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.

10 Trends That Will Reshape the Music Industry

Mark Mulligan

3 Apr 2019

23 capital albums Amuse

The IFPI has reported that global recorded music revenues have hit $19.1 billion, which means that MIDiA’sownestimatespublished in Marchwere within 1.6% of the actual results . This revenue growth story is strong and sustained but the market itself is undergoing dramatic change.

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E-sports
An Alternative Future for Televised Sports?

Alistair Taylor, Karol Severin, Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan and Zach Fuller

1 Apr 2019

YouTube Amazon Google

E-sports continue to gain attention, with more brands seeking to enter the space populated as it is by a succession of new leagues, competitions and teams. But for all the hype, e-sports has not yet managed to deliver the scale of audience that the market activity warrants.

Apple’s Subscription Pivot

Mark Mulligan

28 Mar 2019

On Tuesday Apple announced its arrival on the world stage as a media company, using the lion’s share of its product keynote as the platform for a succession of super star actors, directors and other personalities to tell the story of their respective Apple original TV shows.

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How YouTube’s 1bn+ Club is Changing the Face of Global Music Culture

Mark Mulligan

26 Mar 2019

Latin America latin music latin music videos

Throughout 2018, while locked in a bitter war of words with rightsholders and creators over Article 13, YouTube quietly but dramatically expanded its role as the most powerful platform for creating global superstars.

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Why Facebook Can Be the Future of Social Music, But Isn’t Yet

Mark Mulligan

21 Mar 2019

Facebook Facebook messenger facebook music

Facebook recently secured licensing deals with music rightsholders in India , an important step in what has thus far been an underwhelming social music strategy since first inking rights deals in June 2018.

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MIDIA RESEARCH 2018–2026 STREAMING MUSIC FORECASTS

Mark Mulligan

19 Mar 2019

global music forecasts midia music forecasts music forecasts

MIDiA has just published its global music forecasts, with revenue and user numbers projected out to 2026 (a list of data items and countries covered are listed at the bottom of this post). 2017 was the last year of strong streaming revenue growth.

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Calling all Artists!

Mark Mulligan

14 Mar 2019

Amuse artist income Artist survey

In partnership with independent distribution company Amuse, MIDiA Research is undertaking a detailed study of the music artist landscape. We are fielding a survey to the artist community , exploring issues such as: What success looks like to you Career aspirations The importance of signing to a reco...

2018 Global Label Market Share: Stream Engine

Mark Mulligan

13 Mar 2019

Artists direct DIY DIY artists

Recorded music revenues grew in 2018 for the fourth consecutive year, reaching $18.8 billion, up $2.2 billion from 2017. Streaming was the engine room of growth, up 30% year on year to reach $9.6 billion.

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Here’s How Spotify Can Fix Its Songwriter Woes (Hint: It’s All About Pricing)

Mark Mulligan

11 Mar 2019

Copyright Royalty Board music publishers Netflix

Songwriter royalties have always been a pain point for streaming, especially in the US where statutory rates determine much of how songwriters get paid. The current debate over Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and Google challenging the Copyright Royalty Board’s proposed 44% increase illustrates jus...

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Recorded Music Market 2018
Stream Engine

Mark Mulligan

7 Mar 2019

music sales Streaming Streaming Music

For the fourth consecutive year, recorded music revenues grew again in 2018 with streaming revenue the engine room of growth. For the first time, streaming became the majority of label revenue and its growth continues to outpace the decline of legacy formats.

Kobalt is a Major Label Waiting to Happen

Mark Mulligan

6 Mar 2019

artist contracts Artists AWAL

Disclaimer: Kobalt is a label, a publisher, as well as a Performing Rights Organisation (PRO). This post focuses on its label business, but does not presume to overlook its other aspects. News has emerged of Kobalt potentially looking to raise an additional $100 million of investment , following a 2...

Why India Matters to Spotify, and Why it May Not Deliver

Mark Mulligan

28 Feb 2019

emerging markets India india streaming

Warner Music and Spotify have been involved in a rather unseemly and very public spat this week over Spotify’s India launch . I’ll leave for someone else, the discussions of the potential implications of a blanket license for songwriter rights in India for an on-demand streaming service.

MIDiA Research Predictions 2018: Post-Peak Economics

Mark Mulligan

26 Feb 2019

In this report MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, media in 2018. Key Predictions Competition for time and attention will define the coming years for digital content; growth will come often at the expense of...

What the 2018 Success of the Beatles for UMG Tells Us About Where Streaming is Heading

Mark Mulligan

21 Feb 2019

Universal Music Group recorded an impressive €6 billion in revenue in 2018, bolstering a JP Morgan valuation of $50 billion . No doubt, UMG is enjoying a purple patch, riding and driving the wave of recorded music industry growth.

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Spotify Q4 2018: Solid Growth With a Hint of Profitability But Longer Term Questions

Mark Mulligan

14 Feb 2019

Spotify Spotify earnings Spotify financials

Spotify finished 2018 strongly, over performing in both subscriber and ad supported MAU additions. This was accompanied by Spotify’s first ever profitable quarter and two major podcast acquisitions early in 2019 hinting at a positive year ahead.

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Spotify Q4 2018 Earnings
Strong Subscriber Growth With a Hint of Profitability but Long-Term ARPU Deflation

Mark Mulligan

12 Feb 2019

Subscriptions Streaming Streaming Music

Spotify finished 2018 strongly, over performing in both subscriber and ad-supported MAU additions. This was accompanied by Spotify’s first ever profitable quarter and two major podcast acquisitions early in 2019, hinting at a positive year ahead. However, at the same time, premium ARPU continues a long-term decline.

Podcasts: a Netflix Moment for Radio But Perhaps not the Future of Spotify

Mark Mulligan

6 Feb 2019

Anchor Gimlet Podcasts

Wednesday was a busy day for Spotify: it reported above-expected subscriber growth, hitting 96 million paid subscribers, strong total user growth reaching207 million MAUs , improved margins and its first ever profitable quarter, registering an operating profit of €94 million.

Why First is Far Less Important Than Best

Mark Mulligan

4 Feb 2019

Epic Games Fortnite fortnite live stream

Following Marshmello’s ‘live’ performance in Fortnite which was seen by 10 million simultaneous gamers, there has been the inevitable chorus of ‘but 2 nd life did this more than a decade ago’.

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Marshmello Just Live Streamed on Fortnite…So Just What is a Concert?

Mark Mulligan

2 Feb 2019

Epic Games Fortnite fortnite live stream

On Saturday I watched my 12 year old son scoff down his meal so that he could rush upstairs to get logged on with his friends in time for a Marshmello live streamed event on Fortnite. As you can see from the video this was Marshmello appearing as a Fortnite character, on stage with his music playing.

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MIDiA Research Music Forecasts 2018–2026

Mark Mulligan

1 Feb 2019

Business Strategy

This report presents the key figures, trends and drivers of MIDiA’s music forecast model. The figures presented in this report are retail values and in billions of US dollars unless otherwise stated. Retail values refer to total revenues generated, including retailer margin, music publishing royalties and sales tax.

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