Author : Hughes Nelson
There is no way to deny the fact that the Global Music Industry is rapidly changing. And one of the greatest reasons behind that is the powerful music labels that keep supporting artists from various regions around the world. While there are stars and moguls, there are also independent music artists who are gaining more exposure in the industry for music labels and production companies. When it comes to the biggest music labels in the market, the debate of Sony vs Warner Music Group still stays atop.
Sony Music Entertainment vs. Warner Music Group
Pop icons, top rappers, and all the stars help to generate more revenue for the music labels. In 2020, Universal Music Group alone made 32% of the global revenue while all the other independent labels united made 31%. Coming to the debate of sony music vs warner music, Sony Music Entertainment made 21% of the global revenue generated that year while Warner Music Group made 16%. While both music labels are quite influential, their business strategies are a little different than UMG’s star power.
Sony and its strategies for Indie Music
Kristoffer Tripplaar/Sipa USA Sipa via AP Images
Sony has spent more than $1.4 billion in order to acquire independent record labels like AWAL, Som Livre in Brazil, Human Re-Sources, Believe, as well as its remaining stake in The Orchard. It has also tied in a partnership with BeatStars, a beat production marketplace that is quite trendy in the market. With all these taking place in a short span of 6 months; it is evident that Sony is putting all into offer more exposure for the artist while finding more areas to generate revenue.
Read More : The 10 Titans of Music Record Labels in 2023
Sony Music Entertainment works like a Facebook or a trendy social platform of the music industry. In 2021, 50% more songs and artists were introduced to Spotify which made it clear that such rising musical talent would require technical support. While indie artists often fail to get enough support from other label giants; Sony is acquiring them. Sony CEO Rob Stringer said, “It’s much more expensive today to sign talent than it was six months ago,” therefore, talent acquisition is more important in the entertainment industry. So, if you are wondering Who are Sony music main competitors? , those are the independent labels of UMG and WMG.
Warner, The Media Mogul
Instead of trying to use star power, Warner Music Group is capturing more attention of the value chain. Warner invested in the media outlets like HipHopDX, IMGN, Uproxx, and many others. These outlets can help to boost access of Warner to the global music fans.
Other than that, Warner has also invested $11 million in non-fungible token (NFT) company Dapper Labs which offered a great link to NBA. With access to the NFT and NBA, hip-hop artists are able to gain more exposure. Sports are not limited to the court only and so, Warner made an eight-figure investment in the video gaming platform, Roblox [$RBLX] which is highly popular around the world. This platform attracts the teenagers of the US during the standalone Lil Nas X livestream concert, Roblox reached 33 million fans! Perhaps gaming is a different segment, but it broadens the reach of the music industry.
However, Warner does not to totally rely on the platforms like Spotify, Amazon, Apple, etc in order to run their business, since get squeezed on margins when it comes to revenue and licensing deals with music artists. But it is still doubtful whether hot platforms like TikTok and Peloton can take over a major portion of Warner’s revenue or not.
A lot of people still ask, “Is Warner music part of Sony?”
Well, to answer that Warner Music Group is not a part of Sony. However, most people get this confusion as Warner Bros. which is a film label has often tied with Sony Pictures in various projects. While the parent Companies are different, these labels can pair up for single projects.
What do the workers say?
When it comes to treating their employees and workplace benefits, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, both are praised by the people who work in the organization. While the salary structure is overall the same in both places, people of Sony seem to be more satisfied and claimed that Sony offers plenty of opportunities for growth. The indie artists might find both labels supporting it in their own ways but Sony still takes the lead in this case.
In a nutshell, the debate of Sony Music Entertainment vs. Warner Music Group can be ongoing, however, an overall view says both companies have different strategies and the doing their ace in the field. As a result, emerging music artists are able to get more exposure to grow their musical careers as a professional.
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