1 week Ago By Varun Godinho
Warner Music Group whose artists include Ed Sheeran and David Guetta expects to lay off more employees than it had originally forecasted as part of a restructuring plan aimed at strengthening its recorded-music business. WMG said last week that it would trim its workforce by about 750 employees, which represents around 13 per cent of its total headcount. The company had previously said it would lay off 600 employees, or 10 per cent of its workforce.
Warner Music first disclosed cost-cutting measures in February. Last month, the group reported $1.55 billion (A$2.
26 billion) in revenue for fiscal Q3 2024 ending June 30, 2024. Revenue over that period was down 0.6 per cent on the prior-year quarter, while net income increased 14 per cent to $141 million (A$205.
9 million). Operating income rose 10 per cent year-on-year to $207 million (A$302.28 million).
In August, Warner Music made two organisational changes at Atlantic Music Group and other regional hubs. Warner Music said that Max Lousada, the company’s chief executive of recorded music, was stepping down. It also said that its US recorded-music operations would be organised under two label groups: Atlantic Music Group and Warner Records.
Warner Music added that Julie Greenwald, who oversaw the Atlantic Records label as the CEO and chair of Atlantic Music Group, will serve as its chair. Elliot Grainge was named CEO of Atlantic Music Group, reporting to Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl. Global recorded music revenues saw streaming services dominate in 2023, reaching 67.
3 per cent. Streaming services were followed by physical mediums (17.8 per cent), performance rights (9.
5 per cent), downloads and other digital platforms (3.2 per cent), and synchronisation (2.2 per cent).
The top 10 music markets in 2023 were the USA, Japan, the UK, Germany, China, France, South Korea, Brazil and Australia. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) State of the Industry Global Music Report released earlier this year found that in Australia, the tenth-largest global market for music, revenue growth increased 11.3 per cent in 2023 compared to 8.
2 per cent in 2022..
