Warner Music’s Publishing Posts Strong Results in Otherwise Bumpy Quarter, CEO Sees Potential in AI and Streaming Price Increases

variety.com:

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor New Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl faced a light release schedule during his first two quarters in office and has promised not to candy-coat the results.

Although the company’s revenue was up 4% and its publishing division posted a strong quarter, the company is just beginning to emerge from that thin stretch of releases with strong performances from three recent albums from its Atlantic Records division, from Ed Sheeran, Jack Harlow and Tiesto.

As he did in his first earnings call, Kyncl nodded to that situation and then looked ahead to a robust release schedule for the remainder of 2023, with upcoming releases from Dua Lipa, David Guetta, Lil Uzi Vert, Burna Boy, Kelly Clarkson, Tiago PZK, Bailey Zimmerman, and others. “I’m very confident in the path forward, as we combine creative and marketing excellence with tech innovation to propel our growth,” he said.

He also spoke of two areas of controversy during his comments, particularly AI and certain streaming services’ refusal to raise subscription prices, which is frequently cited as the quickest short-term fix for the low revenue streaming generates for artists and the services themselves.