Warner Music Revenue Rises 9% on Recorded Music, Publishing

Warner Music Group said on Thursday (Aug. 7) its quarterly revenue rose 9% to roughly $1.7 billion on 8% growth of recorded music and 10% increase in publishing revenue, offsetting the end of Warner’s distribution contract with BMG.

Total recorded music grew to $1.35 billion and publishing revenue increased to $335 million for the quarter ending June 30, 2025. The success of Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks, and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” which became the first song in Billboard chart history to spend more than 100 weeks on the Hot 100, drove 4% growth in streaming revenue, with overall digital revenue increasing 5.3% to $929 million. Subscription streaming grew to 8.5%, due to a true-up payment from a streaming service.

Music publishing digital revenue increased 5.2% to $204 million, with streaming revenue also growing by 5.2%, driven by growth in recorded music artist services and expanded-rights and licensing revenue, and music publishing performance, synchronization and mechanical revenue. Recorded music physical revenue was slightly lower at $119 million from $120 million a year ago.

“This quarter we delivered massive chart hits, breakthrough stars, strong revenue growth and market share gains … all of which show our strategy is working,” Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl said in a statement. “As we continue to evolve, we’re focusing on the artists, songwriters and markets with the greatest potential, while expanding our iconic catalog and building the dynamic teams and tools that will help our talent have the biggest global impact.”

The company reported a $16 million net loss in the quarter compared to last year’s $141 million net income, mainly due to negative impacts form foreign exchange conversions. Warner Music earns more than half of its income from outside of the United States, and its euro-denominated debt resulted in a $70 million loss in the quarter. Losses on hedging activity totaling $8 million were partially offset by a $25 million income tax expense savings.

Total digital and physical services revenue rose 4.6% to $1.05 billion.

Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) increased 18.0% to $373 million from $316 million and Adjusted OIBDA margin increased 1.8 percentage points to 22.1% from 20.3% in the prior-year quarter. The increases include the $9 million impact of the copyright settlement in recorded music and the $12 million impact of the true-up payment from a streaming partner.