Blog: Fandom

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.

Answering questions from MIDiA’s "The State of AI and Music" webinar

Olivia Jones

7 May 2026

Business Strategy Spotify Streaming

Last week, MIDiA’s public webinar “The State of AI and Music” explored AI’s role in reshaping consumption, creation, and value in the music industry. For those who were unable to attend, a recording of the webinar is available here .

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Multi-dimensionality in music isn’t new – but it’s overdue for a comeback

Olivia Jones

23 Apr 2026

Business Strategy Spotify Streaming

Multi-dimensionality in music – that is, engaging in ways beyond simply listening to a song – has existed for decades. In the vinyl era, fans could read liner notes and look at album artwork while listening.

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IMS electronic music business report 2025/6

Mark Mulligan

22 Apr 2026

Cultural trends Fandom Music

It’s that time of year again for the definitive annual assessment of the global electronic music market: The IMS electronic music business report . Premiered at the annual IMS conference in Ibiza, this year’s report paints the picture of a healthy industry with thriving scenes but also a few war...

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Breaking the language barrier: AI’s next disruption in music

Adham Nazir

9 Apr 2026

Business Strategy Fandom Artists

American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once proclaimed that music is a universal language. Ironically, perhaps the only part of this universal language that isn’t universal is language itself. In the streaming era, it may seem easier than ever for musicians to reach listeners around the world, a...

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Beyond the song: Why artists need transmedia storytelling

Olivia Jones

2 Apr 2026

Fandom Marketing Strategy Streaming

In today’s fragmented marketing world, artists have to promote more than just their music – they have to build dedicated fandom. To achieve this, more artists are implementing transmedia elements – that is, adapting a brand story across multiple platforms – into their marketing strategies.

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Beyond the song: Why artists need transmedia storytelling

Olivia Jones

2 Apr 2026

Fandom Marketing Strategy Streaming

In today’s fragmented marketing world, artists have to promote more than just their music – they have to build dedicated fandom. To achieve this, more artists are implementing transmedia elements – that is, adapting a brand story across multiple platforms – into their marketing strategies.

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The new rules of music’s growth engine: Insights from MIDiA’s merch and ticket buyer survey

Tatiana Cirisano

19 Mar 2026

Fandom Artists Music

Expanded rights are quickly becoming the growth engine of the recorded music industry. The category – which includes labels’ participation in revenue streams like merch and live – grew an impressive 21.

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The new rules of music’s growth engine: Insights from MIDiA’s merch and ticket buyer survey

Tatiana Cirisano

19 Mar 2026

Fandom Artists Music

Expanded rights are quickly becoming the growth engine of the recorded music industry. The category – which includes labels’ participation in revenue streams like merch and live – grew an impressive 21.

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Global recorded music revenues up 9.4% in 2025

Mark Mulligan

13 Mar 2026

Business Strategy Fandom Recorded music

2025 was a good year for the recorded music business. After a modestly performing 2024, revenues grew by 9.4% in 2025 to reach $39.5 billion. See MIDiA’s Recorded music market 2025 | Rise of the fan economy and accompanying 12 sheet dataset for MUCH more detail.

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Attention versus fandom: Why entertainment needs a new framework for understanding engagement

Ben Woods

11 Mar 2026

Fandom Creators Video

The attention economy has become the de facto framework for measuring loyalty in the entertainment industry. However, not all attention is equal. While an hour spent scrolling videos on TikTok may compete with an hour spent playing a £70 video game, the depth, value and quality of that engagement a...

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K-pop’s global bifurcation: A genre at a crossroads

Olivia Jones

22 Dec 2025

Business Strategy Fandom Music

Billboard recently released two new weekly charts tracking Korean music – Billboard Korea Hot 100 and Billboard Korea Global K-Songs . While the Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming and sales numbers within South Korea, the Global K-Songs chart focuses on global popularity, ranking the top songs...

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Overanalysing our 2025 Spotify Wrapped: what MIDiA’s stats say about the industry

Tatiana Cirisano

11 Dec 2025

Fandom Spotify Streaming

Nothing signifies the holiday season like snowy days, Christmas jingles – and for many of us, Spotify Wrapped. The streaming platform’s annual listenership stats are back, and so is MIDiA’s tradition of over-analysing them.

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Peter Doig’s ‘House of Music’ and the importance of audio as a shared experience

Laura Fisher

9 Dec 2025

Music Audio Community

The Sound Service at Peter Doig’s House of Music exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery has been open since early October. While the exhibition itself explores themes of music and collective gathering, it is this live element that fully activates its central premise.

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The AI-social media dilemma: Can TikTok, Meta, and diVine curb low-quality content without hurting creators?

Ben Woods

3 Dec 2025

Business Strategy Facebook TikTok

Social platforms are grappling with a difficult balancing act. Generative AI can deliver a revolutionary engagement opportunity by turning even more consumers into creators. However, low-quality AI content also poses a threat to the user experience of social platforms.

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AI music creators: music’s superfans

Mark Mulligan

13 Nov 2025

Audience Insight Fandom Creators

Not a week seems to go by without some big news in the world of music AI. Hot on the heels of UMG’s Udio deal , GEMA just secured a favourable ruling against OpenAI (via Reuters ). Over the course of the year, however, court rulings have fallen roughly evenly for media companies and AI companies, ...

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How social’s reach is undermining its culture

Hanna Kahlert

21 Oct 2025

Cultural trends Fandom Content

Despite all the promise of digital interconnectivity, the internet has become more isolated than ever. The major platforms are now so focused on entertainment-style content that the original concept of a ‘social’ network has become diluted – seeing a post from a friend has now become a rarity.

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Forget catalogue; creators are the new valuable IP

Hanna Kahlert

16 Oct 2025

Business Strategy Streaming Fandom

The value of entertainment catalogue and content has shifted over the last decade. Licensing usage and distribution used to underpin the system, but challenges arose as digital consumption became the default.

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The future of music streaming: Change or be changed

Mark Mulligan

13 Oct 2025

Business Strategy Music streaming Fandom

The music business, entertainment as a whole – even the world – are at turning points. The future may be unknown, but there is always one certainty: things are going to be different. The change that got us here was paradoxically both fast and slow.

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The winning formula for Grand Theft Auto VI: Games pricing strategy

Brandon Sutton

9 Oct 2025

Product Strategy Fandom Gaming

A highly anticipated piece of media, Grand Theft Auto VI has garnered widespread attention . However, many details of the game remain a mystery – including the price of the base game. Previous speculation has suggested the game could be priced at $100.

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Gen Z social habits spell trouble for music discovery

Olivia Jones

23 Sep 2025

Fandom Business Strategy Music

Social media is king among Gen Z and may seem to act as a hotbed for viral hits. However, social media’s impact on music streams and fandom is not as strong as it appears. MIDiA’s new report All eyes, no ears | Why virality is not building fandom highlights where social media is lacking when it ...

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