Additional Financial Information	12 Months Ended
Additional Financial Information	Sep. 30, 2020
Additional Financial Information [Abstract]
Additional Financial Information	Additional Financial Information Cash Interest and Taxes The Company made interest payments of approximately $128 million, $138 million and $148 million during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018, respectively. The Company paid approximately $81 million, $63 million and $49 million of income and withholding taxes, net of refunds, for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018, respectively. Dividends The Company’s ability to pay dividends may be restricted by covenants in certain of the indentures governing its notes and in the credit agreements for the Senior Term Loan Facility and the Revolving Credit Facility. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2019, the Company instituted a regular quarterly dividend policy whereby it intended to pay a modest regular quarterly dividend in each of the first three fiscal quarters and a variable dividend for the fourth fiscal quarter in an amount commensurate with cash expected to be generated from operations in such fiscal year, in each case, after taking into account other potential uses for cash, including acquisitions, investment in our business and repayment of indebtedness. In connection with the IPO, the Company amended its dividend policy whereby it intends to pay quarterly cash dividends to holders of its Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock. The Company paid the first dividend under this policy of $0.12 per share in September 2020. The declaration of each dividend will continue to be at the discretion of the Company’s board of directors and will depend on the Company’s financial condition, earnings, liquidity and capital requirements, level of indebtedness, contractual restrictions with respect to payment of dividends, restrictions imposed by Delaware law, general business conditions and any other factors that the Company’s board of directors deems relevant in making such a determination. Therefore, there can be no assurance that the Company will pay any dividends to holders of the Company’s common stock, or as to the amount of any such dividends. Prior to the completion of the IPO, in fiscal 2020 the Company paid an aggregate of $281 million in cash dividends to common stockholders, $75 million of which was declared by the Company’s board of directors in fiscal 2020 and $206 million of which was declared by the Company’s board of directors in fiscal 2019 and recorded as an accrual as of September 30, 2019. On August 14, 2020, the Company’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.12 per share on the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, as well as related payments under certain stock-based compensation plans which was paid on September 1, 2020. For fiscal year 2020, the Company paid an aggregate of $344 million in cash dividends to stockholders and participating security holders. For fiscal year 2019, the Company paid an aggregate of $94 million in cash dividends to stockholders. For fiscal year 2018, the Company paid an aggregate of $925 million in cash dividends to stockholders, which reflected proceeds from the sale of Spotify shares acquired in the ordinary course of business. On November 13, 2020, the Company’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.12 per share on the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, as well as related payments under certain stock-based compensation plans, payable on December 1, 2020 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 24, 2020. COVID-19 Pandemic On March 11, 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Government-imposed mandates limiting public assembly and restrictions on non-essential businesses have adversely impacted the Company’s operations, including touring and physical product distribution, for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020. It is unclear how long government-imposed mandates and restrictions will last and to what extent the global pandemic will impact demand for the Company’s music and related services, even as federal, state, local and foreign governments start to lift restrictions. The Company is not presently aware of any events or circumstances arising from the global pandemic that would require us to update any estimates, judgments or materially revise the carrying value of our assets or liabilities. The Company’s estimates may change, however, as new events occur and additional information is obtained, and any such changes will be recognized in the consolidated financial statements. Actual results could differ from estimates, and any such differences may be material to our consolidated financial statements. Spotify Share Sale During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018, the Company sold all of its shares of common stock in Spotify Technology S.A. (“Spotify”) for cash proceeds of $504 million. In February 2016, the Company publicly announced that it would pay royalties in connection with these proceeds. The sale of shares resulted in an estimated pre-tax gain, net of the estimated royalty expense and other related costs, of $382 million, which was recorded as other income (expense) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018. As of September 30, 2018, the estimated royalty expense and other related costs had been accrued, and were subsequently paid. The processing of the royalty expense resulted in advance recoveries of previously expensed royalty advances. The Company calculated the advance recoveries to be $12 million, and recorded these advance recoveries as a credit within operating expense for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018. The Company also recorded estimated tax expense of $77 million associated with the net income on the sale of shares in fiscal year ended September 30, 2018. Additionally, the cash proceeds received in connection with the sale of shares have been reflected as an investing activity on the statement of cash flows within proceeds from the sale of investments for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018.