Billboard
Spotify’s meteoric ascent gets more attention, but Chinese music streamers are having a strong 2025, too. Netease Cloud Music shares gained 9.8% to 240.20 HKD ($30.60) for the week ended June 13, raising the stock’s already substantial year-to-date gain to 114.1%.
Cloud Music, China’s second-largest music streaming company, now has a market capitalization of $6.4 billion. That’s well behind rival Chinese streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment’s $31.6 billion, yet it ranks ahead of most K-pop companies (HYBE is valued at $9.1 billion). It also rivals SiriusXM’s $7.2 billion market cap.
For its part, Tencent Music Entertainment gained 2.6% to $18.42, bringing its year-to-date gain to 65.2%. This week, the company announced the acquisition of podcast company Ximalaya for $2.4 billion while Nomura raised its price target on the stock to $21.50 from $17.20, keeping its “buy” rating.
Overall, though, music stocks had an unremarkable five trading days. The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) fell 0.2% to 2,922.69, a mild decline considering 14 of the 20 stocks lost value. That’s because many of the most valuable companies with the greatest impact on the index either gained or had small losses. Spotify, the BGMI’s single largest component, fell 0.2% to $710.72, lowering its 2025 gain to 52.3%. Universal Music Group, the index’s second-largest component, improved 2.0% to 27.91 euros ($32.25), bringing its year-to-date gain to 16.7%.
U.S. markets finished down this week after Israel and Iran traded military attacks. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.3% on Friday (June 13) and ended the week down 0.6% to 19,406.83. The S&P 500 dropped 1.1% on Friday to finish the week down 0.4% at 5,976.97. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 posted a narrow gain of 0.1%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index jumped 2.9%. China’s SSE Composite Index dropped 0.2%.
HYBE was one of the week’s best performers after gaining 4.0% to 296,000 KRW ($216.26). The company gained heavy press attention for the culmination of military service for BTS members Jimin and Jung Kook. Six of the group’s seven members have completed their mandatory military service, while Suga is expected to fulfill his service as a social worker later this month. BTS’s return to action could be good for HYBE’s share price. When BTS announced its hiatus in 2022, the company’s stock plummeted 27.5%. Since then, HYBE shares have doubled in value.
Other K-pop stocks didn’t fare so well. SM Entertainment dropped 1.6% while both YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment fell 2.2%. K-pop companies are seeing strong growth in 2025, though, with an average year-to-date gain of 56.9%.
Live Nation, the BGMI’s fourth-largest component, fell 4.1% to $138.18. This week, Wolfe Research increased its Live Nation price target to $168 from $160 and Susquehanna raised its price target to $165 from $155. Most other concert promoters also lost ground. CTS Eventim fell 3.4% and MSG Entertainment dropped 3.7%. However, Sphere Entertainment Co. rose 1.5%, narrowing its year-to-date loss to -10.0%.
iHeartMedia was the week’s greatest gainer after jumping 10.7% to $1.66. The radio and podcast giant tends to have sizable swings — both positive and negative — from week to week. In 2025, iHeart’s share price has posted a weekly gain of 10% or more four times and a weekly loss of more than 10% on five occasions.
Abu Dhabi-based music streamer Anghami dropped 11.1% to $0.48, earning it the week’s largest decline and taking its year-to-date loss to -38.5%. That marks the seventh time in 2025 that Anghami shares have lost more than 5% in a week.
Billboard
Billboard
Billboard
In the final trailer for Wicked: For Good, Ariana Grande‘s character learns that a big price comes with being Glinda the Good.
Released on Wednesday (Sept. 24) — about two months before the Wicked sequel finally premieres in theaters on Nov. 21 — the preview shows how the blonde leading lady wrestles with her new role as Oz’s spokeswoman, as Cynthia Erivo‘s Elphaba attempts to expose the Wizard’s evil agenda while living in hiding. At first, Glinda is “obsess-ulated” with the gorgeous gown, tiara and mechanical flying bubble her public-facing life affords her — but everything quickly comes crashing down when she realizes that she’s on the wrong side of history, and that she just might be too late to save her former schoolmate from the wrath of Oz’s brainwashed citizens.
“I’m a public figure now, people expect me to …,” Glinda tells Elphaba at one point, with Dorothy’s fallen house and the Yellow Brick Road visible in the background.
“Lie?” the green-skinned witch cuts in, to which Glinda says defensively, “Be encouraging.”
Grande’s character is less sure of herself when she is confronted by Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero, who accuses, “You can’t resist this.”
“Who could?” Glinda asks, to which the Winkie prince replies, “You know who could.”
Arriving one year after the first Wicked hit theaters and shattered movie-musical box-office records, For Good will serve as the film adaptation of the second act of the Broadway musical on which the live-actions are based. The soundtrack will also drop on Nov. 21, complete with two brand new songs sung by Grande and Erivo.
As revealed when the tracklist dropped a week prior to the new trailer, the title of Glinda’s bonus song is “The Girl in the Bubble,” while Elphaba’s added balled is called “No Place Like Home.”
Watch the final trailer for Wicked: For Good above.
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Priscilla Presley was with Elvis Presley for around 14 years before they split; however, the pair had known each other for years before they wed in 1967.
The time in between and following Priscilla and Elvis’ divorce was a tough spot for Priscilla, and one she wasn’t super open about — that is, until now. In her new memoir Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, the actress shares the difficult but inspiring journey beyond the walls of Graceland post-split with the King, choosing to put herself and her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, first.
A hardcover version of the book is now on sale and can be purchased now on Amazon for $22.38, while paperback will run you $32. A Kindle version retails for $15.99. If you’re a superfan of Priscilla and the Presley family, you can also snag a signed version of the memoir via Barnes & Noble for $32. The piece makes a great gift for the avid Elvis collector in your life. If you’d rather listen to the memoir, we won’t judge, you can do so with Audible via a subscription which costs $7.95 a month, a price tag less than a physical copy.
A new memoir by Priscilla Presley.
If you didn’t know, Priscilla met Elvis when she was just 14 and he was 24. The singer was serving in the U.S. Army in 1959 in Germany. The pair remained romantically connected for years, even with distance between them and in 1967, they were wed in a simple and very secret ceremony in Las Vegas. While their separation in 1973 was painful for Priscilla, this novel highlights why it was so important for the Naked Gun star to leave.
It seems that Priscilla lost touch with herself throughout her relationship with Elvis. Leaving allowed her to find herself again. Through the book, we are treated to snippets of Priscilla’s life pre- and post-Elvis and how she had to reinvent herself a second time as the single mother after the performer’s death in 1977.
Today, we are taken through how Priscilla was able to transform Graceland into an international destination and helped guide the development of Elvis Presley Enterprises, turning the King’s legacy into a full-on business. If you are an Elvis fan, this gives readers a unique perspective on his life, as told by his ex-wife. It also gives Priscilla’s story more context for those who aren’t too familiar with her life and career.
Calvin Harris‘ former longtime business manager is firing back against bombshell fraud claims, saying he never stole from anybody and that the Scottish DJ willingly agreed to invest in his Los Angeles real estate development project.
Thomas St. John, an entertainment industry-focused accountant who runs the eponymous firm Thomas St. John Group, is currently wrapped up in thorny arbitration proceedings with his former client Harris (Adam Wiles). He’s accused of abusing his access to Harris’ accounts in order to fund his side venture: the construction of a recording studio and office space complex in Hollywood.
Harris claims that St. John tricked him into investing $22.5 million in the project, known as CMNTY Culture Campus, which he says turned out to be a “complete boondoggle” that he “has not received a single penny in return for” — while suggesting that St. John pocketed much of the money for himself.
However, a representative for St. John says in a new statement that the allegations are “categorically false.” The rep denies that St. John engaged in any self-dealing, adding that Harris is one of nine above-board investors who “knowingly signed investment agreements” to get involved in CMNTY Culture.
“Not a single dollar has been misappropriated, all investor entitlements remain intact, and the project continues to advance within the normal entitlement timeline,” says St. John’s rep in the Tuesday (Sept. 23) statement. “We will continue to take every necessary step to set the record straight and to ensure that these malicious, bad-faith attacks are recognized for what they are: entirely without merit.”
While CMNTY Culture was initially designed to house a recording studio and office space, St. John has since shifted the plans and is now developing a residential apartment complex on the same tract of land in Hollywood. According to his rep, the project is proceeding apace and “is expected to approach a $1 billion valuation” upon completion.
“While the entitlement process has naturally taken longer than initially projected due to unprecedented interest, macroeconomic conditions and significant city red tape, it remains firmly within its promised schedule and is now on the verge of securing final entitlements, an important milestone that will unlock substantial value,” adds St. John’s rep.
Thomas St. John Group has offices in Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam and Stockholm. The management firm’s U.S. arm recently filed for bankruptcy, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent in L.A. and multiple pending legal actions.
One creditor listed in the firm’s bankruptcy papers is Philip Lawrence, a songwriter and producer who made his name collaborating with Bruno Mars. Lawrence used to be a client of St. John’s and at one point invested $10 million from the sale of his catalog into CMNTY Culture Campus, according to court filings in Lawrence’s own personal bankruptcy case.
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