Warner Music reveals streaming income has overtaken downloads

WMG chief Stephen Cooper warns rivals against ditching freemium streaming in favour of subscription services as part of war against piracy

The boss of major label Warner Music Group has warned rivals to "think very carefully" before restricting the free tiers of streaming services like Spotify, after his company revealed that it now makes more money from streams than from download sales.

The tipping point came in the first quarter of 2015, according to WMG's latest financial results, which saw the label's revenues grow 4% year-on-year to $677m, helping it record a net profit of $19m.

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