Warner Music Group (WMG) reported that quarterly revenue rose 10% to $1.84 billion on Thursday (Feb. 5) as music from artists like Alex Warren and sombr contributed to broad-based growth across recorded music, publishing and streaming revenue.

WMG CEO Robert Kyncl told investors and analysts on a wide-ranging call Thursday that the company is “humming,” with several consecutive quarters of streaming revenue growth and market share gains.

“We’re very pleased to see our consistent performance,” Kyncl said. “We are really firing on most cylinders that there are, and all of it is underpinned by our incredible ability of artist development.”

Here are some of the highlights.

It plans to spend big on catalogs.

Warner and Bain Capital’s 50-50 joint venture, established in mid-2025, is now worth about $1.65 billion, and the companies plan to spend a significant portion of those funds on catalog acquisitions this year, Warner CFO Armin Zerza said on the call.

“We plan to deploy a significant portion of the JV’s total capacity by the end of the fiscal year,” Zerza said. “This combination of organic and inorganic investment will fortify our core, giving us greater scale to capitalize on industry trends as well as emerging opportunities like AI that will [rely] heavily on iconic content.”

The company continues to work its existing catalog through placements in shows like Netflix’s Stranger Things, which used Prince‘s “Purple Rain” and David Bowie‘s “Heroes.” After the episodes aired, “Pruple Rain” charted on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first time in a decade, and its weekly streams are now six times higher than prior to the Stranger Things sync, Kyncl said. Weekly streaming activity for Bowie’s “Heroes” is nearly 2.5 times higher than before, he added.

It’s leaning into AI.

Warner is the first — and so far, only — major to reach licensing deals with two of the leading AI music generation platforms, Suno and Udio. The agreements, which effectively ended Warner’s part in lawsuits filed by UMG and others in 2025, allow Warner to “shape” AI models that are quickly impacting the commercial music industry, Kyncl has said. Suno agreed to offer new licensed music-making models on its platform as part of the agreement, according to a press release announcing the news.

Establishing partnerships early was a priority for Warner, Zerza said, and it is working with those companies to promote consumption-business models that boost cash flow and increase engagement with its catalog and artists.

“We expect [the Suno] partnership to be a material top and bottom line growth driver, starting in fiscal 2027,” Zerza said.

WMG is incorporating AI into its A&R business to discover new artists. It’s also bringing it to bear in its relationships with the big streaming platforms — to track exposure for its artists and improve consumer engagement, and to figure out which songs from its catalog are ripe for remixes and music videos, Zerza said.

“Many of our artists and songwriters [are] already leveraging [AI] tools to more analytically driven, precise deployment of marketing dollars, as well as my real-time forecasting and analytics,” Zerza added.

It has a packed upcoming release schedule.

Quarterly revenue for major music companies remains heavily impacted by hit music, and Kyncl voiced optimism about Warner’s upcoming release schedule, starting with Bruno Mars, whose fourth studio album comes out in late February.

“We have a steady stream of releases from new and established stars dropping every week for the rest of [the second quarter],” Kyncl said.

Other artists expected to release music before March 30 include Charli xcx, Kehlani, sombr, Alex Warren and Fred Again..

After a breakthrough 2025 that included his first three Billboard Hot 100 hits, his debut album, and his first Grammy nomination, sombr returned Thursday (Feb. 5) with “Homewrecker,” his first new song and music video of the year.

In the new single — written and co-produced by sombr — the pop singer/songwriter sends a message to a love interest who isn’t available. “I don’t wanna talk down on your lover/ I don’t wanna be a homewrecker/ I just know I can be better, bе better, be bеtter.”

The music video matches the story line, with sombr finding himself in a love triangle with Quenlin Blackwell and Milo Manheim in the western-themed visual. It appears that Blackwell and sombr are co-starring in a western movie, for which Manheim plays the philandering director with a wandering eye. While Manheim’s director character is paying attention to every woman on set except for Blackwell, sombr and his leading lady fall in love.

sombr is fresh off performing at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, where he was nominated for best new artist and performed one of his trio of 2025 hits “12 to 12” in a medley alongside his fellow nominees. The pop star saw three songs from his Billboard 200 top 10 album I Barely Know Her hit the Hot 100 last year: “12 to 12” peaked at No. 41, while he hit the top 20 with “Undressed” (No. 16) and “Back to Friends” (No. 7).

Later this month, sombr is up for his first two BRIT Awards at the Feb. 28 show: international artist of the year and international song of the year for “Undressed.” He kicks off a U.K. and European tour next week and then returns Stateside in April for back-to-back Coachella weekends and May for Bottlerock Napa Valley.

Warner Music Group (WMG) reported a 10% increase in quarterly revenue on Thursday (Feb. 5) as music from artists like Alex Warren and sombr contributed to broad-based recorded music, publishing and streaming revenue growth.

“[The year] is off to a strong start as our creative success continues to fuel consistent market share growth and financial performance,” said WMG CEO Robert Kyncl in a statement. “We have an exciting slate of new music ahead and are leading the charge with AI to drive a step change in value creation for artists, songwriters, and shareholders, ensuring that WMG is well-positioned for long-term success.”

Taking several one-off factors into consideration, including the roll-off of BMG as a distribution client, WMG posted $1.84 billion in total revenue, up from $1.67 billion a year ago, for the quarter ended Dec. 31.

Overall digital revenue rose 10%, with streaming revenue up 10.7%. Recorded music digital revenue rose 10.9%, and music publishing streaming revenue rose 12.8% after factoring in settlements with digital streaming partners and BMG’s contract termination. Revenue from streaming subscriptions rose by 9% with those factors considered, reflecting WMG’s growing market share and the chart performance of its artists. In the fourth quarter, TD Bank analysts estimated that Alex Warren held a 3.9% share of the Billboard Hot 100 and a 2.8% share of the Billboard Global 200, while sombr had 1.9% of the Hot 100 and 2.3% of the Billboard Global 200.

Overall recorded music revenue rose 10% to $1.48 billion, as a 10.5% increase in digital revenue to $976 million more than offset a $14 million decline in revenue from physical music sales. Revenue from artist services and expanded rights rose to $231 million, driven by higher concert promotion revenue — mainly in France — and a $9 million benefit from foreign currency exchange rates. Overall operating income for the recorded music division was up nearly 40% to $329 million for the quarter, with an operating margin of 22.2% compared to 17.7% a year ago.

Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA), a measure of how much cash the core businesses make, rose 24.8% to $403 million, and adjusted OIBDA margin rose to 27.2% from 24.0%. Those increases were primarily driven by cost cuts and favorable foreign exchange rates.

WMG is at the tail end of a years-long cost-cutting campaign that aims to reduce annual expenses by $300 million a year through a combination of layoffs and administration and real estate reductions. Kyncl has said the money saved is being reinvested in discovering and supporting new artists and acquiring companies that can enhance the company’s offerings.

Publishing music revenue rose 12% to $362 million for the quarter due to higher digital, synchronization, performance and mechanical revenue. Digital revenue rose by nearly 4% to $215 million, and sync revenue rose more than 50% to $60 million, thanks to higher TV and commercial licensing activity and a $6 million combined benefit from copyright infringement settlements and the acquisition of Tempo Music.

Overall, music publishing operating income rose 18% to $65 million, while adjusted OIBDA for the division rose about 23% to $102 million with a margin of 28.2%, up from 25.7% a year ago.

WMG CFO Armin Zerza called Thursday’s quarterly results evidence of a rare “significant transformation in … a short time frame by delivering accelerated growth and profitability.”

Former Maverick City Music member Chandler Moore has been given the all-clear signal from a federal judge to release independent solo music amid a bitter legal feud with the Grammy-winning worship collective over royalties and contract obligations.

A Thursday (Feb. 5) court ruling rejects Maverick City’s request for an immediate injunction that would have scuttled Moore’s plan to release his first solo single, “God I’m Just Grateful,” on Friday (Feb. 6). Maverick City had argued that Moore is still locked into an exclusive recording deal with its in-house label, TRIBL Records.

But Judge Sarah E. Geraghty said that it’s not yet clear whether Moore fulfilled his 10-song commitment to TRIBL, since he recorded 11 songs in 2024 but only eight were ultimately included on the album Chandler Moore: Live in Los Angeles. A litigant must show that they’re more likely than not to succeed on the merits in order to win an injunction — and the judge thinks there’s still too much uncertainty for Maverick City to meet that threshold.

“I find that TRIBL has not shown at this early stage that the imminent release of ‘God I’m Just Grateful’ would breach the contract,” said Judge Geraghty during a Thursday hearing held via Zoom, adding, “I simply don’t think that the case is quite as simple as TRIBL would make it.”

The judge noted that the decision is subject to change as the case moves along, and the final outcome might “certainly swing the other way going forward depending on what the evidence shows.” In the meantime, she urged the two sides to talk to each other and consider settling the matter amicably.

In a statement to Billboard following the ruling, Moore’s lawyer Chad Elder said the singer “is grateful for the court’s ruling, which denied the defendants’ efforts to prevent him from doing what he loves, providing for his family, and inspiring others.”

“Chandler’s music is more than an artistic expression; it’s a message of hope and inspiration to millions of people who draw faith and strength from his lyrics,” added Elder.

Maverick City’s attorneys did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.

Moore left Maverick City in October and launched a civil fraud lawsuit accusing the group’s chief executive of stealing his composition royalties. Maverick City vehemently denied the claims and countersued Moore, alleging the singer failed to fulfill his contract before his abrupt departure.

The litigation has aired out some intense allegations on both sides. For his part, Moore claims Maverick City’s CEO Norman Gyamfi abused his position of power to siphon off millions of dollars in royalties, including by allegedly forging Moore’s signature on a publishing agreement.

Moore claimed in court papers that the loss of royalties has “severely limited my ability to provide a stable income for myself and my family.” The singer says he’s had to unenroll his two youngest children from school, take out loans and seek staff positions at churches to provide for his family of six.

Maverick City, meanwhile, claims Moore reneged on his songwriting and recording obligations after receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in advances. The group also alleges Moore violated his contract’s morality clause: “Maverick City was repeatedly informed Moore had affairs or engaged in extramarital sexual acts and Maverick City suffered reputational damages as a result,” the group claimed in a countersuit.

This is not Maverick City’s only legal battle at the moment: Co-founder Tony Brown recently brought racketeering claims alleging he was strong-armed into signing an unfavorable buy-out deal. Maverick City denies that and has countersued Brown for launching a different worship choir called God Aura, an alleged violation of his non-compete obligations.