Warner Music Sees Revenue Uptick From Fans' Return to Concerts, Bars

After two years of COVID-19 impact, artist services and expanded-rights revenue increased 19.5% at Warner Music Group in fiscal Q2 2022, reflecting increases in merchandising and concert promotion revenue, said the company’s Tuesday earnings report. Performance revenue rose 9% “as bars, restaurants, concerts and live events continue to recover from COVID disruption,” said Chief Financial Officer Eric Levin on the company's earnings call. Streaming revenue from emerging platforms grew to $345 million for the quarter ended March 31; digital revenue, 70.1% of the company’s total recorded music revenue, was $931 million, up 8%; physical revenue grew 3.4% on “increasing demand for vinyl,” said CEO Steve Cooper. The music company continued international expansion, acquiring Qanawat Music, a distributor in the Middle East/North Africa market, expanding WMG’s presence in Dubai, Cairo and Casablanca, it said. It also partnered with Bollywood artists in India, where it grew share over the past 24 months, Cooper said. He positioned WMG at the “intersection of gaming, social and entertainment" with brands including Roblox, Fortnite and The Sandbox. An area of incremental revenue is digital fitness: WMG was the music launch partner for Peloton’s gaming-inspired fitness experience, Lanebreak, Cooper said. The company continues to build its presence in podcasting, launching in April Interval Presents, an in-house podcast network covering music, pop culture and social impact. WMG expects music to remain “resilient” amid macroeconomic challenges, Levin said. In video streaming, people generally subscribe to multiple services, he said, vs. audio where they generally subscribe to one service with their music aggregated in one place. Levin called digital music a very “fairly priced, if not even low-priced, high-value service that's central to people's lives.” Shares hit a 52-week low Tuesday at $25.35 before closing 5.46% down at $25.78.