Universal Music Group N.V. Reports Financial Results
for the Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2021
Summary Q3 Results• Revenue growth of 17.4% year-over-year in constant currency, driven by strong growthacross Recorded Music, Music Publishing and Merchandising and Other.
• Recorded Music subscription and streaming revenue grew 15.2% year-over-year in constantcurrency.
• Adjusted EBITDA up 20.7% year-over-year driven by the revenue growth.
Hilversum, The Netherlands, October 27, 2021 -- Universal Music Group N.V. (“UMG” or “theCompany”) today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021.
Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG’s Chairman and CEO, said, “Our operational and financial performance thisquarter – our first as an independent, publicly traded company – demonstrates both why UMG is theworld’s most successful music company, as well as how our commitment to artists’ careerdevelopment and fostering innovation promotes growth across the music ecosystem.”“Our results this quarter demonstrate the continued strength of our artist roster and catalogue, theincreasingly diversified revenue streams of our business, and our ability to deliver growth for ourshareholders,” said Boyd Muir, EVP, CFO and President of Operations of Universal Music Group.
UMG Results
Three Months
Ended
September 30,2021
2020(€ millions)

Revenue
EBITDAEBITDA margin
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA margin%
YoY%
const.

(unaudited) (unaudited)€ 2,153
426
19.8%
461
21.4%

€ 1,855 16.1%
380 12.1%
20.5% (0.7)pp382 20.7%
20.6%
0.8pp

Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
2021
2020%
YoY%
const.

12.6%
21.3%
1.5pp
23.9%
2.0pp

17.4%

(unaudited) (unaudited)

17.4%€ 5,984
1,248
20.9%
1,286
21.5%

€ 5,314
1,029
19.4%
1,038
19.5%

Note: % YoY indicates % change year-over-year; % const. indicates % change year-over-year adjusted for constant currency.

Revenue for the third quarter of 2021 was €2,153 million, up 16.1% compared to the third quarter of2020, and up 17.4% in constant currency. UMG’s Recorded Music, Music Publishing andMerchandising and Other segments all contributed to the revenue growth, as discussed furtherbelow.
EBITDA for the quarter grew 12.1% year-over-year to €426 million, driven by the revenue growth.
EBITDA margin was 19.8%, compared to 20.5% in the third quarter of 2020. EBITDA and EBITDA
margin were impacted by certain one-time direct listing and share-based compensation related
costs, which amounted to €35 million and included professional fees, listing fees and direct listing1

related share-based compensation expense. Excluding these items, Adjusted EBITDA for the quarterwas €461 million, up 20.7% year-over-year driven by revenue growth, and Adjusted EBITDA margin
expanded 0.8 percentage points to 21.4% due to operating leverage (See “Appendix” forreconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA).
Recorded Music Revenue
Three Months
Ended
September 30,2021
2020(€ millions)

Subscription and Streaming
Revenue
Other Digital Revenue
Physical Revenue
License and Other Revenue
Recorded Music Revenue%
YoY%
const.

(unaudited) (unaudited)€ 1,13182
280
218€ 1,711

€ 992
86257
146
€ 1,481Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
2021
2020

%
YoY%
const.

(unaudited) (unaudited)

14.0%(4.7%)
8.9%
49.3%
15.5%

15.2%
(3.5%)
11.6%
49.3%
16.9%

€ 3,262235
742609€ 4,848€ 2,806 16.3%
21.3%
324 (27.5%) (24.2%)
604 22.8%
27.5%
518 17.6%
22.8%€ 4,252 14.0%
18.9%

Note: % YoY indicates % change year-over-year; % const. indicates % change year-over-year adjusted for constant currency.
Note: Segment revenue is stated prior to elimination of intersegment transactions.

Recorded Music revenue for the third quarter of 2021 was €1,711 million, up 15.5% compared to thethird quarter of 2020, and up 16.9% in constant currency. Subscription and streaming revenue grew
14.0%, or 15.2% in constant currency, with strong growth in both subscription and ad-supported
streaming revenues. Ad-supported streaming was particularly strong, due to the ongoing
improvement in ad-based monetization and new and enhanced deals in social media. Physicalrevenue grew 8.9%, or 11.6% in constant currency, driven by strong vinyl demand as well as growthin direct-to-consumer sales. Other digital revenue fell 4.7%, or 3.5% in constant currency, as theglobal decline in downloads continues. License and other revenue improved 49.3%, both asreported and in constant currency, as a result of improvements in broadcast and neighboring rights
collections, audio-visual production income and synchronization, live and brand deals. Top sellers
for the quarter included new releases from Billie Eilish, King & Prince and Drake, as well as continued
sales of BTS and Olivia Rodrigo. Top sellers in the prior-year quarter included BTS, Taylor Swift, King& Prince, Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD.
Music Publishing Revenue
Three Months
Ended
September 30,
2021
2020
(€ millions)Music Publishing Revenue%
YoY%
const.

(unaudited) (unaudited)

€ 363

€ 303

Nine Months
Ended
September 30,2021
2020

%
YoY%
const.

5.8%

10.0%

(unaudited) (unaudited)

19.8%

21.4%

€ 927

€ 876

Note: % YoY indicates % change year-over-year; % const. indicates % change year-over-year adjusted for constant currency.
Note: Segment revenue is stated prior to elimination of intersegment transactions.

2Music Publishing revenue amounted to €363 million in the third quarter of 2021, up 19.8% yearover-year, or 21.4% in constant currency. Revenues benefited from the continued growth insubscription and streaming, the timing of certain society distributions and from an improvement insynchronization. While performance revenue experienced the delayed impact of last year’s COVIDrelated slowdown, this was more than offset by revenue from catalogue acquisitions.
Merchandising and Other Revenue
Three Months
Ended
September 30,
2021
2020
(€ millions)

Merchandising andOther Revenue%
YoY%
const.

(unaudited) (unaudited)

€ 84

€ 74

Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
2021
2020

%
YoY%
const.

13.8%

19.4%

(unaudited) (unaudited)

13.5%

13.5%

€ 222

€ 195

Note: % YoY indicates % change year-over-year; % const. indicates % change year-over-year adjusted for constant currency.
Note: Segment revenue is stated prior to elimination of intersegment transactions.

Merchandising and Other revenue grew to €84 million, up 13.5%, both as reported and in constantcurrency, as retail revenues grew and touring-related merchandising revenue began to rebound.
Conference Call Details
The Company will host a conference call to discuss these results today at 6:15PM CEST. A link to thelive audio webcast will be available on investors.universalmusic.com and a link to the replay will beavailable after the call.
While listeners may use the webcast, a dial-in telephone number is required for investors andanalysts to ask questions. Investors and analysts interested in asking questions can pre-register for adial-in line at investors.universalmusic.com under the “Financial Reports” tab.
Cautionary NoticeThis press release is published by Universal Music Group N.V. and contains inside information within
the meaning of article 7 (1) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (Market Abuse Regulation).
Forward-Looking Statements. This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect
to UMG’s financial condition, results of operations, business, strategy, plans and profit forecast. You
can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as ‘profit forecast’, ‘expect’,‘estimate’, ‘project’, ‘anticipate’, ‘should’, ‘intend’, ‘plan’, ‘probability’, ‘risk’, ‘target’, ‘goal’,‘objective’, ‘will’, ‘endeavour’, ‘optimistic’, ‘prospects’ and similar expressions or variations on suchexpressions. Although UMG believes that such forward-looking statements are based on reasonableassumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ
materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties,
many of which are related to factors that are outside our control, including, but not limited to, themacro-economic, legislative and regulatory environment of the Company, our ability to compete
successfully and to identify and sign successful recording artists, failure of streaming andsubscription adoption or revenue to grow or to grow less rapidly than anticipated, our reliance on
digital service providers, our ability to execute our business strategy, technological advancements,3the global nature of our operations, our ability to attract and retain key personnel, our ability toprotect our intellectual property and against piracy, regulations on our revenues which may limit
profitability, changes in laws and regulations and the other risks described in our prospectus dated
September 14, 2021, which is available on our website (www.universalmusic.com). Accordingly, we
caution readers against placing undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. These forwardlooking statements are made as of the date of this press release. UMG disclaims any intention orobligation to provide, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of newinformation, future events or otherwise.
Key Performance Indicators. This press release includes certain key performance indicators (KPIs)
which are not defined in the International Financial Reporting Standards issued by the International
Accounting Standards Board as endorsed by the EU. The descriptions of these KPIs are included in
our prospectus, dated September 14, 2021.
ABOUT UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUPAt Universal Music Group (EURONEXT: UMG), we exist to shape culture through the power ofartistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses
engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content. Featuring themost comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies
and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commerciallysuccessful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters
the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic andcommercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. For more information
on Universal Music Group N.V. visit www.universalmusic.com.
Contacts
MediaJames Murtagh-Hopkins - communicationsnl@umusic.com
Investors
Erika Begun - investorrelations@umusic.com
Appendix
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA
Three Months
Ended
September 30,2021
2020(€ millions)

EBITDA
Non-Cash Share-Based
Compensation Expense
Direct Listing RelatedExpenses
Adjusted EBITDA%
YoY(unaudited) (unaudited)

€ 426
2015
€ 461

€ 380

Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
2021
2020
(unaudited) (unaudited)

12.1%€ 1,248

2 900.0%20€ 382%
YoY

20.7%

18
€ 1,286€ 1,02921.3%

9 122.2%€ 1,038

23.9%

Note: % YoY indicates % change year-over-year.

4