Here’s a great chart for those interested in the declining market share of ‘superstar’ artists vs. a wider volume of acts with smaller individual audiences.
In November 2022, speaking on Warner Music Group’s calendar Q3 earnings call, then-WMG boss, Steve Cooper announced a milestone stat.
Cooper revealed: “A decade ago, our Top 5 artists generated over 15% of our recorded music physical and digital revenue. In 2022, they generated just over 5%.”
(Cooper was referring to Warner’s FY in each case, which ends at the close of September.)
You can see a data visualization of this stat below, incorporating the total recorded music revenues of WMG in each relevant year.
