Blog: Bifurcation theory

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.

Will more artists release full songs to social media in 2025?

Cover image for Will more artists release full songs to social media in 2025?
Tatiana Cirisano
It is now a standard part of most music rollouts to release a clip of the song on social video platforms before it hits streaming. This makes sense when you think of social media as a marketing tool. But as social video has ascended (and arguably become more about entertainment than connecting socially), apps like TikTok are now quasi-consumption platforms in their own right.
min read
Read more …

TikTok’s music master plan is coming into focus

Cover image for TikTok’s music master plan is coming into focus
Tatiana Cirisano
Oh how the tables have turned. Just a few months removed from its very public clash with Universal Music Group over music licences, TikTok is reportedly looking to buy up music rights of its own. Not only would this ease TikTok’s reliance on licences, but it would also presumably allow TikTok to prioritise its owned content in the algorithm, and do what music executives have been tearing their hair out trying to for years: reverse-engineer viral moments.
min read
Read more …

Kendrick vs. Drake is a rare ‘mainstream’ moment — and streaming is on the sidelines

Cover image for Kendrick vs. Drake is a rare ‘mainstream’ moment — and streaming is on the sidelines
Tatiana Cirisano
Over the last week, it has been hard to go anywhere, or speak to anyone, without some mention of the epic diss track battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. When is the last time we could say that about a pop culture moment? The domination of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is arguably the only bit of music news in the last year that managed to cut across every niche and break into “mainstream” conversation.
min read
Read more …