iHeartMedia
Time to drop the needle on the latest Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music.
Read on for (mostly) good news and also check out Billboard‘s annual list of top executives leading the live sector, plus our weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive, our helpful calendar of notable events, and have you ever wanted to look at tchotchkes inside the office of an executive while reading their in-depth answers to the most important questions facing the biz? From the Desk Of is probably your jam.
Gayle Troberman, iHeartMedia’s chief marketing officer for the past decade, is transitioning to a senior advisory role. In a joint memo to staff, chief executive Bob Pittman and president and COO Richard Bressler praised Troberman’s “major impact” on innovation and brand development efforts at the radio giant, adding, “we fully expect her influence to continue in her new role. We’re grateful for her innovative thinking and insights, and we’re pleased she will continue to contribute to the company.” In her advisory role, Troberman will continue leading thought leadership initiatives, including the “New American Consumer” studies, and remain active at key industry events like CES and Cannes Lions. Prior to iHeart, Troberman was CMO at IPG Mediabrands and spent a high-impact 16 years at Microsoft, where she was chief creative officer during rollouts for the Xbox, Bing and other major brands. A successor has not been announced.
Trending on Billboard
RADIO, RADIO: Lauren Burrows Coleman is joining Beasley as chief financial officer, effective Nov. 1, succeedinmg retiring CFO Marie Tedesco, who served for 33 years. Burrows Coleman previously led global financial operations at Wayfair and has held leadership roles at WindSail Capital Group, Wind Point Partners, GE Capital and Lehman Brothers … Jim Malito joined Black River Entertainment as director of radio promotion west coast. He continues to be based in Phoenix. Malito’s career includes time at Warner Music Nashville, BBR Music Group, and most recently Stone Country Records, where he served as vp of radio promotion and marketing … and Big Loud senior director of media Jess Anderson wrapped a three-and-a-half-year run with the label on Oct. 17, with plans to take a new position next month. She had just been promoted in August.
Triller Group unveiled Kevin McGurn as its next CEO, effective in November, when “further enhancements” to the TikTok rival’s leadership will be announced. McGurn, with experience at T-Mobile, Vevo and Hulu, has a strong track record in driving innovation and fostering growth, with achievements including leading Vevo’s global expansion and building Hulu’s sales team. Meanwhile, 1-800-Flowers.com founder James McCann joins Triller’s board as chairman of the nominations committee. McCann brings over 40 years of leadership experience, having served in governance roles at Willis Towers Watson and International Game Technology. Finally, former Triller CEO Bobby Sarnevesht will remain on the board, providing strategic guidance to McGurn and other leaders. “Our renewed focus means Triller Group is well positioned to deliver best in class entertainment, when, where and how our fans watch it,” said McGurn. “We will continue to build from our strong roots in vertical video, music and sports, and optimise our expertise in mobile and connected television.”
Isabel Quinteros
Jen, an ethically-trained AI music creation platform, appointed TikTok’s former global head of music partnerships Isabel Quinteros as senior vice president of marketing and industry relations. In her new role, Quinteros will develop a scalable framework to help artists monetize their contributions, fostering a sustainable model for AI-driven music creation. She’ll work closely with cofounder Shara Senderoff. Quinteros, a public relations expert, joined TikTok in 2019 and helped transform it into a key platform for artists, supporting artists in every phase of their careers. She also co-launched TikTok’s first IRL concert and led DEI initiatives, earning industry recognition. Senderoff praised Quinteros as a game-changer who can “bridge the worlds of music and tech, while keeping talent at the center,” while co-founder Mike Caren highlighted her skills in partnership-building and innovation, adding, “I’m confident that under her leadership, Jen will set a new standard for how AI can elevate creativity while ensuring artists remain at the heart of the process.”
Frontiers Label Group, the Italian metal label, appointed Amy Pugh as global digital marketing & social media manager. With over 15 years of industry experience, Pugh is the founder of digital marketing agency 10/13 Media and has held key roles at Sony Music Publishing, EMI, Universal Music Group and Stingray Music. She has managed or worked on global campaigns for a slew of major artists, including Taylor Swift, Metallica, Wu-Tang Clan and Foo Fighters, among others. FLP president Serafino Perugino expressed enthusiasm for Pugh’s “massive expertise and fresh approach,” adding he’s “thrilled at the prospect of the added value that she will bring to the label and our artists.” Pugh, already a fan of several Frontiers acts — the label’s roster includes Blue Öyster Cult, Stryper, Winger and more — looks forward to contributing to the label’s success through innovative campaigns and projects.
The Academy of Country Music revealed its newly-elected board of directors for the 2024-2025 term. Previously announced officers for the ACM’s 2024-2025 term are Randy Bernard (chair), Cris Lacy (vice-chair), Jeff Krones (vice president), Carmen Romano (treasurer), Gayle Holcomb (sergeant-at-arms), Duane Clark (parliamentarian) and Tommy Moore (secretary). Newly elected board of directors members are Adam Weiser, Becky Gardenhire, BJ Hill, Cameo Carlson, Chandra LaPlume, Cyndi Forman, Deana Ivey, George Couri, Jon Loba, Kristie Sloan, Lee Thomas Miller, Marcel Pariseau, Margaret Hart, Martha Earls, Meredith Jones, Scot Calonge, Scott Scovill, Tim Roberts and Ward Guenther. Newly appointed director-at-large members of the board of directors are Aaron Spalding, Andy Moats, Benson Curb, Candice Watkins, Chris Lisle, Cindy Mabe, Curt Motley, Emily Falvey, Howie Edelman, Jeremy Holley, Matt Cottingham, Rod Phillips, Sally Seitz, Shawn McSpadden, Storme Warren and Tim Foisset. –Jessica Nicholson
The Orchard appointed Jeeyoung Lee as head of South Korea, overseeing operations from Seoul and reporting to evp and head of strategy, Prashant Bahadur. Lee, with nearly 20 years of experience at companies like Warner Bros. Discovery and CJ E&M, will manage label relations, release strategies, global distribution and regional support. Additionally, Sungho “Jake” Bae has been named director, Asia Pacific Region, Artist and Label Services. Bae, also based in Seoul, focuses on release strategies and cross-country marketing, drawing on previous experience at Spotify and Big Hit Music, where he played a key role in BTS’s global success. John Park, svp of strategy and corporate development, will now focus on business opportunities in Korea, working closely with Lee on new signings and partnerships. The Orchard’s Korean roster features artists from Starship Entertainment, ABYSS, Eric Nam and more.
OpenPlay Inc. hired Chris McMurtry as senior solutions architect to enhance the platform’s features for label and publisher clients. McMurtry brings over 20 years of music tech expertise, having led product development at companies like Artist Growth, PEX and Exactuals, where he launched RAI, a machine learning tool designed to enhance song metadata. Earlier in his career, McMurtry founded Dart Music, an automated digital distribution platform specializing in complex metadata. His industry impact earned him recognition on Billboard’s 2019 Digital Power Players list.
Berklee made it official with Michael Shinn as executive director of Boston Conservatory at Berklee, effective Oct. 28. Shinn, who has served as interim executive director since August 2023, will lead new initiatives, programs and collaborations while contributing to Berklee’s strategic planning. During his interim tenure, he expanded the dance division, raised over $4.2 million, hired more than 30 faculty members and recruited a new dean of theater. Previously, Shinn was the Conservatory’s dean of music for six years. Before Berklee, he chaired keyboard studies at Juilliard, his alma mater, and also co-founded the pianoSonoma Music Festival. “Michael brings a wealth of leadership experience to the executive director role, as well as a passion for the development of the arts, arts education, and performing artists in a contemporary context,” said David Bogen, Berklee’s interim president. “He is incredibly collaborative and supportive of faculty, staff, and students.”
mtheory appointed Jared Losow as senior director of tour marketing and Dirk Lemmenes as vp of client relations. Losow, co-founder of Barley MGMT, will be based in NYC, while Lemmenes, former COO and management lead for Zac Brown Band, will work from Atlanta. Losow brings nearly 15 years of industry expertise, having worked at various indie labels and venues, plus he held leadership roles at In de Goot Entertainment, Relapse Records and the San Francisco Symphony. Lemmenes clocked over 20 years in artist management and operations. He has managed teams across marketing, finance and touring for Zac Brown Band and previously worked as a MTV music supervisor, a booking agent, record store owner and touring musician.
EastCoast Entertainment appointed Erin Collums as director of marketing. With over 12 years of experience in marketing and entertainment, Collums has managed campaigns for major sports organizations like the Carolina Panthers (NFL) and Charlotte FC (MLS). At ECE, Collums will focus on enhancing the brand’s national presence through developing digital strategies to engage audiences and foster growth across corporate events, performing arts, comedy tours and various private entertainment programming. ECE president John Wolfslayer called it a “significant milestone in the company’s evolution” that Collums is joining the team, seeing her appointment as a key step as the company approaches its 50th anniversary. Passionate about live events, Collums believes in the transformative power of music and performance and looks forward to helping ECE create memorable experiences for clients.
ICYMI:
Michael Rapino
New York City nightclub complex Avant Gardner hired Josh Wyatt as its new CEO … Jeff Jones is stepping down as the CEO of The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd after 17 years in the role … and Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino has been deposed in the ongoing litigation over the 2021 disaster at the Astroworld music festival. [KEEP READING]
Last Week’s Turntable: Capitol Hires Breaker of Artists
iHeartMedia’s business has been in steady decline since the beginning of 2023 but showed signs of improvement in the second quarter.
Total revenue rose 1% to $929 million, slightly above the company’s guidance, but was up just 0.1% excluding the impact of political advertising. A spike in expenses — namely operating and selling, general and administrative — contributed to a 21% decline in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).
“We’re seeing sequential improvement in our revenue growth,” CEO Bob Pittman said during the earnings call on Thursday (Aug. 8). “While the marketplace continues to be dynamic — with a changing outlook on interest rates, inflation trends, global uncertainty and rapidly evolving domestic political landscape — we continue to see strong momentum in our podcast business, our digital ex-podcast business and the sequential improvement of our multi-platform groups’ year over year revenue performance.”
iHeartMedia’s digital audio segment contributed to the company’s revenue uptick. Podcast revenue improved 8.1% to $104.5 million, well below the previous quarter’s growth rates, while digital revenue excluding podcasts rose 10.3% to $181 million. Overall, digital audio revenue climbed 9.5% to $285.6 million.
The multi-platform segment fell 3.4% to $575.9 million. Broadcast radio, the company’s largest single source of revenue, declined 0.9% to $425.5 million. Networks fell 12.8% to $106.6 million. Sponsorship and events improved 2.4% to $39.1 million.
Trending on Billboard
Looking ahead, iHeartMedia expects third-quarter revenue to increase in the mid-single digits, which would be $991 million to $1.01 billion, and adjusted EBITDA to land between $200 million and $220 million, compared to $204 million in the prior-year period. For the full year, revenue is expected to increase in the mid-single digits, which equates to roughly $3.9 billion to $3.98 billion, and adjusted EBITDA will be between $760 million to $800 million, up 9% to 15% from 2023.
“As we look at the back half of the year, our results will reflect the continuing positive impact on an ad market recovery year material upside from political advertising, as well as the benefit of our ongoing focus on cost efficiencies,” said Pittman.
While iHeartMedia eked out a small improvement in the second quarter, two other radio companies that reported earnings in the last week continued their slides. Cumulus Media revenue fell 2.5% to $205 million as its net loss grew to $27.7 million from $1.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Townsquare Media revenue fell 2.5% and adjusted EBTDA dropped 8.3%.
Jessica Hoy figured her show, Mornings With Bo and Jess on CKCE-FM (101.5 Today Radio) Calgary, Alberta, was about to undergo major changes. Her co-host, Bobby May, had already warned her that he planned to quit the station in March. Hoy did not expect management to fire her and replace the show with a podcast duo based nearly 200 miles away who are broadcast on multiple stations.
“I was quite shocked when I was let go,” says Hoy, who nevertheless points out that, these days, “A lot of stations are trying to cut costs.”
As broadcast companies contend with debt loads, advertising declines and competition from streaming services and popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience, radio stations have spent the last few years laying off dozens of employees, including on-air talent. Once-popular morning shows are the latest casualties, including, in late June, WKTU-FM New York’s Carolina With Greg T and KZZU-FM Spokane, Wash.’s long-running Dave, Ken and Molly.
Trending on Billboard
“With longevity comes larger salaries, and if the return on investment isn’t there anymore, these significant moves have to be made,” says Lance Venta, owner and publisher of Radio Insight. “Most of these corporate communications groups look at the individuals as a line item on a spreadsheet.”
Sean Ross, who puts out the Ross on Radio newsletter, tells Billboard, “With a lot of heritage morning shows, radio stations find themselves in a trick bag where the show is simultaneously not quite as big as it used to be, less tenable financially after years of salary increases but is still the biggest asset the station has.”
Many of the recently fired morning-show stars did not respond to inquiries or declined to comment, as did the stations that terminated them. Carolina Bermudez, the laid-off co-host of iHeartMedia’s Carolina With Greg T, says she was “advised by my lawyer not to comment at this time,” and Kendall Hopkins of Dave, Ken and Molly says he would talk “when I’m free to.” But after Canada’s Pattison Media dropped Mornings With Bo and Jess, May posted an Instagram screed: “Radio is in terrible shape with the current CEOs and shareholders at hand nationwide and I HATE to see my coworkers go down with it. … Talents have unfortunately become just a number on a piece of paper.”
Tanner Jay, whose Jake and Tanner Show on WKSZ-FM Appleton, Wis., was canceled in November, adds that radio stations are “struggling,” and instead of spending more money on training and nurturing on-air talent, “They’re saying, ‘We might as well put all this money toward getting some Taylor Swift tickets to give away and having one or two people that have never done mornings.’”
His partner, Jake Kelly, with whom he continues to host a daily podcast, adds, “I don’t know if the higher-ups know exactly how to fix the problem. Maybe they’re just firing until they figure it out.”
Morning shows on music radio stations were once cultural and financial juggernauts — Howard Stern rose to fame on WXRK-FM New York in the 1980s, and Steve Harvey’s show on WGCI-FM Chicago helped him diversify beyond stand-up comedy and gain broader celebrity status in the ’90s. Stations still differentiate themselves regionally with flagship shows such as Winston and Mel on Denver’s Kool 105 and Mojo In the Morning on Detroit’s Channel 95.5. Many of these shows, including those by Audacy’s Gary Bryan and iHeart’s Ryan Seacrest, are syndicated and have podcasts of their own.
Kelly argues today’s broadcast morning-show hosts are overdue to update their content. Many shows, he says, rely on clichéd content such as “War of the Roses,” in which the hosts help couples confront each other on-air, often through pranks. “The fakeness of the laughter, the fakeness of the stories — Gen Zs can see through it if it’s not authentic,” he says. “My daughter’s 14, and I don’t know if she’s ever turned on the radio.”
Before their program director took them aside after a Wednesday broadcast and fired them, Kelly and Jay were moving away from conventional morning-show shtick toward more personal stories, including discussing alcoholism and family issues on-air. Their new approach did not change the station’s fortunes. Their station’s overall ratings declined in the Green Bay, Wis., market from spring 2022 to fall 2023, according to Radio Online.
Hoy, who currently works as a medical outreach coordinator for a dermatology clinic, praises her replacement crew, Crash & Mars, as “unbelievably talented.” She adds that a Calgary morning show based in Edmonton may appeal to the station’s finances, but not the community. “I do worry about what happens when local news and events happen,” she says. “It just breaks that connection with the listeners.”
A version of this story appeared in the July 20, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Sphere Entertainment Co. stock gained 5.4% to $35.04 this week after Point72 Asset Management, the hedge fund of Wall Street giant Steve Cohen, took a 5.5% stake in the company, making it one of the best-performing companies on this week’s Billboard Global Music Index.
Cohen is the owner of the New York Mets professional baseball team. Sphere’s sister company, MSG Sports — James Dolan is CEO of both companies — owns two of the city’s major professional sports franchises, the New York Knicks basketball team and the New York Rangers hockey team. The Sphere venue in Las Vegas will host its first sports event Friday evening (June 28): the National Hockey League draft.
Elsewhere, radio companies Cumulus Media and iHeartMedia gained 9.1% and 9.0% this week, respectively, as radio stocks bested other publicly traded music companies on the Billboard Global Music Index. Both Cumulus and iHeartMedia clawed back nearly half of the losses they suffered in the previous two-week period. After dropping 21.1% from June 7 to June 21, Cumulus finished up at $2.04. Similarly, iHeartMedia had lost 21.1% in the prior two weeks and finished this week at $1.09. Townsquare Media, which is not in the Index, rose 9.2% to $10.93, turning its 5% year-to-date loss into a 3.7% gain.
Trending on Billboard
Many radio companies are still having a tough 2024, however, as they slog through a challenging advertising climate. Through June 28, iHeartRadio has fallen 59.2% and Cumulus is down 61.7%.
The Billboard Global Music Index was effectively unchanged from the previous week, rising less than one point to 1,815.54. The index’s year-to-date gain was also unchanged at 18.3%. Most of the stocks showed little movement as 16 of the 20 companies fell within the range of +2.1% to -3.4%. Even though 12 of the companies posted gains, the biggest winners are among the index’s smallest companies, and those winners were overcome by losses suffered by larger companies such as Spotify (down 1.1%), CTS Eventim (down 1.3%) and SiriusXM (down 3.4%).
Streaming stocks had the worst week of any sector after losing an average of 0.4%. The top streamer was Anghami, which rose 0.9% to $1.07. Cloud Music and Deezer each lost less than 1%. LiveOne fell 1.3% to $1.57.
Reservoir Media was the week’s greatest gainer after improving 11.9% — 9.6% on Friday alone — to $7.90. The gain came without major news or analyst commentary. The last analyst to increase a price target on Reservoir was B. Riley on May 31, the day after Reservoir announced that its full-year revenue increased 18% to $145 million.
K-pop companies all had modest increases this week. HYBE gained 1.3% to 202,500 won ($146.60). SM Entertainment, also a Billboard Global Music Index member, rose 1.1% to 80,400 won ($54.21). Elsewhere, JYP Entertainment jumped 2.1% to 57,300 won ($41.48) and YG Entertainment sank 1.0% to 40,300 won ($29.18). All four stocks have fallen sharply in 2024, however, with an average year-to-date decline of 22.6%.
Major stock indexes had mixed results this week. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to 17,732.60 and the S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 5,460.48. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 0.5% to 2,797.82. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.9%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.0% to 2,967.40.
Live Nation was the top-performing music stock and one of four stocks in positive territory this week. The concert promoter gained 2.5% to $97.02 while three other concert promotion stocks — Sphere Entertainment Co., Madison Square Garden Entertainment and CTS Eventim — each lost ground.
The Billboard Global Music Index fell 1.9% to 1,788.83 as 16 of its 20 stocks finished the week in negative territory. Music streaming companies Deezer and Anghami were two of the week’s other big winners with gains of 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively. Still, the index has risen 16.6% year to date and 12 of the 20 stocks have posted gains in 2024.
Another notable gainer this week was Believe, which closed Friday at 15.04 euros ($16.21), up 0.3% from the prior week. A closing price of 15.04 euros is above the 15.00 euros offer price by consortium of investors that aims to take Believe private. Some minority shareholders may remain, however, because the consortium, which has lined up 71.92% of share equity, will not implement a squeeze-out and force shareholders representing the remaining 28.08% of share capital to sell.
Trending on Billboard
iHeartMedia shares declined 42.7% to $1.30, leaving the radio broadcaster with a market capitalization of just $194 million. Its shares fell 36.1% on Thursday following its first-quarter earnings release and dropped another 5.8% on Friday.
As streaming has surged in popularity and economic importance, radio companies have struggled to reinvent themselves. In 2021, iHeartMedia shares surpassed $28 after the advertising market recovered from a COVID-19 pandemic-related collapse. But in the subsequent three years, its shares have lost nearly all their value as sluggish radio advertising has overshadowed iHeartMedia’s budding podcast business.
The index didn’t fall further than 1.9% because many of its most valuable companies suffered only minor losses this week. Spotify, the largest contributor to the float-adjusted index, dropped only 0.5% while HYBE, one of the index’s more valuable components, fell just 1.5%.
Those small losses, and Live Nation’s 2.5% gain, helped offset larger losses by some other valuable components of the index. Universal Music Group fell 3.1% to 28.01 euros ($30.22) and Warner Music Group dropped 7.3% to $31.64 following its fiscal second quarter earnings release on Thursday. Evercore and Morgan Stanley both dropped their price targets by $2 on WMG’s stock on Friday. Guggenheim maintain its WMG price target.
While music stocks had a rough week, stocks were broadly up around the world. In the United States, the S&P 500 gained 1.9% to 5,222.68 and the Nasdaq composite improved 1.1% to 16,340.87. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 rose 2.7% to 8,433.76. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 1.9% to 2,727.63. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.6% to 3,154.55.
iHeartMedia shares fell 36.1% on Thursday after the company’s first-quarter earnings showed continued uncertainty in broadcast advertising mixed with improvements in its digital business.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
iHeartMedia’s loss of 12 cents per share bested analysts’ estimate of a loss of 55 cents per share, according to MarketWatch, and its revenue ($799 million) and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ($105 million) both fell within the guidance it provided.
CEO Bob Pittman and COO and CFO Rich Bressler reminded listeners to Thursdays’ earnings call that the first quarter is historically the slowest period of the year. They also reiterated the company’s optimism about 2024 and the expected benefits of political advertising in the second half of the year.
Trending on Billboard
“Although the marketplace continues to be dynamic, with a changing outlook on interest rates, inflation trends and global and domestic uncertainty, we remain confident that this is a recovery year highlighted by the strong momentum and our podcast business and the sequential improvement of our multi platform groups year over year adjusted EBITDA performance,” said Pittman.
The current quarter may be an improvement over the first quarter, but iHeartMedia doesn’t expect much improvement over 2023. Thursday’s guidance for Q2 revenue as “approximately flat” compared to the prior-year quarter’s revenue of $920 million was slightly below analysts’ consensus of $935 million, according to Zacks Equity Research. April revenue is expected to be down 0.4%, Bressler said, and the multi-platform group’s gross revenue is expected to be down “mid-single digits” in the second quarter.
iHeartMedia shares dropped to $1.38 on Thursday, bringing their year-to-date loss to 48.3%. Thursday’s closing price was 70.8% below the stock’s 52-week high of $4.73 established on July 31, 2023.
Another blemish was the first quarter’s free cash flow (FCF) was negative $88 million, although it was improvement from negative $133 million in the prior-year quarter. First-quarter FCF did not include the $101 million iHeartMedia received from the sale of BMI to New Mountain Capital in February.
Total revenue of $799 million was down 1.5% from the prior-year period. The multi-platform group, which includes iHeartMedia’s broadcast radio networks and events business, suffered the biggest declines: revenue fell 6.7% to $493 million and adjusted EBITDA dropped 11% to $77 million.
Led by growth in podcasts, digital audio group revenue rose 7.0% to $239 million and adjusted EBITDA jumped 25.9% to $68.1 million. In the audio and media services division, revenue improved 12.7% to $69.2 million and adjusted EBITDA soared 54.4% to $23.7 million.
The radio business’ slog through a slow advertising market appears to be improving in 2024. “As we look to the year ahead, we see 2024 as a recovery year and we expect a return-to-growth mode,” iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman said during the company’s Thursday (Feb. 29) earnings call for the fourth quarter of 2023. Explore […]
iHeartMedia received $101.4 million from the sale of BMI, in which it held a minority stake, to New Mountain Capital, the company announced Monday (Feb. 12) through an SEC filing. The sale was finalized on Feb. 8. iHeartMedia had previously announced on Nov. 27 that it expected to receive approximately $100 million from the sale, […]
The Billboard Global Music Index — a diverse collection of 20 publicly traded music companies — finished 2023 up 31.3% as Spotify’s share price alone climbed 138% thanks to cost-cutting and focus on margins. Spotify is the single-largest component of the float-adjusted index and has one of the largest market capitalizations of any music company.
The music index was outperformed by the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite, which gained 43.4% with the help of triple-digit gains from chipmaker Nvidia Corp (+239%) and Meta Platforms (+194%). But the Billboard Global Music Index exceeded some other major indexes: the S&P 500 gained 24.2%, South Korea’s KOSPI composite index grew 18.7% and the FTSE 100 improved 3.8%.
Other than Spotify, a handful of major companies had double-digit gains in 2023 that drove the index’s improvement. Universal Music Group finished the year up 14.7%. Concert promoter Live Nation rode a string of record-setting quarters to a 34.2% gain. HYBE, the increasingly diversified K-pop company, rose 34.6%. SM Entertainment, in which HYBE acquired a minority stake in March, gained 20.1%.
A handful of smaller companies also finished the year with big gains. LiveOne gained 117.4%. Reservoir Media improved 19.4%. Chinese music streamer Cloud Music improved 15.8%.
The biggest loser on the Billboard Global Music Index in 2023 was radio broadcaster iHeartMedia, which fell 56.4%. Abu Dhabi-based music streamer Anghami finished 2023 down 34.8%. After a series of large fluctuations in recent months, Anghami ended the year 69% below its high mark for 2023. Hipgnosis Songs Fund, currently undergoing a strategic review after shareholders voted against continuation in October, finished the year down 16.6%.
Sphere Entertainment Co., which split from MSG Entertainment’s live entertainment business back in April, ended 2023 down 24.4%. Most of that decline came before the company opened its flagship venue, Sphere, in Las Vegas on September 29, however. Since U2 opened the venue to widespread acclaim and earned Sphere global media coverage, the stock dropped only 8.5%.
For the week, the index rose 1.1% to 1,534.07. Fourteen of the index’s 20 stocks posted gains this week, four dropped in price and one was unchanged.
LiveOne shares rose 15.7% to $1.40 after the company announced on Friday (Dec. 29) it added 63,000 new paid memberships in December and surpassed 3.5 million total memberships, an increase of 29% year over year. iHeartMedia shares climbed 14.6% to $2.67. Anghami continued its ping-pong trajectory by finishing the week up 16.9%.
Shares of iHeartMedia got a boost from the sale of its stake in BMI, rising 7.9% to $3.00 and making the radio giant the best-performing music stock of the week.
The company announced on Monday (Nov. 27) that it expected to receive approximately $100 million from the sale of BMI to New Mountain Capital. With a current market capitalization of just $423 million, the $100 million pre-tax windfall could provide a boost to a stock that has fallen 51.1% this year. iHeartMedia’s announcement said the company plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, “which may include the repayment of debt.” At the 2023 Wells Fargo TMT Summit on Wednesday, CFO Rich Bressler told investors, “You should assume that we will reduce debt with it.”
The BMI sale follows iHeartMedia’s announcement in its third-quarter earnings that it has paid off $519 million of debt since the second quarter of 2022. In the third quarter, the company retired $89 million in principal balance for $65 million cash, according to its Q3 2023 investor presentation. Debt reductions to date are expected to save the company about $43 million in annual cash interest. Additional debt redemptions aided by the BMI sale will further reduce interest expenses and help its bottom line while the advertising market recovers. “I think we’re in terrific shape from the liquidity generation and free cash flow,” Bressler said on Wednesday, “and also in terrific shape to be able to take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace to improve the capital structure.”
The Billboard Global Music Index dropped 0.2% to 1,449.08 as nine of the 20 stocks finished the week in positive territory, 10 stocks posted losses and one was unchanged. Year to date, the index has gained 24.1%.
The week was notable for the unremarkable movements — either positive or negative — in most stock prices. In the absence of earnings results or major news releases, the biggest companies on the Billboard Global Music Index were confined to a narrow band of results. Warner Music Group shares rose 3.8% to $34.59, Universal Music Group gained 1.5% to 24.60 euros ($26.80), Spotify fell 0.5% to $180.75 and Live Nation dropped 3.9% to $84.23.
Anghami, the Abu Dhabi-based music streamer, had the index’s largest drop, diving 18.1% to $2.30. Still, the company’s share price is up 44.2% year to date and has gained 129% since receiving a notification, from the Nasdaq Stock Market in October, regarding its stock’s closing price falling under the $1.00 per share threshold for 30 consecutive days. Companies whose stocks fall below $1.00 for extended periods face being de-listed from the exchange.
While music stocks dropped slightly, some major indexes finished the week at new highs. On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 4,594.63, its highest mark of 2023 and its best showing since March 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a collection of 30 blue-chip companies, rose 2.4% to a new all-time high of 36,245.50. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.4% to 14,305.03 — nowhere close to its all-time record of 16,057.44 set in 2021 but close to its 2023 high of 14,446.55 set on July 19. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 gained 0.5% to 7,529.35. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index grew 0.3% to 2,505.01.