Photo credit: Round Hill Music
Round Hill Music reports strong sales growth across all catalogs for the first quarter, supported by active song management, with like-for-like sales up 20% year over year.
Round Hill Music, an investor in timeless music catalogs and revenue streams with growth potential, has provided an update on its Q1 results. His $602.6 million portfolio includes songs by iconic artists such as Alice in Chains, Bush, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, The Supremes, Wilson Pickett and Whitesnake.
After a strong 2022, Round Hill Music continued on its positive growth trajectory in the first three months of 2023. Combined net publisher share (NPS) and net label share (NLS) for Q1 2023 was $10.1 million — a 91% increase from Q1 2022 quarter of $5.3 million U.S. dollar.
While most of that growth came from acquisitions over the past year, including catalogs from Alice in Chains and Whitesnake’s David Coverdale, like-for-like income from the company’s investment rose 20%. Adjusted publishing rights revenue increased 22% and adjusted master rights revenue increased 14%.
Revenue growth was also driven by the successful proactive management of Round Hill Music’s song catalog portfolio through the company’s integrated platform. The company’s investment strategy focuses on songs with enduring appeal where additional value can be unlocked through tailored management.
The effectiveness of the investment manager’s dynamic approach is illustrated by the increase in revenue from sync placements – a 74% year-over-year increase in initial investments. Total sync revenue grew to $2.1 million in the first quarter, accounting for 21% of group revenue.
Notable sync offerings from this period include:
- Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World has been used in several projects including the Netflix documentary series Our Universe, the film I used to be famousand a NEOM: Sustainable City commercial.
- “I’ve Been Everywhere” by Geoff Mack was featured in a Tripfinder ad campaign.
- The Backstreet Boys’ “I Want it That Way” was featured in a commercial for laundry brand Downy Rinse and Refresh.
- Lil Wayne’s “Uproar” which samples Brian Holland’s “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and has been featured on several TV shows including “Rap Sh!t” and “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”.
“These results for the first quarter once again confirm our positive outlook for the coming year. The revenue growth we’ve delivered, both actively and organically, reflects the quality and expertise of our internal platform, made up of people passionate about our songs, and the strength of our prudent investment strategy, focused on iconic music with enduring appeal,” said Josh Gruss, CEO of Round Hill Music.
“These results, bolstered by the positive tailwinds in the music industry that show no signs of abating, provide a solid foundation and reason for continued optimism.”