UMG REVENUES NEAR
$7B IN 2017

Universal Music Group’s revenues hit $6.8 billion in 2017, a 10% rise over 2016 at constant currency. Recorded-music revenues grew by 11.3% to $5.47b at constant currency, with growth in subscription and streaming revenues (+35.4%) more than offsetting the decline in downloads (-19%) and physical sales (-3%).

UMG grossed 43% of its revenue from streaming services in 2017, 25% from physical product. In a call with analysts, Vivendi CFO Herve Philippe noted that UMG’s revenues have grown by €1.2b since 2014, owing to the growth of subscription services.

Music publishing revenues grew by 9.6% at constant currency, also driven by increased subscription and streaming revenues, as well as growth in synchronization and performance revenues.

Merchandising and other revenues were down 7.1% at constant currency due to lower touring activity.

The Vivendi-owned music company touted its numerous deals over the year, chiefly Tencent, YouTube and Spotify, singling out the Facebook deal for having “forged a true commercial partnership between a major music company and the world’s largest social platform.”

Philippe would not divulge any details about the deals when questioned during the call, saying only that UMG is “happy” with the deals and they expect they will allow UMG to “align with the evolution of the market. ... We [plan] to play our role as the leader of the market."

UMG was a key driver in Vivendi’s 23% growth in core operating profit. EBITA was $1.23b, up 4.9% from 2016. If you want to check our math, the guy in a booth at LAX told us aEuro was equal to $1.20 on 12/31.