UMG POSTS 4.3% Q3 REVENUE GROWTH

Universal Music Group experienced a 4.3% increase ($3.12b) in Q3 revenue, with recorded music soaring 5.4% to $2.33b, the company revealed on 10/31.

Streaming revenue was down 0.8% YOY due to "mixed performance at advertising-based platform partners as the digital advertising market remains volatile," per UMG. Physical revenue ticked 2% lower, while downloads and other digital revenue dropped nearly 29% thanks to "the continued format shift towards streaming."

However, subscription revenue grew 7.6% and revenue from licensing and other sources rocketed 20.4%, attributable to "improvements in synchronization income" and increased D2C activities. Adjusted EBITDA of $675m was 6.9% higher YOY but would have been closer to 9% if not for the accrual of a catch-up payment from DSPs related to the Copyright Royalty Board Phonorecords III ruling in 2023.

The company's top sellers in the quarter were Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and Post Malone.

UMG also announced that EVP, CFO and President of Operations Boyd Muir has been temporarily upped to the new role of COO, reporting directly to Chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge. A search for a full-time replacement is underway.

"Boyd has done an outstanding job leading UMG's global financial functions through a period of unprecedented growth and change, including our successful listing on the Euronext in 2021 and our last three years as a stand-alone public company," Grainge remarked. "Now, as we turn to executing on the vision we outlined at our recent Capital Markets Day, as COO, Boyd will focus on helping us drive the transformation of several of our key worldwide operations to ensure we deliver on our strategic plan."

Addressing the Q3 numbers, Grainge added, "We continue to advance our Artist-Centric strategy, a key pillar of our work to evolve streaming's underlying business model, or what we call 'Streaming 2.0.' Through these initiatives, we are setting the stage for a new wave of streaming growth and new opportunities for UMG, its artists, songwriters and shareholders."