Publishing is losing its veneer of stability, thanks partly to an incredibly unstable recording cousin.  The continued downturn within recordings is causing more problems for mechanical royalty streams, and a recent Warner Music Group earnings call reaffirmed the trend.  During the most recent quarter, mechanicals slipped 20.4 percent year-over-year on a constant currency basis.  Overall, WMG publishing revenues dipped 12.5 percent to $147 million, 4.5 percent on a constant-currency basis.

But the story also involves other publishing streams, and highlights broader trends within the publishing sector.  Performance revenue actually dropped 4.5 percent over the period, though synch streams kept booming.  Specifically, synchronization royalties gained 20.8 percent, part of a much broader move for publishers across the board.

That makes sense, though some publishing executives are pointing to ‘synching’ valuations ahead.  “There are more and more publishers pushing their catalogs [for synchronization], and production budgets are getting lowered,” one publisher told Digital Music News over the weekend.  “Some outliers exist, but the valuations are getting pushed way down.”

Perhaps that makes digital the brightest spot.  Warner posted a 60 percent gain on digital publishing revenues, to $16 million.

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