Hilversum, The Netherlands (CelebrityAccess) — Universal Music Group revealed the financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2022, with revenue up by 16.5% year over year to €2.199bn.
UMG’s Recorded Music operation led the way for revenue in Q1, accounting for €1,721 million for the first three months of 2022. Subscription and streaming revenue grew 19.9% year-over-year with subscription revenue up 18.3% year-over-year, and ad-supported streaming revenue up 25.1% year-over-year.
Physical recorded music continued to perform for UMG in Q1 2022, increasing by 11.3% year-over-year with improvements in both vinyl and CD sales. However, digital downloads continued their slow slide to oblivion with revenue down by %16 when measured against the previous year’s results.
As well, UMG’s music publishing and merch divisions also posted strong results with double-digit revenue growth during the quarter. In total, UMG’s music publishing generated €375 million in revenue during the quarter, driven in particular by digital streaming with revenue for that segment up by an astonishing 51% from last year’s Q1 to 191 million.
“As important as the positive performance of the business this quarter is its breadth and strength,” said Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG’s Chairman and CEO. “Our strategic portfolio approach–creatively, geographically, technologically, and across a broad range of artists, partners, formats, businesses and revenue streams–not only deliver results now but, over the long run, we believe will produce an even better and more stable performance while delivering incredible value to our artists and shareholders.”
“With this quarter’s results, we continue to deliver on our commitment of long-term growth throughout the company’s major business units and across its multiple and growing revenue streams, including ad-supported streaming, subscription, physical, licensing, music publishing, and merchandising, among others,” said Boyd Muir, EVP, CFO and President of Operations for UMG. “We remain enthusiastic about the diversified revenue growth that our strategy is producing.”
