Live Nation was the top-performing music stock and one of four stocks in positive territory this week. The concert promoter gained 2.5 percent to $97.02, while three other concert promoter 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 ended 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. However, the index is up 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 previous week. The closing price of €15.04 is above the offer price of €15.00 from a consortium of investors aiming to take Believe private. However, some minority shareholders may remain because the consortium, which has accumulated 71.92% of the equity, will not apply a squeeze-out and compel the shareholders representing the remaining 28.08% of the share capital to sell.
Shares of iHeartMedia fell 42.7% to $1.30, leaving the radio station with a market capitalization of just $194 million. Its shares fell 36.1% on Thursday after announcing first-quarter earnings and fell another 5.8% on Friday.
As streaming has grown in popularity and economic importance, radio companies have struggled to reinvent themselves. In 2021, iHeartMedia shares topped $28 after the advertising market recovered from the collapse related to the COVID-19 pandemic. But over the next three years, its shares lost almost all of their value subdued radio advertising has eclipsed iHeartMedia's nascent podcast business.
The index fell no more than 1.9 percent as many of its most valuable companies suffered only small losses this week. Spotify, the biggest contributor to the float-adjusted index, fell just 0.5%, while HYBE, one of the index's most valuable components, fell just 1.5%.
Those small losses and Live Nation's 2.5% gain helped offset larger losses by some of the index's other valuable components. Universal Music Group fell 3.1 percent to 28.01 euros ($30.22) and Warner Music Group fell 7.3 percent to $31.64 after releasing fiscal second-quarter earnings on Thursday. Evercore and Morgan Stanley Both lowered their price targets on WMG stock by $2 on Friday. Guggenheim maintains WMG price target.
While music stocks had a rough week, stocks were generally 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 UK, the FTSE 100 rose 2.7% to 8,433.76 points. South Korea's KOSPI composite rose 1.9 percent to 2,727.63. China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.6 percent to 3,154.55.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/global-music-index-may-live-nation-winner/