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.

Live orchestras and game-specific songs: Death Stranding is a masterclass in harmonising games and music

Cover image for Live orchestras and game-specific songs: Death Stranding is a masterclass in harmonising games and music
Rhys Elliott
Marketing Strategy
Fandom
Music
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.
min read
Read more …

Meritocracy only works if the door is open in the first place: International Women’s Day in 2025

Cover image for Meritocracy only works if the door is open in the first place: International Women’s Day in 2025
Hanna Kahlert
Cultural trends
consumers
women in music
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.
min read
Read more …

Spotify’s embrace of AI-generated audio is a blessing and curse for authors

Cover image for Spotify’s embrace of AI-generated audio is a blessing and curse for authors
Rutger Rosenborg
Product Strategy
Spotify
Audio
As we covered in August 2024, the future of AI-generated audiobooks is here. Up until this month, however, streaming platforms themselves had yet to fully embrace AI audiobook narration. Now, Spotify has announced their support for ElevenLabs ’ AI-generated audiobook content, paving the way for end-to-end audiobook generation that could capture audiences who demonstrate no clear preference between AI- and human-generated content.
min read
Read more …

The case for more digestable games: Over a third of console and PC gamers play LESS than 5 hours a week

Cover image for The case for more digestable games: Over a third of console and PC gamers play LESS than 5 hours a week
Rhys Elliott
YouTube
Netflix
TikTok
The attention economy is oversaturated. Games are not just competingwith other games but with TikTok, YouTube, Netflix, and well ... life. But the games industry – especially premium games on console and PC – has a unique twofold challenge: Supply : New AAA games can take five years or more to make (and often have budgets in the hundreds of millions) Demand : Player attention and play time are already maxed out MIDiA’s consumer research for Q4 2024 underlines just how little time consumers have to play.
min read
Read more …

How PlayStation broke its hardware and active user records in Q4

Cover image for How PlayStation broke its hardware and active user records in Q4
Rhys Elliott
Business Strategy
Netflix
TikTok
Sony released its financial results for calendar Q4 2024. Here are the high-level results: Sony generated revenues of $27.9 billion As always, its Game & Network Services (G&NS) Segment – PlayStation – was the biggest segment (38%) Sony Music accounted for 11% and Sony Pictures for 9% of revenue share respectively We'll be focusing on PlayStation for the rest of the article.
min read
Read more …

Bringing fandom to life: the rise of IRL superfan experiences

Cover image for Bringing fandom to life: the rise of IRL superfan experiences
Olivia Jones
Fandom
Spotify
Streaming
Much of the recent discussion around music superfan monetisation has focused on online superfans, especially as more superstars join fan platforms like Weverse. These monetisation strategies capitalise on fans’ growing desire for artist-fan interaction but often rely on artists’ active participation, adding yet another task to their ever-growing list of marketing responsibilities.
min read
Read more …