The Biz: Street Stays High On Music Biz; Latest On NewJeans & More

Analysts Say Music Biz May Resist Economic Turmoil

More Wall Street analysts are chiming in that music may be among the success stories if the economy turns recessionary due to a trade war from President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and resultant reciprocation from other countries.

TD Cowan analysts Doug Creutz and Mei Lun Quach noted that, on the streaming side, because digital goods are unaffected by tariffs, streamers and labels like UMG, Warner and Spotify remain attractive options in a downturn.

“Not only is music still relatively inexpensive, it also has benefitted from a vastly improved consumer experience, as streaming services offer access to a library of virtually all music ever created on easily portable devices,” they wrote. “While [UMG, WMG and Spotify] do have some ad exposure, it is less than 20% of revenue.”

On the live side, the Cowan analysts expect things to remain robust because concerts are necessarily “time-limited” and ticket purchases can’t be meaningfully delayed in the same way that other discretionary spending tends to be in recessionary periods.

Court Keeps Block On NewJeans In ADOR Dispute

A Korean court kept an injunction against NewJeans intact as the group continues its contract battle with its label ADOR.

The decision prevents the group — which has rebranded as NJZ — from performing and further prevents solo projects from its members.

NewJeans unilaterally terminated its contract with ADOR in November. The label then filed a suit in response to prevent the group from performing with its approval.

After a sold-out show in Hong Kong under the name NJZ, the group announced an indefinite hiatus.