The music industry is gearing up for a potentially pivotal week. October 26th will see two significant votes take place that will impact the future of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, a UK-based music copyright investment company. Shareholders will vote on continuing the fund in its current form, as well as approval of a $440 million deal for another Hipgnosis fund to purchase part of their copyright portfolio.
Coinciding with this is Universal Music Group’s scheduled release of its third-quarter financial results for 2023. Of note, UMG plans to issue a €0.24 dividend per share to investors the very next day on October 27th.
These developments come as UMG’s stock price on the Amsterdam Euronext exchange has been steadily rising over the past year. In a recent trading session on October 10th, UMG shares reached €25.53 before closing at €25.35 – the highest daily close in over 12 months. This surpasses any price point in 2023 or 2022, representing nearly 50% growth from its €17.25 close exactly one year prior.
UMG’s current share price translates to a considerable market capitalization of €46.14 billion based on Euronext figures. Converted to US dollars, this equates to an enormous $48.97 billion valuation for the company. Remarkably, this is almost identical to UMG’s opening market cap following its IPO on the Euronext in September 2021.
Several financial analysts have issued bullish commentary on UMG’s rising fortunes. After their announcement of a new “artist-centric” royalty model partnership with streaming service Deezer, JP Morgan upped their UMG price target. Other firms like UBS, Barclays, and Guggenheim have reiterated “Buy” ratings while increasing or maintaining high target prices. Guggenheim specifically highlighted strategic opportunities presented by new deals with Deezer and anticipated agreements with TikTok. They project UMG’s Q3 recorded music subscription revenues increasing 13.3% year-over-year. All signs point to continued strength for the music industry leader.
