Music Stocks Suffer as Global Markets Roiled by Recession Fears; K-Pop Hit Particularly Hard

K-pop stocks were the hardest hit music stocks on Monday (Aug. 5) as global markets continued Friday’s decline in the U.S. with major selloffs. 

Four K-pop companies — HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment — fell an average of 8.8% on Monday, while a major South Korean stock index, the KOSPI composite index, had its worst day since 2008 by also falling 8.8%. HYBE declined 5.9% while the others fell between 9.6% and 9.8%. South Korean stocks were effectively catching up to the rest of the world on Monday: trading in Seoul had closed by the time a disappointing U.S. jobs report was released Friday morning, stoking fears of a possible recession. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 3.4% to 16,200.08, the S&P 500 dropped 3.0% to 5,186.33 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.6%, with the latter two suffering their deepest losses since September 2022. In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average plummeted 12.4%, its worst day since 1987. 

Some of the biggest companies were among the worst performers. Chipmaker Nvidia, once a high-flying stock buoyed by AI investors, dropped 6.4% on Monday. Apple fell 4.8%. Amazon dropped 4.1%. 

The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) fared a bit better than the major indexes, dropping 2.0% to 1,705.25 despite the large K-pop declines. 

Outside K-pop, SiriusXM fell 4.1% to $3.01, adding to last week’s 15.6% decline following second-quarter earnings results that showed the company lost 173,000 satellite radio subscribers in the period ended June 30. Live Nation fell 3.5% to $88.06. Sphere Entertainment dropped 2.8% to $38.25. 

The BGMI’s most valuable companies fared better. Universal Music Group was flat at 21.44 euros ($23.50). Spotify declined 2.1% to $324.03. Warner Music Group, which releases earnings on Wednesday (Aug. 7), dropped 2.4% to $27.59. German concert promoter CTS Eventim slid 1.3% to 75.50 euros ($82.74).