Universal Music Group shared its fourth quarter and full-year earnings report on Thursday morning, posting about 12.5 billion euros (about $14.4 billion) in revenue for 2025, a 5.7 percent rise from the year prior.
Revenue for the fourth quarter alone was about 3.6 billion euros ($4.1 billion), a 10 percent year over year increase.
“2025 was another standout year for UMG; creatively, commercially, and strategically,” UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement. “We delivered real, measurable progress across our plan: advancing Streaming 2.0, scaling artist and label services, accelerating superfan initiatives, expanding in high-growth markets, and leading on responsible AI. The result is a stronger, more connected and growing ecosystem, creating greater opportunities for our artists and songwriters, and delivering long-term value for shareholders.”
Recorded music revenue itself surpassed 9.45 billion euros ($10.9 billion) in 2025, a 6.2 percent rise from 2024. Publishing revenue was about 2.2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), a 6.6 percent yearly growth.
The call comes weeks after UMG’s subsidiary Virgin Music closed its acquisition of Downtown Music after facing an investigation from European competition regulators. During the earnings call Thursday, Grainge said he expects the Downtown deal to be “as transformational” to the music business as the company’s landmark EMI deal back in 2011, which helped solidify his company as music’s biggest powerhouse.
“Our strong top-and bottom-line growth in 2025 reflects disciplined execution against our strategic priorities and continued investment in our artists, songwriters, and global organization,” UMG CFO Matt Ellis said. “We’re encouraged by the start to 2026, having completed our acquisition of Downtown Music and investment in Excel Entertainment and broadened our partnerships across established platforms and emerging innovators, as we focus on delivering sustainable returns for all our stakeholders.”
Grainge and UMG chief digital officer Michael Nash also touched on UMG’s ongoing AI music efforts, referencing partnerships with AI music companies like Udio, along with other recently-announced partnerships with popular music production platform Splice and Silicon Valley giant Nvidia.
Grainge said that UMG “fundamentally disagrees” with the view that AI presents nothing but risks to the market, adding that the technology adds “an unprecedented commercial opportunity for UMG and its artists.”
Nash added that purely AI generated music revenue remains “minimal” at best, sharing a chart during the earnings call noting that it takes small amounts of sales for AI tracks to appear on digital sales charts given that very few people are buying digital downloads anymore. He further referenced data from Deezer, which suggested that as much as 85 percent of streams for AI music on its platform are fraudulent.
He added that fan desire for AI features revolve mainly around interactive features like helping curate personalized playlists or restoring old recordings rather than outright replacing artists’ msuic.
