Tag: Warner Brothers

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Warner Music Group Quarterly Revenues Up 16% – 2022

Billboard:

WMG’s fourth quarter revenues grew 16% overall on strong recorded music and publishing growth.

Warner Music Group, helped by digital revenue growth across recorded music and publishing, reported quarterly revenues rose 16% at constant currency (9% as reported) to $1.5 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, the company announced Tuesday (Nov. 22). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and depreciation (EBITDA) grew by 16% to $276 million.

In his final quarterly earnings after 12 years as Warner Music’s chief executive, Steve Cooper said, “Against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment, we once again proved music’s resilience, with new commercial opportunities emerging all the time. We’re very well positioned for long-term creative success, and continued top and bottom line growth. We’re excited to have Robert Kyncl joining next year as WMG’s new CEO, as we enter the next dynamic phase of our evolution.”

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Entertainment Music Tech

Vevo Courting Warner Music Group

Vevo is reportedly in talks to add music video content from Warner Music Group, a move that would give the site material from the world’s three biggest music labels. Vevo officials also hope that it will help the site become a destination for music videos, instead of just a content producer for content displayed on YouTube. The site is owned, in part, by Universal Music Group and Sony Music, whose artists make up most of Vevo’s current content. Negotiations with Warner have just begun, and spokesmen for both sides have declined to comment.

Vevo’s ambitious plans to expand are aimed at putting a dent in YouTube’s domination of the online video marketplace. While Vevo currently features music videos from hundreds of Sony and Universal-signed artists, most of the fans that watch those videos find them by searching on YouTube. Additional content from Warner acts could help Vevo steer more video watchers directly to the site, and possibly even allow the service to offer a premium subscription service.

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Music

Warner Music Relinquishes Hold on “Happy Birthday” Song in $14 Million Settlement


Warner / Chappell, the publishing arm of Warner Music, has reportedly agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit that challenged its publishing rights to the popular song, “Happy Birthday to You”. Under the terms of the settlement, Warner will pay $14 million and the song will finally enter the public domain, meaning anyone can use it without paying royalties or licensing fees. Back in September, US District Court Judge George King ruled that Warner’s copyright on the song was invalid, but stopped short of declaring the song public domain as Warner Chappell pondered a challenge to the ruling. The settlement will still require judicial approval, and a hearing has been scheduled for March.

“Happy Birthday to You” was initially copyrighted in 1935. Judge King ruled that since that original copyright only pertained to a specific piano arrangement, the current copyright does not apply to the song in a broader sense. The judge also noted that the song’s melody was taken from an 1893 song entitled “Good Morning to All,” a tune that has long been part of the public domain. The copyright for the song changed hands dozens of times before 1988, when Warner Chappel acquired it and began aggressively going after content producers who used the song in their work. The company has reportedly collected more than $50 million in licensing fees in the 28 years its had the copyright, and was expected to earn another $14 to $16.5 million by the time it’s scheduled to expire in 2030. The initial challenge to the copyright came from filmmaker Jennifer Nelson, who was floored when a bill for $1,500 showed up while she was filming a “Happy Birthday” documentary. Nelson and the other class-action plaintiffs will reportedly receive about a third of Warner’s $14 million settlement, with the rest being split among those who’ve paid licensing fees for the song in the past and meet other criteria of the class action.