Led by Spotify and Live Nation, the music stocks experienced a significant surge on Wednesday, April 9, following the U.S. Treasury’s decision to implement a 90-day pause on most tariffs. This development allowed the industry to recapture some of the substantial losses incurred during the chaotic previous week, providing a much-needed boost to investor confidence in the sector.
After experiencing a staggering loss of $12 billion in market value, Spotify emerged as one of the top-performing music stocks during the week, recording an impressive gain of 8.0% and successfully offsetting most of its prior week’s 10.3% decline. A remarkable 9.8% gain on Wednesday helped reduce the streaming company’s two-week loss to just 3.1%, indicating a positive trend and renewed investor interest in its services.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) saw a notable increase of 4.6%, reaching 2,362.78 on Wednesday, spurred by the announcement of the 90-day tariff pause. While this news was certainly welcomed, it only recaptured a small portion of the previous week’s significant losses. Furthermore, music stocks faced additional challenges from a weakened U.S. dollar and mounting concerns that the U.S. economy could potentially slip into a recession. After a decline of 8.2% in the previous week, the index’s two-week loss now stands at 4.0%.
The U.S. markets made a considerable rebound after a dismal week. The Nasdaq surged by 7.3% to reach 16,724.46, bringing its two-week loss down to 3.5%. Similarly, the S&P 500 increased by 5.7% to hit 5,363.36, resulting in a two-week decline of 3.9%. This recovery provided a glimmer of hope for investors looking to regain confidence in the market.
Despite the positive movement in the U.S. markets, many international markets experienced downturns. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 saw a drop of 1.1%, leading to an overall two-week loss of 8.0%. Meanwhile, South Korea’s KOSPI composite index decreased by 1.3%, compounding the previous week’s decline of 3.6%. China’s SSE Composite Index also dipped by 3.1%, continuing its downward trajectory after a slight 0.3% fall the week before.
Among the music streamers, LiveOne stood out as the week’s biggest gainer, soaring by 18.0% to reach $0.72</b. The company released preliminary results for fiscal 2025 on Monday, April 7, indicating that it generated revenue exceeding $112 million, with subscribers and ad-supported listeners exceeding 1.45 million. Despite this substantial increase, LiveOne’s shares have still fallen 47.4% year to date, showcasing the volatility of the market.
Live Nation experienced a commendable rise of 7.2%, reaching $129.52 this week, making it the only music company to show a gain over the past two weeks. After a 3.4% drop the previous week, the concert promoter bounced back with a 10.9% surge on Wednesday, leading to an overall two-week gain of 3.6%, which reflects the resilience of the live music industry amidst market fluctuations.
Record labels and publishers had a mixed performance by the end of the week. Warner Music Group fell 1.5% to $29.03, resulting in a two-week decline of 8.0%. Similarly, Universal Music Group experienced a decrease of 1.6%, leading to a total two-week decline of 10.7%. Conversely, Reservoir Media managed to rise by 0.7% to $7.10, with a more manageable two-week deficit of just 2.1%.
Sphere Entertainment Co. emerged as one of the worst-performing music stocks over the last two weeks, suffering an 18.5% decline. Although the company’s shares finished the week up by 1.3%, they barely compensated for the previous week’s significant drop of 19.5%. A modest spike on Wednesday was overshadowed by declines of 4.3% and 7.7% on Tuesday, April 8, and Thursday, April 10, respectively, highlighting the volatility faced by entertainment companies.
Most radio companies, which are particularly susceptible to decreased advertising spending during economic downturns, endured another challenging week. Cumulus Media plummeted by 22.5% to $0.31, resulting in a two-week loss of 34.0%. Meanwhile, iHeartMedia fell by 4.2%, accumulating a two-week decline of 29.9%. Townsquare Media was down 4.9% this week, leading to a 13.6% decline over the past two weeks. In contrast, satellite broadcaster SiriusXM benefitted from an upgrade by Seaport to a buy rating, gaining 2.6% this week and reducing its two-week loss to 12.0%.
The two Chinese music streaming companies listed on the BGMI faced significant challenges despite recoveries by Spotify, LiveOne, and Deezer, which gained 2.3%. Tencent Music Entertainment fell 5.5% to $12.24, although this decline was somewhat mitigated by Nomura initiating coverage with a buy rating and a price target of $17.20. Cloud Music shares dropped 5.7% to 141.50 HKD (approximately $18.24), reflecting the tough market conditions for Chinese streaming services.
Interestingly, K-pop companies, which had previously defied the downward trend, also reported declines. SM Entertainment fell 8.2%, HYBE dropped 8.1%, JYP Entertainment sank 5.8%, and YG Entertainment dipped 4.1%, indicating a broader market impact on the music industry.
