How Fear of US Recession Is Affecting the K-pop Industry

Friday’s disappointing job reports in the US set off a frenzy that heavily affected this week’s music stocks.

Here the full details.

Billboard Reports Global Music Markets Suffered Decline Due To Reported US Recession

Disappointing job reports and worries about the health of the US economy is setting music stocks in decline. K-pop stocks were particularly hit by the decline as a major Korean stock market index suffered its biggest one-day decline ever.

According to Billboard, “South Korea’s KOSPI composite index fell 8.8% on Monday as investors were gripped with fear about a U.S. recession. The market improved the following day, but the KOSPI ended the week down 4.9% to 2,544.81.”

Several K-pop companies suffered decline during this week’s instability, with Billboard reporting that “four main K-pop companies fell an average of 10.8% and their average year-to-date loss increased to 40.9%.”

“HYBE fell 10.2% to 165,000 won ($123.25), bringing its year-to-date loss to 29.1%. YG Entertainment slipped 9.8% to 30,800 won ($23.01). SM Entertainment fell 10.4% to 56,300 won ($42.05). JYP Entertainment fared the worst, dipping 13.0% to 44,450 ($33.20) and bringing its year-to-date loss to 56.1%.”

However, K-pop markets aren’t the only ones affected by this as “Billboard Global Music Index fell 4.8% to 1,744.64, reducing the year-to-date gain to 13.7% and marking the index’s worst week since it fell 5.1% in the week ended Feb. 24, 2023.”

Apart from the music industry, the broader stock market suffered a pitiful decline. “In the United States, the Nasdaq composite fell 5.8% and the S&P 500 slipped 4.2%. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 lost 2.3%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.7%,” Billboard reported.

One of the biggest music labels in the world UMG dropped 3.0% to 22.93 euros ($25.42). This is happening ahead of the company’s plan to host investors and analysts at its Capital Markets Day on Tuesday (Sept. 10). Global streaming giant Spotify also suffered a major decline, falling 5.9% to $322.75.

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