Only four of the 20 shares in Billboard‘s Global Music Index was in positive territory this week: Spotify rose 4.5% to $127.09, Tencent Music Entertainment rose 4.4% to $7.85, Warner Music Group rose 1.5% to $30.21 and Reservoir Media rose 0.2% to $6.15.
The stock markets were again this week devastated by problems in the banking sector. After a run at Silicon Valley Bank last week, Signature Bank and First Republic faltered this week. Credit Suisse demanded support from 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 falling 1.2% on Friday (March 17). The S&P 500 improved 1.4% for the week despite a 1.1% drop on Friday.
The Global Music Index fell 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 majors were down only slightly: Universal Music Group fell 1.7% to 21.38 euros, SiriusXM fell 0.8% to $3.64 and Live Nation fell 0.4% to $66.36.
The week’s biggest loser 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 35% of the shares from minority shareholders at 150,000 won per share. stock.
The soft advertising market continued to be a problem for radio companies’ shares. iHeartMedia fell 12% to $4.31 and Audacy fell 12.5% to $0.14. Morgan Stanley analysts lowered their 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 down 35.9% and Audacy is down 39.1%.