Tones And I helps Warner Music top $125B in final quarter of 2019

Warner Music Group has just achieved its best performance of the last 12 months in the final quarter of 2019.

Strong growth in its recorded and publishing divisions generated a turnover of US $1.256 billion.

“We achieved the highest quarterly revenue in our sixteen-year history as a stand-alone company,” said company CEO Steve Cooper.

The quarter, which ended on December 31 and marked the major’s fiscal Q1, represented a 4% rise from the same quarter 12 months before.

Fuelling the growth was streaming, which was up 17.33% to $589 million.

It now represents 54.3% of the major’s recorded music balance sheet and with great potential for revenue growth from fitness clubs and short-form video platforms like TikTok, the company said.

The highest performing streaming artists in the quarter were Tones And I, Ed Sheeran and Stormzy.

Artists who also performed strongly across-the-board were Lizzo, Ed Coldplay and TWICE.

Aside from streaming, also delivering was the artist service division, whose revenue rose 13.25% to $188 million.

Dropping in the quarter were downloads and other digital falling 33.3% to $44 million, and licensing down by 2.5% to $79 million. Net income showed a 40% jump to $122 million from $86 million a year ago.

Publishing revenue via Warner Chappell Music generated $173 million, a rise of 5% from $165 million.

This was made up of performance revenue of $46 million (down 13.21%), digital of $73 million (up 12.3%), and synchronization at $36 million (up 12.3%).

Mechanical revenue ($15 million) and “other revenue” ($3 million) were flat.

Publishing’s operating income dropped 36% to $14 million as a rise of A&R investment, revenue mix and higher overloads, according to Warner Music Group.

Cooper said that the quarter’s achievements were particularly pleasing “considering the strength of the prior-year quarter.

“The combination of our creative expertise, global expansion, commercial innovation and financial discipline makes us very confident about our long-term growth prospects.”

“We believe we’ve only just begun to realise Warner Music Group’s true potential as a global music powerhouse.”