Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s Annual Report Cites Growth in Streaming and Synch Amid Stock ‘Frustration’

variety.com:

Thania Garcia Merck Mercuriadis and his team at Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the London-based investment trust that owns rights to music by big-name artists including Leonard Cohen, Blondie and Justin Bieber, have delivered the company’s fiscal year (ending in March) results that reflect growth in streaming and sync revenues.

On the opposite end, the company reported a decrease in net revenue ($147.2 million from $168.3 million in the year prior) bur cited those dips as a result of non-recurring changes in accrual.

Hipgnosis’ pro-forma annual revenue (PFAR), described the report as “the royalty revenue earned by catalogues in a calendar year largely based on royalty statements received,” increased to $130.2 million from $116.2 million.

Streaming income lifted 14.8% in 2022 while sync revenue also showed strong growth of 24.7% in 2022. Naturally, performance income also grew by 9%, blowing away the previous years’ deflated numbers that came as a result of the pandemic shutdown. “Five years ago we predicted that the recovery of the music industry from the previous 16 yearsof technological disruption would be driven by the convenience and transformational growth of streaming,” Silverstone said in the report’s opening remarks. “In addition, we considered that we could deliver an exceptional return by acquiring iconic Songs while they were still attractively priced.