Spotify’s share price surpassed $700 for the first time this week and reached a new all-time high of $717.87 on Thursday (June 5). The Swedish-based, New York-listed company ended the week up 6.9% to $712.26.
Through Friday (June 6), Spotify’s share price has increased 52.6% year to date, and its market capitalization has gained $54 billion to $145.8 billion. In an up-and-down year for most stocks, Spotify has rewarded investors with consistent subscriber growth and improved margins resulting from layoffs in 2023. The company finished the first quarter with 268 million subscribers, up 12% year over year, and total revenue of $4.54 billion was up 15%.
Spotify wasn’t the biggest gainer of the week, but its immense size was a major factor behind the 4.6% gain by the 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) for the week ended June 6. The BGMI has gone nine consecutive weeks without a decline after a two-week decline in late March and early April. Behind 14 gainers and only six losers, the index reached a new high of 2,928.46 and brought its year-to-date gain to 37.8%.
Markets finished the week strong after a U.S. jobs report on Friday showed that unemployment remained steady amidst the uncertainty caused by U.S. trade policy. The Nasdaq composite was up 2.2% while the S&P 500 rose 1.5%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 4.2%. China’s SSE Composite Index improved 1.1% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7%.
Music streaming stocks performed especially well this week. LiveOne was the biggest gainer after rising 16.2% to $0.86. Tencent Music Entertainment jumped 6.8% to $17.96 and is trading at its highest mark since 2021. Netease Cloud Music rose 3.6% to 218.80 HKD ($27.88). Deezer and Anghami were exceptions, falling 1.5% and 5.3%, respectively.
Live Nation was the best-performing live music stock after gaining 5.0% to $144.15. Bernstein initiated coverage of Live Nation this week with an “outperform” rating and a $185 price target. MSG Entertainment rose 1.8% to $37.77, and CTS Eventim was up 0.5% to 107.20 euros ($122.26). Sphere Entertainment Co. fell 0.3% to $37.67, bringing its year-to-date loss to 11.3%.
iHeartMedia gained 14.5% to $1.50. The stock rose 10% on Thursday as the company announced the appointment of deputy CFO Michael McGuinness as iHeartMedia’s principal accounting officer. Previous principal accounting officer Scott Hamilton transitioned to a consultant role for the company.
Believe rose 11.6% to 17.08 euros ($19.48) after the company increased its bid to buy out remaining shareholders to 17.20 euros ($19.62), a 12.4% increase from the original bid of 15.30 euros ($17.45). The consortium that took the Paris-based company private in 2024 currently owns 96.7% of share capital.
The two standalone major music companies had mixed results. Warner Music Group rose 0.2% to $26.37, bringing its year-to-date decline to 15.0%. Universal Music Group fell 2.8% to 27.36 euros ($31.20), lowering its year-to-date gain to 14.4%.
K-pop stocks posted gains across the board. HYBE rose 7.0%, erasing the previous week’s 6.8% decline. YG Entertainment was up 7.9%. SM Entertainment rose 4.8% and JYP Entertainment improved 4.0%.
Reservoir Media fell 6.4% to $7.30, increasing its year-to-date loss to 13.7%. On Friday (June 6), B Riley lowered its price target for Reservoir Media to $11.50 from $12.50 and maintained its “buy” rating.
Billboard
Billboard
Billboard
