Reservoir Media Inc (RSVR) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for participating in today's earnings conference call. Reservoir Media issued a press release with results for its first quarter of fiscal 2025 ended June 30, 2024 earlier this morning. If you did not receive a copy of our earnings press release, you may access it from the investor relations section of our website at investors.reservoir-media.com.

大家早安，感謝您參加今天的收益電話會議。今天早上早些時候，Reservoir Media 發布了一份新聞稿，公佈了截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日的 2025 財年第一季業績。如果您沒有收到我們的收益新聞稿副本，您可以從我們網站的投資者關係部分造訪：investors.reservoir-media.com。

With me on today's call are Golnar Khosrowshahi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer; and Jim Heindlmeyer, chief financial officer. As a reminder, this call is being simultaneously webcast and will be recorded and archived on the Investor Relations section of our website. Before I turn the call over to Golnar and Jim, I'd like to note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Reservoir Media about our business, financial performance, and future events, and as such, involves certain risks and uncertainties.

與我一起出席今天電話會議的有創辦人兼執行長 Golnar Khosrowshahi；吉姆‧海因德梅爾 (Jim Heindlmeyer)，財務長。謹此提醒，本次電話會議將同時進行網路直播，並將在我們網站的投資者關係部分進行記錄和存檔。在我將電話轉交給 Golnar 和 Jim 之前，我想指出，今天的討論將包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述反映了 Reservoir Media 目前對我們的業務、財務業績和未來事件的看法，因此涉及某些風險和不確定性。

Our expectations, beliefs, and projections are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that our expectations, beliefs, and projections will result or be achieved. Please refer to our earnings press release and our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for more information on the specific risks, uncertainties, and other factors. that can cause our actual results to differ materially from our expectations, beliefs, and projections described in today's discussion.

我們的期望、信念和預測是真誠表達的，我們相信它們有合理的基礎。然而，我們不能保證我們的期望、信念和預測一定會實現。請參閱我們的收益新聞稿以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，以了解有關特定風險、不確定性和其他因素的更多資​​訊。這可能導致我們的實際結果與我們今天討論中描述的期望、信念和預測有重大差異。

Any forward-looking statements that we make on this call or in our earnings press release are as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events except to the extent required by applicable law. In addition to financial results presented in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles, we plan to present during this call certain financial measures that do not conform to US GAAP if we believe they are useful to investors or if we believe they will help investors to better understand our performance or business trends.

我們在本次電話會議或收益新聞稿中所做的任何前瞻性陳述均截至今天，我們不承擔因新資訊或未來事件而更新這些陳述的義務，除非適用法律要求的範圍內。除了根據公認會計原則提出的財務結果外，我們還計劃在本次電話會議期間提出某些不符合美國公認會計原則的財務措施，如果我們認為這些措施對投資者有用或我們相信它們將幫助投資者更了解我們的業績或業務趨勢。

Reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures are included in our earnings press release. I would now like to turn the call over to Golnar.

這些非公認會計原則財務指標與最接近的可比較公認會計原則指標的對帳已包含在我們的收益新聞稿中。我現在想把電話轉給戈爾納爾。

Thank you, Jackie. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to review our results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025. Just a few days ago, we marked Reservoir's third anniversary of our listing on the NASDAQ. In this time, we have attracted an increasingly high caliber of talent and assets to the company, while also maintaining our reputation as a partner of choice for those creators who already call Reservoir home.

謝謝你，傑基。大家早安，感謝您今天加入我們回顧我們 2025 財年第一季的業績。就在幾天前，我們慶祝了 Reservoir 在納斯達克上市三週年。在此期間，我們為公司吸引了越來越多的高素質人才和資產，同時也保持了我們作為那些已經以 Reservoir 為家的創作者的首選合作夥伴的聲譽。

We continue to represent music in all corners of the world and have grown our team into an ever more global, diverse, and experienced group. And we have accomplished these foundations in concert with exceeding full year revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance, and posting year over year organic growth every quarter since our listing.

我們繼續在世界各個角落代表音樂，並將我們的團隊發展成為一個更全球化、多元化和經驗豐富的團隊。我們已經完成了這些基礎，與超過全年收入和調整後的 EBITDA 指導相一致，並自上市以來每個季度實現逐年有機增長。

These last three years are evidence that we not only set goals for ourselves, but we also consistently achieve them. Reservoir has only just started our journey as a public company, and we believe we have significant future value to drive for all of our stakeholders as we move forward. We're off to a good start in fiscal 2025 and remain on track to again hit our annual targets.

過去三年證明我們不僅為自己設定目標，而且始終如一地實現這些目標。Reservoir 作為一家上市公司的旅程才剛開始，我們相信，在我們不斷前進的過程中，我們可以為所有利害關係人帶來巨大的未來價值。我們在 2025 財年有了一個良好的開端，並有望再次實現我們的年度目標。

For the first quarter, we posted total revenue of $34.3 million. which was up 8% when including our acquisitions and up 6% on an organic basis when compared to the year ago period. At a segment level, we saw strength in our music publishing business, which helped us drive a 25% increase in our adjusted EBITDA.

第一季度，我們的總收入為 3,430 萬美元。與去年同期相比，包括我們的收購在內，成長了 8%，有機成長了 6%。在細分市場層面，我們看到了音樂出版業務的實力，這幫助我們推動調整後 EBITDA 成長 25%。

Music publishing generated healthy top line growth, particularly from digital and performance based revenues, which benefited from price increases at multiple music streaming services. despite the reclassification of Spotify's primary subscription tier of the bundled service. We also saw a 17% gain in digital revenues for our recorded music business, driven by the continued growth of the DSPs.

音樂出版帶來了健康的營收成長，尤其是基於數位和表演的收入，這得益於多種音樂串流服務的價格上漲。儘管 Spotify 的捆綁服務主要訂閱等級已重新分類。在 DSP 持續成長的推動下，我們的錄製音樂業務的數位收入也成長了 17%。

Synchronization revenue in recorded music grew 87% with some standout placements, including Sinead O'Connor's Never Gets Old in the trailer for The Watchers and Generation X's Dancing with Myself in a Comcast ad. One of Reservoir's unique strengths is our ability to not only build a diverse and high quality catalog of assets, but also identify and partner with active songwriters and producers who are shaping the music landscape with chart-topping collaborations across genres.

錄製音樂的同步收入成長了87%，其中一些表現出色，包括《守望者》預告片中Sinead O’Connor 的《Never Gets Old》和康卡斯特廣告中X Generation 的《Dancing with Myself》 。Reservoir 的獨特優勢之一是，我們不僅能夠建立多樣化、高品質的資產目錄，而且能夠識別活躍的歌曲作者和製作人並與之合作，他們透過跨流派的頂級合作塑造音樂格局。

Reservoir writer Steph Jones continues to reach meteoric heights with her co-write of Sabrina Carpenter's Espresso, which many media outlets have deemed the song of the summer. Espresso held the number one position on the UK singles chart for six weeks, and also topped several US charts. Even more impressive, Espresso reached number one on Billboard's global excluding US chart, which tied for the longest run at that spot this year, and it also sits at number six on the top 10 global songs for the first half of 2024, as calculated by Luminate.

Reservoir 作家 Stefan Jones 與人合寫的《薩布麗娜·卡彭特(Sabrina Carpenter)》的《濃縮咖啡》(Espresso) 繼續達到飛速發展的高度，許多媒體將其視為夏季歌曲。Espresso 在英國單曲排行榜上連續六週保持第一位置，並且還在多個美國排行榜上名列前茅。更令人印象深刻的是，《Espresso》在Billboard 的全球（不包括美國）排行榜上名列第一，與今年保持該位置最長的紀錄並列，而且根據《Espresso》計算，它還在2024年上半年全球十大歌曲中排名第六。

We also celebrate the success of Dua Lipa's third studio album, Radical Optimism, which featured Ali Tamposi's co-write, Whatcha Doing and Falling Forever. The album debuted at number one on the UK album charts and number two on the Billboard 200. Reservoir songwriter's Kings of Leon ninth studio album, Can We Please Have Fun, reached number two on the UK album charts and number seven on the US top rock and alternative albums charts.

我們也慶祝 Dua Lipa 的第三張錄音室專輯《Radical Optimism》獲得成功，該專輯收錄了 Ali Tamposi 的合著者《Whatcha Doing》和《Falling Forever》。這張專輯首次亮相就在英國專輯排行榜上排名第一，在 Billboard 200 排行榜上排名第二。Reservoir 歌曲作者的 Kings of Leon 第九張錄音室專輯 Can We Please Have Fun 在英國專輯排行榜上排名第二，在美國頂級搖滾和另類專輯排行榜上排名第七。

In addition to those I just mentioned, the work of multiple other Reservoir-affiliated writers landed in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 this past quarter, including music by Shaboozey, Luke Combs, Gunna, Ariana Grande and Zeza. Our early investment in emerging markets, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, gave us the opportunity to sign some of the most popular regional acts who are proving to be cross border commercial successes.

除了我剛才提到的之外，上個季度其他多位 Reservoir 相關作家的作品也進入了 Billboard 200 的前十名，其中包括 Shaboozey、Luke Combs、Gunna、Ariana Grande 和 Zeza 的音樂。我們對新興市場（特別是中東和北非）的早期投資使我們有機會簽署一些最受歡迎的區域法案，這些法案已被證明是跨國商業上的成功。

For example, Champion, the latest album from Moroccan rap star Haleiwa, included two singles that reached the number one and number two positions on Spotify's Top 50 Morocco chart. Both tracks also landed in the top 10 on the ISPI's official MENA chart, North Africa, and made appearances on Billboard's Arabic Top 100.

例如，摩洛哥說唱明星 Haleiwa 的最新專輯《Champion》中的兩首單曲分別在 Spotify 摩洛哥 50 強排行榜上排名第一和第二。這兩首歌曲也在 ISPI 官方 MENA 排行榜北非排名前 10 名，並出現在 Billboard 的阿拉伯語 Top 100 中。

This past month, we also published the official anthem for the International. Cricket Council's T20 World Cup 2024, Out of This World by Sean Paul and Kes with several remixes including one featuring Indian mega rap star DIVINE. The increasing global demand for music from emerging markets around the world reiterates our commitment to this growing market and to further expanding our reputation as the partner of choice by today's leading artists in the region.

上個月，我們也發布了國際比賽的官方歌曲。板球理事會的 2024 年 T20 世界盃《Out of This World》由 Sean Paul 和 Kes 創作，包含多種混音版本，其中包括由印度超級饒舌明星 DIVINE 演唱的混音版本。全球新興市場對音樂的需求不斷增長，這重申了我們對這個不斷增長的市場的承諾，並進一步擴大我們作為該地區當今領先藝術家首選合作夥伴的聲譽。

Turning our attention to new Reservoir signings. We recently announced three publishing deals I'd like to highlight. We added the award-winning singer and songwriter, Wrabel, to our roster, with the Huffington Post calling him one of pop's unsung talents. Wrabel has co-written for Pink, Kesha, Backstreet Boys, and Pentatonix, among others.

將我們的注意力轉向新的水庫簽約。我想強調一下，我們最近宣布了三項出版交易。我們將屢獲殊榮的歌手兼詞曲作者 Wrabel 添加到了我們的名單中，《赫芬頓郵報》稱他為流行音樂界的無名天才之一。拉貝爾曾與 Pink、Kesha、Backstreet Boys 和 Pentatonix 等樂團共同創作。

Earlier this month, we announced the addition of platinum-selling songwriter and producer, Aaron Zuckerman, to our roster. The deal includes Aaron's recent co-write, White Claw, by Young Gravy and Shania Twain. He has also partnered with today's top artists across genres, such as Lil Wayne, Bibi Rexha, MGK, Hunter Hayes, and Travis Barker.

本月早些時候，我們宣布將白金銷量的歌曲作者兼製作人亞倫·祖克曼 (Aaron Zuckerman) 添加到我們的名單中。該協議包括亞倫最近與楊·格萊維和仙妮亞·唐恩合寫的《白爪》。他也與當今各流派的頂級藝術家合作，例如 Lil Wayne、Bibi Rexha、MGK、Hunter Hayes 和 Travis Barker。

And third, songwriter-producer Lewis Thompson joined our roster with 4 billion streams and 9 top 10 UK hits to his name. Lewis has collaborated with some of the biggest names in pop, and his works have been nominated for the BRIT Awards Song of the Year and Ivor Novello PRS for Music Most Performed Work.

第三，歌曲作者兼製作人劉易斯湯普森 (Lewis Thompson) 加入了我們的名單，他的名字擁有 40 億次播放量和 9 首英國十大熱門歌曲。路易斯曾與一些流行音樂界的大腕合作，他的作品曾被提名為全英音樂獎年度歌曲獎和 Ivor Novello PRS 音樂表演最多作品獎。

The strength of our portfolio of assets is reflected in our first quarter financial results and is a product of the robust due diligence process we undertake prior to making an offer. As Jim will discuss, our business generates a healthy, predictable cash flow that allows us to continue to invest in our operations, people, and creators.

我們資產組合的實力反映在我們第一季的財務表現中，並且是我們在提出要約之前進行的嚴格盡職調查流程的產物。正如吉姆將討論的那樣，我們的業務產生了健康、可預測的現金流，使我們能夠繼續投資於我們的營運、人員和創作者。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Jim to discuss our first quarter numbers in greater detail. Jim?

說到這裡，我想把電話轉給吉姆，更詳細地討論我們第一季的數據。吉姆？

Thank you, Dolnar, and good morning, everyone. Our results this quarter were in line with our internal expectations and are a testament to the strong portfolio of assets we have at Reservoir. Revenue for the first fiscal quarter was $34.3 million, a 6% year-over-year improvement on an organic basis, and an 8% increase when including acquisitions. This was led by the 15% growth in our music publishing segment, which offset the 7% decrease we had in recorded music.

謝謝你，多納爾，大家早安。我們本季的業績符合我們的內部預期，並證明了我們 Reservoir 擁有強大的資產組合。第一財季的營收為 3,430 萬美元，有機年增 6%，若包括收購，則成長 8%。這是由我們的音樂出版部門 15% 的成長所帶動的，這抵消了我們錄製音樂部門 7% 的下降。

Turning to our operating expenses, the total cost of revenue decreased 1% compared to the prior year quarter, while our administration expenses and amortization and depreciation costs grew 6% and 5%, respectively, versus the prior year.

營運費用方面，總收入成本較上年同期下降 1%，而管理費用、攤提和折舊成本較上年分別增加 6% 和 5%。

Looking at operating performance for the first quarter, a OIBDA was $11.3 million, an increase of 23% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA was up 25%. to $12.6 million compared to our Q1 in fiscal 2024. The increase in OIBDA and adjusted EBITDA were due to effective cost management and efficiencies achieved on higher revenues for the quarter.

從第一季的營運表現來看，OIBDA 為 1,130 萬美元，年增 23%，調整後 EBITDA 成長 25%。與 2024 財年第一季相比，增至 1,260 萬美元。OIBDA 和調整後 EBITDA 的成長歸因於有效的成本管理和本季營收增加所實現的效率。

Interest expense was $5.1 million for the quarter versus $4.7 million in the prior year, driven primarily by an increase in SOFR from the prior year quarter to the current quarter. Net loss for the first quarter was approximately $500,000 compared to net income of $200,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

本季利息支出為 510 萬美元，而上年同期為 470 萬美元，主要是由於 SOFR 從去年同期到本季的增加。第一季淨虧損約 50 萬美元，而 2024 財年第一季淨收入為 20 萬美元。

The decrease was primarily due to a quarterly loss on the fair value of our interest rate edges. This resulted in a diluted loss per share for the quarter of $0.01 compared to zero in the prior year quarter. Lastly, our weighted average diluted outstanding share count during the quarter was $65 million.

下降的主要原因是我們的利率優勢公允價值出現季度損失。這導致本季每股攤薄虧損為 0.01 美元，去年同期每股攤薄虧損為零。最後，本季我們的加權平均稀釋後流通股數為 6,500 萬美元。

Now let's dive into our segment review for the quarter. Music publishing had a 15% increase in revenue versus the prior year quarter at $24 million and was driven by acquisitions of catalogs and revenue from existing catalogs which benefited from price increases at multiple music streaming services and led to increases in digital revenue, performance revenue, and mechanical revenue.

現在讓我們深入研究本季的細分市場。音樂出版收入較上年同期成長 15%，達到 2,400 萬美元，主要得益於目錄收購和現有目錄收入，這些收入受益於多種音樂串流服務的價格上漲，並導致數位收入、表演收入、和機械收入。

Moving to our recorded music segment, we have a 7% decline to $9.6 million in revenue. compared to our Q1 last year. Last spring, in addition to bringing De La Soul's catalog to digital platforms for the first time ever, we also released their music to fans on vinyl, CD, and cassette formats, which caused a significant shift in physical revenue in the prior year quarter.

轉向我們的錄製音樂部分，我們的收入下降了 7% 至 960 萬美元。與去年第一季相比。去年春天，除了首次將 De La Soul 的作品帶到數位平台外，我們還以黑膠唱片、CD 和盒帶格式向歌迷發行了他們的音樂，這導致去年同期實體收入發生了重大變化。

The resulting decrease in physical revenue in this quarter was offset by an 87% increase in synchronization revenue, a remarkable metric in the face of lingering impacts of the actor and writer strikes from last year. We also saw 17% growth in digital revenue, due in part to price increases at multiple music streaming services, as well as an increase in neighboring rights revenue.

本季實體收入的下降被同步收入增長 87% 所抵消，面對去年演員和編劇罷工的揮之不去的影響，這是一個顯著的指標。我們也看到數位收入成長了 17%，部分原因是多種音樂串流服務的價格上漲，以及鄰接權收入的增加。

Turning to our balance sheet, as of June 30, 2024, cash provided by operating activities was $8.6 million, which was an improvement of 9.4 million compared to the year ago quarter. We had total available liquidity of $137.6 million, consisting of $16.4 million of cash on hand and $121.2 million available under our revolver. We ended the quarter with total debt of $324.1 million, which was net of $4.7 million of deferred financing costs, and thus we maintained $307.8 million of net debt.

轉向我們的資產負債表，截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，經營活動提供的現金為 860 萬美元，比去年同期增加 940 萬美元。我們的可用流動資金總額為 1.376 億美元，其中包括 1,640 萬美元的手頭現金和 1.212 億美元的循環資金。本季結束時，我們的總債務為 3.241 億美元，扣除 470 萬美元的遞延融資成本，因此我們維持了 3.078 億美元的淨債務。

That compares to net debt of $312.7 million as of March 31, 2024. Consistent with our prior first quarter calls, we are maintaining our full year revenue guidance range, which stands at $148 million to $152 million. And at the midpoint, implies growth of 4% versus fiscal 2024. We similarly reiterate our adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $58 million to $61 million, which signals growth of 7% over the prior year at the midpoint of the range.

相比之下，截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日的淨債務為 3.127 億美元。與我們先前第一季的預測一致，我們維持全年營收指引範圍，即 1.48 億美元至 1.52 億美元。中點意味著與 2024 財年相比成長 4%。同樣，我們重申調整後 EBITDA 指引範圍為 5,800 萬美元至 6,100 萬美元，這表明該範圍的中點較上年增長 7%。

We continually review our forecast for the full year and will provide updates when appropriate to do so. For the remainder of fiscal 2025, we're focused on executing our strategy. continue delivering consistent and predictable cash flows that will allow us to achieve our forecasted top line and adjusted EBITDA guidance for the year.

我們不斷審查全年的預測，並將在適當的時候提供更新。在 2025 財年剩餘時間內，我們將專注於執行我們的策略。繼續提供一致且可預測的現金流，這將使我們能夠實現今年的預測營收和調整後的 EBITDA 指引。

I'll now pass the call back to Golanar for closing.

我現在將把電話轉回 Golanar 以便結束。

Thank you, Jim. We are confident in the value of Reservoir's assets and the portfolio we have built. As the music industry continues to grow and build momentum, the M&A marketplace has remained strong as evidenced by recent large-scale transactions ranging between approximately 16x to 18x multiples on NPS, NLS. We believe our track record and the quality of our portfolio reflects our long-term growth potential. We remain focused on building upon our momentum and increasing visibility to capture more value over the long term.

謝謝你，吉姆。我們對 Reservoir 資產的價值和我們建立的投資組合充滿信心。隨著音樂產業不斷發展並形成勢頭，併購市場依然強勁，最近的大規模交易證明了這一點：NPS、NLS 的交易價格約為 16 倍至 18 倍。我們相信我們的業績記錄和投資組合的品質反映了我們的長期成長潛力。我們仍然專注於鞏固我們的勢頭並提高知名度，以獲得更多的長期價值。

We appreciate your continued support and look forward to sharing our progress with you. We will now open the line for questions.

我們感謝您的持續支持，並期待與您分享我們的進步。我們現在將開通提問熱線。

(Operator instructions)

（操作員說明）

Griffin Boss, B. Riley Securities.

格里芬‧博斯 (Griffin Boss)，B. 萊利證券 (Riley Securities)。

Hi. Thanks for taking my questions. I don't see the Q posted yet. So can you just give some more color, Jim, maybe on the magnitude of catalog purchases and additions to royalty advances in the quarter?

你好。感謝您回答我的問題。我還沒看到發布的Q。那麼，吉姆，您能否提供更多信息，也許是關於本季度目錄購買和版稅預付款增加的規模？

Yes, sure. Thanks for the question, Griffin. This was a relatively quiet quarter for us with respect to both catalog acquisitions and advances. Having said that, it's not indicative of our run rate for the year. We have a really robust pipeline and we have a number of deals that we're very excited about that will be closing in the coming weeks.

是的，當然。謝謝你的提問，格里芬。對於我們的目錄收購和預付款而言，這是一個相對平靜的季度。話雖如此，這並不代表我們今年的運行率。我們擁有非常強大的管道，我們有許多交易，我們對此感到非常興奮，這些交易將在未來幾週內完成。

Hi, Griffin. I would also add that there is a certain cyclicality to deal flow. And the cadence at which we deploy capital isn't always going to spread out evenly quarter over quarter or year over year.

嗨，格里芬。我還要補充一點，交易流量有一定的周期性。我們部署資本的節奏並不總是在季度與季度或年與年之間均勻分佈。

Okay, got it. That's super helpful. So just making sure I heard that right. So the pipeline is still, we can still think of that as $1 billion and call it 120-plus opportunities that you're looking at right now?

好的，明白了。這非常有幫助。所以只是確保我沒聽錯。所以管道仍然存在，我們仍然可以將其視為 10 億美元，並將其稱為您現在正在尋找的 120 多個機會？

Yes. It's slightly over $1 billion. And as Jim said, there are a few opportunities that we are extremely excited about in the sort of near term.

是的。略高於 10 億美元。正如吉姆所說，短期內我們對一些機會感到非常興奮。

So jumping over, obviously you talked about the really strong growth in publishing, particularly in digital, and you mentioned the price increases from DSPs, were there any other one-time items that contributed to the first quarter outperformance in digital? Or was that basically all attributable to the price increases?

所以跳過，顯然你談到了出版業的真正強勁增長，特別是數位出版業，並且你提到了 DSP 的價格上漲，是否還有其他一次性項目促成了第一季數位出版業的優異表現？或者這基本上全部歸因於價格上漲？

There weren't any particular one-time things that we felt needed to be called out for this quarter. It was really business as usual. We benefited from those price increases and kind of nothing in particular to add beyond that with respect to one time items.

我們認為本季沒有任何需要特別注意的一次性事項。真的一切如常。我們從這些價格上漲中受益，除了一次性商品之外，沒有什麼特別值得補充的。

Okay, got it. And then last one for me, and I'll jump back in the queue. Can you just talk a bit more broadly about the growth characteristics you're seeing internationally versus the US today, and how you look at those going forward?

好的，明白了。然後是我的最後一個，我會跳回隊列。您能否更廣泛地談談您所看到的國際與美國今天的成長特徵，以及您如何看待未來的成長特徵？

Can you say sort of in what sense, in what sense of growth characteristics?

你能說一下在什麼意義上、在什麼意義上的成長特徵嗎？

Yes, so just more broadly in the quarter, how you saw growth internationally versus the United States and then going -- we'll call it through the rest of the year, how you're anticipating growth to play out internationally and domestically.

是的，所以更廣泛地說，在本季度，您如何看待國際與美國的成長，然後 - 我們將在今年剩餘時間稱之為，您預計國際和國內的成長將如何發揮。

Yes, I think that we are -- we remain very optimistic about the opportunities internationally. But when we say internationally, it's a pretty big territory that we're covering, right? There's certainly mature markets in there where we continue to perform well, whether it's in the UK, Europe, those types of markets. But we also see a lot of opportunities, whether it's with our sub-publishing partners throughout Southeast Asia and South Asia, or the work that we're doing through Pop Arabia, to take advantage of opportunities in the Middle East and India, where, like I said, we remain very optimistic about where that's heading.

是的，我認為我們對國際上的機會仍然非常樂觀。但當我們說國際時，我們所涵蓋的領域相當大，對吧？當然，我們在一些成熟的市場中繼續表現良好，無論是在英國、歐洲或這些類型的市場。但我們也看到了很多機會，無論是與我們在東南亞和南亞的子出版合作夥伴，還是我們透過 Pop 阿拉伯所做的工作，以利用中東和印度的機會，在那裡，正如我所說，我們對未來的發展仍然非常樂觀。

As we've said on prior calls, it remains a part of our business that is not the biggest part of our business, but the growth that we are anticipating there in the coming years, we think will really ramp up.

正如我們在之前的電話中所說，它仍然是我們業務的一部分，並不是我們業務的最大部分，但我們預計未來幾年的成長將會真正加快。

Rich Baldry, ROTH Capital.

里奇·鮑德里，羅斯資本。

Is there any way to sort of put a bracket around the scope of the impact of the Spotify sort of bundling drag, and where you think that stands in terms of the controversy being played out either legally or settled, so we can get an idea of how much of a headwind that was?

有沒有辦法可以對 Spotify 捆綁拖累的影響範圍進行界定，以及您認為這在合法或解決爭議方面的立場，這樣我們就可以了解那是多大的逆風？

Sure. With respect to the magnitude or the impact of this, we talked on the last call about Billboard estimating it to be about $150 million annually to the industry. And I think we also mentioned on the last call that we estimated that somewhere between $1.2 million and $1.5 million to Reservoir on an annual basis. And that's something that we have built into our forecast. And while we are very opposed to what Spotify is doing, that's the situation right now and that's what we have built into our forecast. And maybe I'll turn it over to Golnar for a little bit more color around it.

當然。關於其規模或影響，我們在上次電話會議中談到了 Billboard 估計每年將為業界帶來約 1.5 億美元的收入。我想我們在上次電話會議中也提到，我們估計每年向 Reservoir 提供 120 萬至 150 萬美元。這就是我們的預測中的內容。雖然我們非常反對 Spotify 所做的事情，但這就是現在的情況，這就是我們在預測中所考慮的內容。也許我會把它交給戈爾納爾，讓周圍有更多的色彩。

Yes. Hi, Rich. So I would add a couple of things. First of all, we can't really predict where this litigation will go and how long it will take, but we will fight the good fight and we will advocate for our songwriters. But as Jim said, our forecasts and our budgets reflect the reality that we're living today.

是的。嗨，里奇。所以我要補充幾件事。首先，我們無法真正預測這場訴訟將走向何方以及需要多長時間，但我們會打好仗，我們將為我們的歌曲作者辯護。但正如吉姆所說，我們的預測和預算反映了我們今天生活的現實。

The other thing that we also haven't put in our forecast is the numbers around Spotify's premium tier service, which is estimated to be somewhere in the ballpark of $5 more than the current service, with their estimates being pretty significant as far as how many people will convert to that product. So that's another thing we haven't forecast for.

我們還沒有納入預測的另一件事是 Spotify 高級服務的數字，估計該服務比當前服務多出 5 美元左右，他們的估計對於有多少用戶來說相當重要。這是我們沒有預測到的另一件事。

But I think today we have a very good handle of what the future looks like here as far as the impact goes and the advocacy work and the litigation will continue. And what we are managing for on this end is that we don't want any surprises on this front, nor do we want to make assumptions around litigation outcome. And that's something that I think that we are prepared for.

但我認為今天我們對未來的情況有了很好的把握，就影響而言，倡導工作和訴訟將繼續進行。我們在這方面的目標是，我們不希望在這方面有任何意外，也不希望對訴訟結果做出假設。我認為我們已經準備好了。

Thanks. And when we looked at specifically at the recorded music line, while the revenues were down, the profitability contribution was up pretty meaningfully. How often do you run or do you think you'll see like one-off events like the De La Soul where, arguably, it actually might have been at least breakeven and maybe even cost a little bit of money as a sort of, I guess, a one-time promotional effort.

謝謝。當我們專門關注錄製的音樂產品線時，雖然收入下降了，但獲利貢獻卻大幅上升。你多久跑步一次，或者你認為你會看到像德拉靈魂這樣的一次性活動，可以說，它實際上可能至少是收支平衡的，甚至可能花費一點錢，作為一種，我猜測，一次性促銷活動。

We can't really predict how frequently that is. The recorded business is obviously, and the frontline recorded business is a smaller part of our business. I would say that the De La Soul launch and activity around that was certainly an outlier event. I don't see us executing on a plan of similar scale and importance in sort of the next one or two quarters as that. So for a frontline recorded business of our size, populated by our roster, it's not a frequent occurrence.

我們無法真正預測這種情況的發生頻率。錄音業務是顯而易見的，第一線錄音業務占我們業務的比例較小。我想說，De La Soul 的推出和圍繞它的活動肯定是一個異常事件。我認為我們不會在接下來的一兩個季度內執行類似規模和重要性的計劃。因此，對於我們這樣規模、由我們的名冊組成的第一線記錄企業來說，這種情況並不常見。

And then as we look forward, you maintain guidance. But in terms of seasonality, is there anything that's changing there? You obviously had an unusual comparison because of De La Soul in one part of Q1. But if we look at the rest of the year, maybe our international trends changing any of the typical season now we see either on the revenue or the OpEx. And on the OpEx side, I just note that it was obviously very flat from Q4 to Q1. How much do you think that, that trend continues? Or is there some meaningful investments you kind of see on the horizon?

然後，當我們展望未來時，您會保持指導。但就季節性而言，有什麼變化嗎？顯然，由於第一季的一部分，德拉靈魂（De La Soul），你有一個不尋常的比較。但如果我們看看今年剩下的時間，也許我們的國際趨勢會改變任何一個典型的季節，現在我們在收入或營運支出上看到。在營運支出方面，我只是注意到從第四季到第一季顯然非常持平。您認為這種趨勢在多大程度上會持續下去？或者您認為即將出現一些有意義的投資？

I think with respect to it -- maybe I'll take it in reverse order and talk about the OpEx first. I think that we are really right-sized with respect to our infrastructure right now. So the run rate that you're seeing is really what I would, where I would expect us to be. We obviously have inflationary pressures like every other business, so we will continue to see the impact of that.

我認為，關於它——也許我會以相反的順序來討論，首先討論營運支出。我認為我們目前的基礎設施規模確實合適。所以你看到的運行率確實是我想要的，我期望我們達到的水平。顯然，我們像其他所有企業一樣面臨通膨壓力，因此我們將繼續看到其影響。

But there's nothing that I'm anticipating going forward that is meaningful in terms of the quarter over quarter cadence on OpEx. With respect to cyclicality on revenue, that's an area where I think over the past two years handful of years, we have done a good job of improving our accrual process and really flattening the spikes in valleys that we see quarter to quarter based on the timing of payments.

但就營運支出的季度環比節奏而言，我預計未來沒有任何有意義的事情。就收入的周期性而言，我認為在過去的兩年裡，我們在改善應計流程方面做得很好，並真正壓平了我們根據時間每個季度看到的山谷高峰付款。

There's still a little bit of that that happens with our September and March quarters probably being a little bit higher typically than our June and December quarters. But it's a little bit flatter than what we have seen if you go back three years.

我們的 9 月和 3 月季度仍然會發生一些這種情況，通常比 6 月和 12 月季度要高一些。但如果你回到三年前，它比我們看到的要平坦一些。

And last for me. I've sort of asked this every quarter, but when you think about the external environment, can you just talk a little broadly about the M&A pipeline? Not necessarily absolute sizing, but bigger, smaller expectations changing at all with macro kind of trending a bit sideways, it looks like based on interest rates.

最後對我來說。我每季都會問這個問題，但是當你考慮到外部環境時，你能簡單地談談併購管道嗎？不一定是絕對規模，但隨著宏觀趨勢有點橫盤，更大、更小的預期會發生變化，看起來是基於利率。

Sure. We're very excited about the pipeline. I think it, at least the immediate or the short-term deal pipeline, there's the characteristics of deals that we are attracted to in off-market settings that we are able to execute on at good multiples, attractive returns, diversified assets, set of assets that we're looking at ranging from recorded to publishing to film score.

當然。我們對管道感到非常興奮。我認為，至少在近期或短期交易管道中，我們在場外環境中被吸引的交易具有以下特徵：我們能夠以良好的倍數執行、有吸引力的回報、多元化的資產、一系列的交易。正在關注的資產範圍從錄音到出版再到電影配樂。

Again, that's in the short term. I think as far as sizing goes, there's certainly a few larger deals there. That's not, as you know, really our sweet spot. So this short term pipeline is looking at a number of transactions that are in the seven to eight figures. And then a few interesting opportunities on the publishing front line roster as well that we are entertaining.

再說一遍，這是短期的。我認為就規模而言，肯定有一些更大的交易。如你所知，這並不是我們真正的最佳選擇。因此，這個短期管道正在關註一些七到八位數的交易。然後，我們也很高興在出版前線名單上提供一些有趣的機會。

But a pretty solid mix of assets. We don't -- we continue to see no material contraction on pricing. And we have found some opportunities that allow us to purchase at good entry multiples.

但資產組合相當穩固。我們仍然沒有看到定價出現實質收縮。我們發現了一些機會，可以讓我們以良好的入場倍數購買。

Alex Furman, Craig Hallam Capital Group.

亞歷克斯弗曼，克雷格哈勒姆資本集團。

Hey guys, thanks very much for taking my question and congratulations on another quarter of really solid, consistent results. I wanted to ask about the cost of revenue. That was actually down, it looks like, in dollars year-over-year despite pretty healthy revenue growth both organically and on the top line. Can you talk about what's been driving that?

大家好，非常感謝您提出我的問題，並祝賀又一個季度取得了真正可靠、一致的結果。我想問一下收入成本。儘管有機收入和營收成長都相當健康，但以美元計算，這一數字實際上同比有所下降。您能談談是什麼推動了這個趨勢嗎？

And then you know bigger picture, it looks like, at least as a percentage of sales. Cost of revenue's been coming down for a couple years. Is that due to the mix of the type of assets you're managing? Can you get give us a little bit more color on what's been driving those trends and what we should expect to see the rest of the year?

然後你就會知道更大的情況，看起來至少是銷售額的百分比。收入成本幾年來一直在下降。這是由於您管理的資產類型混合造成的嗎？您能否為我們提供更多關於推動這些趨勢的因素以及我們預計今年剩餘時間會看到什麼的資訊？

Sure. Thanks, Alex. So on the cost of revenue, the biggest driver there is going to be the shift away from physical revenue on the recorded side. Obviously, that revenue carries a much higher cost of revenue than digital does. So that was the biggest driver of a 1% decrease in cost of revenue while we had an 8% increase in overall revenue.

當然。謝謝，亞歷克斯。因此，就收入成本而言，最大的推動因素將是記錄方面的實體收入的轉變。顯然，這種收入的收入成本比數位收入高得多。因此，這是收入成本下降 1% 而我們的總收入增加 8% 的最大推動力。

I think if you look at the segments, which you'll be able to do more when the Q's filed after market today, but you'll see it in the earnings release as well. We probably had a, I think, a two-point improvement on our publishing gross margin.

我認為，如果你看看這些細分市場，當 Q 今天在盤後提交申請時，你將能夠做更多的事情，但你也會在收益發布中看到它。我認為，我們的出版毛利率可能提高了兩點。

And some of that does come down to the mix of the assets that we own. Potentially, we acquired assets that carry a higher margin and that type of -- those types of acquisitions will improve our overall gross margin. But it was really pretty minor on the publishing side. And on the recorded side, it's being driven by that shift in the physical revenue for the quarter.

其中一些確實歸結為我們擁有的資產組合。我們可能會收購利潤率較高的資產，而此類收購將提高我們的整體毛利率。但在出版方面，這確實是很小的事。在記錄方面，它是由本季實際收入的變化所推動的。

I will now turn the program back over to Golnar Khosrowshahi for any additional closing remarks.

現在，我將把議程轉回給戈爾納爾·科斯羅薩西 (Golnar Khosrowshahi)，以便他可以發表更多的結束語。

Thank you, operator. We finished the first fiscal quarter in a strong position and look forward to continuing that momentum over the course of the fiscal year. Thank you very much for joining us this morning.

謝謝你，接線生。我們以強勁的勢頭結束了第一財季，並期待在整個財年繼續保持這一勢頭。非常感謝您今天早上加入我們。