It's earnings season, and the public companies in the music space have reported their first quarterly results that reflect the full impact of the pandemic. Overall, the pandemic definitely hurt revenues. But streaming revenues stayed strong.
Universal Music's Midyear Earnings Were Just OK on Paper, But Pretty Good for During the Pandemic (Billboard)
In spite of sharp declines in physical product and merchandise sales, and although advertising-supported services suffered from brands’ cutbacks on spending, UMG’s total revenue declined only 4.5% from Q1 to Q2 and 3.8% from Q2 2019. The recorded music division’s streaming revenue fell 6.5% from Q1 to Q2 and 3.6% from Q2 2019. For the first half of 2020, total revenue was up 6.2% year over year.
Sony Music's Streaming Revenues Grew 15.6% In H1 2020 (MBW)
Sony’s recorded music streaming revenues reached $1.282bn in the first half of calendar 2020. That was up by 15.6% on the $1.109bn streaming haul the company posted in the same period of 2019.
Warner Music Revenue Takes a Hit From COVID-19 as Digital Growth Can't Undo Pandemic's Impact (Billboard)
Warner Music Group revenue took a hit from COVID-19 in the quarter ended June 30, dropping 5.7% to $1.010 billion from Q1 and 4.5% from Q2 2019 (3.1% at constant currency). Digital revenue grew 11.1% to $861 million, or 13.4% at constant currency, in the quarter.
Spotify Subscriber Count Grew By 8M In Q2 (MBW)
The streaming platform counted 138m Premium subscribers globally at the close of the quarter (ended June 30). That was up by 8m subscribers on the 130m SPOT counted at the end of the prior quarter (Q1 2020), and up by 30m (+27%) year-on-year.
