The second quarter of 2025 revealed a mixed battlefield for music industry titans, with all four major players—Spotify, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music—posting revenue growth amid evolving challenges.
Spotify continued its user expansion with monthly active users climbing 11% year-on-year to 696 million, while paid subscribers increased 12% to 276 million. Despite this growth, the streaming giant’s revenue of €4.19 billion ($4.86 billion) fell short of market expectations, contributing to an 11.6% stock price decline after operating profit missed forecasts by over €130 million.
Universal Music Group demonstrated resilience with total revenue rising 4.5% to $3.38 billion, buoyed by subscription revenue growth of 8.5% in its recorded music division. The company’s music publishing segment emerged as a standout performer, surging 14.5% year-on-year, partially offsetting weaknesses in merchandising and physical sales.
UMG’s focus on margin improvement while maintaining growth illustrated its strategic pivot toward profitability in a challenging market. The company continued leveraging its playlist pitching capabilities to increase artist visibility across major streaming platforms.
Warner Music Group reported impressive results with total revenue reaching $1.689 billion, representing a 7% increase year-over-year in constant currency. The company’s recorded music division generated $1.354 billion, up 6.4%, with subscription streaming revenue accelerating to 8.5% growth from just 3.2% in the previous quarter. WMG’s adjusted OIBDA increased significantly by 15.8% year-over-year, reaching $373 million with a healthy margin of 22.1%.
When adjusted for one-time items, WMG’s growth figures appeared even stronger, highlighting the company’s operational momentum. The company also reported substantial revenue increases from sync deals with television and film productions, demonstrating the growing importance of music licensing in the industry.
Sony Music emerged as the quarter’s dark horse, posting approximately $2.77 billion in combined recorded music and publishing revenue—an 8.8% year-on-year increase on a consistent currency basis. Particularly remarkable was Sony’s 19% jump in physical music sales to $180 million, bucking industry trends and demonstrating the company’s ability to capitalize on collector demand. Bad Bunny’s latest album led Sony’s quarterly performance as the biggest revenue generator among a diverse portfolio of successful releases.
Across the industry, subscription streaming remained the primary growth engine, with all major companies reporting increases between 8.5-12% in this segment.
However, ad-supported streaming showed concerning signs of stagnation, with Spotify reporting a 1% decline in this revenue category, signaling potential headwinds in the advertising market.
