K-Pop Giants SM Entertainment & HYBE Lead Music Stocks as Markets Slip Again

K-pop companies SM Entertainment and HYBE were among the best-performing music stocks of the week as most stocks were dragged down by continued uncertainty about U.S. tariff policy and new data on higher-than-expected inflation. 

SM Entertainment, home to NCT Dream and RIIZE, was the week’s best performer after gaining 6.7% to 107,000 KRW ($72.91). That brought the company’s year-to-date gain to 47.4% — the best of any music stock. 

HYBE, which counts BTS and its solo members’ projects among its vast roster, improved 3.7% to 240,500 KRW ($163.87). On Thursday (March 27), HYBE announced that BTS songs such as “Dynamite” and “Butter” will be featured on Lullaby Renditions of BTS, out April 4 on Rockabye Baby! Music. HYBE shares are up 19.7% year to date, the fifth-best among music stocks. 

K-pop fared well during a down week for most stocks and markets in general. YG Entertainment, home of BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, rose 3.3% to 63,500 KRW ($43.27) while JYP Entertainment was unchanged at 61,300 KRW ($41.77). 

Outside of South Korea, music stocks reflected the challenging economic conditions and uncertainties that have hurt stocks in recent weeks. The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) declined 2.9% to 2,459.98, marking its fourth decline in the last six weeks. With just eight of its 20 stocks finishing the week in the black, the BGMI fell into correction territory as its value has declined 10.7% since the week ended Feb. 14. The first six weeks of 2025 were good enough to overcome the recent slump, however, and the BGMI is up 15.8% year to date and has gained 40.4% over the last 52 weeks. 

Stocks took another hit on Friday (March 28) after the core personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure closely watched by the U.S. Federal Reserve, increased 0.4% in February. That put the 12-month inflation rate at 2.8%. Both figures were above experts’ expectations. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite finished the week down 2.6%, increasing its year-to-date decline to 11.7%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.5%. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 increased 0.1%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index fell 3.2%. China’s SSE Composite Index dropped 0.4%.

The BGMI was pulled down by Spotify’s 6.5% decline and a 4.2% drop by German concert promoter CTS Eventim. Warner Music Group, one of the index’s largest companies, dropped 2.7% to $31.56. 

Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) gained 2.7% to $14.38 after Deutsche Bank upgraded its rating on TME shares to buy from hold. Universal Music Group rose 2.0% to 25.99 euros ($28.12) after Wells Fargo upped the rating on the company’s shares to overweight from equal weight and increased the price target to 33 euros ($35.70) from 28 euros ($30.29). 

Music streaming company LiveOne had the week’s biggest decline at 14.1%. The company announced on Wednesday (March 26) that subscribers and ad-supported users surpassed 1.4 million. 

Radio company iHeartMedia fell 6.8%, putting its year-to-date loss at 23.0%. Satellite broadcaster SiriusXM dropped 3.1% to $22.75, though it’s still up 1.7% in 2025.