Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Eric Levin: Thanks, Matthew. So I’ll take the second one first, because they pretty much net out to 0. The 2 most substantive things in Publishing was the revenue true-up in streaming and the CRB on a records 3, which has now been finalized at the kind of backlog revenue impact now that it’s able to be calculated. The revenue true-up was a positive. The CRB, although there was a positive this quarter. The prior year was a positive — it was $10 million more. So when you net that all out, it all nets to 0, the streaming revenue growth of 28% in publishing is about what it is once you net out all those true-ups. So it’s really kind of negate each other. On the price increases on the recorded side, I would really say to expect the benefit of those or the full benefit of those in fiscal ’24.

And Spotify’s announced rate increase as an example, it takes a few months to execute, rollout to their consumers and then roll that into our numbers. So, I’d expect to see the price increases roll through our numbers in fiscal ’24, not I don’t think realistically in Q4 ’23.

Matthew Thornton: And maybe I could sneak one more on housekeeping as well, Eric. The lower variable marketing spend that you talked a little bit about in the release. I just wanted to kind of double check if that’s something that’s sustainable or if that’s something that needs to come back a little bit. Any color there as well?

Eric Levin: I’d say it’s too early for us or me to make a definitive statement there. I think some of that depends on the release schedule, which markets it skewed towards some markets have higher need to break local music and a higher marketing demand when some products come out in — with partners or partnerships of how they’re released it creates efficiencies in marketing. So it depends on the release schedule for next year. Obviously, as you see from this year, we’re very actively looking at evaluating and managing costs, including marketing. And as we look forward, we will continue to — with great discipline, evaluate and manage those. But I wouldn’t want to yet call a specific permanent lower variable marketing. I will say that we’re very actively looking to manage and improve margins, and that is one of the significant tools that you have to use.

Operator: Our next question comes from Stephen Laszczyk with Goldman Sachs. Your line is open.

Stephen Laszczyk: I was wondering if you could maybe talk a little bit more about the momentum you saw in market share in the third quarter on the back of some strong releases, especially if there’s anything you can say around perhaps the cadence or magnitude of those trends? And then maybe looking ahead, could you maybe give us an update on how the release slate stacks up in the back half of this year versus what we saw in the first half?

Robert Kyncl: Sure. So first, I want to point out that we had — we obviously had a great release slate with lots of momentum and lots of success. But at the same time, our catalog has also delivered, which is something that I tremendously appreciate. So it was — we’re kind of been firing on both engines, new release and catalog. We have a great slate for the next quarter. There’s — I would say the best way to think about this is that we entered the quarter with great success with Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, Young Thug, Kelly Clarkson, aespa, and the Barbie Soundtrack, obviously, is a huge blockbuster. So our entry into the quarter has been great and our slate looks also very, very strong for Q4 and the rest of the year. There’s lots of great new releases coming up from Burna Boy, Nino, PinkPantheress, Tiago PZK, Cali, Tiesto, Anne-Marie and so on and on and on.