Warner Music: "Streaming Revenue passes Download Revenue"
Quote:
Here’s another sign that the music industry has shifted from selling songs to selling subscriptions: Warner Music Group says that last quarter, streaming music revenue passed revenue from selling downloads. It’s the first time a big music label has hit that milestone.
Streaming revenue from the company’s recorded music unit, generated by companies like Spotify and YouTube, grew 33 percent in Q2, Warner CEO Stephen Cooper announced during the company’s earnings call. Warner says digital revenue grew 7 percent overall — which means download sales from outlets like Apple’s iTunes decreased during the same period.
"We experienced significant revenue growth this quarter across key segments of our business -- in particular Recorded Music, across the U.S. and international and across digital and physical -- capping off a strong first half of our fiscal year," said Stephen Cooper, Warner Music Group's CEO. "Notably, in this quarter we saw continued growth in streaming revenue which surpassed download revenue for the first time in the history of our recorded music business. Our commitment to being at the forefront of industry change as well as our ongoing investment in artist development is the foundation of our continued success." Growth in digital revenue was driven by an increase in streaming revenue, which more than offset a decline in download revenue. Declines in download revenue are expected to be a continuing trend.
Is revenue bigger overall than previous years? That's the real question.
I mean this is only Warner but these #'s are compared with Q1 2014:
Quote:
Total revenue grew 4% or 13% on a constant-currency basis
Recorded Music revenue was up 5% or 15% on a constant-currency basis
Digital revenue increased 1% or 10% on a constant-currency basis
OIBDA was $121 million versus $74 million in the prior-year quarter
Net income was $19 million versus a net loss of $59 million in the prior-year quarter
Warner chief executive Stephen Cooper spoke with an inclusive tone during Monday's earnings call, saying Warner is supportive of freemium business models that encourage listeners to migrate from free, advertising-supported tiers to paid subscriptions. He said Warner is working with some of its digital partners to speed that migration "through modifications of service offerings or more sophisticated approaches" to the consumer marketplace.
Cooper went on to warn that limiting free options can drive people to illegal sites that provide no revenue to rights holders or creators. Hinting at the criticism levied on Spotify by some other labels, Cooper said the industry should be careful to avoid the these consequences "before freemium is burnt at the stake."
I love owning some special albums and some of my favorite tracks, but there's so many cute mediocre tracks out there that don't deserve my 1 dollar, so I'm glad I can kinda sorta contribute to them without buying the track
I only spend money on iTunes if it's Azealia Banks ,Kesha,Sia and recently The Weeknd.
Other than that I've had Spotify Premium a few months, $10 a month, and I LOVE it. No interruptions, at all, and almost any song a click away. And you can save any song you want to your library, that works Offline as well.
I love owning some special albums and some of my favorite tracks, but there's so many cute mediocre tracks out there that don't deserve my 1 dollar, so I'm glad I can kinda sorta contribute to them without buying the track
I want to own music 
