Music Stocks
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German television personality Jan Böhmermann appears to have single-handedly knocked more than 1 billion euros ($1.15 billion) from the market value of CTS Eventim after he criticized the concert promoter and ticketing company on his late-night talk show ZDF Magazin Royale on German public television on Friday.
According to various media reports, Böhmermann, in a 23-minute news-styled feature, bemoaned the company’s dominant market position in promotion and ticketing and a lack of transparency about the fees added to tickets. “Eventim is practically the German event industry,” the satirist said (as translated to English) He singled out the company’s re-sale platform, fanSale, which allows ticket holders to sell tickets at a premium to their face values. “Why fight the black market when you can earn money yourself?” he asked.
Böhmermann also said that CTS Eventim received 15 million euros ($16 million) of COVID-19 economic aid from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. In total, the company received 272 million euros ($295 million) in economic aid from Germany and elsewhere from 2020 to 2022, according to the company’s financial statements. He noted that a director, Juliane Schulenberg, is the daughter of CTS Eventim founder and chairman Klaus-Peter Schulenberg. She has been a member of the CTS Eventim’s supervisory board since May 2016, according to the company’s website.
“Unfortunately, many facts are twisted and not the truth,” a CTS Eventim spokesperson told Billboard in an email. While Böhmermann suggested Juliane Schulenberg influenced COVID-19 aid received by CTS Eventim, the company’s spokesperson says she “had no professional position in this regard and therefore no influence.”
ZDF Magazin Royale made a significant impact when the market opened after the weekend. Shares of CTS Eventim fell 8.9% on Monday and another 7.5% on Tuesday, bringing the two-day decline to 15.7% — a 1.07 billion euros ($1.15 billion) decline in market capitalization. After a 0.8% gain on Wednesday, shares of CTS Eventim were up 1.3% year to date.
CTS Eventim is the largest concert promotion and ticketing company in Europe and had revenues of 1.9 billion euros ($2 billion) and sold 69 million tickets online in 2022. Its portfolio includes EDM promoter ALDA Germany; the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals; numerous ticketing brands; EMC Presents, a partnership with U.S. tour promoter and producer Michael Cohl; and Eventim Live Asia, a partnership with former Live Nation executive Jason Miller based in Singapore.
U.S. audiences will recall a similar segment about the country’s dominant ticketing company, Ticketmaster, by comedian John Oliver on his HBO show Last Week Tonight in 2022. Oliver touched on the same themes brought up by Böhmermann: market dominance, rising ticket fees and ownership of a secondary market that profits from in-demand tickets’ re-sale values. Oliver had a negligible effect, however, as the share price of Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, dropped just 0.5% the day after the episode aired. A chance of government intervention has given Live Nation investors pause on numerous occasions, however, such as politicians’ criticism of Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift pre-sale in November and a 2018 New York Times article about Live Nation’s alleged anticompetitive business practices.
Just as Live Nation and Ticketmaster are under constant scrutiny in the U.S., CTS Eventim routinely falls into the crosshairs of consumer advocates and government regulators. In February, more than 1,500 consumers in Germany had joined a model declaratory judgment against CTS Eventim filed by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations. The consumer advocacy group alleges the company did not refund ticketing fees for cancelled events. In 2018, CTS Eventim’s share price fell as much as 10% after Germany’s Federal Supreme Court ruled the fees charged for printing out tickets ordered online were illegal. Also in 2018, the German Federal Cartel Office banned CTS Eventim from having exclusive ticketing agreements with promoters and box offices. In 2017, the Cartel Office blocked CTS Eventim from acquiring promoter and booking agency Four Artists, which a German court upheld the following year.
The Billboard Global Music Index improved 1.8% to 1,270.57 in the week ending June 9, marking gains in successive weeks and four out of the last six weeks. iHeartMedia was the index leader for the second straight week. Shares of the radio company were up 13.5% to $3.54 a week after rising 30.5%. Thirteen of […]
Shares of iHeartMedia jumped 30.5% to $3.12 this week, making the radio giant the best-performing stock on the Billboard Global Music Index. The company gained 25.3% on Friday (June 2) without any clear signal — such as an SEC filing or earnings release — to drive such a sharp movement. On Thursday, CEO Bob Pittman […]
Stock markets ended the week on a positive note as investors showed optimism believing that Congress can negotiate a deal to increase the nation’s debt limit and avoid a historic default. The S&P 500 increased 1.3% to $4,205.45, up 0.3% on the week, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 2.2% on Friday (May 26) to finish […]
It was a good week for music stocks overall and an even better week for concert promoters, who made the biggest gains on the Billboard Global Music Index ahead of the blockbuster summer touring season.
The index rose 4.4% to 1,256.06 this week, with 15 of the 21 stocks ending in positive territory. It was led by concert promoter Madison Square Garden Entertainment’s (MSGE) 19.4% gain amidst multiple news items that influenced the share price. On Wednesday (May 17), Guggenheim initiated coverage of MSGE with a buy rating, while a report claimed that MSG Entertainment may sell the theater at Madison Square Garden for about $1 billion. On Thursday, the company released first-quarter results that showed a 4% increase in revenue to $201 million, though the company’s executives did not comment on the report during Thursday’s earnings call.
Shares of German promoter CTS Eventim also made big gains, rising 9.2% to 64.30 euros ($68.61). On Thursday, the company’s first-quarter earnings showed a 163% revenue jump to 366.2 million euros ($396 million) — beating pre-pandemic levels from the first quarter of 2019 by 29.5%. Year-to-date, CTS Eventim has sold 18 million tickets online, a 58% increase from the prior-year period. Meanwhile, Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, improved 8.4% to $84.73 and is now up 21.5% year to date. Sphere Entertainment Co., which spun off MSG Entertainment in April, improved 6.1% to $23.61.
The S&P 500 improved 1.6% to 4,191.98 and the Nasdaq composite rose 3% to 12,657.90. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index was unchanged at 7,756.87, while South Korea’s KOSPI composite index rose 2.5% to 2,537.79.
K-pop companies continued their hot streak this week. Two companies not in the Billboard Global Music Index, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment, gained 22.7% and 17.8%, respectively. Year-to-date, shares of JYP Entertainment, home to Stray Kids and Twice, have gained 70.6%. Shares of YG Entertainment, whose roster includes recent Coachella headliner Blackpink, are up 109.8% in 2023. Shares of HYBE dropped slightly by 0.4% but have gained 62% year to date. Likewise, shares of SM Entertainment gained only 1.1% this week but have grown 40% this year.
Cumulus Media’s share price climbed 11.9% to $3.30 on Friday (May 12) after the company announced it commenced a “modified Dutch auction” tender offer to purchase up to $10 million of shares of its common stock at up to $3.25 per share. That news led to a 19.1% improvement this week and made Cumulus, the […]
HYBE shares rocketed up 14.9% this week after the K-pop company reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Like Crazy” by Jimin, a member of the group BTS. Investors could also rejoice that Jimin’s album, FACE, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. HYBE shares spiked 7.5% on Thursday (April 5) following Jimin’s U.S. chart success and rose another 5.9% on Friday, closing at 217,000 won ($164.85).
“Like Crazy” is an encouraging success for HYBE’s Big Hit Music imprint and the first track by a BTS member’s solo project to top the Hot 100. In fact, Jimin is the first South Korean solo artist with a No. 1 hit on the chart in the U.S. That’s good news for a company that will be without its biggest act for the foreseeable future and which needs to create additional chart successes outside of its home market. News of BTS’s hiatus sent HYBE’s share price down TK% from June TK to TK. Since then, HYBE has reached No. 51 with JIN’s “The Astronaut” and No. 30 with Jimin’s “Set Me Free, Pt. 2.” It has had more success outside of BTS members’ solo projects. Tomorrow X Together’s The Name Chapter: Temptation (EP) reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 while Seventeen reached No. 4 on the chart with 4th Album Repackage: Sector 17.
HYBE’s share price is up 25.1% year to date.
HYBE was the only stock in the Billboard Global Music Index to see a double-digit increase this week and one of just eight companies to finish in positive territory. Overall, the 20-company index declined 3.1% to 1,224.34 this week. (Year to date, the Billboard Global Music Index is up 4.8%.) On Wall Street, the S&P 500 declined 0.1% to 4,105.02 while the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.1% to 12,087.96.
The index’s most valuable company, Universal Music Group, declined 8.2% to 21.40 euros ($23.53) and is down 5% year to date. Spotify, the second-largest contributor to the index, declined just 0.9% to $132.48 and is up 61% year to date.
Billboard‘s Global Music Index rose 4.2% this week to 1,263.70, its high level in six weeks, as 14 of the 20 stocks in the index were in positive territory. The index’s most valuable companies were among the gainers: Universal Music Group was up 2.1%, Spotify improved 4.1%, and Live Nation climbed 6.1%.
With additional help from Warner Music Group (+5.9%) and Tencent Music Entertainment (+8.1%), the Billboard Global Music Index outperformed the major indexes. The S&P 500 rose 3.5% to 4,109.31 and the Nasdaq composite improved 3.4% to 12,221.91. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 rose 3.1%.
In the first quarter, the Billboard Global Music Index was up 8.2% overall.
Radio company Audacy was the greatest gainer of the week, improving 18.2% to $0.13. In a proxy statement filed March 24, Audacy said it will propose a reverse stock split at the company’s May 24 shareholder meeting. The New York Stock Exchange will initiate a delisting process for stocks that close below $1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days; Audacy’s share price has not exceeded $1.00 since July 5, 2022. A reverse stock split will reduce the number of outstanding shares. Since the value of the company is unaffected by the event, the reverse split will increase the share price.
Elsewhere, Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) improved 9.6% to $59.07. On Thursday (March 30), MSGE revealed its final plan to separate its live entertainment company from the rest of its businesses. On April 20, the current parent company will be renamed Sphere Entertainment Co. and be comprised of the state-of-the-art Sphere venue, MSG Networks and Tao Group Hospitality. That will leave a pure-play live entertainment company, MSG Entertainment, which includes such venues as Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall.
Competing interests drove SM Entertainment shares higher in February and early March, but the stock has fallen 36.9% in the last three weeks after dropping another 13.1% this week. The K-pop company’s share price started the year at 76,700 won ($58.71) and surged to 114,700 won ($87.79) on Feb. 10 after HYBE acquired a 14.8% stake from SM’s founder, Lee Soo-man. By March 10, when HYBE and Kakao Entertainment were locked in a battle to become SM’s largest shareholder and lead the company’s expansion following its break from Lee, SM shares hit 147,800 ($113.13). Once Kakao Corp. and Kakao Entertainment’s tender offer expired on March 26, the share price plummeted. Still, SM Entertainment shares are up 21.5% year to date.
The largest publicly traded music companies gained this week as investors digested the impacts of another increase in the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate.
Billboard‘s Global Music Index rose 2.1% this week to 1,213.30 despite 11 of its 20 stocks being in negative territory. Shares of Universal Music Group, the most valuable component of the 20-stock Index, rose 6.7% to 22.82 euros ($24.58). K-pop company HYBE rose 4.5% to 187,500 won ($144.70), Warner Music Group improved 4.3% to $31.50, SiriusXM rose 3.6% to $3.77 and Spotify was up 1% to $128.30.
The Index’s greatest gainer was streaming company LiveOne, which climbed 13.1% to $1.12. On Tuesday, LiveOne said it is extending the record date for the previously announced spinoff of its PodcastOne subsidiary to April 7. “We expect the special dividend and trading of PodcastOne to begin in April,” said Robert Ellin, LiveOne CEO and chairman. The company also announced it gained 136,000 paid subscribers since Jan. 1, to more than 2 million monthly paying members, and plans to reach 2.75 million subscribers by the end of the year.
Broadcast radio company Audacy, a relatively small component of the Index, had the week’s biggest decline of 21.4%. On March 16, a B. Riley analyst cut the price target for Audacy shares from 50 cents to 10 cents. The stock closed at 11 cents per share on Friday and is down 52% year to date.
The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank raised its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday — from 4.75% to 5% — and suggested additional hikes may not be needed “to return inflation to 2% over time,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement. That decision sent markets into negative territory on Wednesday: both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite fell 1.6% while the S&P 500 dropped 1.7%. But stocks rallied on Thursday and Friday. The Dow finished the week up 1.2% while the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 rose 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively.
Only four of the 20 stocks in Billboard’s Global Music Index were in positive territory this week: Spotify climbed 4.5% to $127.09, Tencent Music Entertainment rose 4.4% to $7.85, Warner Music Group increased 1.5% to $30.21 and Reservoir Media improved 0.2% to $6.15.
Stock markets were rattled again this week by problems in the banking sector. Following a run at Silicon Valley Bank last week, Signature Bank and First Republic faltered this week. Credit Suisse required the backing of the Swiss National Bank on Wednesday after its biggest shareholder refused to inject money to provide much-needed stability. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% this week after dropping 1.2% on Friday (March 17). The S&P 500 improved 1.4% on the week despite falling 1.1% on Friday.
The Global Music Index declined just 0.4% to 1,188.02 despite most stocks falling into negative territory. Spotify and Warner Music Group are two of the most valuable companies in the index. Other large companies had only small declines: Universal Music Group dropped 1.7% to 21.38 euros, SiriusXM fell 0.8% to $3.64 and Live Nation declined 0.4% to $66.36.
The biggest loser of the week was K-pop company SM Entertainment, which fell 23.5% to 113,000 won after HYBE canceled its bid to take control of the company. Last week, SM Entertainment was the Global Music Index’s biggest gainer, improving 14.4% to 147,800 won, after Kakao announced a tender offer to acquire up to a 35% stake from minority shareholders at 150,000 won per share.
The soft advertising market continued to be a problem for radio companies’ stocks. iHeartMedia dropped 12% to $4.31 and Audacy fell 12.5% to $0.14. Morgan Stanley analysts cut the price target for iHeartMedia to $5 from $8 due to “concerns regarding the long-term growth potential of broadcast radio,” according to a March 16 investor note. Year to date, iHeartMedia is down 29.7%, Cumulus Media is off 35.9% and Audacy has declined 39.1%.