Cultural phenomenon Taylor Swift helped fuel revenue at Universal Music Group in the third quarter, the world’s largest record label said Wednesday.
Total revenue was 2.75 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in the quarter, up 3.3%. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at 581 million euros ($612 million), up 5.1%, the company reported.
When adjusting for constant currency, revenue was up nearly 10% in the quarter and adjusted EBITDA rose 11.3%.
EBITDA for the quarter fell 11.3% to 478 million euros, reflecting the impact of non-cash share-based compensation expenses of 103 million euros during the quarter.
Recorded music sales totaled 2 billion euros, down 1.1% from a year ago. Subscription revenue rose 6.7% to more than 1 billion euros in the quarter, though revenue from ad-supported free streaming services declined 1.4%, reflecting a soft advertising market.
Revenue from music publishing rose 17.5% to 491 million euros, while merchandise sales increased 20.1% to 227 million euros.
The top sellers for the quarter included Swift, Seventeen, Morgan Wallen, Olivia Rodrigo and King & Prince.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
