UMG’s Q3 growth looks different with and without Downtown
Revenue rose 11.7% at constant currency, and 5.3% excluding Downtown’s contribution.
PENN 2 in Manhattan with UMG signage; this September 28 file photo is contextual, not an image of the Q3 results. Ajay Suresh · CC BY 4.0 · Resized for display.
Universal Music Group reported €3.394 billion in third-quarter revenue, up 12.3% year over year as reported and 11.7% at constant currency. That headline includes Downtown, whose business UMG consolidated into its results. Excluding the acquisition, constant-currency revenue growth was 5.3%—a second view of UMG’s quarter, not a measure of the whole music industry. Constant-currency reporting reduces the effect of exchange-rate moves; excluding Downtown also removes the acquired business from the comparison.
Streaming subscriptions and physical sales both grew
Within Recorded Music, revenue grew 14.7% at constant currency, or 7.4% excluding Downtown. Recorded Music subscription revenue rose 19.2%, or 9.5% without the acquisition; UMG cited wholesale price increases and subscriber growth. Total streaming revenue grew 13.5% (4.7% excluding Downtown), partly helped by higher per-play rates. The company reports subscriptions and total streaming separately.
Physical revenue increased 17.4% both including and excluding Downtown, with strength across North America, Japan, and Europe and across frontline releases and catalog. Downloads and other digital revenue fell 15.4% at constant currency, or 30.8% excluding Downtown.
UMG’s adjusted EBITDA, a company-defined non-IFRS measure, grew 9.0% at constant currency and 7.0% excluding Downtown. Its adjusted EBITDA margin excluding Downtown expanded 0.4 percentage points to 22.4%. The acquisition-adjusted comparison helps separate its contribution from growth UMG reported across subscriptions, physical sales, and digital publishing.
