Warner Music Group advertising spend, FY2025

Warner Music Group (WMG) reported $113M of advertising expense for the fiscal year ended Sep 30, 2025. That is 1.7% of revenue of $6.7B. Down 5.0% from FY2024.

Ad spend, FY2025
$113M
year ended Sep 30, 2025
Change vs prior year
-5.0%
vs FY2024
Share of revenue
1.7%
of $6.7B revenue
Rank by ad spend
#311
of 336 companies

Key facts

  • Ad spend is 1.3x its FY2015 level ($88M), slower than revenue (2.3x).
  • The highest year on file is FY2022 at $155M; FY2025 is 27% below it.
  • Largest increase +29.6% in FY2021; largest cut -12.5% in FY2024.
  • Ad spend has fallen 3 years in a row.
  • Ad spend is 1.7% of revenue, down from 2.6% in FY2020.
  • Warner Music Group spends more on advertising than 7% of the 336 US-listed companies tracked. Its ad-to-revenue ratio is below the median of 5.2%.

Ad spend by fiscal year

$0 $50M $100M $150M $200M FY2012 (ended 2012-09-30): $67M FY2013 (ended 2013-09-30): $70M 2013 FY2014 (ended 2014-09-30): $83M FY2015 (ended 2015-09-30): $88M 2015 FY2016 (ended 2016-09-30): $91M FY2017 (ended 2017-09-30): $97M 2017 FY2018 (ended 2018-09-30): $104M FY2019 (ended 2019-09-30): $108M 2019 FY2020 (ended 2020-09-30): $115M FY2021 (ended 2021-09-30): $149M 2021 FY2022 (ended 2022-09-30): $155M FY2023 (ended 2023-09-30): $136M 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-09-30): $119M FY2025 (ended 2025-09-30): $113M 2025 $113M

Ad spend as % of revenue

0% 1% 2% 3% FY2012 (ended 2012-09-30): 2.4% FY2013 (ended 2013-09-30): 2.4% 2013 FY2014 (ended 2014-09-30): 2.7% FY2015 (ended 2015-09-30): 3.0% 2015 FY2016 (ended 2016-09-30): 2.8% FY2017 (ended 2017-09-30): 2.7% 2017 FY2018 (ended 2018-09-30): 2.6% FY2019 (ended 2019-09-30): 2.4% 2019 FY2020 (ended 2020-09-30): 2.6% FY2021 (ended 2021-09-30): 2.8% 2021 FY2022 (ended 2022-09-30): 2.6% FY2023 (ended 2023-09-30): 2.3% 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-09-30): 1.9% FY2025 (ended 2025-09-30): 1.7% 2025 1.7%

History

Download CSV
Fiscal year Period end Ad spend YoY Revenue Ad / revenue Tag Filing
FY2025 Sep 30, 2025 $113M -5.0% $6.7B 1.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Nov 20, 2025
FY2024 Sep 30, 2024 $119M -12.5% $6.4B 1.9% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Nov 20, 2025
FY2023 Sep 30, 2023 $136M -12.3% $6B 2.3% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Nov 20, 2025
FY2022 Sep 30, 2022 $155M +4.0% $5.9B 2.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Nov 21, 2024
FY2021 Sep 30, 2021 $149M +29.6% $5.3B 2.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Nov 21, 2023
FY2020 Sep 30, 2020 $115M +6.5% $4.5B 2.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Nov 22, 2022
FY2019 Sep 30, 2019 $108M +3.8% $4.5B 2.4% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Nov 23, 2021
FY2018 Sep 30, 2018 $104M +7.2% $4B 2.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Nov 23, 2020
FY2017 Sep 30, 2017 $97M +6.6% $3.6B 2.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Nov 27, 2019
FY2016 Sep 30, 2016 $91M +3.4% $3.2B 2.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Dec 20, 2018
FY2015 Sep 30, 2015 $88M +6.0% $3B 3.0% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Dec 5, 2017
FY2014 Sep 30, 2014 $83M +18.6% $3B 2.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Dec 8, 2016
FY2013 Sep 30, 2013 $70M +4.5% $2.9B 2.4% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Dec 10, 2015
FY2012 Sep 30, 2012 $67M n/a $2.8B 2.4% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Dec 11, 2014

What the figure is

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Compared with similar spenders

The 6 companies closest to Warner Music Group in latest-year ad spend.

Rank Company Ad spend Ad / revenue YoY Fiscal year
307 Inspire Medical Systems $115M 12.6% +21.1% FY2025
308 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store $114M 3.4% -4.5% FY2026
309 Warby Parker $114M 13.1% +18.9% FY2025
310 Atlanticus $113M 5.8% +101.6% FY2025
311 Warner Music Group $113M 1.7% -5.0% FY2025
312 Perdoceo Education $113M 13.3% +11.8% FY2025
313 Lucid Group $112M 8.3% +125.3% FY2025

Full ranking of 336 companies · Biggest cuts #50

Questions

How much does Warner Music Group spend on advertising?

Warner Music Group spent $113M on advertising in fiscal 2025, the year ended Sep 30, 2025, according to its 10-K filed Nov 20, 2025.

What percentage of revenue does Warner Music Group spend on advertising?

1.7% of revenue in fiscal 2025 ($113M of $6.7B). The median across the 336 companies tracked is 5.2%.

Is Warner Music Group spending more on advertising?

No. Ad spend fell 5.0% in fiscal 2025 from fiscal 2024. It has fallen 3 years in a row.

How does Warner Music Group rank by advertising spend?

#311 of 336 US-listed companies with $100M or more in ad spend, ranked on each company's latest fiscal year.

What does Warner Music Group's advertising figure include?

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Source

Filing
10-K for FY2025, filed Nov 20, 2025
Accession number
0001319161-25-000034
Company
Warner Music Group Corp., CIK 1319161, SIC 7900 (Services-Amusement & Recreation Services)
Data
SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts, retrieved Nov 4, 2026. Methodology.
Cite
Warner Music Group advertising spend, FY2012-FY2025. Aleksei Trudov, io.trudov.com, from SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (latest: 10-K filed Nov 20, 2025), retrieved Nov 4, 2026. https://io.trudov.com/company/warner-music-group/advertising-spend/
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CSV, all years · CSV, all 336 companies