Amid a tumultuous week for global stock markets, Spotify witnessed a continued decline from its peak, while K-pop stocks faced notable drops. Interestingly, one of the smallest entities listed on the Billboard Global Music Index managed to achieve a remarkable double-digit gain despite the overall market downturn, showcasing the unpredictable nature of music industry stocks.

Leading the market surge was LiveOne, which emerged as the week’s top performer, with its stock soaring by 19.6% to $1.22. This increase followed the announcement made on Wednesday (Dec. 18) regarding their successful partnership with Tesla, which has now exceeded 350,000 subscribers. Furthermore, on Friday (Dec. 20), LiveOne confirmed that it has successfully regained compliance with the Nasdaq exchange’s minimum bid price requirement, reflecting its strong market position.

Only a couple of other music-related stocks managed to register gains during this challenging week. Sphere Entertainment Co. experienced a modest increase of 2.5%, bringing its stock price to $38.74, which marks a year-to-date growth of 14.0%. However, since announcing its fiscal first-quarter results on November 12, Sphere Entertainment shares have seen a decline of 12.1%. Similarly, Reservoir Media saw a slight improvement of 2.3% this week, closing at $9.26 after a notable 4.8% jump on Friday.

The Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) experienced a downturn, dropping 3.3% to settle at 2,168.69, which has reduced its year-to-date gain to 41.4%. Out of the 20 stocks listed in the index, only three managed to finish the week in the green. After experiencing a steady increase from late October to early December, the BGMI has now recorded a total loss of 4.9% across two consecutive weeks. This recent 3.3% decline marks the fourth instance in 2024 where the index has experienced a drop exceeding 3% within a single week.

The negative trend in stock performance extended beyond music companies, impacting broader market indices as well. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite index fell by 1.8%, closing at 19,572.60, while the S&P 500 registered a 2.0% decline, ending at 5,930.85. Across the Atlantic, the UK’s FTSE 100 also faced challenges, dropping 2.6% to 8,084.61. Meanwhile, South Korea’s KOSPI composite index experienced a significant loss of 3.6%, closing at 2,404.15, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.7% to 3,368.07.

Among other prominent music companies, Live Nation encountered a slight decline of 2%, with shares falling to $133.17. This comes despite several analysts raising their price targets for the stock this week. Notably, Morgan Stanley increased its target to $150 from $140, while Benchmark raised its estimate from $144 to $160, maintaining a “buy” rating on Live Nation shares, indicating confidence in the company’s potential for growth.

Spotify, recognized as the most valuable company within the index, is experiencing its second consecutive week of decline. After reaching above $500 on December 4, the shares have since dropped 8.3%, closing the week at $460.88, representing a 4.8% decrease for the week. This week has generally seen more losers than winners in the streaming sector, with Cloud Music suffering a significant 7.9% decline to 116.60 HKD ($14.99), marking the second-largest drop in the week. Additionally, SPDB International initiated coverage of Cloud Music this week, assigning a target price of 145 HKD ($18.64) with a “buy” rating. Meanwhile, Anghami also fell by 3.7% to $0.79.

In the K-pop sector, four major stocks saw an average decline of 5.1% this week, reflecting the ongoing political and economic uncertainties in the South Korean market. SM Entertainment faced a significant drop of 6.3%, JYP Entertainment fell by 5.8%, HYBE experienced a decrease of 4.3%, and YG Entertainment sank by 3.9%. Over the course of the year, these four South Korean companies have collectively seen an average decline of 18.3%, which is a far more substantial decrease compared to Universal Music Group (down 5.6% YTD) and Warner Music Group (down 12.9% YTD).

Among the week’s most significant losers was iHeartMedia, which saw a dramatic drop of 17.5%, bringing its stock price down to $1.89. Initially, the radio company’s stock was priced at $1.00 on July 21 and rose to $2.61 by December 6. However, in the last two weeks, its shares have plummeted by 27.6%, highlighting the volatility that can affect even established companies in the industry.