Suryaa Business Desk: World-renowned music giant Universal Music Group (UMG) has posted a stellar performance in its latest third quarter financial results... World-renowned music giant Universal Music Group (UMG) has performed brilliantly in its recently released third quarter financial results. The company's recorded music subscription revenue grew sharply, beating expectations from Wall Street and market experts. The management of UMG disclosed that the increase in user acceptance on streaming platforms and the price revision of various services (Pricing Benefits) have significantly increased the company's profits. Universal Music Group's total revenue for the recently ended third quarter grew by about 11.7 percent at constant currency to $3.90 billion (about €2.559 billion in recorded music revenue).
Revenue from recorded music subscriptions rose 19.2 percent year-on-year (9.5 percent excluding the Downtown merger) to €1.422 billion, the company said. Experts attribute this growth to the continued growth of subscribers and increase in wholesale prices on streaming platforms. The company's financial results are underpinned by the popularity of popular artists and bands that entertain music lovers worldwide. UMG said the top sellers in the quarter were albums and music sales by celebrities such as Mrs. Green Apple, Olivia Rodrigo, Stray Kids, Ariana Grande and The Beatles.
Along with the subscription income, the sales of music CDs and vinyl records, which are available in physical form, also jumped by 17.4 percent. The company's core operating profit (Adjusted EBITDA) also registered positive growth, boosting UMG shares and investor confidence in the market. Sir Lucian Grange, CEO of UMG, is confident of further strong growth in the future by encouraging artists to adapt to changing trends in the music industry and improving the economics of streaming. In the wake of these positive developments, entertainment stocks in the global music market have taken a profit.