Music industry earnings Q3 2022 Pre-recession growth

20,000 foot view:  The early 2020s saw an influx of capital into the music business, with the promise of music rights being an asset class that was uncorrelated with the wider economy. The irony is that as music catalogue investments slowed (due to rising costs of capital), the first nine months of 2022 saw the music business deliver a performance that suggests the industry is indeed setting a path that is not being pulled down by recessionary conditions as much as many other industries. There were areas of concern of course, but the overall picture proved to be a positive one.

Key insights 

• Revenues across            global music industry companies grew                       in the first nine months            2022 compared to one year           
• The growth            accentuated by the post-pandemic rebound            live music, which saw a           
• While digital            provider (DSP) streaming revenue grew            just            the major music groups            streaming (across recordings and publishing)                      
• Record label            rates were highly varied, shaped            by diverse performances and volatile            rates
• The independent            tracked grew by            compared to            the majors
• The major            labels all grew merchandise and            expanded rights revenue by            generating            between            and            2022
• Publishers are            a bigger share of streaming            – major labels grew streaming            by            compared to            for the            publishers
• Universal Music            (UMP) is closing the gap            Sony Music Publishing (SMP), with                       2022 revenues being            of SMP’s,            from            one year earlier
• The Chinese            market is slowing, with Tencent            Entertainment’s (TME) first nine months            revenue growth going from            in            to 0.0% in 2022
• Slowing DSP            growth reflects the combined effect            the wider economic environment and            saturation of the main streaming           
• Despite slowing            the DSPs tracked added            million            between            and            2022 indicating continued            consumer demand 

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Believe, Live Nation, LiveXLive, NetEase Cloud Music, Pandora, SiriusXM, Slacker, Reservoir Media, Sony Music Group, Sony Music Publishing, Spotify, Tencent Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Universal Music Publishing, Warner Chappell, Warner Music Group, YouTube

NOTE: The figures in this report refer to revenues and user numbers for the first nine months of 2022, rather than full year projections.