Sony’s recorded music and publishing operations produced 203.6 billion yen ($1.85 billion) in revenue, a 26.6% gain over 2020’s second quarter when revenue totaled 160.9 billion yen ($1.515 billion).

Sony’s recorded music and publishing operations produced 203.6 billion yen ($1.85 billion) in revenue, a 26.6% gain over 2020’s second quarter when revenue totaled 160.9 billion yen ($1.515 billion).

Another big quarter for Sony’s music operations, with recorded music revenue up 26% from 2020.Sony’s music operations and visual media/platform posted a sharp increase in revenue, growing 17.6% to 271.6 billion yen ($2.467 billion) from 230.87 billion yen ($230.87 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30. Recorded music and publishing streaming led the way with an extraordinary 44.3% gain to a combined total of 137 billion yen ($1.244 billion), over the prior year’s total of 96.96 billion yen ($894.1 million).

But operating income for the music operations’ second quarter fell slightly to 50.59 billion yen ($459.5 million) from 54.253 billion yen ($510.9 million), a drop of 6.8%. However, the second quarter had a one-time gain of 5.9 billion yen ($55.6 million) due to a segment transfer, so adjusting 2020 operating income by deducting that leaves Sony with a 4.6% gain.

Sony Music Now Offering Artists Mental Health SupportLooking solely at the music operations and excluding the visual media/platform mobile gaming operations, Sony’s recorded music and publishing operations for the Sony Music Group and Sony Music Japan, the company produced 203.6 billion yen ($1.85 billion) in revenue, a 26.6% gain over 2020’s second quarter when revenue totaled 160.9 billion yen ($1.515 billion). headtopics.com

Recorded music revenue totaled 156.3 billion yen ($1.42 billion) for the quarter, up 26% from 2020’s Q2 tally of 123.3 billion yen ($1.16 billion). Within the segment, streaming enjoyed growth of 43.7% to 113.3 billion yen ($1.03 billion) from last year’s total of 78.83 billion yen ($742.25 million), while sources indicate that the comeback of ad-supported streaming — which in the prior year was down due to ad spending drying up during the pandemic — was a big part of the surge. On the other hand, downloads continued to decline, falling 29.4% to 6.15 billion yen ($55.83 million) from 2020’s second quarter total of 8.7 billion yen ($81.96 million). But overall digital now totals 119.44 billion yen ($1.085 billion), up 36.5% from 2020’s second quarter total of 87.53 billion yen ($824.21 million).

Sony Music France Names Marie-Anne Robert Managing Director; First Woman to Lead LabelMeanwhile, going against industry trends this year, Sony’s physical music declined 23% to 20.25 billion yen ($183.9 million) from last year’s total of 26.3 billion yen ($247.54 million), with the drop  likely due to the timing of the company’s release schedule. And finally other income streams, including synchronization garnered 16.61 million yen ($150.85 million), a 74.8% gain over the economically-scarred 2020 second-quarter when other income streams totaled 9.5 billion yen ($89.5 million).

As a percentage of recorded music income that breaks down as:Digital:76.4% consisting of streaming at 72.5% and downloads at 3.9%, versus last year when digital was 71%, with streaming at 63.9% and downloads at 7.1%Physical:13% versus 2020’s second quarter when it was 21.3% and other is 10.6%, versus last year’s corresponding 7.7%

Sony cited hit titles like Doja Cat’s

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