UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ FORM 10-K ___________________________________________________________________________________________ (Mark One) ☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019 OR ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission File Number 001-32502 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Warner Music Group Corp. (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Delaware 13-4271875 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 1633 Broadway New York, NY 10019 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 275-2000 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Trading Symbol Name of each exchange on which Title of each class (s) registered None None None Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒ Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☒ No ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☐ No ☒ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulations S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☒ Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐ If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.) Yes ☐ No ☒ There is no public market for the registrant’s common stock. As of November 27, 2019 the number of shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding was 1,060. All of the registrant’s common stock is owned by affiliates of Access Industries, Inc. The registrant has filed all Exchange Act reports for the preceding 12 months. WARNER MUSIC GROUP CORP. INDEX Page Number Part I. Item 1. Business 1 Item 1A. Risk Factors 16 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 27 Item 2. Properties 28 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 28 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 28 Part II. Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 29 Item 6. Selected Financial Data 30 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 31 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 66 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 67 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 124 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 124 Item 9B. Other Information 125 Part III. Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 126 Item 11. Executive Compensation 132 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 147 Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 149 Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 152 Part IV. Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 153 Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 157 Signatures 158 PART I ITEM 1. BUSINESS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This annual report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry in which we operate, management’s beliefs and assumptions. Words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe” or “continue” or the negative thereof or variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. We disclaim any duty to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Introduction Warner Music Group Corp. (the “Company”) was formed on November 21, 2003. We are the direct parent of WMG Holdings Corp. (“Holdings”), which is the direct parent of WMG Acquisition Corp. (“Acquisition Corp.”). Acquisition Corp. is one of the world’s major music entertainment companies. The Company and Holdings are holding companies that conduct substantially all of their business operations through their subsidiaries. The terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “ours” and the “Company” refer collectively to Warner Music Group Corp. and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context refers only to Warner Music Group Corp. as a corporate entity. Acquisition of Warner Music Group by Access Industries Pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of May 6, 2011 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, AI Entertainment Holdings LLC (formerly Airplanes Music LLC), a Delaware limited liability company (“Parent”) and an affiliate of Access Industries, Inc. (“Access”), and Airplanes Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”), on July 20, 2011 (the “Merger Closing Date”), Merger Sub merged with and into the Company with the Company surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”). In connection with the Merger, the Company delisted its common stock from the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”). The Company continues to voluntarily file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) current and periodic reports that would be required to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) as provided for in certain covenants contained in the instruments covering its outstanding indebtedness. All of the Company’s common stock is owned by affiliates of Access. Our Company We are one of the world’s leading music entertainment companies. Our renowned family of iconic record labels, including Atlantic Records, Warner Records, Elektra Records and Parlophone Records, is home to many of the world’s most popular and influential recording artists. In addition, Warner Chappell Music, our global music publishing business, boasts an extraordinary catalog that includes timeless standards and contemporary hits, representing works by over 80,000 songwriters and composers, with a global collection of more than 1.4 million musical compositions. Our entrepreneurial spirit and passion for music has driven our recording artist and songwriter focused innovation for decades. Our Recorded Music business, home to superstar recording artists such as Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Cardi B, generated $3.840 billion of revenue in fiscal 2019, representing 86% of total revenues. Our Music Publishing business, which includes esteemed songwriters such as Twenty One Pilots, Lizzo and Katy Perry, generated $643 million of revenue in fiscal 2019, representing 14% of total revenues. We benefit from the scale of our global platform and our local focus. Today, global music entertainment companies such as ours are more important and relevant than ever. The traditional barriers to widespread distribution of music have been erased. The tools to make and distribute music are at every musician’s fingertips, and today’s technology makes it possible for music to travel around the world in an instant. This has resulted in music being ubiquitous and accessible at all times. Against this industry backdrop, the volume of music being released