Though economic uncertainty lingers, some music companies’ stocks got boosts following their first quarter earnings releases this week, while a better-than-expected jobs report on Friday (May 2) lifted stocks across the board. 

K-pop companies were among the top performers of the week. Led by HYBE’s 13.8% gain following its first quarter earnings report on Tuesday (April 29), the four South Korean companies had an average share price gain of 10.3%. JYP Entertainment rose 11.7% and SM Entertainment, which announces earnings on Wednesday (May 7), improved 9.0%. YG Entertainment gained 6.6%. 

The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 3.6% to 2,690.13, its fourth consecutive weekly improvement. At 2,690.13, the BGMI has improved 19.1% since a two-week slide and stands just 2.4% below its all-time high of 2,755.53 set during the week ended Feb. 14.

Music stocks slightly outperformed the Nasdaq and S&P 500, which rose 3.4% and 3.1%, respectively. Foreign markets were mostly positive but more subdued. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 2.2%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 0.5%. China’s SSE Composite Index lost 0.5%. 

Universal Music Group (UMG) gained 4.3% to 25.86 euros ($29.23) following a quarterly earnings report showing that recorded music subscription revenue grew 11.5% and overall revenue improved 11.8%. JP Morgan analysts’ conviction on UMG “remains very high,” and the strong quarter “should help rebuild confidence and share price momentum” dented by Pershing Square’s sale of $1.5 billion in UMG shares, analysts wrote in an investor note on Tuesday.

Spotify finished the week up 3.7% to $643.73 despite its shares dropping 3.4% on Tuesday after the company’s first-quarter earnings report included guidance on second-quarter subscription additions that seemed to underwhelm investors. Gross margin of 31.6% beat Spotify’s 31.5% guidance. Loop Capital raised Spotify to $550 from $435, while Barclays lowered it to $650 from $710. UBS maintained its $680 price target and “buy” rating. Guggenheim maintained its “buy” rating and $675 price target. 

Live Nation, which reported first quarter earnings on Thursday (May 1) and predicted a “historic” 2025, gained 2.3% on Friday and finished the week up 0.7%. A slew of analysts updated their price targets on Friday. Two were upward revisions: Jefferies (from $150 to $160) and Wolfe Research (from $158 to $160). Two were downward revisions: Rosenblatt (from $174 to $170) and JP Morgan (from $165 to $170). 

Nearly all streaming stocks posted gains. LiveOne was the week’s top performer, jumping 18.0% to $0.72. Chinese music streaming companies Cloud Music and Tencent Music Entertainment gained 11.6% and 7.1%, respectively. French music streamer Deezer gained 1.4% to 1.44 euros ($1.63) after the company’s first-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Abu Dhabi-based Anghami fell 3.1% to $0.62.  

Cumulus Media fell 33.% to $0.14. Most of the decline came on Friday as the stock ceased trading on the Nasdaq and began trading over the counter. 

Mase is considering making an appearance at Diddy‘s upcoming trial.

The former Bad Boy artist opened a recent episode of his sports talk show It Is What It Is by asking viewers to vote on whether he should pull up or not. “I wanna put it out to the fans,” he said. “I’ll let the fans vote on it — unless you wanna vote on it, Killa. They’re asking me to come to the Diddy trial, You think I should go this week?”

His co-host Cam’ron then sarcastically answered, “It’s up to you, I don’t know your relationship. What is y’all relationship?” Mase then revealed that he had some folks reach out to him to see whether he was going and that he was actually being serious about his question. “Nah, just a few people reached out to me to ask me was I going. I was trying to figure out a way I could go at least a day,” he said to Cam, who then asked why Mase didn’t go to the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards where Diddy received the Global Icon Award.

“Why you ain’t go to the MTV lifetime achievement award when he won that?” Cam asked as everybody in the studio burst into laughter. “Because I see his son performing all y’all’s parts on the song. Why you didn’t go to that?”

Mase then asked Cam why he just couldn’t answer the question. “What’s the question? If I’m going? I’ll go with you if you’re going. Yeah, I’mma go with you,” he answered. “Just me randomly going? Nah, I ain’t going by myself.”

The topic then went back to the MTV VMAs after their co-host Treasure “Stat Baby” Wilson said it was a funny question. “How do you feel about that? Now that I think about when somebody else wear they hat to the back, dress like you, and start spinning around on stage,” Killa asked, to which Murda answered, “I think it’s flattering. I think it’s a good thing.”

Diddy’s trial is set to begin on Monday, May 5.

You can check out the full episode below.

Australian music festival Spilt Milk has returned from a fallow year with what is shaping up to be one of the country’s biggest touring events in 2025.

Confirming its 2025 lineup on Friday (May 2), the Spilt Milk festival has announced that the four-date affair will be headlined by Kendrick Lamar and Doechii, with Sara Landry, Dominic Fike, and Schoolboy Q rounding out the topline. While Lamar’s appearance will be his first Australian visit since 2022, and the other headliners have previously performed on Australian soil, Doechii will make her debut visit to the country as part of the festival.

D4vd, Nessa Barrett, and Sombr also join Australian producer Skin on Skin as second-tier additions, while international names such as Rebeca Black and Chance Peña join local acts The Dreggs, The Rions, Ninajirachi, and more.

Lamar’s high-profile addition to the festival is something of a coup for the event, which first launched in 2016 as a one-day affair in the country’s capital, Canberra.

After three years of events, the festival expanded to the Gold Coast and regional Victorian city Ballarat in 2019, with the likes of CHVRCHES, Khalid, and Juice WRLD appearing on the lineup. The Ballarat edition of Spilt Milk would also serve as Juice WRLD’s final performance before his passing just one week later.

The festival returned from a COVID-induced hiatus in 2022, though announced they would be taking another year off in 2024. “Sorry pookies, we couldn’t get you the Spilt Milk you deserve this year,” event organizers wrote in July. “Sooo imma dip for a bit and come back when I can make all ur dreams come true.”

At the time, concerns were raised for the future of Spilt Milk given the cancellation of other high-profile festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, though organizers confirmed on May 1 that it would return in December 2025. The four-date affair will take place across Ballarat, Perth, Canberra, and the Gold Coast between December 6-14.

Seems like Mary J. Blige has given Travis Scott‘s new snippet from Jackboys 2 — which mentions her — her stamp of approval.

In the two-and-a-half-minute, Harmony Korine-directed trailer that Scott posted on his socials Wednesday night, he raps, “I blige bumping Mary.”

“I see what he did there,” the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul wrote on X with laughing and smiling emojis.

Scott has been steadily teasing the Jackboys 2 compilation project over the last month, hinting that he could drop it on his 34th birthday on Wednesday (which didn’t happen). The Cactus Jack boss linked up with his signee Sheck Wes on “ILMB” last month, but it hasn’t been confirmed if the single will appear on the upcoming album. He also previewed a pair of unreleased songs during his headlining Coachella set (Goldenvoice was fined $20,000 by the City of Indio because he went three minutes past the 1 a.m. curfew).

Scott updated his online store with a digital Jackboys 2 pre-order, CDs with alternative covers, vinyl and various box sets.

The first Jackboys compilation album was released in December 2019, featuring the label’s stars Wes and Don Toliver as well as collaborations with Rosalía and Lil Baby on the remix of his Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Highest in the Room,” Quavo and Offset on “Had Enough,” Young Thug on “Out West,” and the late Pop Smoke on “Gatti.” Jackboys debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 at the top of 2020 and also topped Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Benson Boone broke out his signature backflip on Thursday (May 1) to promote his upcoming appearance on Saturday Night Live.

When the first SNL promo opens, the pop sensation is nowhere to be found, missing his cue after host Quinta Brunson excitedly introduces him as the episode’s musical guest. “Huh, he was supposed to flip into frame,” SNL standout Sarah Sherman points out, leading Brunson to worry, “Yeah, I hope he’s OK.”

Only after the two women start calling out Boone’s name does the “Beautiful Things” singer tumble onto the screen — backflipping into Studio 8H as Brunson and Sherman let out screams of surprise. (“Hi ladies! Gotcha!” he adds with a grin.)

In a second promo, Brunson keeps a giddy Boone from doing another flip, amusingly muttering, “He be flippin’,” under her breath in the process.

The 2025 best new artist Grammy nominee isn’t the only person launching himself head over heels in the video, either. In the final segment, Sherman volunteers to be the one to try out the gymnastics move with an unworried “I’ll figure it out!” Naturally, this leads to disaster with the comedian sprawled out on the studio floor and unable to move, her limbs contorted in unnatural angles as an on-set medic attends to her (fake) injuries.

Boone’s debut appearance on the long-running sketch series is sure to continue building excitement for his highly anticipated sophomore album, American Heart, which will be released June 20 and feature previously released singles “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else” and “Mystical Magical.”

The 22-year-old heartthrob’s sure-to-be aerial performance on the stage of Studio 8H also follows his rollicking sets at Coachella last month, which included plenty of backflips and a surprise appearance on weekend 1 of Queen guitarist Brian May for a cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Watch Boone flip out over his upcoming Saturday Night Live gig below.