LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Warner Music Group's latest quarterly earnings report helped to underscore the growing importance of streaming to the recorded music ecosystem.
In their financials for the 1st fiscal quarter of 2017 (ending on Dec. 31st), Warner reported that total revenue was up by 8%, while digital revenue was up by 27.6% over the same period last year. Net income slid slightly, falling to $24 million vs. $28 million in 2015.
WMG saw strong growth in digital revenue, which grew 27.6% and represented 48.4% of total revenue, compared to 41.0% in the prior-year quarter. Digital revenue in the first quarter alone topped $440 million for the label giant, of which streaming on services such as Spotify accounted for $311 million, up from $212 million in 2015.
Recorded Music physical and licensing revenue and Music Publishing mechanical and performance revenue weighed on the company's performance, with physical product revenue slipping to 227 million from 242 million in 2015.
“Our strong momentum continues with excellent first-quarter results including 11% constant-currency revenue growth on top of 11% growth in the prior-year quarter,” said Steve Cooper, Warner Music Group’s CEO. “While streaming continues to drive industry growth, we are outperforming the market thanks to extraordinary music from our artists coupled with first-class execution from our operators around the world.” – Staff Writers
