Revenues increased to $642.2 million ahead of the company's spin-off of its live entertainment business, which it expects to complete by the end of March.
WMG's net income was off 34% compared to the year-ago quarter, which had an extra week.
The company ended 2022 with roughly 935 million paid subscriptions across services like Apple TV+ and Apple Music.
The streaming giant's stock rose after beating expectations on two closely watched metrics: subscriber growth and gross margins.
Daniel Ek also signals a shift to "becoming more efficient" following a period of heavy investment.
Despite an improved gross margin, the company's operating loss deepened due to an increase in marketing spending and "significant investments" in headcount.
Upbeat third-quarter results defied a mostly bleak earnings season for other sectors.
WMG's fourth quarter revenues grew 16% overall on strong recorded music and publishing growth.
National advertisers reduced marketing spending to mitigate economic headwinds in the second quarter, according to Cumulus Media CEO Mary Berner.
Expenses also surged $88 million on live events costs and MSG Sphere construction.
