About Company
Warner Music Group, popularly known as Warner Music or abridged as WMG, is a US-based transnational leisure and disc brand corporation with its head office in New York City.
Warner Music Group ranks among the “big three” record-making firms and the 3rd biggest in the worldwide music industry, following UMG (Universal Music Group) and SME (Sony Music Entertainment).
Earlier, Warner Music Group was a division of Time Warner (currently WarnerMedia), and from 2005 till 2011, the stocks of the firm were traded publicly on the NYSE, once it declared the denationalization and deal with Access Industries.
Subsequently, the company launched its 2nd IPO in 2020 on NASDAQ, once more turning into a publicly-traded company.
With a yearly turnover of many billion US dollars, Warner Music Group recruits over 5,500 workers and enjoys a prominent existence in over fifty nations across the world.
Warner Music Group possesses and runs a few of the biggest and most thriving brands in the world, such as the following:
- Reprise Records
- Elektra Records
- Parlophone Records (earlier held by EMI)
- Atlantic Records.
- Warner Records
Warner Music Group is the proprietor of Warner Chappell Music as well, which ranks among the biggest music releases in the world.
Since 2nd August 2018, the company has grown its operations to the domain of digital media via taking over Uproxx.
When was WMG set up?
The company was established on 6th April 1958; sixty-three years back. The timeline is as follows:
- 1958–1967, 1970–1971 – Warner Brothers Records
- 1967–1970 – Warner Brothers-Seven Arts
- 1971–1991 – Warner-Elektra-Atlantic
- 1991–2001 – Warner Music
What type of company is WMG?
It is a publicly-traded company.
To which industry does WMG belong?
WMG belongs to the entertainment and music industry.
What is the name of the forerunner of Warner Music Group?
The name of the forerunner of WMG is the Music Publishers Holding Company.
Who is the originator of WMG?
The establisher of WMG is Warner Bros.
Where is the head office of the company located?
The company is headquartered at 1633 Broadway, New York City, US.
Which area does it serve?
The company caters to a global client base.
How many people work for WMG?
As of 2021, 5,500 people work for the company.
What are the flagship brands under WMG?
- Elektra Records
- Atlantic Records
- Warner Records
- Parlophone Records
Who is the stakeholder of WMG?
The stakeholder of the company is Access Industries:
- 99.2% – Voting power
- 86.3% – Equity interest
Collaboration with TikTok
In 2020 December, Warner Music Group inked a collaboration pact with TikTok for offering music to their interface for customers to utilize for their subject. The pact is anticipated to aid in furthering its revenue.
Public listing
WMG had intended to launch the IPO (initial public offering) of the prevailing stock of the sponsors in 2020 March. However, the company called back its Initial public offering only ahead of the 2nd March commencement because of the coronavirus pandemic.
On 3rd June 2020, it concluded its Initial Public Offering on NASDAQ, raising almost US $2 billion with an estimation of US $12.75 billion, making Warner Music Group once more a public company once it went private earlier in 2011.
On 12th June 2020, Tencent declared about the acquisition of 10.4% of the Class A stocks of WMG, tantamount to 1.6% of the firm.
Tencent is already the proprietor of 10% of the stocks of the biggest contender of Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, which it took over in March from Vivendi.
Besides, this turns Sony Music into the exclusive prominent music firm not directly held in any proportion by a China-based firm (Sony, the Japanese corporation possesses it totally).
What are the products and services of Warner Music Group?
The products and services of WMG can be broadly categorized into the following:
Publishing services
Warner Chappell Music, the worldwide music launching firm of Warner Music Group, houses an extraordinary directory that incorporates everlasting benchmarks and modern-day hits, symbolizing creations by more than 65,000 musicians and lyricists, with a compendium of more than 1 million exclusive rights. Besides this, Warner Chappell Music incorporates Warner Chappell Production Music.
Recorded music
Guided by free will and a dedication to outstanding music, the famous anthology of distinguishing disc brands is family to the most admired and prestigious performers across the world.
Artist services
The artist services division of Warner Music Group provides opportunities to performers who focus more on the wealth-producing prospects rather than the temporary label collaborations with music companies. It has team affiliates operating in international and national locations like Los Angeles, New York City, Hamburg, Nashville, Sydney, London, Tokyo, and Toronto. Around 100 employees are there to look after e-commerce, live, merchandise, sales, and allied activities, and worldwide label certification and marketing.
Warner Music Group Management
Stephen Cooper (CEO)
Stephen F. Cooper serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Warner Music Group. Cooper became a part of the company in 2011 once the firm took over Access Industries. Stephen is an affiliate of the Administrative Board of LyondellBasell Industries N.V., which ranks among the biggest polyolefins, olefins, purification, and chemicals firms in the world.
Cooper serves as the Supervisory Collaborator of Cooper Investment Partners, a privately-held equity establishment.
Stephen has over three decades of experience as a financial consultant. He has functioned as the chief executive officer or chairman of different commercial enterprises, such as the CEO of Hawaiian Telcom and Vice Chairman and an affiliate of the office of the CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Cooper has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts from Occidental College.
Eric Levin (Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer)
Eric Levin serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Warner Music Group. This is a position in which Levin has the responsibility for the global financial activities of the organization.
Eric became a part of the organization in 2014 after having occupied a variety of superior managerial roles in Greater China and the US.
Levin became associated with Ecolab Incorporated in 2012, the worldwide tech and fabrication house, in the position of the Regional Controller and Chief Financial Officer for its North Asia territory.
Earlier, starting in 2009, Levin served as the Chief Financial Officer of the South China Morning Post Group.
Formerly, Eric served as the Chief Financial Officer of Home Box Office (HBO) and was an origination collaborator at City On Demand, a multimedia enterprise.
Levin received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago and a B.S. degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Maria Osherova, Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President, Warner Music Group
As a part of the senior executive group of Warner Music Group, Maria Osherova (also known as Masha) supervises all the facets of the HR operations of Warner Music Group around the world.
Osherova’s duties comprise developing a convincing and unique setting for Warner Music Group personnel, at the same time developing the combined skill set of the firm in association with its enduring innovative and business tactic.
In 2006, Masha Osherova became a part of Warner Music Group in the position of the Vice President, HR for the London-based Warner Music International.
After being promoted to the role of Warner Music International Senior Vice President, Masha performed a crucial role in the fruitful amalgamation of Parlophone Label Group with Warner Music Group.
Before joining Warner Music Group, Maria served as the Worldwide Human Resources Supervisor for a segment of Shell International Petroleum. Earlier, she occupied different prestigious berths with The Coca-Cola Company, located diversely in St. Petersburg, Oslo, and Copenhagen.
Osherova is an alumnus of Petersburg State Polytechnical University, and she earned an M.Sc degree from there.
James Steven, Chief Communications Officer & Executive Vice President, WMG
James Steven serves as the Chief Communications Officer and Executive Vice President for Warner Music Group.
Steven is entrusted with the responsibility for the global communications and business promotion activities of Warner Music Group, incorporating inside and outside communications, corporate social responsibility (CSR), investor relations, as well as particular proceedings.
Steven supervises the communication and synchronization of the interactive activities of the functional segments of Warner Music Group.
In 2007, Steven became a part of Warner Music Group as a plan of the global communications group of the firm situated in London. In 2012, James shifted to New York once again, appointed as Senior Vice President of the Communications and Marketing division of the company.
Before joining Warner Music Group, Steven occupied different positions at marketing bureaus and public relations, such as Consolidated Public Relations and Cow Public Relations, functioning with customers in the television, movies, tech, soft drinks, retail, and vehicle sectors.
WMG stock performance
The common stocks of Warner Music Group are traded on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbol WMG. Besides, the stock is a component of the NASDAQ 100 index.
On February 25, 2022, Warner Music Group (NASDAQ: WMG) closed trading at US $36.51 at 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST). A delay of a minimum of 15 minutes is present and the stock info is supplied by Refinitiv.
Warner Music Group Financial Performance
Financial summary of Warner Music Group (amounts are in million US dollars, except per share info)
Financial highlights (12 months ended 30th September 2021)
- Digital revenue growth was 22% or 19% in terms of fixed exchange rates/constant currency
- Overall revenue growth was 19% or 15% in terms of fixed exchange rates/constant currency
- OIBDA (Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization) amounted to US $915 million against US $32 million the previous year
- Net income amounted to US $307 million against net loss of US $470 million the previous year
- Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) rose 30% to US $1,090 million against US $837 million the previous year
- Adjusted OIBDA rose 29% to US $1,018 million against US $790 million the previous year
Recognition
The prestigious Fortune magazine ranked it among the most admired companies in the world in 2021. WMG is also one of the best places to work in the USA as per various surveys.
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