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Sony generated a record $3.15B from recorded music and publishing in calendar Q3 2026, up 8.9% YoY
Sony generated a record $3.15 billion from recorded music and music publishing in the three months to September 2026, its fourth consecutive quarter above $3 billion. Revenue rose 8.9% year on year, an increase of about $256 million, showing continued growth across its music rights businesses.
Recorded music brought in $2.41 billion, up 10.5%, while publishing revenue was $744.8 million, up 3.8%. Recorded music streaming earned $1.52 billion, physical sales $199.4 million, and the fastest-growing category, “Other”, rose 21.2% to $641.2 million, helped by live events and merchandising. Publishing streaming revenue was about $467 million, up 5.7%; the figures exclude Sony’s Visual Media & Platform business.
In short
- Sony’s recorded music and publishing revenue reached a quarterly record of $3.15 billion.
- Recorded music grew faster than publishing, rising 10.5% year on year.
- Live events and merchandising helped drive the fastest growth in “Other” revenue.
Explained simply
Recorded music covers the release and sale of recordings by artists, while music publishing covers the rights to songs themselves, including their use in recordings, performances and other media. Sony earns money from both areas through sources such as streaming, physical sales, licensing, live events and merchandise.
Sony is one of the world’s major music companies, working with artists and songwriters and managing rights to recordings and compositions. Its results offer a measure of how income is changing across the music industry, where streaming is a major source of revenue alongside sales and other uses of music.