Business News Labels & Publishers

Universal and BMG owners issue financial reports

By | Published on Monday 18 November 2013

Universal Music

Universal Music has seen its revenues leap 21.9% to 3.4 billion euros this year compared to last, though most of that is down to its acquisition of the EMI record company at the end of September 2012. Taking EMI out of the picture, Universal’s revenues for January to September this year are up a more modest 0.9%, though the summer quarter up to the end of September saw a rise of 6.7%.

Latest figures from Universal owner Vivendi also reveal that the Universal music company has now passed the 50:50 point in terms of its shift from physical to digital products, in that digital income now represents 53.9% of overall revenues, compared to 47.6% in 2012. As previously reported, though the wider record industry has passed the 50:50 point in the US and UK (and way passed it in Norway and Sweden), worldwide figures for 2012 showed the record industry still made more from CD sales overall.

Elsewhere in financial reporting, BMG owner Bertelsmann reported last week that its group-wide net profits this year were up 19% year-on-year, meaning its profits for 2013 already exceed full-year figures from 2012. As previously reported, Bertelsmann took complete ownership of its music company BMG earlier this year, though a bulk of its good fortunes in 2013 have actually come from its television business, and particularly the RTL Group, which includes the ‘X-Factor’ and ‘Idol’ making FremantleMedia.



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