third fiscal quarter. The company’s digital revenue and streaming revenue were up 4.7% and 5.5% respectively, as subscription revenue grew 7%. Recorded Music streaming revenue increased 5.0%, and music publishing streaming revenue increased 7.9%." https://lnkd.in/grfw-mrX

“Sony said that its recorded streaming revenues were up 19% year-on-year, while WMG said its were up 8.7%, including a 7% rise in subscriptions revenue, but a 0.4 decline in ad-supported streaming.” https://lnkd.in/deDxsvJQ

“UMG’s Q2 numbers showed revenues up 8.7% year-on-year to €2.93bn ($3.18bn at current exchange rates) with recorded-music revenues up 5.8% and publishing up 10.1%. EVP, chief financial officer and president of operations Boyd Muir noted the “deceleration in growth” for recorded-music subscription revenues.” https://lnkd.in/dAauvAmz

“Strong gains in publishing revenue and a jump in merchandise sales propelled Universal Music Group (UMG) to solid revenue growth in the second quarter of 2024. Despite a fall in ad-supported streaming that hampered streaming revenue gains, UMG’s overall revenue rose 8.7% to 2.93 billion euros ($3.16 billion at the quarter’s average exchange rate), the company announced Wednesday (July 24).” https://lnkd.in/gFyxBXYp

“The headline stat: 2.29 trillion. That’s how many on-demand audio streams there were globally in the first six months of 2024, up 15.1% from the same period last year. The report zeroes in on North America for other stats, reporting that US on-demand audio streams were up 8% in the first half of this year to 665.8bn. So, the US accounted for just over 29% of global streams, but that share is falling slightly – down from just under 31% a year ago.“ https://lnkd.in/gTSqm_iJ

“Spotify recently announced that globally, its streams of Indian music grew by 85% in 2023, while in India specifically more than 70% of its listening goes to local music.” https://lnkd.in/dB_cRYMG

“Sony Group is preparing to launch a Bitcoin and crypto exchange in Japan after acquiring Amber Group's local subsidiary, Amber Japan. The revamped exchange will be called S.BLOX and aim to boost Sony's presence in the Bitcoin and crypto space.” https://lnkd.in/gwD7mZ2B

"Five years ago, we made the call that ‘niche is the new mainstream’. Today, this dynamic is so fundamental to music and culture that we are firmly in the stage of second order consequences. Superstars are getting smaller, the long tail is getting longer, and rightsholders are bringing in earnings thresholds to keep that growing long tail at bay. Is mainstream about actual numbers or reach, or perhaps both? In fact, it is best measured in three key ways: 1. Absolute scale: how big are the numbers? 2. Relative scale: how big are the numbers compared to others? 3. Active reach: what share of the total audience does an artist have?" https://lnkd.in/ggP5hidK

"$2.206 billion is actually the amount spent in US dollars by Hipgnosis Songs Fund – via Mercuriadis – on catalogs to date, as per HSF’s latest interim report. Blackstone announced today (June 3), in tandem with HSF’s board, that it has very slightly increased its acquisition bid for HSF. HSF’s enterprise value today ($2.201 billion) is worth a not-insignificant chunk more than the total amount the company has spent on acquisitions to date. Some will argue that the value difference between HSF’s assets today and their cumulative cost should have been larger in the time frame (2018-2024). Hipgnosis Song Management might argue that, ever since HSF’s first prospectus in 2018, it has called for a long-term “buy and hold” strategy from investors — even throughout the relatively high-interest rate environment of the past two years – with the true value of these assets yet to blossom." https://lnkd.in/gTycuDmU