Streaming revenue at Sony for the 2018 calendar year hit £1.56bn, according to the latest financial results.
Sony Corp has reported overall revenues of 2.4 trillion yen (£16.9 billion) and operating income of 377 billion yen (£2.65bn) in its fiscal third quarter
Revenues were down 9% in the music division to 209bn yen (£1.47bn). But operating profits soared by 275% to 147bn yen (£1.03bn). The huge increase in operating income was the result of a 116.9bn yen (£821m) re-measurement gain from the consolidation of EMI Music Publishing.
In its financial statement, Sony Corp reported that it paid 244bn yen (£1.7bn) to acquire the remaining 60% stake in EMI. The deal means Sony now has 4.46m music titles in the catalogue.
For the fiscal year to date, Sony has also reported that proceeds from the sale of Spotify shares totalled 82bn yen (£579.7m).
Streaming growth has been less dramatic than in recent quarters. Last quarter it was 7.3% and this time it’s up 14% year-on-year to (£441m).
Overall, recorded music revenues dipped 8.4% to 117.4bn yen (£825m). Music publishing sales were up as a result of the EMI deal.
Sony is forecasting full-year music division profits of 230bn yen (£1.6bn) and revenues of 820bn yen (£5.8bn).
Sony’s top five biggest music releases in the quarter were Travis Scott, Bob Dylan, George Ezra, Little Mix and Pentatonix.
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