Billboard Global Music Index
The music business has earned a reputation for being recession-proof. In bad economic times, people still pay for their music subscription services and want to go to concerts. Some synch opportunities may dry up as advertisers make cutbacks, but overall, the music is a hearty business that doesn’t follow typical economic cycles.
Music business stocks, however, aren’t immune to fluctuations in the market and investors’ worries about the increasingly fragile state of the economy. This week, just three of the 20 companies on the Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) finished with gains, and five stocks had losses in excess of 10%. Despite a host of strong quarterly earnings results in recent weeks, President Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, China and Europe have caused markets to panic, taking down music stocks along with the industrial and agricultural companies most likely to be affected.
The S&P 500 entered correction territory on Thursday (March 13) when it closed down 10% from the all-time high. The Russell 2000, an index of small companies, was down 18.4% from its peak. Most stocks improved on Friday (March 14) as markets rallied — despite a decline in the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index — but the first four days of the week were too much to overcome. The S&P 500 finished the week down 2.3% and the Nasdaq composite closed down 2.4%.
Trending on Billboard
Markets outside of the U.S. fared better than U.S. markets. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped just 0.5%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index rose 0.1% and China’s SSE Composite Index improved 1.4%.
Even though 17 of the 20 companies on the BGMI posted losses this week, the index rose 0.5% to 2,460.71 because of Spotify’s 8.1% gain, and the dollar’s nearly 1% increase against the euro offset the weekly declines of 17 other stocks. Spotify is the BGMI’s largest component with a market capitalization of approximately $117 billion — more than twice that of Universal Music Group’s (UMG’s) $50.2 billion. The stock also received rare good news this week as Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage of Spotify with a $545 price target (which implies 5.5% upside from Friday’s closing price) and a neutral rating.
UMG shares fell 8.8% on Friday, a reaction to Pershing Square’s announcement on Thursday that it will sell 50 million shares worth approximately $1.5 billion. Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman called UMG “one of the best businesses we have ever owned.” JP Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven admitted the news was “a near-term negative for confidence” in UMG but saw Pershing Square’s decision to sell shares as a move to take profits and re-weigh its portfolio (UMG was 27% of Pershing Square’s holdings) rather than a commentary about UMG’s long-term potential or recent operating performance. UMG shares ended the week down 8.2% to 25.46 euros ($27.78) but remained up 6.5% year to date.
Live Nation shares dropped 6.5% to $119.22, marking the stock’s fourth consecutive weekly decline. During the week, Deutsche Bank increased its Live Nation price target to $170 from $150 and maintained its “buy” rating. On Friday, a judge denied Live Nation’s request to dismiss an accusation that the promoter illegally forced artists to use its promotion business if they wanted to perform in its amphitheaters.
Other U.S.-based live entertainment companies also fell sharply. Sphere Entertainment Co. fell 10.1% to $31.55. MSG Entertainment dropped 1.3% to $31.46 despite Wolfe Research upgrading the stock to “outperform” from “peer perform” with a $46 price target. Vivid Seats, a secondary ticketing platform, fell 28.1% to $2.86 after the company announced fourth-quarter earnings.
Radio companies, which tend to suffer when economic uncertainty causes advertisers to pull back spending, had yet another down week. iHeartMedia fell 12.0% to $1.61. Cumulus Media dropped 11.5% to $0.46. And SiriusXM, which announced layoffs this week, fell 10.1% to $22.67. Year to date, iHeartMedia is down 24.4% and Cumulus Media is down 40.3%. SiriusXM, on the other hand, has gained 1.4% in 2025.
K-pop stocks also fell sharply despite South Korea’s market finishing the week with a small gain. HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment had an average decline of 7.4% for the week. Collectively, however, the four South Korean companies have had a strong start to 2025 and, after this week, had an average year-to-date gain of 19.3%.
Live Nation, Sphere Entertainment Co. and MSG Entertainment stocks fell this week as markets were hurt by fears about the impacts of U.S. tariffs, ongoing inflation and government layoffs.
Live Nation, which reported record full-year results on Feb. 20, dropped 11.0% to $127.51, erasing the stock’s entire year-to-date gain. Sphere Entertainment Co. dropped 18.8% to $35.45 following the company’s quarterly earnings on Monday (March 3). MSG Entertainment slipped 7.7% to $31.86.
U.S. stocks had their worst week in months. The Dow slipped 2.1%, the S&P 500 dropped 3.1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.5%. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 dipped 1.5%.
Trending on Billboard
On Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the U.S. economy would go through an adjustment period with less government spending. “The market and the economy have just become hooked,” he said. “We’ve become addicted to this government spending, and there’s going to be a detox period.”
Doubts about live music’s ability to sustain growth in the current economic climate were captured in a CFRA analyst’s note. “Live entertainment and exorbitant ticket prices have raised investor concerns whether record demand will recede with a rising household cost of living and lower consumer confidence,” analyst Kenneth Leon wrote in a March 5 note to investors.
Nevertheless, Leon maintained its $135 price target and upgraded Live Nation shares to “hold” from “sell.” The company, he added, “is a market leader in tickets and continues to fund large capital expenditures to expand its own venues.”
Sphere Entertainment Co. shares fell 13.6% on Monday (March 3), the day the company released quarterly earnings, and slipped another 6% through Friday (March 7). Revenue fell 2% to $308.3 million from the prior-year period, although revenue for the Sphere venue was up 1%. At the company’s MSG Networks division, revenue dropped 5% and its $34.2 million operating profit turned into a $35 million operating loss.
Numerous analysts made downward revisions to their Sphere models after the earnings release. Benchmark dropped its price target to $35 from $36. JP Morgan cut its price target to $54 from $57. And Seaport cut its earnings-per-share estimate for the current quarter to -$2.03 from -$1.66.
Other companies in the live entertainment space also declined. MSG Entertainment fell 7.7%, Vivid Seats dropped 3.9%, Eventbrite dipped 2.1% and German concert promoter CTS Eventim lost 0.6%. Many other companies that depend on consumer discretionary spending also fell this week, including Expedia Group (down 6.9%), Hyatt Hotels (down 3.7%) and cruise operator Carnival Corporation (down 13.7%).
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) dropped for the third consecutive week, falling 6.3% to 2,449.61. Although the index is up 15.3% year to date, it has fallen 11.1% in the last three weeks. Most of the index’s most valuable companies were among the week’s winners. Other than Live Nation, none of the 13 stocks that lost ground are among the index’s most valuable companies — with one major exception.
Spotify, the BGMI’s largest single component, dropped 12.6% to $531.71, putting the stock 18.5% below its all-time high set on Feb. 13. With a market capitalization of roughly $105 billion, Spotify is large enough to influence the fortunes of an index that contains 19 other stocks. Despite having a few off weeks, however, Spotify is the best-performing music stock of the last year and has gained 14.0% year to date.
Universal Music Group (UMG) shares rose 6.8% on Friday following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release on Thursday (March 6), though itended the week up just 3.3%. Warner Music Group appeared to benefit from investors’ enthusiasm about UMG’s earnings as its shares rose 2.0% to $34.39.
iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman caused his company’s stock to spike 23% on Thursday after an SEC filing revealed the executive purchased 200,000 shares. Investors noted the CEO’s optimism in his company’s future, and the stock ended a downward slide to finish the week up 3.4% to $1.83.
The week’s biggest gainer, Chinese music streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), rose 9.2% to $13.31. TME benefitted from a surge in Chinese stocks as comments made during the country’s parliamentary meetings this week fueled optimism that the government will provide stimulus for Chinese technology companies. The company will release fourth-quarter earnings on March 18.
Cumulus Media was the week’s biggest loser after dropping 27.8% to $0.52. The company revealed on Friday that it received a warning from the Nasdaq stock exchange that it faces a de-listing for failing to meet the minimum shareholders’ equity threshold of $10 million.
HYBE shares closed the week up 4.9% to 245,500 won ($167.94) after the company teased the return of BTS in 2025 during its fourth-quarter earnings release on Tuesday (Feb. 25), effectively leading a strong week for K-pop stocks amid an overall down period for both music stocks and markets in general. Among other K-pop companies, YG Entertainment gained 8.8%, JYP Entertainment improved 2.4% and SM Entertainment rose 0.9%.
HYBE partially attributed its 38% decline in 2024 operating income to the BTS hiatus that began in 2023 when several of the group’s members were forced to step away to complete South Korea’s required military service. But the company said it believes operating profit will improve in 2025 “through the comeback of 21st-century icons BTS” and payoffs from investments in the company’s social media-superfan platform, Weverse.
The K-pop giant’s revenue increased 4% to $1.58 billion last year, with recorded music revenue, the company’s largest source of income, dipping 11.3% but concerts revenue jumping 25.6% as the number of performances rose from 125 in 2023 to 172 in 2024. HYBE’s South Korean labels generated 15% more streaming revenue internationally even as streaming fell 17% at home. Revenue from U.S. labels (Big Machine and Quality Control) fell 16%.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) had more losers than winners this week as it fell 2.3% to 2,613.79. Just seven of the index’s stocks finished in positive territory, and outside of K-pop stocks, none gained more than 2%.
Markets had a rough week owing to inflation and recession fears. Amidst talks of U.S. tariffs on foreign imports, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is now predicting U.S. gross domestic product, a measure of the country’s economic activity, will decline 1.5% in the first quarter. The S&P 500 finished the week down 1.0% to 5,954.44 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite, weighed down by Nvidia’s weaker-than-expected first-quarter guidance, fell 3.5% to 18,847.28. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was an outlier, gaining 1.7% to 8,809.74. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index sank 4.6% to 2,532.78. China’s SSE composite index dropped 1.7% to 3,320.90.
Live Nation shares fell 4.1% to $149.48 — the concert promoter’s second consecutive weekly decline. Wolfe Research lowered its Live Nation price target to $165 from $175 and Citigroup raised Live Nation to $175 from $163. Despite those declines, the company’s shares are up 10.6% year-to-date and 47.5% over the last 52 weeks.
Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group (WMG) fell 4.2% and 4.2%, respectively, with UMG slated to report fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday (March 6). Sphere Entertainment Co., which reports quarterly earnings on Monday (March 3), dropped 7.0% to $46.90, lowering its year-to-date gain to 2.8%.
Chinese music streamer Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) fell 15.3% to $14.40. On Friday (Feb. 28), the company announced a change on its board of directors, as Matthew Yun Ming Cheng retired from the board and was replaced by Wai Yip Tsang, the current financial controller of Tencent Holdings. In announcing Tsang’s appointment, Cussion Pang, executive chairman of Tencent Music Entertainment, said Tsang’s “deep financial background, extensive experience and business insights will be a tremendous asset to TME.”
iHeartMedia shares fell 15.3% on Friday and ended the week down 16.1% following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release on Thursday (Feb. 27). The radio company said it expects first-quarter revenue to fall in the low single digits and forecasts full-year revenue will be flat compared to 2024.
The largest decline of the week came from Cumulus Media, which fell 20.0% on Friday and finished the week down 19.1% after the radio company released fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. Cumulus’ revenue fell 1.2% in the fourth quarter and was down 2.1% for the full year.
Strong earnings releases from Live Nation, CTS Eventim and Cloud Music clashed with a downturn in the market this week. The most notable release of the week came from Live Nation, which reported record revenue of $23.1 billion in 2024 and forecast a healthy stadium business in 2025.
Still, Live Nation shares fell 1.9% on Friday (Feb. 21) after Thursday’s earnings release and finished the week down 2.8% to $148.48. The stock had gained 19.7% in the first seven weeks of the year, however, and expectations for a strong quarterly report and 2025 outlook were likely priced into the shares. More telling is Live Nation’s 56.8% increase over the previous 52 weeks, suggesting that investors are convinced the company has a winning combination of concerts, ticketing, and sponsorships and advertisements.
A bevy of analysts upped their Live Nation price targets following the company’s earnings release on Thursday (Feb. 20), including Evercore ISI (to $180 from $160), JP Morgan (to $170 from $150), Jefferies (to $180 from $150) and Rosenblatt (to $174 from $146). Ahead of the company’s earnings report, Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $170 from $150 and Seaport Global Securities raised Live Nation shares to $170 from $157. A dissenting voice came from CFRA, which has a “sell” rating on Live Nation shares and this week increased its price target to $135 from $115.
Trending on Billboard
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) fell 2.9% to 2,674.34, marking its first decline in seven weeks and only its second weekly loss of 2025. Only six of the 20 stocks gained ground while 14 finished the week in negative territory. Even so, music stocks are performing well this year. Only four of the 20 stocks have lost value in 2025 and the BGMI has gained 25.9% year to date.
U.S. stocks cratered on Friday amidst a drop in consumer sentiment, an uptick in inflation expectations and worries the economy may be slowing. The Dow dropped 1.7%, the S&P 500 also fell 1.7% and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.2%. Summing up the market’s tenuous mood, Steve Cohen, CEO of hedge fund Point72, told the FII Priority Summit on Friday that tariffs, sharp cuts in government spending and slowing immigration will have negative consequences. “It may only last a year or so, but it’s definitely a period where I think the best gains have been had and wouldn’t surprise me to see a significant correction,” he said.
The best-performing music stock of the week was Chinese music streaming company Cloud Music, which jumped 18.1% on Friday and ended the week up 20% after the company’s 2024 earnings release on Thursday showed a 22% jump in music subscription revenue. At 170.70 HKD ($21.97), Cloud Music is up 52.1% year to date. Another Chinese music streamer, Tencent Music Entertainment, rose 5.6% to $14.40.
CTS Eventim shares rose 4.7% to 104.00 euros ($108.83) after the company announced record results for 2024 on Tuesday (Feb. 18). Consolidated revenue increased 19.1% to 2.81 billion euros ($2.94 billion) and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a common measure of profitability, jumped 21.9% to 444.8 million euros ($465 million). Live entertainment revenue rose 17.6% to 1.97 billion euros ($2.06 billion) while ticketing revenue climbed 22.7% to 879.9 million euros ($921 million).
Spotify fell 4.8% to $607.36 while Warner Music Group dropped 2.9% to $35.26 and Universal Music Group was down 3.0% to 28.02 euros ($29.32). Sphere Entertainment Co., which will announce quarterly earnings on Feb. 28, lost 2.8% and sister company MSG Entertainment fell 5.0%.
Most K-pop stocks rose this week as South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 2.5%. YG Entertainment rose 12.0% to 57,900 ($40.30) following the announcement on Wednesday (Feb. 19) of BLACKPINK’s 10-city 2025 world tour that commences in July and stops in Seoul, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Paris, London, Milan, Barcelona and Tokyo. SM Entertainment shares rose 7.8% to 99,500 KRW ($69.25), bringing its year-to-date gain to 37.1%. JYP Entertainment rose 1.6% and HYBE fell 1.0%.
For more than a year, record labels and publishers have seen investors pour into streaming stocks — namely Spotify — while downplaying the potential benefits rights owners will accrue from rising subscription prices. Now, Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group (WMG) are getting some attention as analysts are optimistic about the terms of new licensing agreements Spotify reached with the companies.
WMG shares rose 10.9% to $36.20 a week after the company released fiscal first-quarter results. This week, the stock got a boost when Citi raised its WMG price target to $42 from $34 and upgraded the stock to a “buy” rating from “neutral.” As Morningstar explained last week, WMG is a “primary beneficiary of the ongoing growth” in the music industry. At $36.20, WMG shares have gained 17.0% in 2025 and are only slightly below their 52-week high of $36.64 set in February 2024. WMG shares fell 13.4% in 2024.
Trending on Billboard
At UMG, shares rose 7.1% to 28.89 euros ($30.32), the stock’s highest closing price since May 27, 2024. Morgan Stanley analysts have been making the case that UMG is undervalued given Spotify’s soaring share price and this week raised its UMG price target to 42 euros ($44.07) from 36 euros ($37.78). Recent licensing deals with Spotify and Amazon “increases our confidence that its subscription growth will accelerate” from approximately 5% at the start of 2025 to “closer to 15%” at the beginning of 2026, they wrote in a Monday (Feb. 10) investor note. After falling 4.2% in 2024, UMG shares are up 20.8% in 2025.
WMG and UMG were among the best performers on the 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) this week. The BGMI rose 4.6% to a record 2,755.53, bringing its year-to-date gain to 29.7%. Only two stocks lost ground while one was unchanged and 17 posted gains for the week. The index outperformed the Nasdaq composite (up 2.6%), the S&P 500 (up 1.5%), the FTSE 100 (up 0.4%), China’s SSE Composite Index (up 1.3%) and South Korea’s KOSPI composite index (flat versus the previous week).
Live Nation reached an all-time high of $152.94 on Friday (Feb. 14) before closing at $153.76, up 3.7% for the week. Ahead of the concert promoter’s earnings results on Thursday (Feb. 20,) Wolfe Research increased its price target to $175 from $160 and Goldman Sachs raised it to $166 from $148.
Streaming services fared well, too. Spotify rose another 2.4% to $637.73 and reached a new all-time high of $652.63 on Thursday (Feb. 13). Fewer than seven weeks into 2025, Spotify shares have gained 36.7%. Elsewhere on the streaming front, Cloud Music rose 9.1% to 142.20 HKD ($18.01) and Tencent Music Entertainment gained 8.7% to $13.63.
Music streamer LiveOne had the week’s biggest loss after falling 20.5% to $0.93. On Thursday, the company announced that its revenue fell 6% in the fiscal third quarter. LiveOne also lowered revenue and earnings guidance for its full year, causing shares to end the day down 18.6%. The other streaming loser was Abu Dhabi-based Anghami, which fell 2.7% to $0.71.
Satellite radio broadcaster SiriusXM shares rose 6.6% to $27.11, bringing its year-to-date gain to 21.2%. This week, Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $27 from $25.
Most K-pop companies finished the week in positive territory. HYBE shares rose 5.8% and reached their highest mark since July 2023. SM Entertainment, which reported a 9% increase in revenue this week, increased 5.4%. JYP Entertainment improved 4.2% and YG Entertainment fell 1.3%.
Spotify led all music stocks this week with a 13.6% gain after its fourth-quarter earnings results on Tuesday (Feb. 4) showed that the company posted its first-ever net profit. The streamer’s share price reached an all-time high of $632.41 on Friday (Feb. 7) before closing at $622.99, slightly lower than its closing prices on Wednesday ($626.00) and Thursday ($625.87). Fewer than six weeks into 2025, the Swedish streaming company’s stock has risen 39.3%.
With 203.8 million shares outstanding, according to its 2024 annual report released this week, Spotify’s market capitalization briefly reached $128.9 billion. A week ago, Spotify was worth nearly as much as the three major music groups. As of Friday, after gaining another 13.6%, Spotify is worth more than Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music and Warner Music Group (WMG) combined.
Trending on Billboard
Guggenheim was among a host of analysts to increase its Spotify price target, raising the streaming company’s shares to $675 from $520 and increasing its forecast for 2025 operating income to 2.61 billion euros ($2.7 billion) from 2.46 billion euros ($2.54 billion). Others that raised their price targets for Spotify were Evercore ISI (to $700 from $500), Morgan Stanley (to $670 from $550), DA Davidson (to $680 from $350) and Deutsche Bank (to $700 from $550).
Led by Spotify, the 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 7.7% to a record 2,635.41, bringing its year-to-date gain to 24.0%. The index’s most valuable companies were among the 13 gainers while the seven companies that lost ground have relatively small market capitalizations. In contrast to music stocks’ gains, major indexes were muted this week. In the U.S., the Nasdaq composite index and S&P 500 fell 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 3.0%. China’s SSE Composite Index was up 1.6%.
Chinese music streamer Cloud Music had the week’s second-best performance, rising 6.6% to 130.30 HKD ($16.73). SiriusXM was third-best after rising 6.0% to $25.44. Another Chinese music streaming company, Tencent Music Entertainment, improved 4.7% to $12.54. And K-pop companies all fared well: SM Entertainment was up 4.9%, HYBE improved 4.2% and JYP Entertainment rose 3.6%.
While record labels and publishers have benefitted from Spotify’s price increases, their stock prices haven’t followed the same trajectory. WMG gained 2.9% to $32.72 following its quarterly earnings report on Thursday (Feb. 6) and is up 5.5% year to date. Reservoir Media, which released earnings on Wednesday (Feb. 5) and raised its full-year guidance, closed the week down 4.2% to $7.96 and has lost 12.0% in 2025. UMG, which will announce its fourth-quarter earnings on March 6, rose 0.1% to $26.98 and is up 9.1% year-to-date.
MSG Entertainment gained 1.1% to $36.73. On Thursday (Feb. 6), the concert promoter reported that revenue increased 1% to $407.4 million and adjusted operating income improved 2% to $164 million in the fiscal second quarter ended December 31, 2024. Event-related revenue fell $22.5 million due to lower revenue from concerts and a drop in other live entertainment at the company’s venues.
LiveOne had the largest decline of the week, falling 19.3% to $1.17. The music streaming company will announce earnings on Feb. 14.
Investors are betting there’s more gas in Spotify’s tank as the streaming company’s stock price reached an all-time high of $511.98 on Friday (Jan. 24) and finished the week at a record closing price of $510.43, up 5.1% from the previous week. Friday’s closing price valued the company at $101.6 billion, an increase of $5 billion in one week.
Spotify shares are off to a fast start in 2025 — rising 14.1% over the 15 trading days so far — after gaining 138.1% in 2024. The Stockholm-based streaming company is forecasting 665 million monthly active users, an increase of 25 million from the prior quarter, and 260 million premium subscribers, up from 252 million in the third quarter. Spotify’s fast-rising stock price mirrors the improvement in the company’s gross margin, which is forecasted to be 31.8% in the fourth quarter, up from 31.1% in the previous quarter.
Live Nation shares rose 3.8% to $140.74 on Friday, falling just shy of the all-time high of $141.18 reached on Nov. 25, 2024. On Thursday, Evercore raised its Live Nation price target to $160 from $150.
Trending on Billboard
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index rose 3.5% to a new record of 2,303.31, bringing its gain in 2025 to 8.4%. That’s more than double the year-to-date gains of the S&P 500 (up 3.7%) and Nasdaq composite (up 3.3%). A dozen of the 20 music stocks finished the week in positive territory, with three exceeding 5% gains. Of the eight stocks that lost ground, just one fell more than 2%.
The week’s greatest gainer was Chinese music streamer Tencent Music Entertainment, which rose 7.4% to $11.59. On Tuesday (Jan. 21), Morgan Stanley upgraded Tencent Music to “overweight” from “equal weight.” K-pop company SM Entertainment also did well, gaining 7.1% to 84,000 won ($58.76), bringing its year-to-date increase to 11.1%.
Cumulus Media finished the week at $0.88, up 4.8%. The radio company’s shares soared nearly 17% on Thursday (Jan. 23) following news that Matthew Blank resigned from the Cumulus board and was replaced by Steven Galbraith, managing director of Kindred Capital Advisors and among the largest Cumulus shareholders.
SiriusXM shares fell 1.4% to $21.96. On Thursday, Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on the company to $21 from $23. SiriusXM has fallen 3.7% year-to-date and has lost 58.9% over the last 52 weeks.
The worst performer of the week was Deezer, which fell 7.3% to 1.15 euros ($1.21). Deezer shares have fallen 46.5% over the last 52 weeks and are already down 14.2% in 2025.
Stocks performed well globally as earnings season got off to a strong start. According to FactSet, 80% of companies that reported earnings thus far have exceeded expectations, beating the 10-year average of 75%. In the United States, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite each gained 1.7%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index improved 0.5% to 2,536.80. China’s Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.3% to 3,252.63. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 increased less than 1%.
SiriusXM kicks off music companies’ earnings releases on Thursday (Jan. 30). Elsewhere, Spotify announced its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 4 while Warner Music Group follows on Feb. 6.
Led by SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, K-pop stocks soared above other music stocks in a strong week for markets in general. SM, home to such artists as Red Velvet and aespa, rose 13.8% to 78,400 won ($53.76) after news broke on Wednesday (Jan. 15) that the company will introduce a new girl group on Feb. 24. Meanwhile, JYP gained 6.7% to 76,400 won ($52.39), while YG Entertainment and HYBE rose 5.6% and 3.7%, respectively.
The gains made by K-pop companies in recent weeks have outpaced the overall Korean stock market. In the week ended Jan. 17, the four South Korean music companies had an average gain of 7.5%, beating the 0.3% gain of the KOSPI composite index, a measure of all stocks traded on South Korea’s exchange. South Korean stocks have rebounded from their low points since a declaration of martial law by South Korea’s prime minister on Dec. 3 that caused political turmoil and instability in the country’s market. The four K-pop companies are up an average of 20.6% from each company’s post-Dece. 3 low point, while KOSPI has gained 6.9% since hitting a low point on Dec. 9.
Trending on Billboard
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index rose 4.7% to 2,226.11, its second-highest mark since reaching 2,280.51 on Dec. 6 and the third-highest one-week gain in the last year. Only four of the index’s 20 stocks posted losses while the remainder finished the week in positive territory. Radio companies led the way with an average gain of 13.3%. Multi-sector companies (labels and publishers such as Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group) gained 4.3%. Live music companies followed with a 3.6% gain. Streaming companies had an average loss of 1.1%.
Stocks were helped by news that the consumer price index, a widely used measure of inflation faced by consumers, rose a lower-than-expected 3.2% in December. The producer price index, a measure of wholesale prices, also beat expectations by rising just 0.2% last month. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite rose 2.4% to 19,630.20 and the S&P 500 had its best week since the presidential election, gaining 2.9% to 5,996.66. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 rose 3.1% to 8,505.22. China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.3% to 3,241.82.
iHeartMedia was the top music performer of the week, rising 23.9% to $2.33 in the absence of major news. The only significant public development was Barclays’s announcement through a regulatory filing on Friday that it increased its stake in the radio giant by 513% in the third quarter. Cumulus Media rose 9.1% to $0.84. The other radio company, satellite broadcaster SiriusXM, gained 6.9% to $22.27.
Spotify shares rose 5.7% to $485.53 on Friday after surpassing $500 per share on Thursday (Jan. 16) — marking only the second time Spotify shares have hit the $500 mark in intraday trading. Investors reacted positively to UBS increasing its Spotify price target on Wednesday (Jan. 15) to $540 from $485. Then on Friday, Wolfe Research downgraded Spotify to “peer perform” from “outperform,” helping Spotify shares fall 1%.
Concert promoter Live Nation rose 5.5% to $135.61. The stock peaked at $136.21 on Friday, its highest point since Dec. 17 and just 3.5% below its 52-week high of $141.18. Live Nation will co-produce the FireAid benefit concerts to benefit victims of the wildfires in Los Angeles. The Azoff family and AEG are also producers of the concerts, which will be held on Jan. 30 at the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome.
Abu Dhabi-based music streaming company Anghami was the week’s worst performer after dropping 10.3% to $0.70, while French music streamer Deezer fell 5.3% to 1.24 euros ($1.28) and LiveOne shares fell 1.7% to $1.18. LiveOne announced on Thursday that it has reached 500,000 Tesla users and projects to reach 550,000 Tesla owners — including 150,000 new ad-supported subscribers — by Feb. 1.
HYBE and JYP Entertainment were among the few music stocks to make gains this week as markets stumbled globally. HYBE, home to BTS and its members’ solo projects, rose 7.2% to 215,500 won ($146.19), its best closing price since Nov. 20, thanks to Friday’s news that BTS member J-Hope willsoon release new music and commence a world tour starting in Seoul on Feb. 28. JYP Entertainment, which has had global success with Stray Kids and ITZY, rose 5.6% to 71,600 won ($48.57) after the company announced it will launch a new boy band, Kickflip, on Jan. 20.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) slipped 1.4% to 2,126.33, marketing the fourth time in five weeks the index has lost value. Only five of the 20 stocks finished the week in positive territory. Other than HYBE and JYP Entertainment, only CTS Eventim (up 3.4%), Believe (up 3.2%) and Universal Music Group (up 1.1%) posted gains. Three stocks (Cumulus Media, Deezer and Anghami) were unchanged while 12 stocks had losing weeks.
Trending on Billboard
Music stocks were dragged down by numerous market forces this week. Stocks fell sharply on Friday (Jan. 10) following healthy employment numbers that investors likely interpreted to mean the U.S. Federal Reserve would not seek to lower interest rates at its meetings in January or March. Also, data from the University of Michigan released Friday showed consumers’ expectations for future inflation rose to 3.3% from 2.8%. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite fell 2.3% to 19,161.63 and the S&P 500 dropped 1.9% to 5,827.04. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 8,248.49. China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped 1.3% to 3,168.52. South Korea was an outlier as the KOSPI composite index rose 3.0%.
Warner Music Group (WMG) shares dropped 5.4% to $29.33 after three analysts lowered their price targets ahead of WMG’s quarterly earnings release on Feb. 6. Guggenheim lowered its WMG price target to $40 from $44 after taking into account an expected 1.5% foreign exchange impact on the latest quarter’s revenue and a 1.7% impact on revenue for the full fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2025. Guggenheim also dropped its recorded music licensing estimate while maintaining its recorded music subscription revenue growth forecast in the “high single-digit” range. Evercore lowered WMG shares to $35 from $36. UBS lowered WMG to $41 from $43 and maintained its “neutral” rating.
Spotify, which announces fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 4, fell 1.5% to $459.53. Goldman Sachs raised its Spotify price target this week to $550 from $490. Spotify shares have fallen in five of the last six weeks and are 9.3% below the all-time high of $506.47 set on Dec. 4.
Music streaming company LiveOne had the index’s biggest decline, dropping 12.4% to $1.20. Radio broadcaster iHeartMedia fell 11.7% to $1.88. SiriusXM continued its losing streak, sinking 6.8% to $20.83. SiriusXM shares fell 58.3% in 2024 and have dropped 16.4% in the last three months. K-pop company SM Entertainment sank 5.1% to 68,900 won ($46.74).
In a week with little news and few regulatory filings, music stocks finished the last full week of 2024 by dropping for the third consecutive week. The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) fell 0.6% to 2,155.51, lowering its year-to-date gain to 40.5%. The index has fallen 5.5% over three weeks after rising 14.6% over […]