Ateez, whose Golden Hour: Part.2 released via RCA in the U.S. and, per a new earnings report, generated the most revenue of any Sony Music project during 2024’s final three months. Photo Credit: ARATV
Sony Music Entertainment (SME) achieved double-digit overall growth during 2024’s final three months. But amid industry-wide concerns of a streaming plateau, revenue from on-demand listening turned in a comparatively modest improvement.
The major label revealed its financials for Q4 2024 (the fiscal third quarter) today, in an earnings breakdown from the overarching Sony Group. All told, the conglomerate attributed $3.11 billion (¥476.97 billion) to music operations for the three-month stretch, up 14.2% YoY.
As usual, that top-level sum doesn’t tell the whole revenue story. Most importantly here, the figure reflects a $433.86 million (¥66.30 billion) contribution from visual media and platform, which includes mobile gaming and is best omitted to get a better idea of music’s actual showing.
(The multifaceted visual media and platform isn’t completely devoid of music-adjacent revenue; Tokyo-based ticketing service ePlus was consolidated into the category during Q4, for instance.)
Less visual media and platform revenue, Sony Music generated $2.69 billion (¥410.66 billion) from core recorded and publishing operations during Q4, for a 10.2% YoY boost.
And as SME reports in yen but deals in a number of currencies, execs attributed almost one-fifth of the overarching music category’s revenue growth to beneficial exchange-rate fluctuations.
Building on the latter point, Sony Music’s recorded streaming revenue came in at $1.37 billion (¥209.60 billion) for Q4, representing a 12.4% YoY boost. However, that total includes a once-off bump stemming from a DSP revenue-recognition change.
And “on a U.S. dollar basis,” recorded streaming revenue improved by 9% YoY, higher-ups indicated. Unsurprisingly, downloads’ long-running slip continued during Q4 2024 (a 26.4% YoY falloff to $42.14 million/¥6.44 billion), and sales from vinyl as well as other physical formats dipped about 4.1% YoY to $197.93 million (¥30.23 billion).
By recorded revenue, Sony Music’s top-five Q4 2024 projects were Ateez’s Golden Hour: Part.2, Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia, SZA’s SOS, Rod Wave’s Last Lap, and Mylène Farmer’s Nevermore, respectively. (Perennial holiday favorite Mariah Carey claimed the sixth spot with Merry Christmas.)
Shifting to the publishing side, revenue jumped 10.7% YoY to $624.17 million/¥95.33 billion, which includes $368.52 million/¥56.28 billion from streaming (up 10.6% YoY).
Finally, across-the-board music profit (for Sony Music proper and visual media and platform alike) rose 28% YoY to $637.67 million/¥97.42 billion.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the fiscal year – meaning the fourth quarter ending March 31st, 2025 – higher-ups elevated their revenue forecast by $327.24 million/¥50 billion. But they attributed the move largely to anticipated exchange-rate contributions and the above-described ePlus integration.