Mark Mulligan

Mark Mulligan is a music analyst and the founder at MIDiA Research. He is a long-term tech analyst and a leading digital thinker with more than 20 years of experience, working with leading global music, entertainment, and tech companies. At MIDiA, Mark focuses on the streaming and creator economies, as well as music business trends and market metrics such as forecasts and market shares.

YouTube at two billion: Still much more music opportunity to be had

Mark Mulligan

17 Nov 2020

Music

YouTube just announced its milestone of reaching two billion music users on the platform . YouTube has long been the largest music service on the planet, and it has just extended that lead. In 2019, its official total user number was two billion.

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BandLab
BandLab taps the growing demand for creator communities

Mark Mulligan

15 Nov 2020

Music BandLab online publishing

Founded in 2014, Singapore-headquartered BandLab has built a multi-facetedmusic business, with divisions focused on manufacture of guitars, retail stores,media, and an online artist platform. With significant financial backing, BandLab has made some high-profile acquisitions, including taking a large shareholding in RollingStone (now divested), as ...

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Creator Tools
The Music Industry’s New Top of Funnel

Mark Mulligan

13 Nov 2020

Creators Apple Apple

Music production has traditionally been, at best, an adjacent industry to the recording business, and at worst simply a cost centre. That is now all changing. COVID-19’s disruption catalysed the already-rapid shift towards affordable production tools and the rise of a new generation of online platforms that are reimagining music production as SAA...

Are rights holders missing the point with Twitch?

Mark Mulligan

13 Nov 2020

Twitch has apologised to its users for the growing volume of rights holder takedown notices for music used in Twitch videos . Twitch is in an awkward transitionary phase with music rights holders, not dissimilar to where YouTube was when it was acquired by Google.

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Post-Pandemic Programming Webinar Presentation

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor, Keith Jopling and Hanna Kahlert

11 Nov 2020

Free Report

Video Music Games

After a period of disruption to the global entertainment landscape, many businesses have found a way to adapt to the new normal, but the recession and prospect of further pandemic peaks have created an unprecedented outlook for entertainment companies.

Discovery Mode: Understanding how Spotify thinks

Mark Mulligan

4 Nov 2020

Spotify’s Discovery Mode announcement looked at the very best a poorly timed announcement, coming at a time when artists and songwriters are more concerned about their income than at any other since the music business returned to growth more than half a decade ago.

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We’re hiring!

Mark Mulligan

2 Nov 2020

MIDiA Research is hiring for a consultant to join our fast growing consulting division. Want to be a part of exciting strategic projects, helping some of the world’s biggest entertainment companies solve market shaping projects? Then send us your CV! More details on the role and how to apply here.

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State of the YouTube Music Economy 3.0
End of the Beginning

Mark Mulligan

30 Oct 2020

Spotify YouTube YouTube

This is the third bi-annual report of its kind, providing the most comprehensive view available of the YouTube music economy. It presents data for revenues, royalty payments, streams, subscribers, user behaviour and user demographics. We explore success factors, cultural trends, monetisation frameworks and contextualise music’s performance agains...

Spotify Q3 2020: What price growth?

Mark Mulligan

29 Oct 2020

Spotify reported another strong quarter in Q3 2020, with subscriber growth up 27% year-on-year (YoY) and ad-supported user growth up 21%. Spotify continues to set the pace for the global streaming market and has demonstrated that streaming has proven resilient to lockdown.

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Post-Pandemic Programming

Mark Mulligan

29 Oct 2020

COVID-19 caused dislocation and disruption to the global entertainment business. Now, the recession and the prospect of further pandemic peaks create an unprecedented outlook for entertainment companies.

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The Rising Power of UGC

Mark Mulligan and Keith Jopling

26 Oct 2020

user-generated content

About this report Audible Magic has commissioned MIDiA to produce a White Paper on the rising power of UGC and the untapped opportunity to monetise the growth in UGC consumer behaviours and new platforms. We will examine the growth of new platforms, use cases and ‘music and content put to purpose’.

How YouTube can be a music industry growth driver

Mark Mulligan

23 Oct 2020

In the coming weeks MIDiA will be presenting the third edition of its biannual YouTube music report, State of the YouTube Music Economy 3.0: End of the Beginning. This is a major report that presents the definitive traits of the YouTube music economy, including revenues, royalty payments, streams, s...

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Podcasts Q2 2020: Spotify takes an early lead

Mark Mulligan

20 Oct 2020

MIDiA has just published its latest Podcast report, P odcasts Q2 2020: Spotify Takes an Early Lead . In it we present data from MIDiA’s quarterly survey that presents a comprehensive view of podcast user behaviour, who podcast listeners are, how it stacks up against radio and music streaming liste...

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HomePod Mini: Apple’s pandemic-era product

Mark Mulligan

15 Oct 2020

Music

Apple’s Tuesday product announcement showcased its 5G iPhones, but also included the launch of the new $99 HomePod Mini. Though it might have looked like a supporting act for the launch, its strategic importance should not be underestimated – especially in the context of how Apple competes with ...

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Podcasts Q2 2020
Spotify Takes an Early Lead

Mark Mulligan

9 Oct 2020

US UK France

Podcasts have become the next battle front for audio. Spotify’s ambitious content and product strategy have enabled it to become an early leader, but the podcast market is still in its infancy, with adoption far lower than radio or streaming music. Podcasts have greater long-term market potential than music streaming but with many divergent objec...

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BBC Sounds
BBC Sounds sets a blueprint for broadcaster podcast strategy

Mark Mulligan

9 Oct 2020

Spotify Home audio Digital audiences

Sounds is the BBC’s successor audio app to iPlayer Radio, combining live radio, on-demand programmes, music, and podcasts. Although it faced some resistance to the app initially – predominately from older audiences fearful of change – Sounds has quickly become the best performing broadcaster audio app across the markets that MIDiA tracks.

Why Rishi Sunak is both wrong and right

Mark Mulligan

8 Oct 2020

Music

Earlier this week the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunaksuggested that creatives such as musicians who had seen income dry up during COVID-19 should consider retraining for the new ‘opportunities’ the lockdown economy is generating.

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Independent Artists
Pathfinding Through a Pandemic

Mark Mulligan and Keith Jopling

30 Sep 2020

Free Report

artist income Independent artists Music streaming

2019 was yet another stand-out year for independent artists, with revenues, streams and market shares all growing strongly. Then, along came COVID-19 and the world turned upside down. However, in lockdown many independent artists found new opportunities and the ability to innovate and create.

Independent artist creativity and innovation in the age of COVID-19

Mark Mulligan

30 Sep 2020

Music Independent artists indie artists

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the music industry upside down in many ways but among the direct artists community there have also been signs of resilience and creativity in the face of adversity. For these ‘unsigned’ artists, 2020 is both the best of times and the worst of times.

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So, how can artists and songwriters can get paid?

Mark Mulligan

25 Sep 2020

COVID-19’s decimation of the live music business coupled with the coming collapse in performance revenues due to closed shops, restaurants, bars and clubs mean that many (though not all) artists and songwriters are left with gaping holes in their incomes.

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