Sony’s world music rights operation – throughout recorded music and music publishing – generated USD $2.768 billion within the three months to finish of June 2025.
That’s in keeping with MBW’s calculations primarily based on Sony Group Corp’s calendar Q2 2025 (fiscal Q1 2025) outcomes, as introduced by the Japanese agency at this time.
The $2.768 billion determine was up by 8.8% year-on-year (vs. calendar Q2 2024) at US dollar-converted constant forex.
In financial phrases, Sony’s general music rights operation (recorded music plus music publishing) generated roughly $223 million extra in calendar Q2 2025 than within the prior-year quarter.
(Our common be aware: MBW’s calculations of Sony’s music earnings – defined on the backside of this story – are primarily based on common quarterly trade charges, supplied by Sony, from its reported Yen to USD. We consider this offers a extra correct image of Sony’s worldwide outcomes than its reported Yen figures. It’s because Sony Music Leisure and Sony Music Publishing each mixture the outcomes of their worldwide subsidiaries on a USD foundation. Nevertheless, this world USD conversion system nonetheless dangers a certain quantity of FX distortion by changing revenues from Tokyo-based Sony Music Leisure Japan – which might normally report revenues in its ‘root’ forex of Yen – into USD.)
Recorded music income breakdown
Sony’s world recorded music operation generated USD $2.09 billion in calendar Q2 2025, up 8.4% YoY versus the equal quarterly interval of the prior 12 months on a USD foundation.
Inside Sony’s calendar Q2 2025 world recorded music consequence, streaming generated USD $1.36 billion (on a USD-converted foundation), up 7.3% YoY.
(This ‘streaming’ quantity combines each subscription and ad-funded streaming revenues generated by Sony’s world recorded music operation.)
Quarterly revenues from bodily music gross sales in calendar Q2 2025 hit USD $180 million (up 19.0% YoY).
Sony’s ‘Different’ class inside recorded music generated $481 million in calendar Q2 2025, up 3.1% YoY versus the prior-year quarter.
This latter class (‘Different’) contains license income (public efficiency, broadcast and sync), merchandising, and stay efficiency earnings.
The stable efficiency throughout all classes contributed to the general progress in recorded music revenues, with streaming remaining the most important income driver.
Based on Sony Corp‘s outcomes, Sony Music Leisure’s ten largest recorded music tasks within the calendar Q2 2025 quarter (ex-artists signed in Japan), so as of world income era, have been:
- Unhealthy Bunny (Rimas Leisure) – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
- SZA – SOS
- Sleep Token – Even in Arcadia
- Tate McRae – So Near What
- Unhealthy Bunny (Rimas Leisure) – Un Verano Sin Ti
- Pink Floyd – Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII
- ATEEZ – GOLDEN HOUR : Half.3
- Bruce Springsteen – Tracks II: The Misplaced Albums
- JENNIE – Ruby
- Miley Cyrus – One thing Lovely
Music publishing efficiency
Sony’s world music publishing operation – led by Sony Music Publishing – generated USD $683 million within the three months to finish of June 2025.
That quarterly income determine, on the US greenback degree, was up 9.9% year-on-year.
Based mostly on Sony’s reported streaming progress charges, Sony’s world music publishing operation derived roughly $392 million of its quarterly revenues within the calendar Q2 2025 interval from streaming.
That publishing streaming determine was up 8.0% year-on-year.
Quarterly income
Sony Corp additionally at this time issued some revenue numbers for its company Music division within the three months to finish of June 2025. (The next figures embrace Sony’s operations throughout Recorded Music, Music Publishing plus Visible Media & Platform.)
In calendar Q2 2025 (fiscal Q1 2025), Sony’s company Music division posted a quarterly working earnings of 92.8 billion Yen (USD $642m).
That represented an working margin of 19.9%, from whole divisional quarterly revenues (once more, ‘Music’ together with ‘Visible Media & Platform’) of 465.3 billion Yen (USD $3.22bn).
Sony Corp moreover presents to buyers its Adjusted OIBDA efficiency in every quarter (see under) – a metric additionally utilized by Warner Music Group to current its earnings.
In calendar Q2 2025 (fiscal Q1 2025), Sony’s Music division posted an Adjusted OIBDA of 117.1 billion Yen (USD $810m).
That represented an Adjusted OIBDA margin from whole divisional quarterly revenues of 25.2%.
Methodology be aware
Word: All YoY proportion rises/falls printed on this story are calculated at fixed forex on the US dollar-converted degree.
MBW makes use of Sony’s personal quarterly common forex charges for these calculations, and the under knowledge from Sony’s filings.
For this evaluation, MBW has calculated Sony’s financials from Japanese Yen into US {dollars} on the following prevailing trade charges in every quarter, as supplied by Sony Corp:
- Calendar Q1 2023: 135.4 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2023: 137.0 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2023: 144.4 Yen per USD
- Calendar This autumn 2023: 147.9 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2024: 148.2 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2024: 155.6 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q3 2024: 149.5 Yen per USD
- Calendar This autumn 2024: 152.2 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q1 2025: 152.6 Yen per USD
- Calendar Q2 2025: 144.6 Yen per USD
By making use of these trade figures to every relevant interval, we successfully get a US-leaning fixed forex image of Sony Music’s efficiency.
This isn’t an ideal system; it dangers overplaying Sony Music Leisure’s world enterprise barely by changing a piece of revenues from Sony Music Leisure Japan (which might normally be straight-reported in Yen) into US {dollars}.
However it supplies us with a cleaner reflection of the efficiency of New York-based Sony Music Leisure outdoors of FX distortion, as a result of the corporate needed to convert its US forex into Yen within the first place for Sony Corp’s outcomes. The identical is true for US-based Sony Music Publishing.
MBW believes this forex trade system is the yardstick used internally at Sony Music Group‘s HQ in New York.
Sony’s personal description of its three company music divisions is as follows:
- Recorded Music – Streaming contains the distribution of digital recorded music by streaming; Recorded Music – Others contains the distribution of recorded music by bodily media and digital obtain in addition to income derived from artists’ stay performances;
- Music Publishing contains the administration and licensing of the phrases and music of songs;
- Visible Media and Platform contains the manufacturing and distribution of animation titles, together with sport functions primarily based on the animation titles, and varied service choices for music and visible merchandise.
Inside / masking the primary two divisions listed above:
- Sony Music Publishing, run by CEO & Chairman Jon Platt, is Sony’s US-headquartered music publishing operation. Sony Music Leisure, run by CEO Rob Stringer, is Sony’s US-headquartered recorded music operation.
- And Sony Music Group – additionally run by Rob Stringer, as Chairman – is Sony’s US-headquartered umbrella group for each Sony Music Leisure and Sony Music Publishing.
Music Enterprise Worldwide
