Commitments and Contingencies	6 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	8. Commitments and Contingencies Sirius XM On September 11, 2013, the Company joined with Capitol Records, LLC, Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings, Inc. and ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. in a lawsuit brought in California Superior Court against Sirius XM Radio Inc., alleging copyright infringement for Sirius XM’s use of pre-1972 sound recordings under California law. A nation-wide settlement was reached on June 17, 2015 pursuant to which Sirius XM paid the plaintiffs, in the aggregate, $210 million on July 29, 2015 and the plaintiffs dismissed their lawsuit with prejudice. The settlement resolves all past claims as to Sirius XM’s use of pre-1972 recordings owned or controlled by the plaintiffs and enables Sirius XM, without any additional payment, to reproduce, perform and broadcast such recordings in the United States through December 31, 2017. The allocation of the settlement proceeds among the plaintiffs was determined and the settlement proceeds were distributed accordingly. This resulted in a cash distribution to the Company of $33 million of which $28 million was recognized in revenue during the 2016 fiscal year and $4 million was recognized in revenue during the 2017 fiscal year. The balance of $1 million was recognized in the first quarter of the 2018 fiscal year. The Company is sharing its allocation of the settlement proceeds with its artists on the same basis as statutory revenue from Sirius XM is shared, i.e., the artist share of our allocation will be paid to artists by SoundExchange. As part of the settlement, plaintiffs agreed to negotiate in good faith to grant Sirius XM a license to publicly perform the plaintiffs’ pre-1972 sound recordings for the five-year period running from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022. Pursuant to the settlement, if the parties are unable to reach an agreement on license terms, the royalty rate for each license will be determined by binding arbitration on a willing buyer/willing seller standard. On December 21, 2017, Sirius XM commenced a single arbitration against all of the plaintiffs in California through JAMS to determine the rate for the five-year period. On May 1, 2018, the Company filed a lawsuit against Sirius XM in New York state court to stay the California arbitration and to compel a separate arbitration in New York solely between Sirius XM and the Company. On August 23, 2018, the Company filed a Stipulation of Discontinuance without Prejudice as to the New York state court action after Sirius XM agreed to participate in a separate arbitration with the Company in New York if the parties were unable to reach an agreement on pre-1972 license terms. On March 28, 2019, the Company and Sirius XM entered into an agreement granting Sirius XM a license to publicly perform the Company’s pre-1972 sound recordings for the five-year period running from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022. Other Matters In addition to the matters discussed above, the Company is involved in various litigation and regulatory proceedings arising in the normal course of business. Where it is determined, in consultation with counsel based on litigation and settlement risks, that a loss is probable and estimable in a given matter, the Company establishes an accrual. In the currently pending proceedings, the amount of accrual is not material. An estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of loss in excess of the amounts already accrued cannot be made at this time due to various factors typical in contested proceedings, including (1) the results of ongoing discovery; (2) uncertain damage theories and demands; (3) a less than complete factual record; (4) uncertainty concerning legal theories and their resolution by courts or regulators; and (5) the unpredictable nature of the opposing party and its demands. However, the Company cannot predict with certainty the outcome of any litigation or the potential for future litigation. As such, the Company continuously monitors these proceedings as they develop and adjusts any accrual or disclosure as needed. Regardless of the outcome, litigation could have an adverse impact on the Company, including the Company’s brand value, because of defense costs, diversion of management resources and other factors and it could have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations for a given reporting period.

Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

8. Commitments and Contingencies

Sirius XM

On September 11, 2013, the Company joined with Capitol Records, LLC, Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings, Inc. and ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. in a lawsuit brought in California Superior Court against Sirius XM Radio Inc., alleging copyright infringement for Sirius XM’s use of pre-1972 sound recordings under California law. A nation-wide settlement was reached on June 17, 2015 pursuant to which Sirius XM paid the plaintiffs, in the aggregate, $210 million on July 29, 2015 and the plaintiffs dismissed their lawsuit with prejudice. The settlement resolves all past claims as to Sirius XM’s use of pre-1972 recordings owned or controlled by the plaintiffs and enables Sirius XM, without any additional payment, to reproduce, perform and broadcast such recordings in the United States through December 31, 2017. The allocation of the settlement proceeds among the plaintiffs was determined and the settlement proceeds were distributed accordingly. This resulted in a cash distribution to the Company of $33 million of which $28 million was recognized in revenue during the 2016 fiscal year and $4 million was recognized in revenue during the 2017 fiscal year. The balance of $1 million was recognized in the first quarter of the 2018 fiscal year. The Company is sharing its allocation of the settlement proceeds with its artists on the same basis as statutory revenue from Sirius XM is shared, i.e., the artist share of our allocation will be paid to artists by SoundExchange.

As part of the settlement, plaintiffs agreed to negotiate in good faith to grant Sirius XM a license to publicly perform the plaintiffs’ pre-1972 sound recordings for the five-year period running from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022. Pursuant to the settlement, if the parties are unable to reach an agreement on license terms, the royalty rate for each license will be determined by binding arbitration on a willing buyer/willing seller standard. On December 21, 2017, Sirius XM commenced a single arbitration against all of the plaintiffs in California through JAMS to determine the rate for the five-year period. On May 1, 2018, the Company filed a lawsuit against Sirius XM in New York state court to stay the California arbitration and to compel a separate arbitration in New York solely between Sirius XM and the Company. On August 23, 2018, the Company filed a Stipulation of Discontinuance without Prejudice as to the New York state court action after Sirius XM agreed to participate in a separate arbitration with the Company in New York if the parties were unable to reach an agreement on pre-1972 license terms. On March 28, 2019, the Company and Sirius XM entered into an agreement granting Sirius XM a license to publicly perform the Company’s pre-1972 sound recordings for the five-year period running from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022.

Other Matters

In addition to the matters discussed above, the Company is involved in various litigation and regulatory proceedings arising in the normal course of business. Where it is determined, in consultation with counsel based on litigation and settlement risks, that a loss is probable and estimable in a given matter, the Company establishes an accrual. In the currently pending proceedings, the amount of accrual is not material. An estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of loss in excess of the amounts already accrued cannot be made at this time due to various factors typical in contested proceedings, including (1) the results of ongoing discovery; (2) uncertain damage theories and demands; (3) a less than complete factual record; (4) uncertainty concerning legal theories and their resolution by courts or regulators; and (5) the unpredictable nature of the opposing party and its demands. However, the Company cannot predict with certainty the outcome of any litigation or the potential for future litigation. As such, the Company continuously monitors these proceedings as they develop and adjusts any accrual or disclosure as needed. Regardless of the outcome, litigation could have an adverse impact on the Company, including the Company’s brand value, because of defense costs, diversion of management resources and other factors and it could have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations for a given reporting period.