Subscription Streaming Has ‘Firm Economic Foundation,’ Says Warner Music CEO 

As recently as three years ago, streaming was only 25 percent of Warner Music Group’s recorded music revenue, but grew to more than 50 percent of sales in the year ended Sept. 30, said CEO Steve Cooper on an earnings call Thursday. Warner’s streaming revenue is now nearly three times that of physical music, he said. “We remain very focused on ways to turbocharge the industry’s recent growth period,” said Cooper. “Subscription streaming now has a firm economic foundation,” with more than 200 million “paying customers” globally, he said. There’s still “plenty of room for long-term growth” in “established and emerging markets” because the 200 million is only 3 percent of the world’s population, he said. Cooper does think It’s conceivable that streaming will reach “something akin to saturation” in the next five to 10 years in developed countries, he said. Though subscription growth in less affluent emerging markets will be more open-ended, revenue growth in those regions will be slower due to lower average revenue among active users, he said.