Blog: Community

Key takeaways from this blog: Fandoms are becoming two-way relationships, with artists like AJ Tracey and Maverick Sabre involving fans through grassroots gigs, remix contests, and fan-led tour decisions Fans want real engagement, not just content – prompting artists and labels to hire community managers and create spaces for fan participation The artists who give back will last, as true fan loyalty now depends on connection and reciprocity, not just popularity or scale The Outlander Magazine recently took to Instagram to issue a pointed challenge to artists and brands: you can only call your audience a "community" if you actively contribute to it.

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.

I recently wrote about the unflattening of music :how creativity, craft, and fandom can – if done right – counter the growing commodification of music. Not surprisingly, I focused on the music side of the equation, but in doing so I missed the other big flattening challenge music faces.

With one of the largest, most sonically-diverse catalogues of sounds and samples, Splice provides the music that makes the music for producers around the world. So trends in what users are searching for and downloading on Splice can tell us a lot about the sounds of the future.

After a prolonged period of unbridled growth, streaming TV and social video platforms have been confronted by multiple challenges in 2023. Subscription growth is slowing and consumer attention is peaking.

PlayStation recently announced “ PlayStation Tournaments ”, a new on-console tournaments platform designed to centralise events. Participants can enter a range of tournaments and win prizes based on their performance – including in real life (IRL) prizes.

Are we surprised that Taylor Swift has broken records (yet again) after dropping her new album, Midnights (and Midnights (3am Edition) )? In the first five days of release, Midnights earned more than an equivalent of 1.

Following yesterday’s announcement from Meta , detailing its plans to become a more creator focused platform, it debuted a new partnership with leading independent podcast company Acast. Although Facebook’s initial move into podcast content was halted, this new deal does not focus on creating content but rather focuses on aiding a podcaster’s ability to find and develop their fanbases.

The digital marketplace has been the setting for innovation in every way that business is conducted, not least for advertisers, entertainment propositions and consumer adoption –and the current COVID-19-induced lockdowns are exacerbating the trends .