{"id":230570,"date":"2025-05-02T15:05:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T14:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=230570"},"modified":"2025-05-02T15:05:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T14:05:21","slug":"from-spotify-universal-numbers-to-new-management-at-apple-music-its-mbws-weekly-round-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/from-spotify-universal-numbers-to-new-management-at-apple-music-its-mbws-weekly-round-up\/","title":{"rendered":"From Spotify, Universal numbers to new management at Apple Music… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to\u00a0Music Business Worldwide<\/a>\u2019s weekly round-up \u2013 where we make sure\u00a0you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW\u2019s round-up is supported by\u00a0<\/i>Centtrip<\/i><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0which helps over 500 of the world\u2019s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring costs.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Earnings season is upon us, and this week Universal Music Group<\/strong> reported 9.5% YoY<\/strong> revenue growth for Q1, with subscription streaming revenues up 9.3% YoY<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Spotify<\/strong> posted another record-high operating profit in Q1, at $535.6 million<\/strong>, while the paid subscriber base grew 12% YoY<\/strong> to 268 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Finally, South Korea’s HYBE<\/strong> posted a nearly 39% YoY<\/strong> jump in first-quarter revenue, to the equivalent of $348.4 million<\/strong>, driven by a tripling in concert revenue.<\/p>\n

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We also got word this week that music creation marketplace Splice<\/strong> has acquired virtual instrument library Spitfire Audio<\/strong>, marking Splice’s entry into the plugin sector.<\/p>\n

Finally, MBW<\/em> reported this week that Ole Obermann<\/strong>, formerly of ByteDance<\/strong>, and Rachel Newman<\/strong> have been named Co-Heads of Apple Music<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here’s what happened this week…<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>1) SUBSCRIPTION GROWTH, SUPER-PREMIUM, AND SHORT-FORM VIDEO\u2019S \u2018INADEQUATE MONETIZATION\u2019: 7 TAKEAWAYS FROM UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP\u2019S Q1 2025 EARNINGS CALL<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Universal Music Group<\/strong> delivered a strong start to 2025 with its Q1 earnings report on Tuesday (April 29), posting revenue growth of 9.5% YoY<\/strong> and adjusted EBITDA growth of 10% YoY<\/strong> at constant currency.<\/p>\n

Subscription streaming revenues grew 9.3% YoY<\/strong><\/a> at constant currency to reach \u20ac1.252 billion<\/strong> ($1.317bn<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

During the earnings call, UMG\u2019s Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge<\/strong>, COO and CFO Boyd Muir<\/strong>, and EVP and Chief Digital Officer Michael Nash<\/strong> offered insights into UMG\u2019s performance and strategic initiatives.<\/p>\n

Here are seven key takeaways from the call…<\/p>\n

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photo_gonzo\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>2) SPOTIFY POSTS RECORD-HIGH OPERATING PROFIT FOR Q1, AS SUBSCRIBER BASE GROWS BY 5M TO 268M PAID USERS<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Spotify<\/strong> grew its global Premium Subscriber base to 268 million paying users<\/strong> in Q1.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s according to the company\u2019s latest financial results (for Q1 2025), filed Tuesday (April 29), in which SPOT reported that its Premium Subscriber base was up 12% YoY<\/strong>, and up by 5 million<\/strong> net subscribers on the 263 million that SPOT counted at the end of the prior quarter (Q4 2024).<\/p>\n

The streaming company also posted a record-high quarterly Operating Income of \u20ac509 million<\/strong> ($535.6m<\/strong>), which was below SPOT\u2019s guidance of \u20ac548 million for Q1.<\/p>\n

Shortly before the earnings came out, news reports suggested Spotify is preparing a sweeping price increase<\/a> across several global markets starting this summer, as the streaming giant aims to keep its profitability momentum…<\/p>\n

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Photo: PLEDIS Entertainment<\/figcaption><\/figure>3) HYBE REVENUES SOARED 39% YOY TO RECORD $349M IN Q1, DRIVEN BY TOURS AND MERCH FROM SEVENTEEN, J-HOPE, ENHYPEN AND OTHER K-POP STARS<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

South Korean entertainment powerhouse HYBE<\/strong> has achieved its highest-ever first-quarter revenue haul, surpassing the 500 billion South Korean won<\/strong> mark in the three months to the end of March.<\/p>\n

HYBE reported KRW 500.6 billion<\/strong> (approx. USD $348.4 million<\/strong> at current exchange rates) in first-quarter revenue on Tuesday (April 29), a 38.7%<\/strong> jump from KRW 360.9 billion<\/strong> ($251m<\/strong>) last year.<\/p>\n

This marked a recovery from Q1 2024 when HYBE\u2019s revenue dropped 12.1% YoY to KRW 360.92 billion ($251.7m).<\/p>\n

Concert revenue emerged as the standout performer, more than tripling YoY to KRW 155.2 billion<\/strong> ($108m<\/strong>) from KRW 44 billion ($30.7m), defying the market\u2019s forecast for a 48.6% drop in concert revenue to KRW 74.6 billion ($52m)…<\/p>\n

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Photo: Matthew Johnson<\/figcaption><\/figure>4) SPLICE ACQUIRES SPITFIRE AUDIO FOR A REPORTED $50M AS IT BETS ON AI MUSIC CREATION<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Splice<\/strong> \u2014 valued in 2021 at nearly USD $500 million<\/strong> after securing $55 million in funding \u2013 has acquired UK-based \u201chigh-end\u201d virtual instrument library Spitfire Audio<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but according to the Financial Times<\/em>, which cited a person familiar with the matter, the deal is worth about USD $50 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The acquisition marks Splice\u2019s entry into the plugin sector, which it notes is valued at $640 million<\/strong>, and aligns with its existing subscription and rent-to-own businesses.<\/p>\n

The move positions Splice to capitalize on the growing music creation market, forecast (by Midia Research) to nearly double to $14 billion<\/strong> by 2031…<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>5) Ole Obermann and Rachel Newman named Co-Heads, Apple Music<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

In February, MBW<\/em> broke the news that Ole Obermann<\/strong> was leaving his role as Global Head of Music Business Development at ByteDance<\/strong> after five and a half years.<\/p>\n

Our sources told us that he had lined up a big role at Apple Music<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now we can confirm that Obermann has indeed joined Apple, in a newly created role in music focused on strategy and innovation.<\/p>\n

MBW<\/em> understands that Obermann has taken up a joint leadership position at Apple Music alongside Rachel Newman<\/strong> as the new Co-Heads, Apple Music, reporting into Oliver Schusser<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>MBW\u2019s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world\u2019s best-selling artists maximise their income and reduce their touring costs.<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The biggest stories from the past week \u2013 all in one place\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":111195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[1508,130682,129816,2433,134009,4700,5824,108,269],"class_list":["post-230570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-news","tag-apple-music","tag-earnings","tag-hybe","tag-ole-obermann","tag-rachel-newman","tag-spitfire-audio","tag-splice","tag-spotify","tag-universal-music-group"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}