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.

Staggered vaccine rollouts will prime entertainment for (further, faster) innovation

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Hanna Kahlert
The ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ of COVID-19 is theoretically drawing closer. Yet, as we blogged about last week , staggered vaccine rollouts mean that the ‘new normal’ will begin for some consumers sooner than others – painting a year-ahead picture of a global marketplace as different and difficult to predict as from this time last year.
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The first virtual Oscars makes the Academy Awards look a lot like the real world

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Tim Mulligan
Yesterday saw the 93rdAcademy Awards take place. Better known to the movie-consuming public as the Oscars, the 2021 ceremony was ground breaking in a number of crucial ways. Despite being held (as ever) in LA, the twin venues of Union Station and Dolby Theatre were the COVID-complaint hubs of the first ever virtual Academy Awards ceremony, making the prestigious Oscars join the long list of live events which are now performed primarily in the digital ether.
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Why is D2C okay for HBO, but not Manchester United?

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Tim Mulligan
A decade-long threat from Europe’s wealthiest football clubs to break away and form a league of its own has finally become a reality with the announcement of the formation of the Super League.AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as founding clubs, with a further three expected to join prior to the start of the inaugural season commencing in August.
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MUSIC & GAMING: A NEW WAY TO PLAY

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Dara Jegede
MUSIC & GAMING: A NEW WAY TO PLAY New report explores how music companies and creators should rethink building and monetising fandom LONDON—Tuesday, April 13, 2021: MIDiA Research, in partnership with Twitch, release a report, Music & Gaming: A new way to play , examining the growing opportunity for music artists to leverage the games industry’s fan economy to develop their careers, connect with their audiences and monetise their craft.
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Gamers: The new frontier of music’s fan-centric growth

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Karol Severin
Music companies have begun to realise that as their industry has grown, it has also transferred much of its previous fan value into the subscription and song economy. The outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent halt of live music events (which, since the advent of streaming, became music’s key way of monetising fandom) increased the urgency with which monetising fandom in the digital era needs to be addressed by artists and their representatives.
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Lockdown & Dragons: Fantasy proves the fandom effect

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Hanna Kahlert
With vaccine rollouts gaining momentum, the post-COVID attention crunch is looming large for the digital entertainment propositions which have all experienced booms over lockdown. The competition is on – making it more essential than ever to understand the trends behind shifting consumer behaviour and sentiment drivers, as ‘in real life’ (IRL) activities return and budget crunches force audiences to make new spending choices.
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