Music sales by Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Kylie saw pretax profits at Warner Music’s Irish arm jump by 62 per cent last year to €2.69 million.
New accounts filed by Warner Music Ireland Ltd show the revenues from music streaming and physical sales increased during the year. Overall revenues from music streaming and album purchase were 8 per cent stronger at €16.14 million in the 12 months to the end of September last. That broke down into direct sales of €14.92 million and royalty and licence fee income of €1.2 million.
The directors say they believe the company will continue to grow revenues.
Kylie’s Padam Padam hit was released in May of last year and spent eight weeks in the Irish top 40, while Dua Lipa’s earning power was underlined by her UK-based Radical22 Live LLP generating revenues of £51.59 million (€61.22m) in the 12 months to the end of March 2023.
On the firm’s future developments, the directors said the firm was “embracing the spectrum of opportunities presented by digital technology to deepen the connection between fans and artists”.
“Creating and developing new business models to accelerate its business transformation remains a top strategic imperative,” they said.
Employment in the business was steady at 12 people, five of whom work in promotion, advertising and publicity, with four covering selling and distribution and three in administration. Staff costs dipped to €881,379 from €953,559.
Pay to directors increased almost 13 per cent to €344,374, made up of €310,307 in emoluments and €34,067 in pension contributions.
Profit after tax came to €2.28 million, with shareholder funds standing at €9.5 million at year-end.
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