Amid global economic uncertainty and fluctuating markets, the Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) surged to a remarkable 46.7% gain in the first half of 2025, driven by strong performances from streaming giants Spotify and Chinese leaders NetEase Cloud Music and Tencent Music Entertainment. 

As music companies largely escaped the economic commotion that roiled markets since March, 12 of the index’s companies posted first-half gains while eight companies lost value. Even though the numbers of gainers and losers were nearly even, the BGMI benefited from gains by the most valuable index components, with nine of its ten most valuable companies increasing in value. Likewise, the worst performers are also the least valuable and thus had little effect on the index’s performance.

The BGMI outperformed major indexes, which posted gains but were hampered by uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s tariff policy and ongoing trade negotiations. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained just 3.8% while the S&P 500 improved by 4.4%, with both indexes reaching all-time highs in late June. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 rose 6.5%. China’s SSE Composite Index climbed 7.35%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index jumped 25.8%.

NetEase Cloud Music was the top-performing stock at the mid-year point, gaining 114.8% to 241.00 HKD ($30.70), while Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) jumped 75% to $19.51. TME, the larger of the two companies, had 122.9 million subscribers and a 17% spike in subscription revenue in the first quarter. Both companies are benefitting from a better environment for Chinese tech companies. After a crackdown in 2021 marked by arbitrary penalties, Chinese authorities have revised laws and regulations, providing companies and investors in the country with clarity.  

Spotify surged 64.4% to $755.95, increasing its market capitalization by $61.5 billion in the six-month period. The company’s most recent earnings report shows why investors are bullish on the stock: Revenue rose 15% to $4.54 billion, subscribers grew 12% to 268 million, and gross margin of 31.6% was up 400 basis points from the prior-year period. After going years without turning a profit, Spotify flipped a switch. Since the company laid off roughly a quarter of its staff in 2023, growth has not slowed, and operating profit has ballooned.

With a $157 billion market capitalization — the value of outstanding shares — Spotify accounts for 45.7% of the value of the BGMI. The $61.5-billion jump in value in the first half of 2025 exceeds the value of the next-largest music company, Universal Music Group (UMG, $58.7 billion). To be fair, though, UMG’s dollar-denominated market capitalization was penalized by the dollar’s 13.2% slide against the euro in the first half of the year — its worst start to a year since 1973.

Smaller streaming companies didn’t perform as well as their larger peers. Deezer fell 5.3% to 1.24 euros ($1.45); Anghami slipped 37.2% to $0.49; and LiveOne dropped 45.3% to $0.75. 

With demand for concerts and festivals remaining strong, German concert promoter CTS Eventim led a strong showing by live entertainment companies, rising 25.6% to 105.40 euros ($124.28). Live Nation gained 16.8% to $151.33. MSG Entertainment improved 11.4% to $39.98 after its MSG Networks division negotiated new terms for its long-term debt. Sphere Entertainment Co. was an exception, falling 1.6% to $41.80.

Record labels and publishers had mixed showings. South Korean companies — they’re record labels as well as music publishers, management agencies and merchandise sellers — had excellent showings. SM Entertainment gained 94.2% to 141,000 won ($103.84). HYBE, awaiting the return of BTS after its members’ military service, rose 53.7% to 309,000 ($227.56). JYP Entertainment improved 9.6% to 74,300 won ($54.06).  

UMG rose 14.9% to 27.24 euros ($32.12) and was the only non-Korean company in positive territory. Reservoir Media dropped 9.3% to $7.67. Warner Music Group fell 12.2% to $27.24. Believe’s first-half gain can be attributed to a buyout offer rather than financial performance. Its share price climbed 25.5% to 17.14 euros ($20.21) after the company increased to 17.20 euros ($20.28) per share its original 15.30-euros ($18.05) offer.  

Radio companies had the worst showing of the bunch. After being de-listed from the Nasdaq exchange on May 2, Cumulus Media reached the mid-year mark with an 84.4% decline, to $0.12. The stock now trades over the counter. iHeartMedia dropped 17.4% to $1.76. SiriusXM was an exception, gaining a modest 2.7% to $22.97. 

Zach Bryan has given fans not only a recorded version of “Streets of London,” which he debuted at his London concert on June 29, but two additional new songs: “River Washed Hair” and “Song for You.”

Bryan debuted “Streets of London” during his BST Hyde Park concert and noted in a recent Instagram post that he’d recorded the song just a few days prior at a studio favored by David Bowie.

Bryan had initially told fans that he would be releasing “Streets of London” on Monday (June 30), but when the song didn’t arrive, he revealed in a post on Instagram that he would be giving fans two new tracks on Tuesday (July 1).

“yoooo decided to put two songs out instead of just one it’s gonna take an extra day!! Songs’ll be out Tuesday sorry sorry sorry,” he wrote on a since expired Instagram Story, according to Rolling Stone. “They are kind of just tunes that didn’t belong on the record, and they didn’t fit on an EP either, so I’m just releasing them to get them out into the world cause I love them. Hope you guys enjoy them. I love each one of ya!! even the folks who talked mad s–t all year.”

He added, “Also only five people ever have sold out Hyde Park two nights in a row. I have you guys to thank for it. I love you so much for showing out London. I will love your beautiful city and country forever! See you next time!”

Tuesday passed with no sign of new songs, but now, Bryan has given fans even more than he promised, with this trio of tunes.

His upcoming shows include three concerts at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 18-20.

Listen to his new tracks below:

The 2025 Stand Up to Cancer benefit will be broadcast from Nashville for the first time this year in a primetime broadcast hosted by Sheryl Crow and featuring an appearance from Dolly Parton. The one-hour Aug. 15 special will take place at Music City’s newest venue, the 4,500-capacity The Pinnacle and air at 8 p.m. ET.

Bringing together musicians, celebrities, athletes, cancer survivors and researchers, with additional performers and A-list participants to be announced soon, the show will once again air on a wide variety of platforms to reach the largest-possible audience.

“The goal of Stand Up To Cancer has always been about working collaboratively to push cancer research forward so we could help patients as quickly as possible,” said veteran journalist and SU2C co-founder Katie Couric in a statement. “Nearly two decades later, it’s incredibly gratifying and inspiring to see the impact of this research. Bringing the show to Nashville will infuse new energy and excitement into our mission. There’s still so much work to do and every dollar makes a difference—especially to the families who are counting on novel approaches and therapies as they face the challenges that often accompany a cancer diagnosis.”

The commercial-free show will be carried on more than 30 participating platforms including the four major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox), as well as CMT, AXS TV, Pluto TV, Paramount+, Hulu, HBO Max, Prime Video, AMC+, Comedy Central, MTV, Disney+ and others; viewers will also be able to watch the telecast on-demand on a number of digital and streaming platform.

The biennial event was first televised in 2008, when it raised more than $100 million following a broadcast that featured Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze — who died of pancreatic cancer a year later — as well as cancer survivors Crow, Melissa Etheridge and actress Christina Applegate, with appearances from Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood and Miley Cyrus, among others. The 2023 show featured performances from Alabama Shakes singer and solo performer Brittany Howard and The Who, as well as appearances by Jessica Biel, Ken Jeong, Tig Notaro, Julianne More and Justin Timberlake.

Check out a video message from Parton and other SU2C supporters here.

Taylor Swift‘s surprise performance at Travis Kelce‘s Tight End University event was truly that: a surprise.

According to the Kansas City Chiefs star, the 14-time Grammy winner’s live showcase of Billboard Hot 100-topper “Shake It Off” with Kane Brown’s band June 24 in Nashville was so last minute, she didn’t even practice beforehand. Speaking to brother and co-host Jason Kelce on their New Heights podcast episode posted Wednesday (July 2), Travis shed some light on how the performance came about, raving, “Tay Tay showed up!”

“We’re in Nashville, she grew up in Nashville — she moved there when she was younger,” the Grotesquerie star explained. “We had this plan for a while that we were going to have some fun with the tight ends.”

“I won’t say when the idea came up, but when we were there at Tight End and Friends, and we knew there was a professional like Kane Brown, who can just, he can figure it out,” Travis continued. “He’s a pro. Tay just kind of went up to him and the band and went, ‘Hey, if you guys are down, I’ll go up there, play a song and see if we can pop the roof off this place.’”

The athlete went on to share that moments before the viral performance, Swift jotted down accompaniment notes for Brown’s band members so that they could perform with her without missing a beat. “She was like in the back doing musical notes,” Travis said with awe. “Sheets of music, she was writing out — I think the high hats, maybe? I don’t know, I’m not a musician. But she was, like, making sure the band and everybody knew.”

“And then just went out there without practicing, and it was pitch-perfect,” Travis added. “[She] just killed it.”

The knockout performance in question happened at the Tight Ends and Friends concert at Music City’s Brooklyn Bowl, with Swift getting the crowd hyped up as she took the stage in a black dress and matching heeled boots. As she strummed her guitar, Brown danced along on stage and added extra percussion by shaking a stick of bells.

The pop star was also present throughout the three-day Tight End University summit, appearing alongside Travis on the red carpet during opening ceremonies and later attending the welcome party with him that night. The Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? host founded TEU in 2021 with George Kittle and Greg Olsen to foster community among the NFL’s tight ends and help them prepare for the football season ahead.

“She’s so good with just everybody — people and making people feel comfortable,” Travis praised Swift. “Absolutely rocked the stage yet again. It was awesome.”

Watch Travis reflect on Swift’s surprise Tight End University performance below.

The Foo Fighters‘ ongoing celebration of three decades of rocking continued on Wednesday morning (July 2) with the release of the soaring new single “Today’s Song.” The first bit of new music from the band since 2023’s But Here We Are album is a classic uplifting Foos anthem with lyrics a release describes as touching on “personal evolution and perseverance in the face of life’s uncertainty and the passage of time.”

“I woke today screaming for change, I knew that I must/ So here lies a shadow, ashes to ashes, dust into dust/ You know that nothing can prepare you, oh no/ Don’t let this cruel world compare you, oh no,” band leader Dave Grohl sings in a melancholy tone over spare organ backing in the song’s first verse. “Waiting for someone to repair you,” he adds before the track explodes into a classic Foos rave up. The song’s chorus hints at a crossroads of change and turbulence, with Grohl singing, “Two sides to a river/ Too troubled to cross/ It might take you under/ Today’s song/ We’ll drown in the middle/ Which side are you on/ One way or another/ Today’s song.”

In a note to fans written by singer/guitarist Grohl recounting his Thanksgiving 1994 first meal with bassist Nate Mendel and the band’s subsequent formation and early years on the road, he writes, “Over the years, we’ve had moments of unbridled joy, and moments of devastating heartbreak. Moments of beautiful victory, and moments of painful defeat. We have mended broken bones and broken hearts. But we have followed this road together, with each other, for each other, no matter what. Because in life, you just can’t go it alone.”

It continued, “It should go without saying that without the boundless energy of [original drummer] William Goldsmith, the seasoned wisdom of [former guitarist] Franz Stahl, and the thunderous wizardry of [recently departed drummer] Josh Freese, this story would be incomplete, so we extend our heartfelt gratitude for the time, music, and memories that we shared with each of them over the years. Thank you, gentlemen.”

The note includes with a special shout-out to beloved late drummer Taylor Hawkins, who took over from Goldsmith in 1997 and kept the beat for the band until his death at 50 in March 2022 while on tour with the Foos in Colombia. “And… Taylor. Your name is spoken every day, sometimes with tears, sometimes with a smile, but you are still in everything we do, everywhere we go, forever. The enormity of your beautiful soul is only rivaled by the infinite longing we feel in your absence. We all miss you beyond words. Foo Fighters will forever include Taylor Hawkins in every note that we play, until we do finally reach our destination.”

The missive ends with a scene from a recent long international flight Grohl took during which someone stuck a Post-It note to his seat with a mysterious message to “watch the lobster and the Rabbi.” Unsure what it meant, Grohl says his research revealed the cryptic phrase was tied to a story of growth.

“A lobster is a small, fleshy animal that lives within a hard, rigid shell, and as its body grows too large for its shell, it begins to feel discomfort. Once this happens, the lobster instinctively retreats to a safe place, sheds the smaller shell, grows a new one, and resurfaces,” he writes. “But eventually that new shell becomes uncomfortable as its body continues to grow, so it retreats again. New shell, new growth, over and over again. The point being that life’s challenges have a way of signaling the need for change and growth, so when that time comes, you retreat, rebuild, and resurface stronger than before. Something I’m sure that we all can relate to as human beings. And if you’re lucky, you share this process with the ones that you love the most, be they onstage or off.”

The single’s cover image of a white bird in flight with a single wing extended to the side was drawn by Grohl’s 15-year-old daughter, Harper Grohl. On Tuesday (July 1), the band also posted a series of dark, moody studio pics, featuring shots of equipment and what look like images of some members performing in the studio alongside a “2025 #FF30” caption.

The Foo Fighters’ self-titled 1995 debut just turned 30 and the band has been celebrating it with a series of throwback posts and a deep-dive Substack with notes, photos and items tied to the band’s 11 studio albums. Earlier this week, they also dropped a surprise cover of early influence Minor Threat’s 1981 hardcore classic “I Don’t Wanna Hear It,” with an instrumental track from 1995 and vocals recorded sometime this year.

The Foos are gearing up for a run of shows later this year, beginning with an October 2 gig in Jakarta at Carnaval Ancol, followed by an appearance at an F1 event in Singapore on Oct. 4 and shows in Tokyo and Osaka that month, as well as a slot at the Corona Capital festival in Mexico City on Nov. 14; at press time no information was available on who will play drums for those gigs.

Listen to “Today’s Song” and check out Grohl’s full note here (and listen to him read it below).