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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, audio and social.

Meta agrees to new user protections that will shape the course of the social marketplace

Hanna Kahlert

9 Sep 2026

Cultural trends YouTube TikTok

Meta has settled a landmark court case in the US over the negative impacts of social media on teens and adolescents. Without admitting culpability, the outcome is that they will owe an $18 billion agreed payment over 10 years, and develop and implement a host of new protective measures for younger u...

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The analogue revival: Why Gen Z consumers are going back to older tech

Hanna Kahlert

4 Sep 2026

Clients only

Audience Insight Cultural trends Gen Z

“Nostalgia” as a trend isn’t new. However, there is more to the popularity of analogue than simply a backwards-looking aesthetic preference. Convenience, habit, and quality of experience are major drivers of use.

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The cost of complexity in serving superfans

Kriss Thakrar

3 Sep 2026

Fandom Music Music fandom

With music consumption now widespread, affordable, and accessible, music fandom has become less about consuming and more about spending as a demonstration of superfandom. As a result, scarce experiences that were once widely affordable and generated high emotional return through community and identi...

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Why music's next discovery engine might be radio

Laura Fisher

2 Sep 2026

Streaming Radio Discovery

Music has spent the last decade optimising for infinite choice . Streaming libraries expanded without limit, shuffling became ever more personalised, and feeds manoeuvred themselves into narrower loops.

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The road to 2033: Streaming’s shifting balance of power

Tatiana Cirisano

27 Aug 2026

Clients only

Business Strategy Streaming Music streaming

This client-only series takes a deeper look at the key themes shaping MIDiA’s 2026–2033 global music forecasts report , and what they mean for the future of the music business. Global music streaming subscription revenue grew 14.

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How Meta’s biggest legal battle yet could redefine social media

Hanna Kahlert

26 Aug 2026

Business Strategy Social media Social

Meta may soon be forced to change its platforms, which will hold consequences for social media’s future. As of August 2026, a coalition of 29 US states is going to court with Meta in California, alleging a breach of several consumer protection statutes.

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Music as a cultural infrastructure business

Kriss Thakrar

20 Aug 2026

Business Strategy Cultural trends Artists

Suno is introducing deliberate friction to pump the brakes on the AI-powered superabundance it helped create. By implementing download caps (per Variety ), the company is putting guardrails around how much music users can output.

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Do watermarks spell the end of AI content proliferation?

Hanna Kahlert

19 Aug 2026

Business Strategy AI AI content

AI companies are now required to make model outputs detectable as AI-generated under Article 50 of the EU AI Act – or, in other words, watermarked. The major AI companies have all signed the additional voluntary Code of Practice .

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Are music fans ditching digital or embracing it? Both – welcome to the "cultural multiverse"

Olivia Jones

13 Aug 2026

Clients only

Fandom Music Superfans

The analogue revival is not a novel concept – MIDiA first explored the idea that consumers are embracing analogue or ‘old’ technology in response to digital fatigue in 2024’s analogue revival report .

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MIDiA Research 2026–2033 global music forecasts | A diversifying market

Perry Gresham

13 Aug 2026

Business Strategy Streaming Subscriptions

This blog post was co-authored by MIDiA's Head of Data, Perry Gresham , and Vice President of Music Strategy, Tatiana Cirisano . It’s now mid-summer, which can only mean one thing at MIDiA: our annual global music forecasts have arrived.

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Disney+ partners with TikTok: Can streaming stay relevant in the short-form era?

Hanna Kahlert

12 Aug 2026

Business Strategy TikTok Social media

In a shift from its traditionally close-fisted stance to IP, Disney has announced a partnership program with TikTok that will bring creator-made, short-form content to Disney+. This comes on the heels of Disney+’s Verts feed in March 2026 and an agreement earlier in the year to license over 200 ch...

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Beyond the briefing room: What Andy Burnham's How to Fail booking tells platforms about podcast fragmentation

Laura Fisher

11 Aug 2026

Clients only

Marketing Strategy Podcasts Engagement

UK podcast listening is remarkably fragmented by taste: sport, comedy, true crime, news – and that fragmentation is precisely the opportunity. There isn't just one podcast audience to court ; there are several, each with its own tone, trust dynamics, and level of political engagement.

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Why have we yet to hear an AI-generated hit?

Tatiana Cirisano

6 Aug 2026

Cultural trends Streaming Artists

The biggest fears AI stokes are most often rooted in displacement. Generative AI music models are trained on vast quantities of existing music and capable of producing songs that are catchy, enjoyable, and even beautiful.

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“Seems like AI slop”: Is LinkedIn leading the shift towards authentic content?

Hanna Kahlert

6 Aug 2026

Product Strategy Social media Social

Since ChatGPT first launched in November of 2022, AI-generated and augmented content has flooded social platforms. Initially lauded as a new tool to superpower creators and marketers alike, AI has instead exacerbated a pre-existing problem: an overwhelming amount of content that has left everyone st...

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Why music is not enough for an artist fan club

Kriss Thakrar

31 Jul 2026

Cultural trends Instagram Deezer

With 90,000 AI-generated tracks uploaded to Deezer every day(at time of writing), AI-generated music now constitutes the majority of new releases on the platform. Music was an oversaturated world before AI, with 60,000 tracks released a day in 2021, but a threefold increase in five years makes that ...

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What it takes to make a music streaming subscriber switch services

Tatiana Cirisano

30 Jul 2026

Clients only

Business Strategy Spotify Streaming

For years, choosing a music streaming service was perhaps less of a decision than an accident. At least in Western markets, the major DSPs have offered similar catalogue, feature sets, and user interfaces, giving consumers little reason to choose one over another.

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The other side of the UGC coin: fans as part of the creative process

Hanna Kahlert

29 Jul 2026

Cultural trends YouTube Fandom

Algorithmic personalisation and niche scenes have seemingly undermined mainstream culture . Labels struggle to break new superstars and Hollywood productions have fallen into a repetitive cycle of remakes and franchises.

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Niche is the new mainstream: Marketing in an AI-saturated social landscape

Hanna Kahlert

22 Jul 2026

TikTok Instagram Social media

Social feeds are saturated with content – both original and AI-powered. In this competitive attention landscape, brand activations and traditional advertising are struggling to cut through. Simply getting a brand name out in the market is no longer enough to build loyalty.

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Why dedicated fans are trading infinite choice for trusted curation

Laura Fisher

16 Jul 2026

Audience Insight Streaming Radio

The story of digital music has been one of expanding choice. Streaming's initial proposition was for the crate-diggers – a way of bringing the passion of music discovery into the digital age. However, the number of passive listeners on DSPs quickly outnumbered dedicated fans and the model optimise...

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The biggest album launches happen off streaming – here’s how it can win them back

Olivia Jones

15 Jul 2026

Marketing Strategy Spotify TikTok

Album marketing rollouts are moving to centre stage as a growing number of artists and labels incorporate interactive experiences into their digital album promotions. For example, with Olivia Rodrigo’s recent release you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love , TikTok launched an in-app experience ...

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