Unless it was actually Len Blavatnik (pictured) who made the decision. Because, y’know, he doesn’t really need a pay rise.
As frustrating as it must have been for would-be WMG shareholders to witness the company freeze its plotted public flotation in the US, Warner has avoided a whole lotta hurt on the stock market as a result.
As you may have read elsewhere, today (March 9) has been an abomination for stock market investors worldwide – the worst day, in fact, since the 2008 financial crash. Friday (March 6) wasn’t much better.
Today alone, the S&P 500 – a key index reflecting the performance of 500 the USA’s largest companies – fell 7.6%.
The ongoing consumer reaction to the spread of Coronavirus (in short: stay home, don’t travel, avoid public gatherings) has contributed to an almighty sell-off of company shares in multiple markets, and a nosedive in the valuations of public companies worldwide.
This situation has been exacerbated today (‘Black Monday’) by a row between Russia and Saudi Arabia that has seen oil prices plunge.
Logic dictates that companies relying on the success of music rights (and other entertainment content) should be better protected than others (travel and event companies, for example) over the Coronavirus market negativity.
Yet that doesn’t mean the likes of Universal Music Group parent Vivendi or Sony Music Group parent Sony Corp, as well as Spotify, Tencent Music Entertainment and – of course – Live Nation, haven’t each seen their value significantly affected by COVID-19 panic on the markets.
In fact, according to MBW’s calculations, these five companies saw their market cap valuations fall, collectively, by a whopping $11.1bn today alone.
As you can see below, Live Nation was, unsurprisingly, hit hardest (down over 10%), with the digital services (Spotify, Tencent Music Entertainment), emerging with the least damage at the close of trading.
(Illustrating this trend, as our headline points out: Vivendi, Spotify and Live Nation alone, jointly, lost an estimated $4.5bn in market cap value today.)
Since the trading close of Friday, February 21, the combined market cap fall of these five companies (Vivendi, Sony Corp, Live Nation, Spotify and Tencent Music Entertainment) stands at a painful $29.8bn.
That’s just 15 days ago – 11 trading days – when the markets began to get hardest hit by COVID-19 fears.
Bear in mind, as a useful barometer when you read the below, that the S&P 500 has fallen 17.8% in the past 15 trading days (since close on Feb 21).
Here’s how the stocks of five of the largest music-related public companies are holding up:
1) Vivendi
Paris-headquartered Vivendi, the current 100% owner of Universal Music Group, saw its share price fall by 7.22% today (‘Black Monday’), down to €21.20 at market close.
This alone sunk Vivendi’s public market cap by approximately €2.0bn ($2.3bn) – from €27.54bn to €25.55bn – in a single day, according to Google Finance data and MBW’s calculations.
In the past 15 days (since close on February 21), Vivendi’s share price has fallen 15.67% from €25.14.
That represents an estimated market cap value decline of €4.75bn ($5.4bn) – from €30.30bn to €25.55bn.
Vivendi’s current share price (€21.20) is its lowest for over a year, since December 2018.
Vivendi (VIV) trades on the Euronext Paris exchange.
2) Sony Corp
Japan-headquartered Sony Corp, the 100% owner of Sony Music Group (including Sony Music and Sony/ATV), saw its share price fall by 7.31% today (‘Black Monday’), down to 6,214 Yen at market close.
This alone dropped Sony Corp’s public market cap by approximately $6.1bn – from 8.53 trillion Yen ($83.3bn) to 7.91 trillion Yen ($77.2bn) – in a single day, according to Google Finance data and MBW’s calculations.
In the past 15 days (since close on February 21), Sony Corp’s share price has fallen 16.91% from 7,479 Yen.
That represents an estimated market cap value decline of approximately $15.7bn.
Sony’s current share price (6,214 Yen) is its lowest since October 10, 2019 – almost exactly five months ago.
Sony Corp trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
3) Live Nation
L.A-headquartered Live Nation, the world’s biggest concert promoter and owner of Ticketmaster, saw its share price fall by 10.76% today (‘Black Monday’), down to $47.26 at market close.
This alone dropped Live Nation’s public market cap value by an estimated $1.2bn – from $11.37bn to $10.14bn – in a single day, according to Google Finance data and MBW’s calculations.
In the past 15 days (since close on February 21), Live Nation’s share price has fallen 36.3% from $74.19.
That represents an estimated market cap value decline of $5.8bn.
Live Nation’s current share price ($47.26) is its lowest since mid-June 2018 – 21 months ago.
Live Nation trades on the New York Stock Exchange.
4) Spotify
Stockholm-headquartered Spotify, the world’s biggest subscription music streaming platform, saw its share price fall by 3.69% today (‘Black Monday’), down to $139.78 at market close.
This alone dropped Spotify’s public market cap value by an estimated $1.0bn – from $26.76bn to $25.77bn – in a single day, according to Google Finance data and MBW’s calculations.
In the past 15 days (since close on February 21), SPOT’s share price has fallen 4.9% from $146.95.
That represents an estimated market cap value decline of $1.3bn.
Spotify’s current share price ($139.78) is its lowest since February 27 ($134.51) – less than a month ago.
Spotify (SPOT) trades on the New York Stock Exchange.
5) Tencent Music Entertainment
Shenzen-headquartered, U.S-traded Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), China’s biggest digital music company, saw its share price fall by just 2.32% today (‘Black Monday’), down to $11.79 at market close.
This dropped TME’s public market cap value by an estimated $460m – from $19.74bn to $19.28bn – in a single day, according to Google Finance data and MBW’s calculations.
In the past 15 days (since close on February 21), TME’s share price has fallen 7.5% from $12.74.
That represents an estimated market cap value decline of $1.6bn.
TME’s current share price ($11.79) is its lowest since the end of December 2019 – less than three months ago.
