From Live Nation’s 44m concertgoers in Q3 to Sony’s $2.15bn revenues… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up

Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly round-up – where we make sure you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their income and reduce their touring costs.

Business is booming at Live Nation.

The concerts giant generated revenues of $6.15 billion in Q3 across all divisions, including concerts, ticketing, and advertising & sponsorship, up 63% YoY.

Live Nation delivered these results, according to President and CEO Michael Rapino, writing to investors this week, “despite varying economic headwinds including inflation”.

He added: “Fans around the world continue prioritizing their spend on live events, particularly concerts.”

The company says that over 44 million fans attended 11,000 concerts in Q3 – its highest quarterly attendance ever.

Also this week, Sony Group Corp published its calendar Q3 (fiscal Q2) 2022 results.

According to MBW’s calculations, Sony’s global music rights operation – across recorded music and music publishing – generated USD $2.152 billion in the three months to end of September 2022.

Meanwhile, Paris-headquartered music company Believe reported that it generated EUR €197.0 million in Q3 – a 36.9% YoY increase in revenues.

Plus, MBW confirmed that Firebird has acquired a significant stake in Transgressive Records, while Spotify is reportedly considering buying its MENA-focused rival Anghami.

Here’s what happened this week…

1) OVER 44M PEOPLE ATTENDED LIVE NATION CONCERTS IN Q3 in 2022 – IT’S HIGHEST QUARTERLY ATTENDANCE EVER

Concerts giant Live Nation just delivered what it says was the “biggest summer concert season in history”.

According to new investor filings, the company generated Q3 revenues of $6.15 billion in the three months to end of September, up 63% YoY.

Those revenues were generated across all divisions, including concerts, ticketing and advertising & sponsorship…

2) SONY GENERATED $2.15BN FROM RECORDED MUSIC AND PUBLISHING IN CALENDAR Q3 – UP 16.4% YEAR-ON-YEAR

Sony’s global music rights operation – across recorded music and music publishing – generated USD $2.152 billion in the three months to end of September 2022.

That’s according to MBW’s calculations based on Sony Group Corp’s calendar Q3 (fiscal Q2) 2022 results, as announced by the Japanese firm earlier today (November 1).

The $2.152 billion figure was up 16.4% year-on-year (vs. calendar Q3 2021) at US dollar-converted constant currency.

In monetary terms, Sony’s overall music rights operation (recorded music plus music publishing) generated approximately $303 million more in calendar Q3 2022 than in the prior-year quarter…

3) BELIEVE’S REVENUES JUMPED BY 37% YOY IN Q3. IT’S JUST RAISED ITS FY FORECAST FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR.

Paris-headquartered music company Believe generated EUR €197.0 million in Q3 – a 36.9% YoY increase in revenues.

On an organic basis (at a like-for-like perimeter and constant exchange rate), that figure was up 37.6% YoY.

These impressive percentage rises have been fairly typical for Believe this year, despite macro-economic headwinds looming for the wider music and entertainment business (especially around ad-supported streaming services).

Case in point: in the first nine months of this year, Believe’s revenues were up 35.9% YoY – and 36.3% YoY on an organic basis – to €549.2 million…

4) FIREBIRD’S NEXT BIG DEAL REVEALED: A SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT IN TRANSGRESSIVE RECORDS

In September, we told you about an acquisitive new US-based business called Firebird Music Holdings, backed by Raine Group and co-founded by Nat Zilkha and Nathan Hubbard.

US-based Zilkha is a former Partner at KKR in December 2021, while Hubbard is a former CEO of Ticketmaster and a former global head of Media & Commerce at Twitter.

We revealed that Firebird’s first acquisition was a significantly-sized minority stake in Red Light Management – one of the world’s most established artist management companies. (Red Light’s founder Coran Capshaw continues to lead the company after 31 years at its helm.)

This week, MBW revealed details of Firebird’s latest deal – with a widely respected independent record company headquartered in London…

5) SPOTIFY CONSIDERING BUYING MENA-FOCUSED RIVAL ANGHAMI (REPORT)

Spotify is reportedly considering buying its MENA-focused rival Anghami.

That’s according to a report published by Dubai-based Frankly magazine. Arabian Business also carried the news.

Anghami listed on the NASDAQ in New York in February via a merger with a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company.

The music streaming company entered into a definitive merger agreement in March 2021, which valued Anghami at $220 million…Music Business Worldwide