A growing share of Warner Music Group Corp.’s revenue in the latest quarter flowed from music streaming and other digital channels, a sign of how the coronavirus pandemic is reshaping listeners’ habits amid an altered landscape for the music industry.
Revenue for the music label was roughly flat year over year in the July-through-September period, rising by 0.2% to $1.13 billion. Digital revenue made up a significantly larger share of that sum, growing 15% to $778 million, from $674 million in the year-ago quarter.
In Warner Music ’s recorded-music segment, revenue from physical sales was roughly flat in the fiscal fourth quarter, while digital sales grew 13%. Revenue from artist services, expanded rights and licensing all dropped as the pandemic disrupted touring and merchandising.
Music-publishing revenue declined 2.3% year over year, but digital music-publishing revenue was up by 32% from last year’s fourth quarter.
In its full fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, Warner Music’s digital revenue grew 11%, making up 65% of the company’s total revenue, compared with 58% in the previous 12-month period.
