SUPERB Q2 PUSHES SONY MUSIC TOWARD $10B YEAR

The first half of Sony Music’s fiscal year was so strong that the division is now looking at a forecast of nearly $10b a year.

Q2 sales increased a significant 32% year-over-year to 359.3b yen, mainly due to the impact of foreign exchange rates and an increase in streaming sales, taking the first six months of the fiscal year to 667.4 yen.

The company is projecting that the year’s total for the division will be 1.37 trillion yen, about $9.8b. Recorded music and music publishing are expected to bring in about 85% of that total, with the category Visual Media and Platforms earning the rest. Operating income is predicted to rise to 265b yen.

The yen/dollar ratio has fluctuated wildly in 2022, starting at around 115 yen to the dollar to more recent exchange rates of about 147 yen to the dollar. For Q2, the exchange was approximately 140 yen to $1.

Operating income was 78.7b yen, a substantial increase of 28.1b yen year-over-year, again primarily attributable to the positive impact of foreign exchange rates and an increase in sales.

Recorded music brought in 224b yen. Streaming sales of 151.9b yen—about 68% of total revenue—were up 34%. Music publishing revenue was 73.5b yen for the quarter, up 55%. In dollars, recorded music and music publishing brought in $300m+ more than in Q2 2021.

In a presentation to shareholders, Sony touted its success on Spotify's weekly global music chart, stating that the company had, on average, 48 songs in the Top 100 between 6/1 and 9/30, a considerable increase over the average of 36 songs in the previous fiscal year. Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Future, Doja Cat and Lil Durk led the quarter’s hit parade.