During Sony’s first fiscal quarter, which ended June 30, the company’s music operations generated $1.86 billion in sales. According to Billboard, Sony Music operations, which includes Sony Music Entertainment, Sony/ATV, Sony Japan and their Visual Media/Platform, reported $352.7 million in operating income.

In addition to the release of Lil Nas X’s hot record “Old Town Road,” Sony Music Entertainment unleashed other best-selling projects like Khalid’s “Free Spirit” and DJ Khaled’s “Father of Asahd.”  The company increased their income by 19% on the same period from last year. In the first quarter of 2018, Sony only saw an 11% increase, which was attributed to a 27% rise in streaming revenues.

According to Billboard, “It’s also worth remembering that 2018’s sales revenue were impacted by a change in accounting methodology, which is no longer a factor and partially contributes to this year’s bounce in operating income, versus the almost 1% decline in revenue recorded music had in the first quarter of 2018 when compared to the corresponding period in 2017.”

As of March 31st, 2019, Sony/ATV Music Publishing owned and administered over 4.5 million songs. Billboard reports that their recorded music and music publishing sales revenue were up until Sony’s Visual Media/Platform, which is under its music operations sector, took a toll as they fell by $70 million to $449 million. When comparing 2019’s income to revenue generated in the first quarter of 2018, Sony blames the sales of their mobile game “Fate/Grand Order” for their decrease in sales.

Feature Image Via New York Times