Paris-headquartered music company Believe has published its financial results for Q1 2024 (three months to end of March).
The company generated revenues of €230.3 million in Q1, which converts to USD $250 million at the average quarterly exchange rate published by the European Central Bank.
According to Believe‘s filing, issued on Wednesday (April 24), the company’s quarterly revenues grew by €31.7 million, from €198.6 million in Q1 2023, reflecting an increase of 15.9% YoY.
Believe said on Wednesday that “healthy paid streaming growth continued” in Q1, “uplifted by several DSPs’ price increases”.
It added, however, that “these positive trends” were “mitigated by persistent currency headwinds directly embedded in digital monetization”.
Believe breaks down its global operations into two divisions:
- (i) DIY distributor TuneCore (referred to as ‘Automated Solutions’ in its results); as well as
- (ii) The performance of its core premium label and artist services operation (referred to as ‘Premium Solutions’)
The company’s ‘Premium Solutions’ revenues grew 15.8% YoY – from €186 million in Q1 2023 – to €215.3 million ($233.77m) in Q1 2024.
Believe noted in its filing on Wednesday that it “faced persistent currency headwinds” in Q1, “which affected digital monetization of the segment”.
The company added, however, that it “continued to gain market share in most key countries and continued to outperform in Europe and Americas in the quarter”.
Meanwhile, according to Believe’s latest financial results, in Q1 2024, revenues generated by its ‘Automated Solutions’ division were up 18.2% YoY to €14.9 million ($16.17m).
Within this division, Believe noted, that “after a successful launch” in Q4 2023 as a free trial, its new artist and audience development program, TuneCore Accelerator, “started contributing revenue”.
Separately, Believe added that “TuneCore’s price increases enacted in December 2023 will be accounted for over the year and therefore had a limited positive impact” in Q1 2024.
Elsewhere in Believe’s filing, the company breaks down its revenues geographically and reports that it saw “strong revenue growth in France and Europe driven by success in developing local acts”.
In Q1 2024, Believe’s revenue in Asia Pacific and Africa, which represented 24.5% of the company’s revenues in the quarter, grew just 0.5% YoY to €56.3 million ($61.13m) (see below).
Believe noted that it established a presence in Greater China and “had a strong start in Japan with the launch of PLAYCODE“, but added that the performance in the wider region was “affected by the absence of recovery in ad-funded streaming and by value decline in several Southeast Asian markets due to lower volumes and currency headwinds”.
Believe also said that its performance in India was “also soft, at par with the market”, and was “affected by some pricing changes” implemented by the company’s digital partners.
Believe’s revenues generated in Europe (excluding France and Germany) in Q1 grew 41% YoY to €76.8 million ($83.38m) and represented 33.3% of the company’s total revenues in Q1 2024.
According to Believe, its revenue growth was strong in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe and Turkey in particular, and its performance in Europe as a whole “was enhanced by a perimeter effect (which positively impacted the UK performance) related to the integration of Sentric in the region for the last quarter”. Believe acquired Sentric Music Group in April 2023.
In France, Believe’s revenues grew 20% YoY to €38.6 million ($41.91m) and represented 16.7% of the company’s revenues.
Believe said that it continued to gain market share in France in Q1 “thanks to the greater diversification” of its roster and because it “maintained its leadership in rap music”.
Elsewhere in France in Q1, Believe launched a new electronic music label called All Night Long with artist management agency Kidding Aside.
Believe also said that it became the first music company to partner with messaging app BeReal in France, “opening new avenues for its artists to engage and grow their audiences”.
In the ‘Americas’, Believe’s revenues grew by 11.2% YoY to €32.7 million ($35.50m) and represented 14.2% of the company’s revenues.
Commenting on its performance in the wider region in Q1, Believe noted that it “further developed its presence in the Latin music space, illustrated by a strong level of activity in Mexico and several Latin American markets”.
Believe added that it “is now positioned in Brazil as one of the country’s leading music companies, supporting a growing number of artists across all music genres and stages of their career”.
In Germany, Believe’s revenues were down 2.5% YoY in Q1 2024 and represented 11.3% of the company’s total revenues.
Looking to FY 2024, Believe said that it “will continue to drive a profitable growth trajectory towards its long-term profitability objective of 15% Adjusted EBITDA margin”.
“Despite market headwinds in some of our key geographies, Believe continues to demonstrate its capacity to grow.”
Denis Ladegaillerie, Believe
Commenting on the company’s Q1 results, Believe Founder and CEO Denis Ladegaillerie, said: “Despite market headwinds in some of our key geographies, Believe continues to demonstrate its capacity to grow.”
He added: “We are leveraging our innovation and digital expertise to shift the company towards higher market segments. Our attractivity opens new opportunities and we are well positioned to benefit from the structural trends of the music market.”
All EUR-USD conversions made at the average rate of the relevant period according to the European Central BankMusic Business Worldwide
