Blog

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

Indie labels are trading quantity for quality as they let go of the “volume game”: MIDiA’s latest label survey

Olivia Jones

22 Jan 2026

Business Strategy Music Artists

In MIDiA’s third annual independent label and distributor survey, “less is more” is the name of the game. Drawing from a survey of 144 labels and distributors that self-identify as independent, MIDiA’s latest report explores how the indie sphere is adapting to the rapidly-changing industry l...

4 min read

Cover image for Indie labels are trading quantity for quality as they let go of the “volume game”: MIDiA’s latest label survey

TikTok’s PineDrama points to social media’s anti-social trajectory

Hanna Kahlert

20 Jan 2026

Business Strategy TikTok Video

The surge of short-form drama apps has a new entry in the US and Brazil: TikTok. The social video app, which has overturned the digital entertainment economy over the past five years, has now launched a standalone app called PineDrama.

3 min read

Cover image for TikTok’s PineDrama points to social media’s anti-social trajectory

Is 2026 the year a western country finally bans a major social platform?

Hanna Kahlert

14 Jan 2026

Business Strategy Social media platforms

Real change on social media has been incremental, with regulation far behind the innovation speed of companies themselves. However, it seems the current is shifting. In December 2025, Australia made the move to ban social media for under-16s.

4 min read

Cover image for Is 2026 the year a western country finally bans a major social platform?

Sounds of 2026 | MIDiA and Splice name Afro house as the sound of the year

Adham Nazir

13 Jan 2026

Cultural trends Music Splice

MIDiA and Splice have teamed up once again to deliver a fresh round of insights and predictions for music in the coming year. In the Sounds of 2026 report we dive deep into the trends behind the music producers are creating, using the data of today to identify the sounds of tomorrow.

3 min read

Cover image for Sounds of 2026 | MIDiA and Splice name Afro house as the sound of the year

Why predictions matter – and MIDiA’s take on 2026

Tatiana Cirisano

8 Jan 2026

Business Strategy predictions midia predictions

It’s never been easy to predict the future. It seems to have become even harder in the last few years. As technologies evolve faster than ever, so too does the consumer behaviour surrounding them – the most salient example, of course, being AI.

4 min read

Cover image for Why predictions matter – and MIDiA’s take on 2026

K-pop’s global bifurcation: A genre at a crossroads

Olivia Jones

22 Dec 2025

Business Strategy Fandom Music

Billboard recently released two new weekly charts tracking Korean music – Billboard Korea Hot 100 and Billboard Korea Global K-Songs . While the Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming and sales numbers within South Korea, the Global K-Songs chart focuses on global popularity, ranking the top songs...

5 min read

Cover image for K-pop’s global bifurcation: A genre at a crossroads

A year of change behind us, a new epoch ahead: Predicting 2026

Hanna Kahlert

16 Dec 2025

Business Strategy Social Digital

2025 is drawing to a close. Looking back through the year’s updates and events, it’s been a busy one. The major highlights: entertainment’s relationship with AI has changed dramatically, and there were a number of major mergers and acquisitions, including Netflix purchasing Warner Bros.

2 min read

Cover image for A year of change behind us, a new epoch ahead: Predicting 2026

Overanalysing our 2025 Spotify Wrapped: what MIDiA’s stats say about the industry

Tatiana Cirisano

11 Dec 2025

Fandom Spotify Streaming

Nothing signifies the holiday season like snowy days, Christmas jingles – and for many of us, Spotify Wrapped. The streaming platform’s annual listenership stats are back, and so is MIDiA’s tradition of over-analysing them.

5 min read

Cover image for Overanalysing our 2025 Spotify Wrapped: what MIDiA’s stats say about the industry

The re-evolution of email chains: Why social thrives on simplicity

Hanna Kahlert

11 Dec 2025

Cultural trends Social platforms

The year is 2003. Your Yahoo inbox jingles at you with a new message, subject “FW:FW:FW: Send this to 10 people or bad luck for 7 years”. A random classmate has CC’d you along with everyone else they have in their address book.

3 min read

Cover image for The re-evolution of email chains: Why social thrives on simplicity

Why audience ownership is the driving force behind creator IP expansions

Ben Woods

10 Dec 2025

Business Strategy Video Creators

Distribution is the tie that binds all creators together. Most successful creators use social media platforms as a springboard for turning their creative idea into a career. Social platforms have enabled creators to forge deep connections with audiences, while mastering the nuances of algorithmic di...

4 min read

Cover image for Why audience ownership is the driving force behind creator IP expansions

Peter Doig’s ‘House of Music’ and the importance of audio as a shared experience

Laura Fisher

9 Dec 2025

Music Audio Community

The Sound Service at Peter Doig’s House of Music exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery has been open since early October. While the exhibition itself explores themes of music and collective gathering, it is this live element that fully activates its central premise.

3 min read

Cover image for Peter Doig’s ‘House of Music’ and the importance of audio as a shared experience

NewJeans never die: What the year-long scandal means for K-pop’s global expansion

Olivia Jones

4 Dec 2025

Business Strategy Music Artists

The biggest scandal in modern K-pop turned one year old last Friday – and may have officially reached a resolution. To recap: on November 28, 2024, K-pop girl group NewJeans announced they were terminating their exclusive contract with ADOR, citing a breach of trust and failure to meet requests fo...

4 min read

Cover image for NewJeans never die: What the year-long scandal means for K-pop’s global expansion

The AI-social media dilemma: Can TikTok, Meta, and diVine curb low-quality content without hurting creators?

Ben Woods

3 Dec 2025

Business Strategy Facebook TikTok

Social platforms are grappling with a difficult balancing act. Generative AI can deliver a revolutionary engagement opportunity by turning even more consumers into creators. However, low-quality AI content also poses a threat to the user experience of social platforms.

4 min read

Cover image for The AI-social media dilemma: Can TikTok, Meta, and diVine curb low-quality content without hurting creators?

ARC Raiders is disrupting the games industry: What developers can learn from its success

Brandon Sutton

27 Nov 2025

Business Strategy Social Gaming

ARC Raiders has quickly become one of 2025’s standout releases. Developed by Embark Studios, founded by former EA-owned studio DICE leaders, the game has quickly exceeded commercial and critical expectations for smaller developers.

4 min read

Cover image for ARC Raiders is disrupting the games industry: What developers can learn from its success

Valve announces new Steam Hardware: What the launch means for gaming

Brandon Sutton

21 Nov 2025

Business Strategy Gaming Games

In true Valve fashion, the company unveiled a surprise suite of new devices aimed at consumers last week – consisting of a PC-console hybrid, a new virtual reality headset, and a controller (via Valve ).

3 min read

Cover image for Valve announces new Steam Hardware: What the launch means for gaming

The future of record labels: Shifting sands

Tatiana Cirisano

20 Nov 2025

Business Strategy Music streaming Music

The question of whether artists still need record labels never seems to fade from industry discussion. It has invariably surfaced in conference panels, think pieces, and behind-closed-doors conversations for years.

5 min read

Cover image for The future of record labels: Shifting sands

Why ignoring creator wellbeing is a financial risk for the creator economy

Ben Woods

20 Nov 2025

Audience Insight Video Creators

Each day, millions of hours of video content are uploaded onto social video platforms. The stream of creative output is so vast that it can be easy to forget that behind each one of these videos there is often a creator putting in a significant amount of work.

3 min read

Cover image for Why ignoring creator wellbeing is a financial risk for the creator economy

(di)Vine is back: Is there space for another short-form video app?

Hanna Kahlert

19 Nov 2025

Business Strategy Video Creators

Long before we had TikTok, Reels, or Shorts, we had Vine. An app arguably well before its time, the original short-form platform for 6-second video clips was a huge moment for millennial culture. Compilations of archived content still rack up millions of views on YouTube, indicating its longevity, p...

5 min read

Cover image for (di)Vine is back: Is there space for another short-form video app?

The audio drama renaissance: The curious case of Sherlock & Co.

Laura Fisher

14 Nov 2025

Product Strategy Podcasts Entertainment

The audio drama, a format once consigned to history, is enjoying a remarkable revival. At its epicentre is a compelling case study in modern audience engagement: Goalhanger’s Sherlock & Co . a narrative podcast now approaching one million monthly downloads.

6 min read

Cover image for The audio drama renaissance: The curious case of Sherlock & Co.

Amazon winding down New World may signal the end of Western-developed MMORPGs

Brandon Sutton

13 Nov 2025

Business Strategy Amazon Gaming

Amazon’s announcement that it will wind down support for its flagship title, New World , raises major questions about the future of Western-developed Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) and about Amazon’s own role in the gaming industry (via Amazon Game Studios ).

4 min read

Cover image for Amazon winding down New World may signal the end of Western-developed MMORPGs

© 2026 MIDiA Research Ltd. All Rights Reserved.