SZA, whose SOS Deluxe: Lana generated the most recorded revenue of any Sony Music release during Q1 2025 as well as the 12 months ended March 31st. Photo Credit: Erin Cazes
These and other takeaways come from a new earnings report released by the overarching Sony Group Corp. This performance breakdown covers January, February, and March 2025, the final quarter of the conglomerate’s fiscal 2024.
Beginning on the quarterly side, Sony Group pointed to ¥463.57 billion (currently $3.16 billion) in music revenue, representing a 9.8% YoY increase. As usual, though, that sum includes a sizable contribution from the music-adjacent visual media and platform.
Stated concisely, the latter, lumping together mobile gaming, anime, and more, is best omitted to get an idea of core Sony Music revenue. Another important side note: Sony Group collects revenue in all sorts of currencies but reports in yen; exchange rates helped the below results along.
Less visual media and platform, then, music revenue came in at $2.64 billion/¥387.46 billion during calendar Q1 2025, up roughly 4.5% YoY, the document indicates.
However, recorded streaming’s growth rate finished at the initially mentioned 4.8% ($1.32 billion/¥193.04 billion in total revenue), compared to a 16.3% YoY boost for Sony Music Publishing ($656.54 million/¥96.28 billion).
Digging into those numbers for just a moment – Sony Music’s full-year showing is, of course, also worth exploring – publishing streaming revenue is said to have risen 25.6% YoY to $378.20 million/¥55.46 billion in Q1 2025.
And as of March 31st, Sony Music Publishing’s owned-and-administered catalog contained a cool 6.63 million works, up from 6.24 million in the prior year, per the report.
Back to recorded revenue for 2025’s opening quarter, physical sales enjoyed a 12% YoY hike to $183.10 million/¥26.85 billion. By revenue, Sony Music artists’ Q1 bestsellers were SZA’s SOS Deluxe: Lana, Tate McRae’s So Close to What, Lisa’s Alter Ego, and Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia as well as Igor, respectively.
All told, music operating income (including for visual media and platform) finished at $569.97 million/¥83.58 billion for Q1 2025, up nearly 17.4% YoY.
Within the sum, recorded music kicked in $8.16 billion/¥1.20 trillion (up 12.2% YoY), including $5.38 billion/¥788.77 billion from streaming (up 11.2% YoY) and $724.40 million/¥106.15 billion from physical (up 4.8% YoY).
Fiscal bestsellers included SZA’s aforementioned effort, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, We Still Don’t Trust You by Future as well as Metro Boomin, and Travis Scott’s Utopia, respectively.
Publishing revenue, on the other hand, jumped 16.3% YoY to crack $2.59 billion/¥379.81 billion for the 12-month stretch. And full-year music operating income, at $2.44 billion/¥357.26 billion, was up 18.4% YoY.
Looking ahead to the 12 months ending March 31st, 2026, execs are anticipating “essentially flat” sales at Sony Music. Also on the horizon are further catalog purchases and business acquisitions “in high growth markets such as Latin America, India, and other Asian countries.”
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