Paris-headquartered music company Believe has published its financial results for Q3 2023.
Across Believe’s entire business, the company, which trades on the Paris Euronext, generated EUR €215 million ($234m), representing growth of 9.1% YoY.
On an organic basis (at a like-for-like perimeter and constant exchange rate), Believe’s revenues grew 7.5% YoY.
Believe breaks down its global operations into two divisions:
- (i) DIY distributor TuneCore (referred to as ‘Automated Solutions’ in its results); as well as
- (ii) The performance of its core premium label and artist services operation (referred to as ‘Premium Solutions’)
The company’s ‘Premium Solutions’ revenues grew 10.1% YoY – from €184.4 million in Q3 2022 – to €202.9 million ($220.8m) in Q3 2023.
Believe notes in the press release announcing its Q3 financial results that “overall, the Group continued to build market share in a market which is growing mostly due to paid streaming, as ad-funded streaming monetization remained soft notably in emerging markets”.
Believe reports that the integration of Sentric, the UK-born music publishing platform it acquired in March, contributed about €4.2 million ($4.5m) to its Premium Solutions revenue, adding around 2% to revenue growth in the segment.
Meanwhile, according to Believe’s latest financial results, in Q3 2023, revenues generated by its ‘Automated Solutions’ division were down 4.5% YoY to €12.1 million ($13.16m).
According to Believe, this decline was “largely due to the weakening of the dollar versus the Euro of around -6%”. It adds that “organic growth was stable year-over-year as TuneCore also had a challenging comparison basis”.
Believe also breaks down its revenues geographically. The company reports that it saw “strong growth in Europe excluding France and Germany but softer performance in other geographies”.
Revenues generated in Europe (excluding France and Germany) in Q3 grew 25.9% YoY to €66.9 million ($72.8m) and represented 31.1% of Believe’s total revenues during the quarter.
The company says that its revenue growth was “particularly sustained” in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe and Turkey. Believe adds that its revenue performance in Europe “was enhanced by the integration of Sentric in Q3 2023, which positively impacted revenue in the UK”.
In the ‘Americas‘, Believe’s revenues grew by 8.4% YoY to €31 million ($33.7m) and represented 14.4% of Group revenues.
Going into more detail about its activities in the Americas, Believe reports that “the level of activity in Brazil and Mexico remained very strong in Q3 2023, illustrating solid success in the Latin music space”.
It adds however that, “TuneCore was impacted by an unfavorable comparison as revenues significantly increased in Q3 2022 after the introduction of the Unlimited Pricing offer in July 2022 and by the weakening of the dollar versus the Euro”.
Meanwhile, Believe’s revenues in Asia Pacific and Africa grew 6.6% YoY to €55.8 million, ($60.7m) which represented 25.9% of the company’s total revenues.
Believe notes that “India and Southeast Asia grew only [by a] single digit” but that “revenue growth remained, however, very strong in Greater China, as well as in Japan where the Group expanded its presence by deploying its Premium offering”.
In France, Believe’s revenues grew slightly by 0.7% YoY in Q3 2023 to €34.4 million ($37.4m) which represented 16% of Group revenues.
In Germany, Believe generated revenues of €27 million ($29.3m) in Q3, down 6.4% YoY and representing 12.5% of the Group’s revenues. Elaborating on its activities in the market, Believe reports that “digital sales remained less dynamic during the quarter in line with the end of Q2 2023”, but that “the Group continued diversifying the roster in terms of music genres”. Believe adds that “the pursuit of the roll-out of” Schlager label Madizin “resulted in additional promising signings”.
Believe notes that it “continued growing” in Q3 2023, “despite challenging market conditions, which affected the overall digital monetization of the Group”.
The company adds that “paid streaming trends were solid” and that it “expects them to continue in Q4 2023 and to benefit in addition from price increases at some large digital platforms”.
Believe continued: “Ad-funded streaming monetization remained soft notably in Europe and Asia Pacific / Africa. This situation was anticipated by the Group, which expects ad-funded monetization to start rebuilding in Q4 2023.”
“Q3 2023 has been a challenging quarter, but we kept delivering a top-notch service to our artists and labels.”
Denis Ladegaillerie, Believe
Commenting on the company’s Q3 results, Denis Ladegaillerie, Believe Founder and CEO, said: Q3 2023 has been a challenging quarter, but we kept delivering a top-notch service to our artists and labels, enabling artists at various stage of their career to reach the top of the charts and labels to outperform their local market.
“During the quarter, we also furthered our discussions with our top digital partners to boost Believe’s roster. Our actions remained geared to further improve the quality of service that we offer.”
All EUR-USD conversions made at the average rate of the relevant period according to the European Central BankMusic Business Worldwide
