Sony’s world music rights operation – throughout recorded music and music publishing – generated USD $2.55 billion within the three months to finish of September 2024.
That’s in line with MBW’s calculations based mostly on Sony Group Corp’s calendar Q3 2024 (fiscal Q2) outcomes, as introduced by the Japanese agency at present (November 8).
The $2.55 billion determine was up 9.6% year-on-year (vs. calendar Q3 2023) at US dollar-converted fixed forex.
In financial phrases, Sony’s total music rights operation (recorded music plus music publishing) generated roughly $223.5 million extra in calendar Q3 2024 than within the prior-year quarter.
[Note: Corporately speaking, Sony Group’s global music operation includes recorded music, plus music publishing, plus ‘Visual Media & Platform’. The final category primarily covers mobile games and animation projects, and has been omitted from MBW’s revenue calculations in this analysis.]
Sony’s recorded music operation
Sony’s world recorded music operation generated USD $1.94 billion in calendar Q3 2024, up 10.5% YoY versus the equal quarterly interval of the prior yr.
Inside that calendar Q3 2024 world recorded music outcome, streaming generated $1.27 billion, up 5.3% YoY.
(This ‘streaming’ quantity combines each subscription and ad-funded streaming revenues generated by Sony’s world recorded music operation.)
Quarterly revenues from bodily music gross sales in calendar Q3 2024 hit USD $170.5 million, up 18.2% YoY.
Sony’s ‘Different’ fiscal class inside recorded music generated $453.0 million in calendar Q3 2024, considerably up on the $352.2 million generated within the prior-year quarter.
This latter class (‘Different’) consists of license income (public efficiency, broadcast and sync), merchandising, and dwell efficiency revenue.
Based on Sony Corp‘s outcomes, Sony Music Leisure‘s ten greatest recorded music initiatives within the calendar Q3 2024 quarter (ex-artists signed in Japan), so as of world income technology, have been as follows:
- SZA, SOS
- David Gilmour, Luck and Unusual
- Travis Scott, UTOPIA
- Future & Metro Boomin, WE DON’T TRUST YOU
- Beyoncé, COWBOY CARTER
- Harry Types, Harry’s Home
- Luke Combs, This One’s for You
- Tate McRae, THINK LATER
- Michael Jackson, Thriller
- Chris Brown, 11:11
Sony’s Music Publishing operation
Sony’s world music publishing operation – led by Sony Music Publishing – generated USD $612.2 million within the three months to finish of September this yr.
That quarterly income determine, on the US greenback degree, was up 6.9% year-on-year.
Sony’s world music publishing operation derived $354.0 million of its quarterly revenues within the calendar Q3 2024 interval from streaming.
That publishing streaming determine was up 5.5% year-on-year.
Sony’s world music earnings
Sony Corp additionally at present issued some revenue numbers for its company Music division within the three months to finish of June 2024.
(The next figures embrace Sony’s operations throughout Recorded Music, Music Publishing plus Visible Media & Platform.)
In calendar Q3 2024 (fiscal Q2 2024), Sony’s company Music division posted a quarterly working revenue of 90.4 billion Yen (USD $605m).
That represented an working margin of 20.2%, from whole divisional quarterly revenues (once more, together with ‘Visible Media & Platform’) of 448.2 billion Yen (USD $3.10bn).
Sony Corp moreover presents to traders its Adjusted OIBDA efficiency in every quarter (see under) – a metric additionally utilized by Warner Music Group to current its earnings.
In calendar Q3 2024 (fiscal Q2 2024), Sony’s Music division posted an Adjusted OIBDA of 111.8 billion Yen (USD $774m).
That represented an Adjusted OIBDA margin from whole divisional quarterly revenues of 24.9%.
Word: All YoY share rises/falls revealed on this story are calculated at fixed forex on the US dollar-converted degree. MBW makes use of Sony’s personal quarterly common forex charges for these calculations.
See under for the breakdown of Sony’s newest (fiscal) quarterly figures for music in Japanese Yen, as revealed by Sony Group Corp at present.
For this evaluation, MBW has calculated Sony’s financials from Japanese Yen into US {dollars} on the following prevailing alternate charges in every quarter, as supplied by Sony Corp:
- Calendar Q1 2020: 109.0 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2020: 107.6 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2020: 106.2 Yen per USD
- Calendar This autumn 2020: 104.5 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2021: 105.9 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2021: 109.5 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2021: 110.1 Yen per USD
- Calendar This autumn 2021: 113.7 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2022: 116.1 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2022: 129.4 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2022: 138.2 Yen per USD
- Calendar This autumn 2022: 132.3 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2023: 135.4 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2023: 137.0 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2023: 144.4 Yen per USD
- Calendar This autumn 2023: 147.9 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2024: 148.2 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2024: 155.6 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2024: 149.5 Yen per USD
By making use of these alternate figures to every relevant interval, we successfully get a US-leaning fixed forex image of Sony Music’s efficiency.
This isn’t an ideal system; it dangers overplaying Sony Music Leisure’s world enterprise barely by changing a bit of revenues from Sony Music Leisure Japan (which might normally be straight-reported in Yen) into US {dollars}.
Nevertheless it supplies us with a cleaner reflection of the efficiency of New York-based Sony Music Leisure outdoors of FX distortion, as a result of the corporate needed to convert its US forex into Yen within the first place for Sony Corp’s outcomes. The identical is true for US-based Sony Music Publishing.
MBW believes this forex alternate system is the yardstick used internally at Sony Music Group‘s HQ in New York.
Sony’s personal description of its three company music divisions is as follows:
- Recorded Music – Streaming consists of the distribution of digital recorded music by streaming; Recorded Music – Others consists of the distribution of recorded music by bodily media and digital obtain in addition to income derived from artists’ dwell performances;
- Music Publishing includes the administration and licensing of the phrases and music of songs;
- Visible Media and Platform consists of the manufacturing and distribution of animation titles, together with sport functions based mostly on the animation titles, and varied service choices for music and visible merchandise.
Inside / protecting the primary two divisions listed above:
- Sony Music Publishing, run by CEO & Chairman Jon Platt, is Sony’s US-headquartered music publishing operation.
- Sony Music Leisure, run by CEO Rob Stringer, is Sony’s US-headquartered recorded music operation.
- And Sony Music Group – additionally run by Rob Stringer, as Chairman – is Sony’s US-headquartered umbrella group for each Sony Music Leisure and Sony Music Publishing.
Music Enterprise Worldwide
