Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran and ‘Barbie’ help Warner Music achieve record $6 billion in revenue theMusic.com.au

warner music group Set a record US$6 billion (AU$9.27 billion) in the 2023 financial year – the highest revenue in its history.

Announcing its position last week for the 12 months to September 30, the company separately said dua lipa, Ed Sheeran And this barbie The soundtrack as its biggest seller. linkin parkcountry singer-songwriter zach bryanand South Korean girl groups Similar And Misamo were also in the list.

robert kinclwho joined Warner Music Group as CEO at the beginning of the year youtubeSome of the increase in revenue attributed to streaming services apple music, spotify And Amazon The increase in their membership fees, and the continuous emergence of new markets.

“Our work is already bearing fruit and I assure you there is even more excitement to come,” he told analysts and media after the data was released. “Looking forward to the new financial year, I am even more optimistic than when I started. “We are excited by the trends we are seeing in the industry and our plans to take advantage of them.”

Total revenue increased 3.9 percent to $6.037 billion. Streaming revenues in recorded music and music publishing increased 6.7 percent. Recorded music reached $4.95 billion in the first half of 2023, which was relatively stable due to a lighter release schedule. This accounted for 81.1 percent of the company’s total revenue.

Breaking it down, streaming (which comprised 67 percent of the recording business) grew only 3.9 percent due to that lighter schedule, downloads fell 32.2 percent to $99 million (two percent of revenue), physical fell 10.2 percent to $507 million, and Artist services and extended rights fell 3 percent to $744 million and 15 percent of the revenue pie.

The release generated slightly more than $1 billion (18.1 percent) in revenue for the company, including a 22 percent increase to $656 million and increases in performance ($174 million), synchronization ($167 million) and mechanical ($63 million).

Speaking in an analyst call after the figures were released, Kyncl revealed the priorities for the third-largest major label. These included a campaign for streaming services to get a higher royalty cut for their artists because they attracted the largest audiences. Warner has also signed on to Deezer’s artist-focused streaming model in France. This means that artists are given a share of the total streams on a platform, rather than putting royalties into a pool and sharing them equally.

The chief has also pounced on YouTube’s AI experiments abroad. The first was released in beta last week. Called Dream Track, it allows users to automatically create short 30-second music tracks in the style of famous artists with their permission. It is testing this with nine acts: Charlie Puth, charli xcx, Yes, t-pain, troy sivan, Demi Lovato, john legend, alec benjamin And Papoose,

Regarding Warner’s involvement in AI experiments, Kinkel told analysts that it is important that the music industry not be left behind by technology. “Imagine if the file sharing companies came to the music industry in the early 2000s, and said, ‘Would you like to experiment with this new tool we’ve created and see how it impacts the industry and we How can we work together?’ That would have been unbelievable. Obviously, it didn’t happen.

“This is the first time that a big platform at scale and with new tools is reaching out to its partners to test and learn… This is the right way to engage whenever I talk about responsible engagement with our partners. There is a way.”

Warner worked in singles dance the night away – From barbie Soundtrack (he also made his acting debut in the film) – and HoudiniWhile preparing for his third album due in 2024. campaign for Houdini His huge global following (tracks on which tame Impala‘S Kevin Parker was a collaboration, peaking at #7 in Australia), teasing its release.

The track, containing disco and psychedelia elements, was both radio-friendly and challenging. It had 25 million video views and 17 million streams in three days, where it was the cover on Spotify. new music friday In 44 countries on the first day. Warner launched a new website where he talked to fans. In the first week, 100,000 signed up.

“I think she’s managed to combine the idea of ​​a modern pop star and an old school pop star. There’s glamour, there’s theatre, there’s excitement, it’s epic,” he said. alex burford Of his UK record company. The campaign for the third album will last several years, during which they are expected to have more #1 singles and two billion streams.

barbie It was one of two global film events of the year. In Australia, it had its biggest second-week gross to date, grossing $30.6 million after two weekends. As of November 2023, it has grossed $1.442 billion worldwide.

Warner Bros. Studios spent $150 million on marketing it – more than the $145 million it cost to produce. Barbie-themed collaborations with major brands xbox, Burger King Burger, airbnb Rent, Difference Clothes, Krispy Kreme donuts, crocs, ice cream sundaes, roller skates and candles. A renewal TV reality competition series titled barbie dreamhouse challenge It was so popular that it led to a shortage of pink.

barbie Soundtrack, produced by mark ronsonReaching the #1 spot in seven countries including Australia, it also became the first UK soundtrack album to have three songs simultaneously enter the top five of the singles chart.

The soundtrack yielded five hit singles, each of which was streamed over one million times. Warner pulled off a masterstroke by pushing the envelope on vinyl, with vinyl records with extra tracks and selected retailers receiving their own special album designs and colors. This ensured that fans would include every format of the album in their Barbie memorabilia.

It is considered one of the best uses of a soundtrack to reinforce a film’s message and image. It featured a star-top list of Gen Z-friendly names like Dua Lipa. billie eilishcharli xcx, The Kid Laroi, hamtame Impala, lizzo, Sam Smith And pinkpenthrace,

The older female demographic was acting like Cyndi Lauper, Indigo Girls And Olivia Newton-Johnand highlighted its global appeal by including Colombia Karol ji And South Korea’s Fifty Fifty.

Actress margot robbie Danish-Norwegian band begged for Water‘S Barbie Girl Songs from the late 90s will be used. It was a problem as a Barbie toy manufacturer metal unsuccessfully sued Aqua’s label, MCA Records, in 1997 – Accused of trademark infringement. The soundtrack overcame this bad blood nicki minaj And ice masala‘S barbie world To sample the original.

According to ChartMetric“Barbie World” was used in over 105,000 videos TIC Toc, while the official video has received 33 million views on YouTube. The Aqua song received 382 million Spotify streams, was used in over 867,000 videos on TikTok and now has 1.2 billion views on YouTube.

With a strong background of chart toppers, Ed Sheeran’s sixth album was no surprise – (Reduce) It debuted at #1 in 12 countries, including Australia and its native UK, where it was the fastest-selling album of the year. 71 percent of initial sales were from physical formats.

Warner emphasized the deeply personal nature of the record with a dedication to his main fans, the Shireos. was a limited edition zine containing 20 pages of never-before-seen photographs and included a CD Reduce With 14 tracks.

In America, before their stadium tour, American Express Hosted a five-city tour with pop ups that attracted 9,000 fans. The interactive installation contextualizes the album with photographs of his writings and recordings. Each had journals for fans to express their thoughts, which were sent back to the star. Sheeran made surprise appearances to play in some cities.

In India, its second-largest market, there were special listening parties for 300 people in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, where in between quizzes and stories about why they were fans, there was a long video message from Ed.

A campaign was launched to gain new fans swiggyA popular food delivery app in India with a database of 20 million that has song titles on its interface. It proved to have such a strong interaction with 39 million impressions that it blew up on Twitter/X, garnering mainstream media attention and the singer tweeting.

A version of Yellow Diary in which Sheeran wrote the lyrics Reduce It was offered to fans through a ‘Who’s Your Yellow’ contest on social media.