The Biz: TikTok Deadline Looms; Trump Tariffs Roil Markets; BMG’s Billions

Amazon Makes Last Minute TikTok Bid As Deadline Looms: Report

The New York Times reports that Amazon has made a bid to buy TikTok from its Chinese owner ByteDance. Without an American or allied buyer, the app is set to go dark in the U.S. April 5 as the deadline extension for its sale expires.

President Donald Trump — who granted the reprieve shortly after being sworn in Jan. 20 — suggests that he could unilaterally keep TikTok alive in the U.S., despite the sale requirement being enshrined by law — the bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support — and a decision by the Supreme Court upholding its constitutionality. Trump has also expressed confidence a sale would get done by the deadline, having a tasked a team led by Vice President J.D. Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to facilitate finding a U.S. buyer.

Other potential buyers include software giant Oracle; a consortium that includes former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt; and a group of investment houses including Blackstone. NPR points out that Oracle “already provides TikTok with most of its backend technical support.”

Live Industry Not Untouched By Post-Tariff Market Meltdown

After Trump’s April 2 announcement of new trade policy that pushed tariffs to the highest level in more than a century, stock prices plummeted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 1,200 points — more than 3% — by midday April 3 with the broader S&P 500 down more than 200 (3.67%) and the tech-heavy NASDAQ off nearly 850 points (4.82%).

Shares of companies connected to live were not immune to the marketwide sell-off. Shares of Live Nation were trading around $128, down more than $6 — nearly 5% from their April 2 close. Similarly, TKO was off 3%, MSG Entertainment 6% and Sphere 9%.

Investor worries about higher prices, a weaker dollar, job losses and cratering consumer confidence exacerbated recession fears with Goldman Sachs raising their expectation of an economic downturn to 35%. Expectations of shrinking disposable income will inevitably lead to a more bearish approach to industries — like live entertainment — that rely on non-essential spending.

The Yale Budget Lab predicts that Trump’s tariffs announced thus far, plus retaliatory levies already set by American trading partners, will lead to a per-household loss of $3,800 annually on average and will shrink American GDP in both the short and long term.

BMG Reports Billion-Dollar Year

BMG revenues surged 6.4% in 2024 to $1.04 billion, the German company announced this week.

The company also hit record profitability, with EBITDA hitting $287 million, a 28% margin, also an all-time high.

Digital revenues — primarily streaming — were up 16%, accounting for more than two-thirds of the company’s total revenue.