BMG Revenue Rises 5% as Music Rights Giant Buys Up Catalogues and Bets on AI
BMG reported revenue of €444 million ($518.7 million) for the first six months of 2026, a 5% increase year over year, as streaming subscriptions powered growth across the music company's recorded music division. The figures were published on 28 August 2026 by Billboard.
The Berlin-based company's EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, a standard profitability yardstick — rose 4% to €127 million ($148.4 million), producing a 29% margin. That adjusted operating EBITDA figure is up 42% since the first half of 2023, a span of three years in which BMG has reshaped itself through aggressive catalogue acquisition.
And acquisition is the word. In the first six months of 2026 alone, BMG bought roughly 14 publishing and recorded music assets — its biggest single-half investment in music rights in company history. The catalogue shopping list included rights from Jelly Roll, Jet, Snap! co-founder Luca Anzilotti, and Fuji Music Group, whose holdings tie back to John Lee Hooker, Hal David and the Chess Records catalogue. Since 2021, BMG has poured $1.8 billion into music rights through parent company Bertelsmann's Boost programme. The company now represents more than three million songs and recordings across its publishing, recorded music and catalogue businesses.
The centrepiece acquisition is still pending. In April 2026 BMG announced plans to buy Concord in a deal that includes $1.16 billion in cash. BMG reiterated this week that the transaction remains on track, subject to regulatory approval. Once it closes, the combined company would be 67% owned by Bertelsmann and 33% by affiliates of Great Mountain Partners. Björn Bauer has been designated as CFO of the merged entity, effective upon closing.
On the technology front, CEO Thomas Coesfeld said BMG is deploying artificial intelligence "at scale" across the company to serve clients and rights-holders. The company also formalised a global strategic alliance with Suno, the AI music platform, announced on 12 August 2026, to develop AI-driven music opportunities and revenue streams.
Catalogue performance in the half was led by "Blue" by young kai, "What Is Love" by Haddaway, and "Lost On You" by LP — a spread that runs from a contemporary breakout to a 1990s Eurodance anthem to a modern singer-songwriter staple, the kind of genre breadth that a three-million-song catalogue makes possible.
For context, BMG's full-year 2025 revenue stood at €900 million, down 7% on a reported basis and 2% organically, according to figures released in March 2026. The first-half 2026 numbers mark a return to growth, modest in percentage terms but meaningful in absolute euros — and amplified by a deal pipeline that, if regulators agree, will reshape the company's standing in a crowded market.
