Warner Music and Netflix are close to a new partnership that will change the way we see the stories behind music legends. The two giants plan to create films and documentaries about Warner Music artists, bringing their musical journeys to the big screen.
Warner Music and Netflix are reportedly joining forces in a partnership that could change the way music stories reach the big and small screens. According to a report by Bloomberg, the two giants are “very close” to a deal to create films and documentaries based on Warner Music artists and songs, paving a new path for music and cinema to meet.
The rumor came shortly after Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl was interviewed at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles. While he didn’t officially confirm the Netflix partnership, he said that “it makes perfect sense to work with a company that can bring our stories to life on a global scale.” And, if anything, Warner Music and Netflix are a combination that sounds almost inevitable.
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Warner Music has one of the richest music archives in the world, with names like Prince, Madonna and Fleetwood Mac. Robert Kyncl, who knows Netflix inside out, having been an executive at the company in the platform’s early years, stressed that the stories behind these artists “have never been fully told.” “We’re like Marvel, but for music,” he said, hinting that each musician can have their own “cinematic” narrative.
If the deal between Warner Music and Netflix goes through, it would be one of the most exciting media projects of the decade. For Warner, which earlier this year shut down its in-house film and TV production division, the partnership would allow it to outsource that work to an entertainment giant with a global network. For Netflix, it’s a golden opportunity to invest even more in music content — a field in which it has already proven to excel.
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The platform already has some of the most successful musical projects of recent years under its belt: Miss americana for Taylor Swift, the Quincy for Quincy Jones, the Homecoming Beyoncé and the Rolling Thunder Review Martin Scorsese's Bob Dylan. All of these productions had in common a deep, personal approach to the artists' stories — something Warner Music knows very well how to offer through its own rich repertoire.
The partnership between Warner Music and Netflix could pave the way for dozens of new productions, from biopics and documentaries to mini-series and concert films. The world of music and streaming has already proven that the stories behind the legends of the stage can captivate millions of viewers around the world. After the huge success of Bohemian Rhapsody for Queen and his Elvis for the King of Rock'n'Roll, the trend of music biopics has become one of the most powerful film categories of the last decade.
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Η Warner Music sees huge opportunities in this direction. Film adaptations of biographies or musical stories have proven to be a gold mine. The Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018, it skyrocketed Queen's popularity, increasing streaming by 300% and contributing to the valuation of their catalog, which was sold to Sony Music in 2024 for $1,27 billion. Similar success was also achieved by Elvis of 2022, which raised the value of the singer's estate from 600 million to 1 billion dollars.
Netflix knows that such stories create waves of nostalgia and new generations of listeners. The combination of Warner Music and Netflix means a global reach, accessible to 300 million subscribers in over 190 countries. For Warner, which owns the rights to thousands of timeless hits and musical legends, the prospect is doubly attractive: it not only increases the value of its catalog, but also creates new opportunities for modern partnerships.
This deal is part of a broader trend in the space: record labels are no longer limited to music. They are transforming into multidimensional content companies. From podcasts and docu-series to film franchises, musical stories are gaining new life through streaming. Netflix, on the other hand, needs such material to continue to diversify its content and keep its subscribers interested in it at a time when competition from platforms like Disney+ and Amazon Prime is more intense than ever.
Analysts estimate that the Warner Music and Netflix collaboration will not be limited to individual projects, but will likely lead to a stable framework of cooperation with an annual production schedule. This means that, in the coming years, we can expect a “universe of musical stories” based on legends such as David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, Green Day or even the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who belong to the company's wider catalog.
Robert Kyncl closed his speech with a hint about the future: “Music is full of inspiring heroes and stories. All it needs is the right context to tell them. And that’s exactly what we intend to do.” Warner Music and Netflix seem to have found the right time to transform the musical legacy into a cinematic universe — and audiences are already eager to see it take shape on the screen.
