Warner Music Is Totally Cool With Streaming Music Now That It’s Making More Money Than Song Downloads

http://ift.tt/1JF65XO

(SCHMEGGA)

Once seen as the knife that would slay the music industry, it seems the popularity — and profitability — of streaming music is making some labels change their tune. Warner Music Group said revenue from streaming music has passed that from digital downloads for the first time.

Streaming music sales managed to outstrip revenues from CDs in March across the industry, and now WMG says it’s beating download sales as well, a first for any large music label, notes re/code.

Revenue from companies like Spotify and YouTube, which offer subscriptions as well as free content, grew 33% in Q2, Warner CEO Stephen Cooper announced during the company’s earnings call.

Overall, digital revenue grew 7%, which means that download sales from iTunes and other outlets decreased in that same time.

“The rate of this growth has made it abundantly clear that in years to come, streaming will be the way that most people enjoy music,” Cooper said in a statement at the beginning of the call. “We’ll continue to collaborate with our streaming partners to expand their businesses, and more importantly, to ensure that copyright owners, artists and songwriters receive appropriate value for their work.”

Warner Music Says Streaming Revenue Has Passed Downloads, and It Wants More [re/code]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist