Warner Music Ireland profits jump by a fifth

Irish arm of music giant boosted by likes of Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa

Ed Sheeran was among the artists whose sales boosted Warner Music Ireland last year. Photograph: Dia Dipasupil/Getty
Ed Sheeran was among the artists whose sales boosted Warner Music Ireland last year. Photograph: Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Music sales by Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Coldplay last year helped push pretax profits at the Irish arm of Warner Music up 20 per cent to €1.66 million.

New accounts filed by Warner Music Ireland Ltd show the revenues from music streaming and physical sales rose during the year.

The fifth studio album by one of the company’s global stars, Ed Sheeran, = (Equals) reached number one here and boosted revenues through the year.

Overall, revenues at the firm decreased by 5 per cent to €14.92 million in the 12 months to the end of September last.

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Revenues were made up of direct sales of €14.15 million and royalty and license fee income of €776,343.

The directors state they believe the company will continue to increase revenues.

On the firm’s future developments, the directors state the firm “is embracing the spectrum of opportunities presented by digital technology to deepen the connection between fans and artists”.

After tax, the business reported a profit of €1.4 million.

Numbers employed remained at 12 last year.

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Pay to directors more than halved from €755,295 to €305,170 and the chief factor was €382,075 that was paid out in 2021 for compensation for loss of office that did not reoccur last year.

Pay to directors last year was made up of €273,069 in emoluments and €32,101 in pension payments.

Irish artists signed up to Warner Music include Damien Rice, Gavin James and Enya.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times