Sony’s global music rights operation – across recorded music and music publishing – generated USD $2.70 billion in the three months to end of December 2024.
That’s according to MBW’s calculations based on Sony Group Corp’s calendar Q4 2024 (fiscal Q3) results, as announced by the Japanese firm today (February 13).
The $2.70 billion figure was up 7.1% year-on-year (on the figure Sony reported in calendar Q4 2023) at US dollar-converted constant currency.
However, the calendar Q4 figure was boosted by Sony changing the way it reports quarterly recorded music streaming sales from one digital platform, from a net basis to a gross basis. (The precise impact of this change was unstated by Sony.)
[Note: Corporately speaking, Sony Group’s global music operation includes recorded music, plus music publishing, plus ‘Visual Media & Platform’. The final category primarily covers mobile games and animation projects, and has been omitted from MBW’s revenue calculations in this report.]
Sony’s recorded music operation
Sony’s global recorded music operation reported revenues of USD $2.07 billion in calendar Q4 2024, up 6.9% YoY versus the equivalent reported quarterly period of the prior year.
Within that calendar Q4 2024 global recorded music result, streaming generated $1.38 billion, up 9.2% YoY vs. the equivalent reported figure from the prior-year quarter.
(This ‘streaming’ number combines both subscription and ad-funded streaming revenues generated by Sony’s global recorded music operation. Again, the latest quarter in these figures was boosted by Sony changing the way it reports quarterly recorded music streaming sales from net to gross for one unnamed platform partner. )
Quarterly revenues from physical music sales in calendar Q4 2024 hit USD $198.6 million, down 6.8% YoY.
Sony’s ‘Other’ fiscal category within recorded music generated $453.8 million in calendar Q4 2024, significantly up on the $403.9 million generated in the prior-year quarter.
This latter category (‘Other’) includes license revenue (public performance, broadcast and sync), merchandising, and live performance income.
According to Sony Corp‘s results, Sony Music Entertainment‘s ten biggest recorded music projects in the calendar Q4 2024 quarter (ex-artists signed in Japan), in order of global revenue generation, were as follows:
- ATEEZ – GOLDEN HOUR : Part.2
- Tyler, The Creator – CHROMAKOPIA
- SZA – SOS
- Rod Wave – Last Lap
- Mylène Farmer – Nevermore
- Mariah Carey – Merry Christmas
- Travis Scott – UTOPIA
- Future – MIXTAPE PLUTO
- Tyler, The Creator – IGOR
- Michael Jackson – Thriller
Sony’s Music Publishing operation
Sony’s global music publishing operation – led by Sony Music Publishing – generated USD $626.3 million in the three months to end of December 2024.
That quarterly revenue figure, at the US dollar level, was up 7.6% year-on-year.
Sony’s global music publishing operation derived $369.8 million of its quarterly revenues in the calendar Q4 2024 period from streaming.
That publishing streaming figure was up 7.5% year-on-year.
Sony’s global music profits
Sony Corp also today issued some profit numbers for its corporate Music division in the three months to end of December 2024.
(The following figures include Sony’s operations across Recorded Music, Music Publishing plus Visual Media & Platform.)
In calendar Q4 2024 (fiscal Q3 2024), Sony’s corporate Music division posted a quarterly operating income of 97.4 billion Yen (USD $640m).
That represented an operating margin of 20.2%, from total divisional quarterly revenues (again, including ‘Visual Media & Platform’) of 481.7 billion Yen (USD $3.16bn).
Sony Corp additionally presents to investors its Adjusted OIBDA performance in each quarter (see below) – a metric also used by Warner Music Group to present its earnings.
In calendar Q4 2024 (fiscal Q3 2024), Sony’s Music division posted an Adjusted OIBDA of 121.4 billion Yen (USD $797m).
That represented an Adjusted OIBDA margin from total divisional quarterly revenues of 25.2%.
Note: All YoY percentage rises/falls published in this story are calculated at constant currency at the US dollar-converted level. MBW uses Sony’s own quarterly average currency rates for these calculations.
See below for the breakdown of Sony’s latest (fiscal) quarterly figures for music in Japanese Yen, as published by Sony Group Corp today.
For this analysis, MBW has calculated Sony’s financials from Japanese Yen into US dollars at the following prevailing exchange rates in each quarter, as provided by Sony Corp:
- Calendar Q1 2020: 109.0 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2020: 107.6 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2020: 106.2 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q4 2020: 104.5 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2021: 105.9 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2021: 109.5 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2021: 110.1 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q4 2021: 113.7 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2022: 116.1 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2022: 129.4 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2022: 138.2 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q4 2022: 132.3 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2023: 135.4 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2023: 137.0 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2023: 144.4 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q4 2023: 147.9 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2024: 148.2 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2024: 155.6 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2024: 149.5 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q4 2024: 152.2 Yen per USD
By applying these exchange figures to each applicable period, we effectively get a US-leaning constant currency picture of Sony Music’s performance.
This isn’t a perfect system; it risks overplaying Sony Music Entertainment’s global business slightly by converting a chunk of revenues from Sony Music Entertainment Japan (which would usually be straight-reported in Yen) into US dollars.
But it provides us with a cleaner reflection of the performance of New York-based Sony Music Entertainment outside of FX distortion, because the company had to convert its US currency into Yen in the first place for Sony Corp’s results. The same is true for US-based Sony Music Publishing.
MBW believes this currency exchange system is the yardstick used internally at Sony Music Group‘s HQ in New York.
Sony’s own description of its three corporate music divisions is as follows:
- Recorded Music – Streaming includes the distribution of digital recorded music by streaming; Recorded Music – Others includes the distribution of recorded music by physical media and digital download as well as revenue derived from artists’ live performances;
- Music Publishing includes the management and licensing of the words and music of songs;
- Visual Media and Platform includes the production and distribution of animation titles, including game applications based on the animation titles, and various service offerings for music and visual products.
Within / covering the first two divisions listed above:
- Sony Music Publishing, run by CEO & Chairman Jon Platt, is Sony’s US-headquartered music publishing operation.
- Sony Music Entertainment, run by CEO Rob Stringer, is Sony’s US-headquartered recorded music operation.
- And Sony Music Group – also run by Rob Stringer, as Chairman – is Sony’s US-headquartered umbrella group for both Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Music Publishing.
Music Business Worldwide
Article by:Source:
