Music Stocks
Amidst new reports about a South Korean investigation into its chairman, HYBE shares fell 6.8% to 266,000 KRW ($192.69) during the week ended May 30. That was the biggest decline for a music stock in a week marked by modest gains and losses.
Reports out of South Korea this week said police in Seoul have resubmitted a search and seizure warrant for HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk in an investigation into allegations of fraudulent stock transactions by the music mogul. Bang allegedly misled previous shareholders about HYBE’s intention to go public, which caused them to sell HYBE shares ahead of the company’s initial public offering in 2020. Sources told Yonhap News Agency that Bang netted $291 million in 2020 from deals with private equity firms to share a portion of the gains from HYBE’s IPO.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) was unchanged at 2,800.84 as the index had an even number of winners and losers. In a week with a remarkable amount of unremarkable movement, the majority of companies fell within a narrow band between a 2% gain and a 1% loss.
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Music stocks underperformed numerous market indexes. In the U.S., the Nasdaq gained 2.0% to 19,113.77 and the S&P 500 rose 1.9% to 5,911.69. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.6% to 8,772.38. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index jumped 4.1% to 2,697.67. China’s SSE composite was flat at 3,347.49.
But music stocks have posted big gains in 2025. The BGMI is up 31.8%, far surpassing the gains of the Nasdaq (14.2%) and the S&P 500 (up 12.0%). Spotify, the index’s most valuable component, has risen 42.8%. Universal Music Group (UMG), the BGMI’s second-largest company, has gained 17.8%.
The lone music company to report earnings this week, Reservoir Media, rose 7.9% to $7.80. The quarterly earnings released on Wednesday (May 28) showed a 10% revenue gain and a 14% improvement in adjusted EBITDA. Meanwhile, the only company to post a double-digit gain was Cumulus Media, which rose 15.4% to $0.15. Cumulus tends to have wild swings, however, since it was delisted from the Nasdaq on May 2 and began trading over the counter.
iHeartMedia jumped 6.5% to $1.31. Spotify, the BGMI’s fourth-best performer, rose 1.9% to $666.25. Madison Square Garden Entertainment improved 1.5% to $37.11, and UMG gained 1.4% to 28.16 euros ($31.95).
Live Nation fell 5.4% to $137.24, lowering its year-to-date gain to 6.0%. On Thursday, the company fell 2.9% on heavier-than-average trading volume following reports that it canceled concerts at Boston’s Fenway Park by Shakira and Jason Aldean due to safety concerns about the venue’s stage.
Both Chinese music streamers had off weeks that reduced their stellar year-to-date performances. Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) fell 4.0% to $16.82, lowering its year-to-date gain to 50.9%. Netease Cloud Music, the BGMI’s biggest gainer of 2025 at 88.2%, fell 2.9% to 211.20 HKD ($26.94).
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With stock markets slipping and tariff concerns rising, music stocks from South Korea and China were the best performers for the week ended May 23.
K-pop company SM Entertainment, home to aespa and RIIZE, led music stocks with a 10.6% gain. Two Chinese music streamers, Netease Cloud Music and Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), followed with gains of 7.0% and 5.4%, respectively. HYBE, home to BTS and its members’ solo projects, was close behind with a 4.0% gain.
Driven by the gains in Asian stocks, the 20-company Billboard Global Music (BGMI) rose 0.2% to a record 2,800.92. The small gain marked the seventh consecutive weekly gain after a two-week loss centered around President Trump’s April 1 tariffs announcement. Proving that music performs well in times of economic uncertainty, the BGMI has gained 31.8% year to date, far exceeding both the Nasdaq (down 4.5%) and S&P 500 (down 2.4%).
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U.S.-listed stocks performed especially poorly this week. Only one music stock traded on a U.S. exchange, TME, posted a gain this week. (TME is dual listed and also trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its American Depository Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange.) Of the 12 stocks on the BGMI that lost value this week, only German concert promoter CTS Eventim trades outside of the U.S.
U.S. stocks finished the week on a sour note after President Trump recommended a 50% tariff on the European Union after trade negotiations stalled. The S&P 500 dropped 2.6% and the Nasdaq fell 2.5% amidst a battery of warning signs for the U.S. economy: Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. debt rating, the resulting concerns about the U.S. debt and a drop in the Leading Economic Index, among other factors. The U.S. is experiencing “death by a thousand cuts” and suffering from “the drip, drip, drip of poor fiscal news,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid wrote this week.
CTS Eventim, which fell 4.7% to 106.60 euros ($121.21), was the only music company to announce quarterly results this week. While the 2024 acquisition of See Tickets helped revenue jump 22%, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved just 8.9% and the company missed some analysts’ expectations. After Thursday’s announcement, the company’s share price fell as much as 14.7% before ending the day down 6.2% to 105.60 euros ($111.09).
Among multi-sector companies in the label and publishing business, Universal Music Group fared well, gaining 1.8% to 27.77 euros ($31.57). Warner Music Group fell 5.3% to $26.22 despite a lack of market-moving news or analyst comments. Reservoir Media, which reports earnings on May 28, dipped 1.2% to $7.23.
Streaming services were a mixed bag. Spotify fell 0.4% to $653.82. Deezer rose 0.8% to 1.31 euros ($1.49). Anghami sank 5.1% to $0.56. LiveOne was one of the week’s biggest losers after dropping 20.8% to $0.76. On Thursday (May 22), LiveOne announced it secured $27.8 million of convertible notes financing and drew down $16.8 million on May 19. The notes convert into shares of LiveOne common stock at $2.10 per share.
Live Nation fell 1.8% to $145.01. Macquarie increased its price target to $175 from $165 and maintained its “outperform” rating. On Tuesday, Live Nation named Richard Grenell, an appointee during President Trump’s first term, to its board of directors.
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Music stocks — and stocks in general — had a terrific week as Sphere Entertainment Co., Tencent Music Entertainment and Cloud Music posted double-digit gains and the 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) set a new high mark.
The BGMI rose 3.1% to an all-time high of 2,794.37, bringing its year-to-date gain to 31.5%. The index has overcome two downturns — one caused by an escalation of trade tensions, the other prompted by President Trump’s announcement of his tariff policy — to surpass the previous record of 2,755.53 set on Feb. 14.
Sphere Entertainment Co. gained 19.3% to $38.78. The company’s quarterly earnings, released on Monday (May 12), showed the Sphere venue was able to cut costs to offset a decline in event-related revenue. Investors cheered the result: flat operating income rather than a loss. As for tourism to Las Vegas, CEO James Dolan brushed aside concerns and said demand for Sphere concerts is strong enough to withstand a downturn should one arise.
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China’s Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) jumped 18.0% to $18.62 after the company reported on Tuesday (May 13) a 17% increase in music subscription revenue in the first quarter. Following earnings, CFRA upped its price target to $18 from $17 but downgraded its rating to “hold” from “buy.” TME, which operates Kugou Music, QQ Music and Kuwo Music, finished the quarter with 122.9 million subscribers, up 8.3% from the prior-year period.
Another Chinese music streamer, Netease Cloud Music, rose 12.6% to 203.40 HKD ($26.03) after the company’s financial results, released on Thursday (May 15), showed an 8.4% drop in revenue that the company attributed to a decline in its social entertainment business. The scant Q1 numbers didn’t provide details on the online music side of the business, but the two sides of the business are going in opposite directions. In 2024, social entertainment revenue fell 26% while online music revenue grew 23%.
Not only were TME and Cloud Music among the top performers of the week, they are among the biggest gainers in 2025. Year to date, TME shares are up 49.1% while Cloud Music has gained 81.3%. SM Entertainment’s 64.9% gain is the second-best amongst music stocks.
Live Nation improved 8.2% to $147.68 this week despite news that the company and AEG Presents are facing a criminal antitrust probe by the U.S. Department of Justice over pandemic-era refund policies. Live Nation shares are still well below the all-time high of $157.75 reached on Feb. 21, but they’ve gained 14.0% year to date and are up 52.9% over the last 52 weeks.
Spotify, the index’s most valuable component, rose 1.2% to $656.30. Guggenheim raised its price target to $725 from $675 on the heels of a judge’s favorable ruling in Epic Games v. Apple. Guggenheim sees the ruling, which allows Spotify to display pricing options within the iOS app, as helpful to audiobook monetization.
German concert promoter CTS Eventim gained 3.2% to 111.90 euros ($124.90). Barclays started covering the company with a 130 euro ($145.12) price target and an “overweight” rating.
Elsewhere in the index, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group gained 0.9% and 1.2%, respectively, and HYBE improved 1.9%. SiriusXM jumped 5.4%.
Only four of the BGMI’s 20 stocks lost value this week. SM Entertainment was the week’s biggest loser with a 5.2% drop. Believe fell 1.3%, Deezer dipped 1.5% and iHeartMedia dropped 1.6.%.
Stocks were up globally but performed especially well in the U.S. The Nasdaq composite rose 7.2% and the S&P 500 improved 5.3%. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 was up 1.5%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 1.9%. China’s SSE Composite Index rose 0.8%.
Investors were encouraged by a reduction of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods while the two countries continue to negotiate a trade deal. Goldman Sachs lifted its estimate for the S&P 500 on Tuesday as tensions over tariffs eased between the U.S. and China.
There is still uncertainty about the U.S. economy, however. Since last week, numerous reports have warned of a sharp slowdown at the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s busiest port. This week, Walmart CFO John David Rainey said high tariffs could cause the company to raise prices by the end of the month. And on Friday (May 16), the University of Michigan’s closely watched index of consumer sentiment fell to its second-lowest level on record.
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Led by two entertainment companies in the Dolan family portfolio, music stocks collectively eked out a small gain this week, marking their fifth consecutive weekly gain after a Trump tariff-induced two-week slide in early April.
Sphere Entertainment Co. shares jumped 18.9% to $28.05 after the company’s quarterly earnings on Thursday (May 8) showed that the Sphere venue’s cost management helped offset a 12.8% decline in revenue. CEO James Dolan told analysts he isn’t concerned about a possible downturn in tourism from a sluggish U.S. economy or a drop in international visitors. “When it comes to concerts,” he said, “demand exceeds capacity, so we have room to absorb any issues.”
MSG Entertainment, another Dolan family-controlled company, rose 7.7% to $33.59 after the company’s quarterly earnings report on Tuesday (May 6) showed a 6% revenue increase and steady consumer spending despite a decrease in event-related revenue due to fewer events. JP Morgan maintained both its “neutral” rating and $41 price target.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 0.8% to 2,717.17, its second-highest mark and its first time above 2,700 since it closed at a record 2,755.53 the week ended Feb. 14. With five consecutive weeks in the black, the BGMI is up 10.2% since President Trump announced his tariff policy and set off a stock sell-off.
Music stocks outperformed the Nasdaq composite (down 0.3%), the S&P 500 (down 0.6%), the U.K.’s FTSE 100 (down 0.5%) and South Korea’s KOSPI composite index (up 0.7%). China’s SSE composite index gained 1.9%.
Universal Music Group, which reported earnings on April 29, received a healthy bounce this week, gaining 4.5% to 25.86 euros ($29.10). That brought its year-to-date gain to 13.0%.
Warner Music Group (WMG) shares fell 8% on Thursday after its quarterly earnings release and finished the week down 9.6% to $30.26. WMG stock was likely impacted by a 0.3% decline in streaming revenue, a metric closely watched by investors. The decline took WMG’s year-to-date loss to 11.8%. Numerous analysts reacted by decreasing their WMG price targets: Morgan Stanley (to $31 from $32), Barclays (to $28 from $31), UBS (to $38 from $41) and TD Cowen (to $36 from $41).
Radio companies enjoyed a positive week amidst uncertainty about the U.S. advertising market. The greatest gainer of the week was iHeartMedia, which jumped 18.9% to $1.06 ahead of the company’s first quarter earnings release on Monday (May 12). Year-to-date, the radio giant’s shares have fallen 40.8%. SiriusXM rose 5.4% to $20.47.
K-pop companies had a mixed week. YG Entertainment spiked 9.9% after the company reported large increases in both operating income and net profit in the first quarter. Elsewhere, HYBE rose 2.1% while SM Entertainment, which announced earnings on Wednesday (May 7), fell 0.9% and JYP Entertainment dropped 1.8%.
Secondary ticketing marketplace Vivid Seats (which is not listed on the BGMI) fell 33.9% to $1.79 after the company’s first quarter revenue plummeted 14% due to what CEO Stan Chia called “softening industry trends amidst economic uncertainty.” While Live Nation previously told investors it’s seeing strong demand for events later in 2025, Vivid Seats painted a different picture. The company suspended guidance for the full year and said it expects industry volumes to be flat or decrease in 2025. Previous guidance called for mid-to-high single-digit growth.
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Though economic uncertainty lingers, some music companies’ stocks got boosts following their first quarter earnings releases this week, while a better-than-expected jobs report on Friday (May 2) lifted stocks across the board.
K-pop companies were among the top performers of the week. Led by HYBE’s 13.8% gain following its first quarter earnings report on Tuesday (April 29), the four South Korean companies had an average share price gain of 10.3%. JYP Entertainment rose 11.7% and SM Entertainment, which announces earnings on Wednesday (May 7), improved 9.0%. YG Entertainment gained 6.6%.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 3.6% to 2,690.13, its fourth consecutive weekly improvement. At 2,690.13, the BGMI has improved 19.1% since a two-week slide and stands just 2.4% below its all-time high of 2,755.53 set during the week ended Feb. 14.
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Music stocks slightly outperformed the Nasdaq and S&P 500, which rose 3.4% and 3.1%, respectively. Foreign markets were mostly positive but more subdued. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 2.2%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 0.5%. China’s SSE Composite Index lost 0.5%.
Universal Music Group (UMG) gained 4.3% to 25.86 euros ($29.23) following a quarterly earnings report showing that recorded music subscription revenue grew 11.5% and overall revenue improved 11.8%. JP Morgan analysts’ conviction on UMG “remains very high,” and the strong quarter “should help rebuild confidence and share price momentum” dented by Pershing Square’s sale of $1.5 billion in UMG shares, analysts wrote in an investor note on Tuesday.
Spotify finished the week up 3.7% to $643.73 despite its shares dropping 3.4% on Tuesday after the company’s first-quarter earnings report included guidance on second-quarter subscription additions that seemed to underwhelm investors. Gross margin of 31.6% beat Spotify’s 31.5% guidance. Loop Capital raised Spotify to $550 from $435, while Barclays lowered it to $650 from $710. UBS maintained its $680 price target and “buy” rating. Guggenheim maintained its “buy” rating and $675 price target.
Live Nation, which reported first quarter earnings on Thursday (May 1) and predicted a “historic” 2025, gained 2.3% on Friday and finished the week up 0.7%. A slew of analysts updated their price targets on Friday. Two were upward revisions: Jefferies (from $150 to $160) and Wolfe Research (from $158 to $160). Two were downward revisions: Rosenblatt (from $174 to $170) and JP Morgan (from $165 to $170).
Nearly all streaming stocks posted gains. LiveOne was the week’s top performer, jumping 18.0% to $0.72. Chinese music streaming companies Cloud Music and Tencent Music Entertainment gained 11.6% and 7.1%, respectively. French music streamer Deezer gained 1.4% to 1.44 euros ($1.63) after the company’s first-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Abu Dhabi-based Anghami fell 3.1% to $0.62.
Cumulus Media fell 33.% to $0.14. Most of the decline came on Friday as the stock ceased trading on the Nasdaq and began trading over the counter.
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Proving that the best way to get stock prices to rally is to first bury them deep underground, markets surged this week as President Trump eased his tone on U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and said tariff negotiations with China are ongoing (although China denied the claim).
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index surged 6.1% to 2,595.95, marking its third consecutive weekly gain after falling 10.9% in the two-week period ended April 4. The spoils of a less chaotic global market were felt by nearly all music stocks. Of the 20 stocks in the index, 16 finished the week in positive territory, and two — Anghami and Sphere Entertainment Co. — had gains exceeding 10%.
Major indexes improved this week as investor sentiment regarding U.S. tariff policy improved and President Trumpsaid he would not fire Powell. The Nasdaq composite rose 6.7% to 17,382.94 and the S&P 500 gained 4.6% to 5,525.21. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 improved 1.7% to 8,415.25. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index rose 2.5% to 2,546.30. China’s SSE Composite Index rose 0.6% to 3,295.06.
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After investors’ confusion about the U.S. tariff policy put a damper on stocks in recent weeks, markets seemed to find comfort in reports that said the U.S. Trade Representative was quickly working with some trading partners under a streamlined process. Jay Hatfield, founder/chief investment officer of InfraCap, told CNBC, “We’ve reached peak tariff tantrum” and believes the worst of the uncertainty has passed. In fact, the market could have been due for a rebound. Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT in Atlanta, told Reuters the stock market “was oversold by virtually all measures.”
Sphere Entertainment Co. was one of the week’s winners, rising 13.8% to $28.88. On Friday, Sphere Entertainment subsidiary MSG Networks announced it had negotiated a $514 million reduction in its debt and lower fees to broadcast New York Knicks and New York Rangers games. The news sent Sphere’s share price up 9.1%.
Spotify, which reports first quarter earnings on Tuesday (April 29), rose 8.1% to $620.72, giving the streaming giant a 23.3% gain over the past three weeks. This week, UBS lowered its price target to $680 from $690 and Wolfe Research raised its outlook on SPOT to “outperform” from “peer perform.”
Live Nation gained 4.4% to $132.76. Wolfe Research lowered its price target to $158 from $165 and maintained its “outperform” rating.
Warner Music Group (WMG) improved 2.4% to $29.83. Morgan Stanley lowered WMG shares to $32 from $37 and dropped the rating to “equalweight” from “overweight.” Universal Music Group (UMG), which also reports earnings on Tuesday, rose 3.5% to 24.79 euros ($28.28), bringing its year-to-date gain to 3.7%.
K-pop stocks had an unremarkable week after performing well during the tariff-driven chaos. HYBE, which, like Spotify and UMG, reports first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, rose 0.9%. SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment improved 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively. YG Entertainment dropped 4.9%. Still, K-pop stocks are outperforming most music stocks this year. Collectively, the four South Korean music companies have posted an average year-to-date gain of 27.1%.
Cumulus Media shares dropped 16.0% to $0.21 after the company announced on Wednesday (April 23) it will de-list from the Nasdaq exchange on May 2 and immediately begin trading over the counter. The radio broadcaster’s shares are down 72.7% in 2025 and have fallen 92.2% over the last 52 weeks.
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Radio broadcaster Cumulus Media was notified by the Nasdaq Composite on Wednesday (April 23) that its shares will be de-listed from the exchange on May 2, according to a Cumulus regulatory filing. The stock will transition the same day to trading on the over-the-counter (OTC) market and will retain the CMLS ticker. Shares of Cumulus […]
Music stocks bounced back — and performed better than major U.S. indexes— for a second week after President Trump’s tariff policy sent markets into a tailspin.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 3.6% to 2,446.90, its second consecutive gain after falling 8.2% the week ended April 4. Fourteen of the 20 stocks were winners and five had gains exceeding 5%. The largest companies were among the week’s winners, which had an outsized impact on the index’s value, while the four worst performers are the index’s least valuable companies.
The BGMI outperformed the Nasdaq and S&P 500, which lost 2.6% and 1.5%, respectively, but fell short of the FTSE 100’s 3.9% improvement. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 2.1% and China’s SSE Composite Index rose 1.2%.
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Streaming companies, which analysts believe are well-suited to survive the impacts of the U.S. tariff policy, were among the week’s best performers. Cloud Music was the week’s biggest gainer, rising 10.5% to 156.40 HKD ($20.15). Deezer was the third-best performer with a 6.7% gain.
Spotify, the most valuable music company, rose 5.6% to $574.25. UBS lowered its Spotify price target on Tuesday to $680 from $690 but maintained its buy rating. Tencent Music Entertainment improved just 0.4%, giving it a 10.2% gain in 2025.
Multi-sector companies, particularly those from South Korea, also performed well. YG Entertainment rose 10.0% to 66,800 KRW ($47.10). SM Entertainment rose 9.3% to 116,300 KRW ($81.99) and JYP Entertainment improved 6.2% to 63,300 KRW ($44.63). HYBE rose 2.0% to 230,500 KRW ($162.51).
Universal Music Group rose 3.2% to 23.96 euros ($27.25), turning a deficit into a year-to-date gain of 0.2%. Warner Music Group rose 0.3%, bringing its loss in 2025 to 6.1%.
Live entertainment companies had mixed results. German promoter CTS Eventim gained 4.2% to 97.20 euros ($110.54) and MSG Entertainment rose 1.2% to $30.69. Live Nation fell 1.8% to $127.22. Sphere Entertainment Co. dropped 6.3% to $25.38. The company, which owns the Sphere venue in Las Vegas, has fallen 40.2% year to date.
Radio companies continued their decline. iHeartMedia dropped 14.8%, bringing its year-to-date loss to 54%. Cumulus Media’s 19.4% fall took its year-to-date deficit to 67.5%.
Tariffs continued to be a dominant theme in the financial world this week. Apple and other tech companies that import phones, computers and chips from China and other Asian countries gained a reprieve from the most burdensome tariffs. The announcement, which came on April 11, sent Apple’s stock up 2% on Monday (April 14) and pushed its market capitalization back past $3 trillion. On Thursday, the Trump administration announced new fees on Chinese-made ships entering U.S. ports. Some of those fees were quickly walked back, however, by exempting ships that travel between U.S. ports of call, and from domestic ports to Caribbean islands or U.S. territories.
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Believe intends to acquire the few remaining shares it does not own through a public buyout offer or “assimilation,” the company announced Wednesday (April 16). The offer will be launched by an entity named Upbeat BidCo that’s controlled by CEO Denis Ladegaillerie and private equity funds EQT and TCV.
Upbeat BidCo, which owns 96.7% of Believe’s outstanding shares, will offer 15.30 euros ($17.40) per share for the remaining 3.3% of share capital. The bid represents a 1.2% premium over the previous day’s closing price of 15.12 euros ($17.20).
The offer will be filed on Wednesday. Subject to clearance by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France’s securities commission, it’s expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025. After the closing of the bid, Upbeat BidCo will implement a “squeeze-out,” in which an acquiring company uses various tactics to pressure non-tendering shareholders to accept the buyout offer.
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Believe’s board of directors has established an ad hoc committee consisting of three independent directors: Orla Noonan, Anne-France Laclide-Drouin and Cécile Frot-Coutaz. According to the press release, the committee will “monitor and facilitate the work of the independent expert, and to prepare a draft reasoned opinion on the merits of the offer and its consequences for Believe, its shareholders and its employees.”
On Tuesday (April 15), Believe’s board of directors unanimously welcomed Upbeat BidCo’s intent to file the public buyout offer based on a preliminary recommendation of the ad hoc committee.
The Paris-based company was publicly traded for three years before a consortium led by Ladegaillerie, EQT and TCV took the company private in 2024 with a buyout offer of 15.00 euros ($17.06). The consortium did not squeeze out the remaining shareholders, however, and the small float remains trading on the Euronext Paris stock exchange.
Buying the remaining shares won’t come with much of a premium. Since the tender offer closed in June 2024, Believe’s shares have traded in a narrow band, reaching a high of 16.00 euros ($18.20) and a low of 13.70 euros ($15.58). Earlier this year, Believe shares had gained 5.0% before the announcement. On Wednesday, Believe rose 0.9% to 15.26 euros ($17.36), just below the 15.30 euros offer price.
Led by Spotify and Live Nation, music stocks surged on Wednesday (April 9) after the U.S. Treasury placed a 90-day pause on most tariffs and recaptured some of the losses from the chaotic previous week.
A week after losing $12 billion in market value, Spotify was one of the top-performing music stocks of the week, gaining 8.0% and offsetting most of the previous week’s 10.3% decline. A 9.8% gain on Wednesday helped improve the streaming company’s two-week loss to 3.1%.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) gained 4.6% to 2,362.78 on Wednesday’s 90-day tariff pause. That welcome news recaptured only a fraction of the previous week’s losses, however, and music stocks were hurt by a weakened U.S. dollar and growing fears the U.S. could slip into a recession. After losing 8.2% in the previous week, the index’s two-week loss stands at 4.0%.
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U.S. markets rebounded after a miserable week. The Nasdaq rose 7.3% to 16,724.46, bringing its two-week loss to 3.5%. The S&P 500 rose 5.7% to 5,363.36, giving it a two-week decline of 3.9%.
Many markets outside of the U.S. were down, however. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 dropped 1.1%, giving it a two-week loss of 8.0%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index was down 1.3%, adding to the previous week’s 3.6% decline. China’s SSE Composite Index dipped 3.1% a week after falling 0.3%.
Music streamer LiveOne was the week’s biggest gainer after jumping 18.0% to $0.72. The company’s preliminary results for fiscal 2025 released on Monday (April 7) showed the music streaming company had revenue of more than $112 million, while subscribers and ad-supported listeners surpassed 1.45 million. Even after the large increase, LiveOne shares have fallen 47.4% year to date.
Live Nation, which jumped 7.2% to $129.52 this week, is the only music company to post a gain over the past two weeks. The concert promoter’s share price dropped 3.4% the previous week but, with the help of a 10.9% jump on Wednesday, recovered well enough for a two-week gain of 3.6%.
Record labels and publishers finished the week in the middle of the pack. Warner Music Group fell 1.5% to $29.03, bringing its two-week decline to 8.0%. Universal Music Group was down 1.6%, giving it a two-week decline of 10.7%. Reservoir Media rose 0.7% to $7.10, giving it a two-week deficit of just 2.1%.
Sphere Entertainment Co. is one of the worst-performing music stocks over the past two weeks with an 18.5% decline. The company’s shares finished the week up 1.3%, barely offsetting the previous week’s 19.5% decline. A spike on Wednesday was partially offset by declines of 4.3% and 7.7% on Tuesday (April 8) and Thursday (April 10), respectively.
Most radio companies, which are heavily exposed to slowed advertising spending during recessions, had another down week. Cumulus Media dropped 22.5% to $0.31, bringing its two-week loss to 34.0%. iHeartMedia fell 4.2%, which took its two-week decline to 29.9%. Townsquare Media was down 4.9% this week and 13.6% over the past two weeks. Satellite broadcaster SiriusXM, which was upgraded by Seaport to buy from neutral, gained 2.6% this week, narrowing its two-week loss to 12.0%.
The two Chinese music streaming companies on the BGMI fared poorly despite the recoveries by Spotify, LiveOne and Deezer, which gained 2.3%. Tencent Music Entertainment fell 5.5% to $12.24 but was likely helped by Nomura initiating coverage this week with a buy rating and a $17.20 price target. Cloud Music shares dropped 5.7% to 141.50 HKD ($18.24).
K-pop companies, which bucked the downward trend the previous week, posted declines as well. SM Entertainment fell 8.2%, HYBE dropped 8.1%, JYP Entertainment sank 5.8% and YG Entertainment dipped 4.1%.
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