Rob Stringer, the Chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Leisure, up to date buyers on the music firm’s efficiency and technique on Friday morning (June 13).
Delivered as a part of Sony Group’s 2025 Enterprise Phase Presentation for buyers, Stringer lined Sony’s monetary efficiency, catalog offers, distribution technique, AI alternatives, music streaming subscription costs, and extra. He additionally took half in a fireplace chat with Justin Hill, Senior Vice President, Finance & Investor Relations, Sony Company of America.
“I’ll paint a vivid image of how constructive we’re while attaining groundbreaking outcomes,” Stringer advised buyers in the beginning of the presentation. “There’s a dramatic quantity of change in our business taking place, however we’re well-placed to win.”
Stringer highlighted Sony’s artistic and industrial successes, from Beyonce’s album of the 12 months win on the Grammys, to Tyler the Creator, Tate McRae and Future No.1 albums.
He additionally gave shout-outs to celebrity Latin Music artist Dangerous Bunny and songwriter Edgar Barrera, plus Sony Music Publishing-signed Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, who Stringer mentioned, “grew to become cultural icons by means of their vastly profitable albums”.
In line with Stringer, “this inventive development is fueled by our need to domesticate our rosters by means of extra signings and acquisitions.”
And it was on that time about M&A, that Stringer revealed Sony “accomplished greater than 60 investments up to now 12 months alone” and spent “over $2.5 billion for frontline, catalog, in addition to artistic and repair ventures with exterior entrepreneurs throughout an unlimited variety of territories.”
Stringer mentioned Sony’s technique in better element throughout the presentation and Q&A. Listed here are seven extra issues you need to know…
1. Sony doesn’t base its acquisition selections on ‘random monetary speculative techniques’
In the course of the presentation, Stringer took goal at what he known as “periphery music and monetary gamers”.
He famous that Sony’s acquisitions of catalogs of iconic artists like Queen and Pink Floyd “are based mostly on vital inside observe experience on the historical past and subsequently chance of those inventive treasure chests”.
He added: “They’re by no means based mostly on random monetary speculative techniques that periphery music and monetary gamers could select to make use of. That is our lifeblood, and we’re greatest positioned to proceed boldly however properly in creating this technique.”
Addressing the Queen and Pink Floyd offers particularly, Stringer mentioned: “You might have learn in latest months that we now have bought the recorded music of Queen and Pink Floyd and the publishing rights for the unimaginable library of songs for Queen, in addition to the title, picture and likeness rights which can current enormous new promising income channels to us.”
Past the Pink Floyd and Queen offers, Stringer’s presentation additionally highlighted different “choose investments” from Sony Music Group, itemizing logos for numerous labels, distro and merch corporations, together with:
2. Sony Music continues to be bullish on high-growth rising markets
Subsequent, Stringer turned his consideration to Sony Music’s enlargement in high-growth markets throughout Latin America, Asia, the Center East, and Africa.
“In our central native corporations, we now have solid new ventures within the Czech Republic, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and all throughout Southeast Asia,” mentioned Stringer.
He added: “Our urge for food for that is countless in its potential.”
Stringer additionally advised buyers that “within the high-growth markets of Latin America, Asia, Japanese Europe, and the Center East, all of which have bloomed at double-digit charges within the final three years’ progress, we now have been vigorously concentrating on methods to higher place Sony Music”.
In line with Stringer: “In India and Latin America, we’re nonetheless primary in recorded music.”
As you possibly can see from the slide above, within the Latin American music house, Sony highlighted its latest partnership with Mexican American label Rancho Humilde.
In Europe, Sony pointed to its acquisition of Greece’s Cobalt Music and Supraphon, one of many Czech Republic’s longest-established file corporations.
Additionally in Europe, Sony highlighted catalog acquisitions from Poland’s Catmood Information and celebrity Polish-language rapper Tymek.
In the meantime, in Africa and the Center East, Sony highlighted its latest partnership with Saudi Arabia’s LuxuryKSA, and its acquisition of the recorded music catalog of Egyptian celebrity artist Amr Diab.
For Asia, Sony highlighted its three way partnership with a outstanding Indian movie manufacturing home Tiger Child and different partnerships.
3. Sony is benefiting from older customers’ adoption of streaming and consumption of catalog music
In the course of the presentation, Stringer highlighted the rising alternative in catalog music as streaming reaches the mainstream and is adopted by better numbers of older customers.
He famous that “in 2020, 24% of the High 200 tracks have been catalog songs,” whereas “in 2024, that share grew to about 50%”.
Stringer defined that “this pattern is extraordinarily useful to Sony Music given our wealthy, deep working content material”.
He added: “We’re after all completely positioned to grasp the information from this exercise, and this has stimulated our need to buy full our bodies of labor of labels and iconic artists.”
Sringer mentioned this consumption shift in additional element, noting that “because the streaming age matures, equally the buyer does the identical”.
He added: “A younger lean-forward modern music fan of 2015 could nicely now be extra of a lean-back one in 2025, listening to hits from a decade in the past.
“The broader variety in choices of digital suppliers from full-length clips to brief visible clips has additionally allowed our library to be consumed in a plethora of the way, which is without doubt one of the key explanation why we see extra of our catalog within the charts as yearly passes.”
4. Gross sales flowing by means of Sony’s unbiased distribution companies have ‘greater than doubled’ during the last 4 years
Rob Stringer additionally offered an replace on Sony Music’s label and artist providers enterprise, which incorporates outstanding gamers like The Orchard and AWAL, which it totally acquired in 2015 and in 2021, respectively.
He famous that The Orchard represents over 26,000 labels, whereas AWAL works with over 20,000 artists, noting that “none of our rivals come near that magnitude of scale”.
Stringer additionally revealed: “In an surroundings the place almost half {the marketplace} is made up of the unbiased music sector, gross sales flowing by means of [Sony’s] unbiased distribution companies greater than doubled the final 4 years.”
Stringer additionally advised buyers: “We [via The Orchard] have minority pursuits in over half, a minimum of, of the Orchard’s High 20 shoppers, and it has not too long ago fashioned a quickly worthwhile admin initiative with our central Publishing Group.”
He added: “We not too long ago concluded transactions with independents in Croatia, Ghana, India and South Korea to call however just a few international locations alongside what we’ve already finished in our established English-speaking areas.
Sony’s Alamo Information division additionally performs a key position in its wider unbiased distribution enterprise.
Stringer famous that it serves “because the umbrella group of Basis distribution and Santa Anna’s incubator system,” which, he revealed, collectively represents one other almost 3,000 artists. Sony acquired a majority stake in Todd Moscowitz’s Alamo Information in 2021, paying €102 million ($123m) to purchase Common Music’s curiosity within the firm.
5. Stringer desires to see extra value will increase at DSPs.
Addressing Sony’s relationship with streaming corporations and the economics of the streaming enterprise, Stringer mentioned that previously 12 months, throughout the corporate’s recorded music and publishing actions, it “finalized lots of of agreements and renewals, together with with almost each prime DSP in addition to model new start-ups”.
In line with Stringer, “paid subscription stays the fulcrum of our enterprise,” noting that the variety of paid subscribers globally grew by 11% to over 752 million in 2024.
“These are a part of our on a regular basis actions, which is why we don’t spotlight them typically however we are continuously pushing to make sure audiences are getting an improved music expertise,” he mentioned.
Stringer cited Spotify CEO Daniel Ek‘s latest earnings name remark about “the connection with [labels and DSPs being] higher than ever.”
Stringer argued, nonetheless, that “there’s room for added upside for all of us if we work collectively much more carefully”.
“Music shouldn’t be ‘free’ or a ‘low-cost discount’ nonetheless after a decade of such positive-value-for-money proof of idea in mature territories.”
Rob Stringer
Stringer advised buyers throughout the presentation that “there’s a want for costs to rise and new tiers [to be] launched that really replicate the profitable maturity of streaming, particularly in contrast with what we see in SVOD providers”.
He added: “Music shouldn’t be ‘free’ or a ‘low-cost discount’ nonetheless after a decade of such positive-value-for-money proof of idea in mature territories. And there ought to be versatile pricing constructions which are acceptable for prime progress international locations — notably if they’re typically hampered by inflation or differing nationwide financial transactional strategies.”
In the course of the Q&A phase, Stringer commented on monetization of ad-supported choices advert streaming providers. He mentioned: “There hasn’t been an enormous enchancment in ad-supported income in the previous few years on these DSP platforms.
“We’d clearly wish to see that occur. We want to see the free tier be extra carefully checked out when it comes to whether or not there really was a free tier in among the extra mature markets, or whether or not there was a distinct structuring of how we’d get income from the free tier, not simply through promoting, but in addition by hopefully making an attempt to persuade the buyer in these tiers to improve to a subscription.”
6. Superfan tiers at DSPs are nonetheless an ‘early-stages idea’.
Elsewhere throughout the Q&A, Stringer was requested about superfan tiers at streaming providers.
In line with experiences, Spotify‘s long-touted superfan tier might launch this 12 months. This tier would see the platform cost as much as $5.99 extra per thirty days on prime of a Premium subscription (round $18 in complete) for entry to numerous ‘superfan‘ perks.
On Spotify’s Q1 earnings name, CEO Daniel Ek indicated that the platform was nonetheless engaged on such a tier however that the streamer wants “companions to come back to the desk and be a part of this journey”.
“There’s been a whole lot of dialog available in the market concerning the DSPs launching new premium service tiers, which goal tremendous followers,” mentioned Justin Hill, Senior Vice President, Finance & Investor Relations, Sony Company of America, throughout the fireplace chat with Stringer. “How large is that chance relating to monetizing that new tier and can it have a serious affect on ARPU progress?”
In Stringer’s view, “the tremendous fan tier is an early growth idea”. He added: “The DSPs virtually need to outline with us what that truly means.
“We’re companions with our artists and creators, however we additionally don’t management each income stream. So, it will be a multi-revenue stream-based idea.”
In accordance Stringer, given Sony is residence to “among the greatest artists on the earth,” has “among the greatest manufacturers on the earth,” plus, “personal[s] title and likeness on a few of these manufacturers,” the comapny “can be very snug with there being a [superfan] tier that works”.
He added, nonetheless: “We’re within the early conceptualization of these levels, and we now have to work collectively as with anything.
“Precisely as we mentioned with pricing, or as we mentioned with even among the parts of how nicely these platforms work, we now have to work collectively. And I believe it’s an early-stages idea.”
7. Sony has engaged with over 800 corporations on AI-related actions, however slammed ‘the shortage of recognition of copyright by a lot of the tech sector’
Sony Music Group’s Chairman devoted a bit of the presentation to the corporate’s actions within the subject of AI.
Stringer revealed that Sony Music Leisure has “actively engaged” with over 800 corporations on “moral product creation, content material safety and detection, enhancing metadata and audio tuning and translation amongst many different shared methods”.
He added: “AI can be a robust software in creating thrilling new music that can be progressive and futuristic. There is no such thing as a doubt about this.”
He argued, nonetheless, that “these constructive steps are weighed down by the shortage of recognition of copyright by a lot of the tech sector and authorities policymakers in lots of international locations and areas”.
Stringer continued: “The coaching of those fashions to permit such motion can not merely be laissez-faire and disrespectful to the truth that mental property has clear-cut rights. These shouldn’t be abused, and shifting ahead, a transparent remuneration system ought to exist.”
Stringer revealed that Sony is “going to do offers for brand new music AI merchandise this 12 months with people who need to assemble the longer term with us the precise manner”.
“We’re going to do offers for brand new music AI merchandise this 12 months with people who need to assemble the longer term with us the precise manner.”
He added: “New subscription concepts with truthful income sharing preparations can be additional additive. Like something new, it should begin slowly and quickly scale over time.
“In step with how we managed the shift from possession to streaming, we are going to share all revenues with our artists and songwriters whether or not from coaching or associated to outputs, so they’re appropriately compensated from day considered one of this new frontier.
“And with offers being carried out, it will likely be clear to governments {that a} functioning market does exist so there is no such thing as a want for them to take heed to the lobbying from the tech corporations so closely.”
Stringer mentioned that Sony Music is “inspired by the U.S. Copyright Workplace’s latest place stating that, ‘making industrial use of huge troves of copyrighted works, particularly the place that is completed by means of unlawful entry, goes past established truthful use boundaries’”.
“However to date, there’s too little collaboration, excluding a handful of extra ethically minded gamers.”
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