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Business News Labels & Publishers
Sony Music revenues down despite Jacko effect
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 2 November 2009
Despite the massive surge in the sales of all things Michael Jackson, Sony Music saw its operating revenue fall year on year for the quarter to the end of September.
When you account for Sony Corp’s now complete ownership of Sony Music (which top line figures don’t, so that it initially looks like revenues are significantly up), the major’s sales fell 3% year on year, despite the heightened interests in the Jacko back catalogue, a big chunk of which is owned by Sony.
Nevertheless, the Jacko sales boost which, of course, didn’t really cost Sony anything, did help the major score a profit for the quarter of £57 million, despite the fall in turnover. The major says other cost cutting endeavours also helped boost profits.
The major blamed the performance of the yen and the continued decline of physical music sales for the revenue slide, saying: “Although revenues were favourably impacted by sales of Michael Jackson catalogue product, sales decreased on a pro-forma basis primarily due to the impact of the appreciation of the yen as well as the continued decline in the physical music market accelerated by the global economic slowdown”.
