Morgan Wallen And Taylor Swift Help UMG Increase Quarterly Revenues—Earnings Are Mixed

The Q2 2023 report from Universal Music Group is in, and the firm made $2.93 billion in revenue across all divisions during the quarter. Here’s the most recent.

UMG’s total recorded music revenues for the second quarter of 2023 were $2.26 billion, up 10.9% year on year. In Q2, the company’s subscription and streaming sales increased 11% year on year to $1.55 billion. Revenue from subscription streaming increased 13% year on year to $1.16 billion. UMG attributed this increase to “growth in global subscribers as well as the impact of price increases on certain platforms.”

In Q2, UMG’s ad-supported recorded music streaming income increased 5.3% year on year to $389.75 million. It credits this result to platform and country growth, labeling the overall advertising industry’s performance as mixed. Physical revenues ($354.91 million) increased 11.3% this quarter, mostly due to strong CD sales in Japan from King & Prince, as well as vinyl’s continued dominance.

King & Prince, Morgan Wallen, SEVENTEEN, Taylor Swift, and Stray Kids are among the top sales behind these numbers. BTS, King & Prince, Rammstein, Olivia Rodrigo, and INI were the top sellers in the previous Q2 2022. The price increase across all major DSPs contributed to this rise, but UMG Chairman Lucian Grainge believes it falls short of helping real artists.

“Addressing average revenue per user is only one component,” Grainge explained to investors. “First and foremost, we must ensure that genuine artists with genuine fan bases are fairly compensated.” We are witnessing unprecedented convergence between labels and music outlets. This helps us to ensure that the artists are better compensated and that everyone is rewarded for the engagement that those artists generate.”

“We still have a lot of work to do, but I’m pleased with how far we’ve come with our platform partners.” “I want to emphasize that our goal is simple: to promote an environment in which real music is not drowned out by a sea of noise,” Grainge says. He has been critical of sound effects and natural noises being valued at the same level as artists such as Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen on DSPs and streaming.

Morgan Wallen And Taylor Swift Help UMG Increase Quarterly Revenues—Earnings Are Mixed

The Q2 2023 report from Universal Music Group is in, and the firm made $2.93 billion in revenue across all divisions during the quarter. Here’s the most recent.

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