BMG Revenues Up 9% In First Half Of 2021…. And It Has Over $1BN Of Acquisition Deals In Play With KKR
September 2, 2021
BMG saw its half-year revenues grow 9% YoY at constant currency to €296 million ($357m) in the six months to end of June.
That represented the music rights company’s best-ever midyear performance since it was formed in 2008.
The €296 million haul – up 5.2% on a reported basis – represented a €14 million jump on the €282 million that BMG generated in the same six-month period of 2020.
62.9% of BMG’s revenues in the first half of 2021 were from publishing, with 37.1% from recordings.
BMG’s operating EBITDA reached €50 million ($60m) in H1 2021. That was up 7% at constant currency (or 3.1% on a reported basis) on the €49 million EBITDA the firm posted for the same period in 2020.
Over half of BMG’s revenues in the first half of 2021 came from the United States (€160 million). The UK was its second biggest territory (€45m) followed by Germany (€19m).
These numbers were confirmed by BMG and parent Bertelsmann today (August 31).
BMG also had some news for those waiting for it to make a catalog buyout following its much-trumpeted music rights acquisitions partnership with KKR, first announced in March.
That partnership, says BMG, has now completed its first acquisition, with four more catalog buys now in due diligence.
BMG also confirmed that its KKR partnership is currently working on 71 pipeline deals – which may or may not reach completion – at a combined value of over €1 billion.
In an internal note sent to BMG staff today and obtained by MBW, the music company’s CEO, Hartwig Masuch, called his firm’s half-year numbers “a ringing endorsement of our clients, our strategy and, importantly, of you”.
Said Masuch of the H1 2021 period: “While publishing revenues continue to reflect the impact of lockdown and were flat, in recordings revenues were up 29.4% on the same period last year and [in H1 2021] we outperformed the market in both digital and physical in each of our three core markets of the US, UK and Germany.
“WHILE PUBLISHING REVENUES CONTINUE TO REFLECT THE IMPACT OF LOCKDOWN AND WERE FLAT, IN RECORDINGS REVENUES WERE UP 29.4% ON THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR AND WE OUTPERFORMED THE MARKET IN BOTH DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL IN EACH OF OUR THREE CORE MARKETS OF THE US, UK AND GERMANY.”
HARTWIG MASUCH, BMG
In addition, during H1 2021, Netflix inked a long-term, exclusive deal with BMG to manage its music publishing rights outside the US. BMG also partnered with gaming platform Roblox to develop new opportunities for artists and songwriters.
