Key takeaways from this blog: Only 15% of Rocket League players list EDM as a top genre, per MIDiA data, despite its dominance in the game Players are twice as likely than average to prefer EDM, often due to in-game exposure (per MIDiA interviews) Psyonix should diversify its soundtrack, as explored in MIDiA’s ‘Pixels to Playlists’ report, to boost engagement and match broader player tastes Anybody who has played Psyonix’s Rocket League knows that the game is almost synonymous with electronic music.

Record label streaming revenue growth slowed to 6% in 2024 but there was no such slowdown in subscriber growth. In our just published ‘ Music subscriber market shares Q4 2024 ’ report, we reveal that the 85 million net* new subscribers added in 2024 was only two million less than in 2023, resulting in 818 million subscribers and growth of 12% i.

Last year, MIDiA’s inaugural songwriter survey uncovered an alarming statistic: 67% of songwriters name “lack of meaningful streaming income” as their biggest challenge. More alarming yet is the fact that this remained the most common challenge for songwriters in our survey across income levels and tenure, even as other challenges – such as breaking through the noise – diminished.

Key insights from this blog: As YouTube has skyrocketed in popularity, it has become an unexpected challenge for the UK's public service broadcasters These broadcasters are also facing challenges from streaming services, which can afford bigger budget productions and big-name talent MIDiA explores how public service broadcasters can avoid pitfalls and survive in an evolving television landscape The BBC, Channel 4, and ITV have made some great strides adapting to a world where YouTube is becoming front and centre of TV viewing.

The entertainment industry is at a pivot point. For decades success relied on spotting emerging trends and amplifying them. This reactive model worked when cultural movements developed slowly through physical spaces and regional scenes.

This blog was created with collaborative inputs from Ben Woods, Mark Mulligan , Tatiana Cirisano , and Kriss Thakrar . It is hard to think about generative AI without coming back to copyright. There is a pressing need to find IP safeguards before even more copyrighted content is used to train AI models.

Key insights from this blog: MIDiA's research shows that a significant portion of gamers consider couch co-op a favourite genre. The runaway success of Split Fiction supports these findings Producing more couch co-op games would cater to gamer segments that MIDiA has identified as being underserved, including women and older gamers As growth across gaming slows, couch co-op games are a key opportunity the industry needs to seize Split Fiction , the co-op-only adventure game from Hazelight Studios, has sold over 2 million copies in one week, generating revenues of over $100 million.

Key insights from this blog: The music industry is missing a key step when it comes to supporting and growing artists As the landscape of the industry has changed, most notably a loss of a mainstream monoculture, the traditional ways of discovery and promotion no longer work for new and smaller artists To combat this, the music industry must change its ways – including shifting towards a scenes-based strategy put forward by MIDiA “Super premium” streaming tiers, special-edition vinyl, and direct-to-fan revenue streams all have one thing in common – and no, it is not just that they are about monetising fandom.

Key insights from this blog: Online radio has a growing audience, with further opportunity to capitalise on what is missing from music streaming We explore why online radio is gaining popularity – covering the elements of loyalty, dynamism, and humanity – and explain how this connects to MIDiA's theory of bifurcation across entertainment In an era defined by the proliferation of algorithmic playlists and on-demand streaming, online music radio has quietly carved itself a future-proofed space in the audio ecosystem.

On the heels of Spotify’s embrace of AI-generated audiobooks through their partnership with ElevenLabs, the streaming giant is looking to further democratise and monetise audiobooks. On March 13, Spotify’s For the Record blog announced a new publishing program aimed at independent authors publishing “short-form stories”.

Key insights from this blog: Instagram's direct messaging features have become a core component of the platform; MIDiA data highlights that the majority of social media users log in to the platform to keep up to date with friends As Instagram's Feeds – and subsequently its Stories feature – have become cluttered with noise that distracts from its original purpose, DMs have become a safe haven for users MIDiA raises the question: will extending ads into DMs result in a significant drop in users? Instagram has recently announced a slew of features and updates to the direct messaging area of its app, from AI chatbots to colourful themes to broadcast channels, and other ways that make it easier for creators (and, of course, brands) to reach their audiences.

The music industry is approaching a pivot point. On the one hand, things look positive: we have UMG’s Streaming 2.0 , artist centric licensing, the impending launch of supremium and expanded rights revenue hitting $4.

Key insights from this blog: MIDiA's latest audio report, ' The audio creator opportunity ' , argues that brands and platforms can no longer afford to neglect audio creators Audio creators are a fast-growing force in the creator economy, driving demand for better tools and marketing They are more likely to run their work as a business and invest heavily in creator tools, presenting a clear opportunity for tailored solutions With most tools designed for video and music, companies that develop end-to-end platforms for audio creation can unlock a valuable market and empower this expanding community The creator economy is evolving rapidly, and while TikTok influencers and YouTubers often steal the spotlight, there is a fast-growing creator segment that brands and platforms can no longer ignore: audio creators.

Key insights from this blog: The second installment of MIDiA's "DNA of a hit" blog series looks at how the hits on Billboard's Top 10 chart have changed in the last five years Key MIDiA data highlights the struggles for songwriters and the importance of YouTube for music consumption We predict that the charts in 2030 will reflect the increasing fragmentation of consumer behaviour Almost five years ago, MIDiA published “How the DNA of a hit has changed over 20 years” , examining structural differences between the Billboard Top 10 tracks of July 2000 and July 2020.

MIDiA has just released its annual recorded music market shares report. Clients can access the full report and the accompanying massive (!) data set here . For the rest of you, here are some highlights from the report.

Key insights from this blog: There is ample opportunity for the games industry to leverage music to its advantage Key MIDiA data highlights that real-world live concerts using game music AND artists recording original music specifically for games are two underutilised strategies The music industry is not leveraging games as well as it could, but there is some low-hanging fruit – backed up by case studies – that should change that.

Key insights from this blog: This International Women's Day, celebrations of women's accomplishments were overshadowed by industry developments and political decisions Women are consumers too – it is in businesses' best interest to give women access to the rooms where the decisions about events, products, and advertising aimed at them are made MIDiA's findings from the landmark ' BE THE CHANGE ' report further highlight the issues for women in music (that urgently need to be addressed by the industry) This weekend saw the celebration of International Women’s Day.

TV shows, movies, and social creator content are lane hopping in search of engagement. It is common practice now for SVOD services to distribute one or several episodes for free on YouTube and TikTok in the hope of transforming social video viewers into SVOD subscribers.