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Business News Digital Labels & Publishers
Streaming is critical to our future says WMG CEO, announcing Q1 revenue drop
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 9 May 2014
Warner Music Group has blamed a light release schedule for a dip in revenues in the first quarter of the year, though the overall decline was offset by the acquisition of the Parlophone Label Group.
Yesterday, the major label announced a 3.3% decline in revenues year-on-year. Excluding Parlophone from the figures, the decline increased to 13.9%. This was, said the company, largely due to a lower number of releases compared to the same period in 2013. In total, the company saw a net loss of $59 million, compared to a $4 million income in the first three months of 2013.
The figures also show that digital now accounts for 45.2% of total revenue (compared to 41.6% in the first quarter last year), and these revenues grew by 5% year-on-year. However, again, removing Parlophone reveals a 5.9% decline.
Subscription revenue saw the biggest increase, up 65%, while ad-supported streaming revenue grew by 13%.
Within the increase in revenue from subscription services, subscription revenue grew by 65%, while ad-supported streaming revenue grew by 13%.
Commenting on the figures, WMG CEO Stephen Cooper said: “The data clearly indicate that streaming will be critical to our future. Streaming is a complex category as it is comprised of a wide range of models including paid and ad-supported audio subscription services, internet and satellite radio services and ad-supported video services, many of which have yet to achieve scale”.
