Mark Mulligan

Artists are Learning How it Feels to be a Songwriter

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

8 Jun 2020

The ‘broken record’ streaming debate that continues to rage on is a natural consequence of the instantaneous collapse of live music revenue following lockdown. As soon as it was clear that live was…

The Global Music Industry Will Decline in 2020

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

3 Jun 2020

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but the global music industry will decline in 2020. Although we are now nearing the post-lockdown era in many countries across the globe, we are only just at the start…

Spotify Q1 2020 Earnings
First Signs of Pre-Recession Weakness

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Report by Mark Mulligan

29 May 2020

2020 was a solid quarter for Spotify but showed early signs of COVID-19 impact across premium and especially ad supported. With a global recession looming, these may be the first signs of vulnerability…

Recovery Economics | Bounce Forward not Back

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

28 May 2020

COVID-19 social distancing measures caused unprecedented dislocation to the entertainment economy. With a recession now a question of ‘how bad’ rather than ‘if’, entertainment companies have to…

The Music Industry’s Next Five Growth Drivers

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

22 May 2020

The risk with trying to imagine what the future might look like is to simply think it is going to be a brighter, shinier version of today. At this precise moment in time, this has perhaps never been truer. …

Recovery Economics
Post-Lockdown Innovation

Report by Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor and Keith Jopling

20 May 2020

COVID-19 social distancing measures caused unprecedented dislocation to the entertainment economy. With a recession now a question of ‘how bad’ rather than ‘if’, entertainment companies have to…

The Future of Live

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

20 May 2020

The almost total cessation of live music has sent shockwaves throughout the wider music industry. Though live companies are clearly at the epicentre, labels and streaming services are the in the blast…

Radio is Switched On Again
Strategies for 2020 and Beyond

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Report by Keith Jopling and Mark Mulligan

15 May 2020

Just what is radio? Radio is branded and produced show content known best in the form of live (or pre-recorded) broadcast. However, the definition of ‘radio’ is shifting away from the broadcast format…

Artists – Have Your Voice Heard

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

12 May 2020

MIDiA is fielding its third biannual Artist Survey. Our two surveys last year were very successful and got hundreds of artist responses. MIDiA’s artist surveys takes the pulse of the artist community…

Recovery Economics
Music, Games, Live Streams and the Future of Concerts

Report by Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin and Keith Jopling

11 May 2020

In April 2020 Travis Scott’s Fortnite event pulled in 27 million players. While this was happening, the global artist community was scrambling to plug the income and engagement gap caused by COVID-19’s…

What is the value of exposure when exposure is all there is?

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

6 May 2020

There is an existential debate going on at the moment, around whether streaming is paying artists enough. It may feel like a rerun of old debates but it is catalysed by COVID-19 decimating artist income.…

The IFPI Confirms 2019 was the Independents' Year for Streaming

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

4 May 2020

UPDATE: this post has been updated to correct an erroneous data point. Previously it stated that independent market share was 41%. It has been corrected to 29% Recently I wrote about how a little-known…

Travis Scott has Only Scratched the Surface of Music Games Tie Ups

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

1 May 2020

In February 2019 Marshmello caused ripples of almost tidal proportions across the music business when 10.7 million Fortnite fans watched him perform a ‘concert’ in the game. Then in April 2020 …

Spotify Q1 2020: Choppy Waters Ahead

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

29 Apr 2020

Spotify’s first quarter earnings were a mixed bag, with a largely positive picture for Q1 but some warning signs for the remainder of the year: Subscribers: Spotify’s Q1 earnings may not have…

India Music Consumer Behaviour
Fragmentation and Disruption

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Report by Mark Mulligan and Srishti Das

28 Apr 2020

This report presents key trends and analysis from MIDiA’s Q1 2019 India Consumer Survey, including streaming music activities, radio, streaming app users, factors driving streaming adoption and…

Independents Grew Fastest on Spotify in 2019, But There’s a Twist

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

28 Apr 2020

Tomorrow (Wednesday 29 th April) Spotify announces its Q1 2020 results, at which point we will find out whether it had a COVID-bounce like Netflix did ( adding 15.8 million subscribers in Q1 ) or whether…

COVID-19
Impact on Entertainment Demand and Behaviours

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

24 Apr 2020

Free Report

COVID-19 is having a clear and direct impact on the entertainment and media industries, driven by investor uncertainty – resulting in plummeting share prices – and restrictions on movement of people…

Lockdown Listening and the Independent Artist

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

24 Apr 2020

After an initial lockdown lull, streaming levels are – on the surface – beginning to normalise. Underlying the macro-level normalisation, ‘lockdown listening’ is in fact resulting in dramatic shifts…

Streaming Services Are Going to Have to Change Their MO

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

17 Apr 2020

New music is the fuel in the streaming engine, creating a virtuous circle of increased label and artist output to meet DSP-stimulated user demand. Now though, with COVID-19 disrupting the production of…

Tech Major Market Shares 2019
Amazon Powers Ahead

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Report by Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin and Alistair Taylor

9 Apr 2020

The tech majors are power players in the global digital content marketplace through a combination of their own content services, ad monetisation and control of audiences via devices, search and social.…