BMG REVENUE RISES 11.1% THANKS TO DIGITAL BOOST

BMG's revenue rose 11.1% in the first half of 2024 to $492m, powered by a 20.3% uptick in digital revenue after digital distribution was brought in-house.

Under new CEO Thomas Coesfeld's Bertelsmann Boost strategic plan, BMG's EBITDA jumped 35.5% to $131m, while EBITDA margin climbed from 26.5% to 21.7% year over year. The latter number was bolstered by the acquisition of 10 new catalogs, specific details of which have yet to be revealed.

Overall digital business comprised 69% of BMG's total revenue, compared to 63% in H1 2023.

On the recorded-music side, BMG signed Mustard, YG, New Kids on the Block and The Script, while enjoying successful releases from Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Kylie Minogue, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Everything Everything, Sum 41, Crowded House, Pepe & Paco de Lucía and Lenny Kravitz. Wilson and Minogue both won Grammys.

In the publishing and songwriter realms, BMG has a large share of Eminem's "Houdini" thanks to contributions by Steve Miller, Trevor Horn and Anne Dudley, and the group's writers worked on 13 songs from Beyoncé's COWBOY CARTER.

"In the first half of 2024, we remained steadfast through our successful reorganization and are now reaping the benefits of focusing on what we do best—recorded music, music publishing and the services that matter most to our songwriters and artists," Coesfeld said. "Our new, sustainable operating model, guided by the ethos 'local where necessary, global where possible,' features centralized global marketing, sales and catalog teams designed to support our clients' needs while strengthening our local-artist career organization and repertoire leadership."

He added in a note to staff, "While there is much to celebrate, it will take our continued effort and steadfast contributions to finish the year with an equally strong performance, and I am confident our team is up to the challenge."